Tasty Fried Zucchini

It seems like zucchini has been all over Pinterest lately. A good reason why is that zucchini is packed full of nutrients for your body! Want to know more? Check this article out on Livestrong.com and tell me you don't want to stuff your face with it! We went borderline "healthy" and decided on a fried zucchini recipe from the Neely's on Food Network. About 4 thick slices is 150 calories, 9 grams of fat but you still get the fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron! So we're still on the board for having a somewhat healthy snack! This is a bit more time consuming for an afternoon snack than I would normally go for but it was completely worth it! Let's get started!

Ingredients: 

Oil For Frying (we used our mini-fryer with Canola oil)

3 large zucchini (slice into small rounds)

1/2 c all purpose flour

1 1/2 c Panko bread crumbs

1/4 c grated Parmesan Cheese

2 TB finely chopped Parsley

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Salt & Pepper

3 eggs-lightly beaten

1/4 c water

Dipping Sauce

1 c sour cream

2 TB Butter milk 

(I had to make my own which is one cup of milk with 2 TB of white vinegar. Let sit for about 15 mins)

(I didn't have shallots or chives but she calls for them. We thought it tasted just fine without it. I did add a little minced onion in there!)

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Dash of hot sauce

Salt and Pepper

Here is how we did this:

We started with the bowl of flour at one end, followed by the egg and water mixture, and then finally the breadcrumbs with all the seasonings in the final bowl. 

Once your zucchini is sliced into rounds, you're going to want to coat the slices in flour, then dip each round into the egg/water mixture. After you have each piece coated, you're going to add to the Panko and spices bowl and make sure it covered in all the goodies! (I added a little more Parmesan cheese at this point because I didn't think it looked like enough). Once all your pieces are covered we put ours down in the frying oil for exactly 3 minutes. They turned out beautifully! 

Each piece is packed with flavor and the dipping sauce compliments this perfectly!

To make the dipping sauce, all you need to do is mix all the ingredients together and chill in the fridge. It says to chill for one hour, we chilled as long as it took to make the zucchini (about 15-20 minutes). 

Stay tuned tomorrow for the photo challenge update!

Until then..

A Side and an Appetizer

I had a very random cooking afternoon today as I perused a cookbook I stumbled upon in a moving box of mine. The sausage balls and Zucchini just looked too good to pass up. I snacked on the Zucchini (which was wonderful) while making the sausage balls, hoping I would be too full to devour them when they were finished because I have a birthday party to go tonight and need my stomach empty for the great flavors of The Cheesecake Factory. The cookbook is one my parents church put together titled, Tasteful Traditions by the Fellowship Bible Church in Tulsa. The Zucchini saute recipe comes from a lady named Brina Osborne and is absolutely delicious. Here is how to make it...

You start with 1/4 of a cup of butter and melt it in a small/medium skillet. You're going to add 1/2 of a cup of chopped onion (I also minced a clove of garlic and tossed it in with it) and let it simmer until the onions are crisp-tender in the butter.

While that's cooking you will add 3 cups of chopped Zucchini, 1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Stir this all together and let cook for 4-5 minutes.

When it's finished, I put them out on plate and sprinkled Cheddar cheese on top (which instantly melted into a gooey delicious mess)! She also added 1 cup of fresh diced tomatoes to hers but I was down to 1 tomato in the fridge and needed it later for something else so I omitted this ingredient. The taste is delicious, and it was super fast and easy to make! I love zucchini so I am very excited I decided to try this because it makes such an excellent side dish for dinners or you could make a big pan of it if you needed something quick to take to a dinner somewhere.

 Brina's Cheesy Zucchini Saute
1/2 c Chopped Onion
1/4 c Butter
3 cups Chopped Zucchini
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 (4 ox) cup shredded cheese
1 cup Diced Fresh Tomato

Saute onion in butter until crisp-tender. Add zucchini and spices, cooking 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and tomato.

Onto the sausage balls. I will keep this short and sweet :)

You take two pounds of sausage (one pound hot and one pound regular), 3 cups of Bisquick and 24 oz. grated Cheese and mix this all together. I threw everything in at once and it took me FOREVER to get it all mixed in. So I would suggest mixing in little bits at a time. Mash, knead, jump up and down on the meat until you have everything mixed together! You will roll this mixture into 1 inch sausage balls and place on a cookie sheet. I baked mine for 8 minutes and then flipped them over (with tongs because they're going to greasy and hot) and let it cook for 6-8 minutes more. Simple, easy, and fabulous for parties or if it just sounds good. I think (via an idea from Dee Jay) we are going to throw ours in with some spaghetti and sauce and have cheesy sausage ball spaghetti for dinner. Another idea I had was to put 2 or three on top of some grits (yes I love grits of all kinds...That's why I'm from the south lol) because they taste a little like breakfast. I think that is just because it uses Bisquick and I associate that taste with breakfast. Or you could probably top of some white or brown rice with these delicious goodies and go to town! Any way you decide to make them, bake them and serve them up is up to you. This was just our idea.
~Happy Cooking~

 PRE-COOKED

 Cooked (Placed on paper towel to help soak up the grease)

Sausage Balls by Paula Kreitzer 

1 lb. Hot Sausage

1 lb. Regular Sausage

3 c. Bisquick

24 oz. Grated Cheese (I used Cheddar although next time I think I'm going to mix it up)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients. Form into 1 inch balls with a cookie scoop (or your hands). Bake on cookie sheet for 5-20 minutes. (Remember I did 8 minutes on one side and 6 on the other).