Baked Zucchini Fries

Okay, this is my first recipe post so bare with me! I recently bought zucchini because truthfully I was getting tired of broccoli and brussel sprouts.. not even knowing what to do with zucchini. BUT! These baked zucchini fries actually turned out yummy! I love fried food as much as the next person, but me and hot oil is a recipe for disaster.. so the oven is my safer route.  I would tweek a few things, but I will mention my suggestions in the ingredient list.

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 zucchini (makes about a dozen fries)
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (I used corn meal cause I had it in the cupboard.. which wasn’t terrible but would be a lot flakier with the panko)
1 egg
1/4 milk
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic (I used garlic salt.. t’was a bit on the salty side)
salt & pepper (season to liking)

Preheat oven for 425 degrees F. Get a baking sheet and spray it with cooking spray (or as I like to tell my sister “Pam the sheet first”).  Cut your zucchini into skinny sticks (the skinner the sticks, the more fries you can get out of the recipe.. but I like tasting the zucchini so I made mine a tad meatier).

In one bowl, beat your egg and mix in the milk.  In another bowl, you’ll want to mix all your dry ingredients.

Dip your zucchini stick in the egg mixture first (get all the edges well), then in the “bread crumbs” mixture (I just kind of pressed each side in the dry mix, and that worked well).

Place breaded sticks on the baking sheet. I sprinkled extra Parmesan cheese on each before I pop it in the oven for 15 mintues! (I LOVE CHEESE)

After 15 minutes in the oven, take them out and let them cool for a couple minutes then ENJOY!  I use chipotle ranch for dipping sauce. I think regular ranch, marinara sauce, or a sweet onion dipping sauce would be good with these as well!

Try it out and let me know what you think ladies!