Baked Yum Yum

It all started with a click of a button. That's how almost all of these posts came to be..... let me explain.
Last year I started following Heidi Swanson's recipe journal 101 Cookbooks.  Not all the recipes interested me, but her love of food, photography and travel had me hooked. Normally I would read her post and/or try out one of her recipes, without paying much attention to the comments that people were leaving for her.  It was only a few months ago that I actually started scrolling to the bottom of the screen to read them. Some people sang praises for the recipes, others vowed to try them out, all the while leaving links to their own websites.  So as I said at the beginning, it all started with a click of a button.  I clicked on a couple of links and now here I am on a food trekking adventure, destination unknown. Thus far on my journey, I have filled my Favourites with blogs I want to explore and recipes I want to try.  Three blogs that I have added to my must read list are:  Cupcake Bakeshop, Elana's Pantry and Gina's WW Recipes. 

This Baked Yum Yum recipe hails from Gina's blog. With a few twists of my own, I present to you a delicious way to eat zucchini. Gina's recipe calls for 3 zucchini, an egg white, and Pecorino Romano cheese.  I used 1 zucchini (and that's because I didn't make enough bread crumbs), 1 egg, and shredded Tex Mex cheese.  I also ended up changing the marinara sauce because I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand at the time.

Breaded Zucchini Sticks

1 medium zucchini sliced into sticks
1 large egg
whole wheat bread crumbs  made from the thin sliced edge of a whole wheat bread loaf
2 tbsp grated Tex Mex cheese
1/2 tsp olive oil for drizzling
salt
black pepper
chili pepper

Homemade WW Bread Crumbs

1 end slice from a loaf of whole wheat bread
salt
black pepper
garlic powder
chili pepper

Quick Marinara Sauce (1/2 cup)

3/4 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/3 cup of diced tomatoes (from a 28 oz can diced tomatoes, the amount I used is on the right)

1 small dried bay leaf
small splash of water
Preheat oven to 350°.


In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add small splash of water to keep the oil from burning. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer about 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat egg and season with chili pepper, salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 350° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.