Stuffed Giant Zucchini

It finally happened. I picked a zucchini that qualified (barely) as a stuffer.
I had looked at everything in the garden, and I swear that particular fruit was only 6 inches long. It must be the 90 degree temperatures and my daily drenchings. The minute Mom saw it, she said, "You should stuff it." (Not a personal comment.) Within a half hour of picking it, I went to work:

Cook 3/4 cup of bulgur wheat (Bob's Red Mill) in a mixture of 1 cup each of chicken broth and water in a sauce pan, adding salt, 1 tsp. parsley, plus 1/2 tsp. each of dehydrated garlic and onion bits. Let it get to fluffy stage and pull it off the heat.
Meanwhile in another pot, start 4 slices of chopped turkey bacon and cook a mixture of finely shredded kale, chopped gai lan and/or other greens in a little chicken stock, totaling about 2 or so cups of greens after wilting. Continue to simmer on low while you:
Take the casings off two fresh Italian-style chicken (could be turkey) sausages and add the meat to a smaller non-stick skillet with half a finely chopped small onion and 2 cloves of chopped garlic.
Split the large zucchini, and place it however it fits cut side up in a large cast iron skillet or heavy roasting pan. Use a tablespoon to remove the pithy interior, leaving at least 3/4" of squash at the narrowest part of the walls of the squash. Salt the interior of the squash. Some moisture may surface; scoop it out.
Chop the innards, removing the larger hard seeds if there are any, and add to the sausage meat, letting the squash moisture cook off most of the way. Add the bulgur to the cooked meat/squash innards, plus about 2 cups of the greens and turkey bacon, draining most of the liquid from the greens before adding.
To the stuffing mixture, add 2 T. chopped chives, 5 leaves of shredded fresh basil, 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves and an equal amount of fresh oregano and parsley (dried is okay, only use 1/2 tsp.), plus 2 tsp. smoked Spanish paprika (either hot or sweet), 1/2 tsp. applewood smoked salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix it all together.
Mound part of the mixture inside the zucchini, pausing to place 3-4 T. of shredded parmesan in the interior, and place the remainder of the stuffing once it is heaped on the zucchini along the sides of the baking pan/skillet, leaving the green sides of the zucchini to be exposed to the oven heat.
Place strips of mozzarella (I used a string cheese) atop each stuffed zucchini, then distribute the contents of a small 8-ounce can of tomato sauce over the pan's contents, with a final sprinkling of parmesan over the top.
Bake in a 325-degree oven around 45 minutes. Cover it with a lid or a tent of foil if it seems to be drying out toward the end. Test the thickest part of the squash for tenderness, and if it's done earlier, take it out. It was quite nuanced and the squash was tender. Served with roasted cornish hens stuffed with fresh herbs, it was a true Sunday dinner.
It happened yet again Tuesday. This time I picked two zucchini that qualified as stuffers, and as I had taken that road, I tried something a little different.
I mixed a little Eggbeaters with 3 T. or so of evaporated milk and a little salt (2-3 eggs beaten with a bit of milk would also work). I cut the overgrown zucchini into large strips (think jo-jo potato size) and dipped them in the egg. This was followed by a romp in a flat baking dish with a mixture of about 3/4 cup of Japanese panko crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup shredded parmesan, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, 1/3 tsp. cajun spice mix, salt, pepper and a little dried basil and oregano.
The pieces were transferred to a large sheet pan sprayed with canola, with every attempt to keep the coating adhered to each piece.
The egg wash was mixed in with the leftover bulgur stuffing that had been spooned into a casserole dish and topped with the remainder of the panko mixture. All went into a 375 degree oven about 30-35 minutes. The leftover cornish game hen yielded a side of roasted meat. With the zucchini pieces crisped and disguised as something verboten and a spoonful or two of the newly recreated casserole, we had dinner.
I will continue to experiment with the panko crumb coating. I just read about a New York restaurant serving Northern Fried Chicken using a coating that is half flour, half matzo meal. Perhaps they are onto something.