Oven Fried Zucchini

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 medium zucchini
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.


2. Wash, trim and slice zucchini into 1/2-inch-thick rounds.


3. Drizzle one tablespoon of the olive oil over a baking sheet to evenly coat. Set aside.


4. Beat egg in a small bowl.


5. Spread bread crumbs out in a shallow dish. Stir Parmesan cheese, salt, basil and pepper into bread crumbs.


6. Dip 5-6 zucchini slices into the beaten egg. Transfer to the bread crumb mixture, pressing on both sides to coat. Shake off excess, and place on prepared baking sheet.


7. Repeat with remaining zucchini slices.


8. Drizzle remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the zucchini.


9. Bake in preheated oven 8 minutes. Using tongs, turn zucchini so the other side gets crispy. Bake another 5-7 minutes until golden brown.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Per serving (based on 6): 127 calories, 7 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 5 g cholesterol, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein, 7% vitamin A, 38% vitamin C, 12% calcium, 6% iron

Broccoli Recipes to try

Broccoli and Cheese Nuggets

Broccoli and Potato Pancakes

Broccoli Brownies

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, or 115 grams) butter, softened
2/3 cup (125 grams) light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (95 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups (120 grams) rolled oats
3/4 cup (120 grams) raisins
1/2 cup walnuts (65 grams), chopped (optional)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats, raisins and walnuts, if using them.

At this point you can either chill the dough for a bit in the fridge and then scoop it, or scoop the cookies onto a sheet and then chill the whole tray before baking them. You could also bake them right away, if you’re impatient, but I do find that they end up slighly less thick. Either way, heat oven to 350°F (175°C) before you scoop the cookies, so that it’s fully heated when you’re ready to put them in.

The cookies should be two inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 to 12 minutes (your baking time will vary, depending on your oven and how cold the cookies were going in), taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

. We use no nuts, 1/2 cup raisins and 3/4 cup chocolate chips (but prefer to hand-chop chocolate because those coarse pieces will melt into heavenly puddles) for the mix-ins and highly encourage you to try it. When using chocolate, we drop the sugar down to a heaped 1/2 cup.

Note: They were super chewy- almost too chewy and moist. Next time need to make smaller and flatten them out and cook for a bit longer than the 12 minutes.

Lentil Stew

Lentil Stew
As a meal, serves three to four.

Although we made this version meatless, as a testament to the way it saves money best, Nathan, Tim and Jared, all emphasize it’s also great with stew meat added, seared in the beginning with the onions and garlic and left in the pot while everything cooks. In that case, the beef only further flavors the stew, enhancing its appeal.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 cups of French lentils
4 cups of water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Extra olive oil, as a finish when serving

Directions:
Start by warming olive oil and butter in stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and let cook until golden and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Add sweet potato chunks, lentils and water; reduce heat to simmer. Cook for about four hours, adding water as it reduces, about every hour or so, aiming to keep everything in the stew covered with liquid. When finished cooking, salt and pepper the stew generously, tasting as you do. Ladle into bowls and finish with drizzles of olive oil

Zucchini Fritter

Recipe

Zucchini Fritters
Adapted a bit from Simply Recipes

Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

To serve (optional)
1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. The latter is my favorite as I’m convinced it creates the coarsest and most rope-like strands and frankly, I like my fritters to look like mops.

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away. You’ll be shocked (I was!) by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. These fritters are also delicious with a poached or fried egg on top, trust me.

Do ahead: These fritters keep well, either chilled in the fridge for the better part of a week and or frozen in a well-sealed package for months. When you’re ready to use them, simply spread them out on a tray in a 325 degree oven until they’re hot and crisp again.