Lasagna Zucchini Boats Set To Music

This post is sponsored by Bose 

We’ve taken every advantage to have outdoor parties this summer – from slip n slide soirées to chill deck nights. There is always music involved! Earlier we used our kitchen radio or a little bluetooth speaker I bought to broadcast our playlists, but now we are well equipped with the ultimate portable party music machine: a Bose Soundlink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II.

My friend has one of these, so when I had an offer to work together on a sponsored post I knew I’d have good things to say. This tiny speaker has BIG sound – lots of bass and great volume. It’s loud enough to be heard through our whole house as well as across a yard outside. It costs $199, but you get what you pay for – this guy is far superior to my other bluetooth speaker that was about 1/3 of the price.

Connecting it to a phone or computer is easy because it talks to you – there’s no need to decipher blinking lights alone. I have it connected to my phone, tablet and computer and can control Spotify from any of them.

The Bluetooth connection also reaches from my computer downstairs to my bathroom upstairs, so I can carry the little speaker upstairs and have loud music blasting for singing in the shower!!

You can also make calls through it with the speakerphone. My favorite feature is the announcement of how much battery life is left (“Battery at 60%”) when you turn it on. It has 10 hours of play time, and a nice cradle charger. Accessories include colored covers and a carrying case.

Needless to say, I’m a huge fan!!

We tucked it into my purse this weekend to take to a cookout we had with our bakery employees!

90s Singalongs all night! And no cords or plugs necessary.

To eat we had these amazing empanadas made by our employee Daniel who spent eight years in Chile.

He made two versions: a traditional Chilean version with beef, chopped egg, and raisins and a tomato and cheese version that was like pizza in a flakey crust!

Matt and I brought these lasagna zucchini boats stuffed with sausage sauce and cheese. We made them at home and then grilled them on site. They were a big hit and oh-so-delicious!

We took eight large zucchinis, cut them in half, scraped out a little “boat” in the middle, rubbed with olive oil and salt, and baked for 20 minutes at 400*.  The pre-bake was just to slightly soften the zucchini and ensure cooked through on the grill. We got a large amount of sungold tomatoes from our employee’s farm and cooked them down into a sauce with typical seasonings (like oregano and garlic) while the zucchini baked. (You could also just use a pre-made sauce if you’re replicating this technique – probably about 2 jars of sauce worth.)

Once the sauce cooked down and thickened, we mixed it with ricotta (one whole container) and filled some of the zucchini for vegetarians.  Then we cooked a pound of spicy Italian sausage from The Rock Barn, mixed it with the rest of the sauce and filled the rest of the zucchini.  They all were topped with shredded mozzarella and ready to grill.

When we got to the party, we grilled the zucchini until they were warm and bubbly and the cheese melted. The charcoal taste infused throughout!

Thank you Bose for sponsoring this post. While this was a sponsored opportunity from Bose all content and opinions expressed here are my own.