Beef & Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes, Zucchini on spinach with peas

These savory stuffed tomatoes and zucchini are the center pieces of a warm spinach salad. A touch of pesto and an over easy egg (fried on a non-stick skillet with a spray of PAM) served as the dressing (there's just something really satisfying with a runny yolk). I added lightly sauteed snap peas to the salad for the "crunch" factor (instead of croutons).  

Plate as pictured: 388 cal

Ingredients: 

1 lb 90% lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 cups chopped mushrooms (cut as fine as you'd like)

1tsp olive oil

Dash of soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves minced garlic

4 medium tomatoes
1 zucchini, cut lengthwise
Salt and Pepper to taste

Using a paring knife, core the tomatoes; scoop out the gooey insides with a melon baller or spoon.
Cut the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the fleshy center where the seeds are (if you want smaller zucchini pieces, cut in half across as well). Make sure to leave some of the seedy flesh at the ends so that you're making a zucchini boat for the filling.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, brown the onions with the olive oil. When they begin to caramelize and turn translucent, add the mushrooms, garlic, and soy sauce. As the mushrooms cook down, season your ground beef with salt and pepper. Then, add the meat to the pan to brown throughly. Since this is 90% lean beef, there will be little need to drain the meat afterward.  Once the meat is cooked through, remove from heat. Spoon the meat-mushroom mixture into the tomatoes and zucchini.

Note: You will have quite a bit of filling left over. There's enough filling for 12 - 16 small/medium tomatoes. The ones pictured here are tennis ball sized tomatoes. 

Arrange in a baking dish. Bake in a 375° oven for 12 - 15 minutes. The tomatoes will be soft at this point and the zucchini still al dente.

If you're not a fan of either tomatoes or zucchini, or would rather have more meat in the meat-to-veggie ratio, consider stuffing bell peppers or using the filling in lettuce cups.

Each stuffed tomato is about 75 cal.
Each zucchini quarter is about 90 cal.