Skinny Zucchini Parmesan

My grandmother is an amazing cook. She's Italian so it's completely natural for her to make amazing food. One of my absolute favorite things she makes is her zucchini parmesan. I'm not sure whether she would applaud me or ring my neck for making one of her classic recipes a lighter. (Especially since I used jarred sauce instead of homemade. Sorry Grammy!). Her zucchini parmesan is delicious, but it's fried. She frys up her zucchini slices in olive oil, which is so very good. But it's so very bad for me. I lightened her recipe up a bit. I also made lighter bread crumbs to coat the zucchini. It was the first time I tried to make this and came out delicious.

Ingredients:

1 Large Zucchini (I used 1 very large one from a neighbors garden, I would probably use 2 is your are using the store bought kind)

4 Slices Sara Lee 45 Calorie Wheat Bread

4 Tbsp Newman's Own Light Italian Dressing

1 Jar Healthy Pasta Sauce (I used Prego Heart Smart)

2 tsp Parmesan Cheese

1/4 Cup Reduced Fat Shredded Mozzarella Cheese 

I started with the breadcrumbs. I laid out the four slices of sandwich bread on a baking sheet and brushed each one with Italian dressing. I popped them in the oven at 350 until they were browned then I flipped them over, brushed the other side with dressing and popped them back in the oven.

Both sides should look like this. Then I crumbled them a bit with my hands and threw them in the blender.

I pulsed it in the blender until it was a crumb consistency. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese.

While the bread was toasting I started to slice up the zucchini. I made them decently large slices.

Time for the conveyor belt method. Beat the egg in one bowl and put it next to the breadcrumbs. Dip each slice of zucchini in the egg, shake off any excess, then dip in the breadcrumbs. 

Place the breaded zucchini slices in a hot pan sprayed with PAM Olive Oil. After about 2-3 minutes flip them, very carefully. 

Once both sides have browned and the zucchini is tender. Take them out of the pan and place them on a paper towel to collect any excess oil. 

Now it's time to assemble...

I covered the bottom of a casserole dish with about 1/2 cup of the sauce. Then I placed some of the zucchini slices over it. ( I ran out of breadcrumbs for the last 2 slices of zucchini so I just fried them up with salt and pepper and stuck them on the bottom. No one will ever know the difference.)

Continue to layer sauce and zucchini slices about 3 times or until zucchini is gone, depending on the size of your casserole dish. Then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top. 

Cover and place in a 400 degree preheated oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove lid and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

I may have been too excited to eat this that I completely forgot to take a picture of it on my plate. I enjoyed it with a salad and it was a wonderful dinner. 

What is your absolute favorite thing your grandmother makes?

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/2 cup (1/6 of recipe)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 185 Calories from Fat 71

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 7.9g 12%

Saturated Fat 1.7g 9%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 30mg 10%

Sodium 650mg 27%

Total Carbohydrates 23.6g 8%

Dietary Fiber 5.9g 24%

Sugars 13.9g

Protein 7.8g

Vitamin A 16% • Vitamin C 35% Calcium 10% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade B+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Fried Pickles

My favorite thing to do when I'm back in North Carolina is to visit the NC state fair. I absolutely love the fair, with all the nauseating rides, the games and the great concerts but the absolute best thing about the state fair is all the fried foods. In the south we have a tendency dropping anything we can into a deep fryer, and I've probably tried most of them. I will admit that I've tried deep fried Twinkies, candy bars, oreos, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, even deep fried Coca Cola, but the one heart attack inducing delight that I always have to get is the deep fried pickles. 

If you love pickles almost as much as I do then I beg you to try them deep fried. I promise (and I never break a promise) that you will fall madly in love with them. 

To easily make them at home all you need is:

2 cups Dill Pickles sliced

1 Egg lightly beaten

1/4 cup Pickle Juice

1 cup Flour 

1/2 tbs Flour

1 tsp Hot Sauce

1 tsp Red Pepper

1 tsp Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Paprika

Vegetable Oil

Start off by slicing the pickles, the thicker the better. The rule less is more does not apply here.

Use a paper towel to soak up the excess pickle juice off of our pickle chips.

In a bowl mix the cup of flour, red pepper, black pepper, salt, garlic and paprika. 

In another bowl lightly beat the egg, pour in the pickle juice, hot sauce and the 1/2 tbs of flour. Stir well but it's alright if it has a few lumps.

Drop a pickle chip in the egg mixture. 

Then into the dry ingredients.

 

Using a fork make sure that its well coated.

Shake off the excess. Less is more does apply here.

Plop it into a pan on medium heat that has about an inch of oil. Fry them until they're golden, flipping occasionally to make sure they don't burn. (I won't lie...I burnt my first batch. Luckily I don't have any pictures to prove it.)

When they are nice and golden place them on a paper towel covered plate so that it can absorb the extra grease.

I really can't explain how good these are!

I would have to say these are the perfect snack for watching a football game at home.

So what's your guilty fried pleasure?