zucchini chips

Did you plant a garden this year? I didn't exactly plant a garden but I've got a few plants in some big buckets in my backyard. I've got three tomato plants, a cucumber, a yellow long neck squash and a green pepper plant. So far we've not been able to eat anything from my plants and that's okay because I can see they're coming and I planted them pretty late. However, we are eating veggies straight from the garden...the garden of my friend! So blessed my friend Barb thought of us to bring her extra veggies too. Thanks Barb!! We have enjoyed a cucumber and some cherry tomatoes in pasta salad. We've used some tomatoes in homemade salsa to go along with homemade tortillas, re-fried beans and some cucumbers in the cucumber sour cream.

She also brought me three pretty big zucchini. The people in my house do not care for zucchini...well, they didn't care for zucchini until I made it like this!! As I was cutting the zucchini into 1/4 inch "chips" the kids were like "what is that?", "I don't like that" etc. I told them they had to give it a chance and taste at least one piece once it was cooked. And they ate more than one piece!! We gave them each three pieces to start with and they know they need to clean their plate before they get anything else so Naomi did eat hers but told me later that she didn't really care for them. She said they were okay but not her favorite. However, Micah had a different story. He LOVED the zucchini and ate his three pieces and at least three more. We did serve it with ranch dressing so that may have helped a little ;) but he honestly liked the zucchini! Hannah didn't eat much that night so I'm not sure how much she liked them. Greg liked it too and he is one who normally would not eat zucchini...he does because he knows he should set a good example for the kids and for that I am grateful! He did tell me I could make it again so that's a good sign! I LOVED the zucchini this way but I don't mind zucchini at all.

So here's how I made the zucchini chips.

Ingredients:
1 large zucchini cut into 1/4 inch circles
2 egg whites
bread crumbs
parmesean cheese
garlic
oregano
(other herbs or spices that you like)

Here's the lowdown and then I'll give you a few more details.
Cut the zucchini into 1/4 inch circles. Dip them in the egg whites, cover with the bread crumb mixture and then bake in a preheated 475 degree oven.

I did not measure my breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic or oregano. For the breadcrumbs I just used three pieces of bread and put them in my food processor to make crumbs! yay! Then I added the crumbs to a bowl added a good amount of cheese (probably 1/3 of the amount of bread crumbs) then I cracked some garlic on top of that and added some oregano. Feel free to use whatever spices and herbs your family likes. I was experimenting here and it turned out pretty good. If you like a little heat add some red pepper flakes (I think that'd be good but if I did that I'd probably have to eat the zucchini chips alone!)

 So dip the zucchini slice in the egg whites and flip so both sides get coated.

 Then do the same thing with the bread crumbs.

 Then line the pieces on a sprayed baking sheet. And put in a preheated oven (475)

 Then set the timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes flip the pieces over. Then start the timer again. After another 10 minutes flip them over again and set the timer for another 10 minutes and do this until you get the desired "doneness" that you are looking for. I think (if I remember correctly) that I flipped my pieces 4 times for a total of 40 minutes. They were brown but not crispy. They were a little bit chewy and not crunchy but we didn't mind that texture. I think you'd have to leave them in there for at least 50-60 minutes to get them crispy like chips because they have such a high water content...then I'd be worried about the breading getting burned. But just keep checking them every 10 minutes until they look good.

 This is our finished product!! YUM!!

I hope that you will give this a try it's just another way to use all that great produce. There are a few other zucchini recipes that our family likes to eat (cheeseburger zucchini casserole and chocolate zucchini bread) because the zucchini is pretty good at hiding in them! Even though the zucchini is hiding it's a good way to get some more greens!