Thursday, January 20, 2011

Guilt Free Fries

Last night my daughter Amy and I made the most wonderful fries for dinner, and they were baked instead of fried.
We've done fries before out of sweet potatoes, which are at the top of my double-yum category, but these had a slightly different take.

These fries were made out of zucchini.
Before you turn up your nose, STOP.
(I know some have an aversion to anything squash)
Let me tell you, my 3 and 5 year old grandsons ate an entire plateful of these morsels, and in between bites Isaak said "Mommy you are the best cook ever!"

I found the recipe for BAKED ZUCCHINI FRIES over on one of my favorite blogs OUR BEST BITES where they give a wonderful step by step tutorial.
(you can also find them with a link on my sidebar)
First Amy sliced the zucchini into spears.

Next dip each individual spear in whisked eggs.

Then dip the spear into a spiced panko bread crumb mixture.
We discovered that one of the best suggestions in the recipe was to sprinkle a few teaspoons of the dry mixture at a time into a separate bowl before dipping. The dry mixture really does become quite soggy after 2-3 spears are dipped.

I am a big fan of Panko, a Japanese bread crumb. They are lower in calories than traditional American bread crumbs, and they they have a great crunchy texture. I use them all the time with chicken dishes.
For the fries we used the plain Panko crumbs and added our own spices, which worked out well.

Lay the spears out on a foil lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray.
Amy and I discussed how these steps were a little labor intensive, but when we tasted how good the fries turned out, we felt it was all worth it.

The delightful aroma in the room as the fries were baking kept us peeking into the oven.

You can now have your fries guilt free.
And, I felt it was a great way to encourage my grandbabies to eat more veggies.
Delicious and nutritious!

Our Best Bites suggests dipping in either a pizza sauce or ranch dressing.
Amy fixed a pot of homemade tomato soup as the main course, which we confess, was also used for a little dipping.

19 comments:

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I have had these fried but not baked, I will give them a try but no matter what hubby won't touch them - he can't stand squash of any type. I too like the sweet potato fries baked.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/

Needled Mom said...

Yum...those look great. I have been doing my potato fries by baking too and they are delicious and much more healthy. I, too, am a panko fan.

Sherri said...

I can't wait to make these...I have their book on pre-order, too!

Carol said...

YUMMERS! That sounds just wonderful!

Shannon said...

Those look so good. I can't wait to try them this summer. I followed you link and I love that site. I spent 2 hours looking at many different recipes. I have a bunch I can't wait to try. Thank you!

Material Mary said...

Gonna have to give these a try. They look yummy!
Mary

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

These look fabulous Nedra, I love zucchini anyway, but have never tried them like this.

Maria McCabe said...

Oh this sounds great! Thank you!
Maria

Jana said...

will have to try these! thanks for the recipe!

Janet said...

Baked is such a good idea and I love differnet ways to do veges. I love Panko crumbs, I'll definitely be tryng these.

Jackie's Stitches said...

I've had a similar version of these and they are quite delicious. I like to overcook mine a bit. Yum! I haven't made them in a while. Thank you for the reminder.

AnnieO said...

Sounds delicious! I love zuchini. Now all those overloaded gardeners with extra long green veggies will have a recipe to include when they beg folks to take some off their hands!

Abby and Stephanie said...

Love baked sweet potato fries, love panko for coating fish etc..., and these zucchini fries look delicious! I loved baked insead of fried.

Lois Evensen said...

Those look really, really, really good! :))) Thanks for the recipe and tutorial.

Lori Holt said...

Nedra....
those are yummy! we love zucchini fries at our house...we make a ranch/mustard/horseradish sauce for ours.
I love Best Bites too and will also be getting their cookbook!
xx
lori

Joyce said...

Those look great! I love your star quilts! I am going to try and get better with the blogging in 2011. It has been fun to see all you wonderful stuff! I am so impressed! I am thinking about having a blog giveaway soon.. any suggestions?

Nanette Merrill said...

We make those. they are so yum dipped in a bit of lite ranch.

Britney Pedraza said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Britney Pedraza said...

I google Panko bread crumb images for my blog http://alifeplannedisneverasexpected.blogspot.com/, and ended up using your picture. I read your recipe for the fries and they sound great!