I did not notice this was vegetarian when I saved the recipe or that it had rice in it. I did not want another meal with rice in it, so I substituted ground turkey meat. I kept everything else, and it was delicious! I also incorporated the zucchini insides back into the mixture, so I did not waste them. I chopped it a little and then cooked it with the onions until it softened. Although I used this as a base recipe, I will definitely keep this in rotation! Thank you for sharing!