I feel like life has gotten a little crazy around here over the past two weeks. My sister, who watches my daughter for me, her family went on vacation for almost two weeks. So I was stressing where my daughter was going be while I was at work. We also had my sons friend stay with us for a week while his mom went on a trip to Texas. So that was one more person to worry about also and another mouth to feed. He is like my second son and we were glad to have him. This week my daughter is attending a summer program at school for up and coming kindergartners. She will be riding the bus and the end of the week she will go on a trip to George Washington's Birthplace. This is such a great program to get them used to the school and the buses. Hopefully will make it a lot easier this fall. Its hard to believe she will be going to school. The time is going by so fast.
I was lucky to have been given some zucchini from a coworker, her garden was overflowing. Of course the traditional zucchini bread would be good or the wonderful cake recipes I have seen all over the blog world would be good too. I saw this recipe back in the winter and thought it looked so good. I kept forgetting to buy the panko bread crumbs called for in the original recipe. Mind you I have been to the store numerous times since these were given to me, I just keep forgetting bread crumbs. I came across a bag of croutons and realized I could use those.
Cut up the zucchini in thin strips, the thinner they are the less likely they are to taste like zucchini. Dip in the egg mixture, then in bread crumb mixture, place on a foil lined pan sprayed with cooking spray. Use just a little bit of the bread crumbs at a time because they will get really soggy. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, flip and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until browned.
These actually tasted like an onion ring, believe it or not. I used the cheese and garlic croutons and added some Ms. Dash seasoning to it. These were really good. The best part is that this is a Weight Watchers recipe.
Served Up With Love!
Baked Zucchini Fries
Our Best Bites
About 1 lb. zucchini
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.
Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you’ll get 16 planks per zucchini).
Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield “meatier” fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.
Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don’t want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they’ll soak up moisture from the egg and won’t stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.
Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately. Serves 6-8 as a side dish. Perfect served with Pizza Sauce or Ranch Dressing.
Weight Watchers Points:
2 (for 8 servings) or 3 (for 6 servings)
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
