Aunt Rocky’s Spicy Stuffed Sausage with Sauteed Zucchini Ribbons

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Get out a 6 x 8 baking dish.

Slit sausages lengthwise, taking care not to cut the underside of the casing if possible. Stuff one of the mozzarella sticks into each sausage and place in the baking dish.

Spoon or pour sauce evenly over the sausages, coating each one. Sprinkle basil flakes over everything. Add 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan over the top of each sausage.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated through.

While sausages are baking, prepare the zucchini ribbons. Cut zucchini ends and discard. Use a vegetable peeler to remove about half of the zucchini skin, leaving a striped zucchini. Discard those peelings.

Use the peeler to make your ribbons with all remaining zucchini. If you used medium or small zucchini, there won’t be many seeds, and you can turn the whole thing into ribbons. If you use a more mature vegetable, only peel down to the seeds, then discard them.

When you are about 10 minutes away from the sausages being done, cook the zucchini ribbons. Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet. Add zucchini ribbons and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Don’t overcook them or they will get mushy. Remove from heat and sprinkle with coarse black pepper. Toss again, then transfer the ribbons into 4 serving bowls.

When sausages are hot and mozzarella cheese looks soft (no need to completely melt it), take the sausages out of the oven. Use tongs to put one stuffed sausage on top of the zucchini ribbons on each plate. Spoon sauce evenly over each, and top with some finely chopped parsley.

Leftovers should be kept in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing this dish. The zucchini would get too soft and mushy if frozen.

Notes:
• Nutrition estimates are based on My Fitness Pal’s online recipe analyzer. Brand names are included only to assure more accurate estimates. The recipe is stored on and available to MFP users for logging in their food diaries.
• For more Atkins/low carb/Keto recipes and cooking tips, look for Aunt Rocky’s Low Carb Recipes & Tips Group on Facebook, or follow me on Pinterest at auntrocky2.

Per Serving: Calories 528
Total Fat 43 g, Saturated Fat 17 g, Sodium 1239 mg, Potassium 379 mg, Total Carbohydrate 9, Dietary Fiber 1 g, Net Carbs 8 g, Sugars 5 g, Protein 25 g. Macros: 75% fat, 19% protein, 6% carbs.

© March 3, 2020 Roxana Lopez for Aunt Rocky’s. Modified from a recipe on Joy Filled Eats.