"Fried" zucchini

I love fried zucchini sticks - the kind you get at gas stations and fairs. However, even though they're a vegetable, they're of the deep-fried variety and probably not as healthy as we might trick ourselves into believing. When I was doing Weight Watcher's last year I came up with this yummy recipe. All the tasty goodness of fried zucchini strips with almost none of the fat or calories. Plus it's a great way to use up those super-sized zucchini that appear in the garden some days.

"Fried" Zucchini Strips...
1 large zucchini
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
olive oil
coarse ground salt
black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Wash your zucchini but don't peel it. Slice it in half. Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds, like this:

Cut your zucchini into fry-sized slices. Brush or spray with olive oil**. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan together. Press zucchini slices into the breading mixture (leave the peel side crumb-less, it won't stick well) and arrange on baking sheet.

Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until crumbs start to turn brown. If, after this time they're still not toasty-looking, turn the broiler on for a few minutes to brown them up. If you do turn on the broiler, keep the door open a crack so you can watch them every minute. You can go from Golden Brown to Charcoal in just a few seconds.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with coarse salt and fresh pepper. Serve immediately. Forget to take a picture of the finished product until your son, brothers-in-law and husband have demolished most of the tray.

**Update: Chrissy mentioned that she dipped her slices of squash in olive oil and the finished product was a little too oily for her. I usually spray mine with the non-stick olive oil spray, or brush it on with a pastry brush. Just a tiny bit makes the breading stick nicely.