Zucchini Fries

The zucchini plant is still producing, so I am still finding new and creative ways to use it up.  However, this is an old favorite I tried to improve this year.

Chop a medium zucchini in half.  Cut off the sides as you would with a pineapple avoiding the seedy middle as much as possible.  If you miss some, scoop it out and set aside (see below for ideas).  Cut pieces in half again and slice into fries.

You could use different bowls for this step, but I took the easy road and used baggies.  Fill one with about 1/2 cup of flour.  I also sprinkled in some garlic salt, onion powder, and seasoned salt.  Add zucchini and shake!  Be sure all pieces are coated.

Crack 2 eggs into another bag and scramble by squeezing in the bag.  Transfer zucchini pieces to this bag and coat well.

Dump the flour out of the first bag and replace with Italian bread crumbs - about 1 cup.  Transfer zucchini and shake once again.  All pieces should be coated evenly.

If you want, you could shallow or deep fry until golden at this point...

OR you could

"Flash freeze" by laying out on a cookie sheet and placing in the freezer until completely frozen.  Then place in a freezer storage bag until ready to use.

This was the first time I tried freezing them (so I could prepare before supper-time AND in an effort to get the coating to stay on better).  We fried them up today, and it went pretty well.  Some of the coating came off, but for the most part, they turned out well!  Just about a minute in the deep fryer cooked them through.  I use tomato sauce for dipping.  YUM!

If you have extra zucchini seeds/insides, place in a food processor (add more zucchinis if you have them).  Use this to make bread, muffins, cake, whatever.  You can also place the processed zucchini into freezer storage bags and freeze until you are ready to use them.  Maybe you'll need a taste of summer in the dead of winter...