In my journey of eating healthier choices and losing weight I've come to love substitutions. What works for me is low-carb and low calories dishes. It's sometimes not easy and it doesn't always work but when it does turn out okay I tend to feel like a domestic goddess. (Note: I certainly am NOT.)
My husband had an impressive garden this summer and there were some mutant sized zucchini sitting in the fridge. Zucchini is one of those vegetables I swore I would never like but have come to use it all the time. I've made zucchini noodles, zucchini lasagna, zucchini boats etc. (I love me some "faux" meals!). So I decided to try a recipe I saw a while ago, zucchini grilled cheese! Anything with cheese is fine by me. In another life I may have been cheese, I love it that much. So into the kitchen I went with dreams of grilled cheese "sandwiches" dancing in my head and my baby girl on the floor happily surrounded with toys and a whisk that has now been dedicated to her only. Any other moms out there know the dance of trying to make food with a baby crawling at your feet? It's not always the best idea.
First off you have to grate the zucchini into about 2 cups, easy peasy. Then you have to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini with a kitchen towel. I squeezed what seemed to be a never ending amount of zucchini water out which was strangely cathartic and disturbing, especially when it turned my kitchen towel green (ew). Next you combine the grated zucchini with an egg, parmesan cheese, green onions, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Now I did not have cornstarch (hello low carb) so I put in some bread crumbs (okay those are carbs, I'm only human). Step three is scoop veggie mixture into a skillet heated with oil and mush the mixture into a patty form while at the same time not burning yourself with oil splatter. I get three patties in the pan and start to clean up and grab some cheese. I attempt to flip the patties to crisp on both sides, one is fantastic, the other two are mush. I tell myself not to worry and give them more time. A few minutes later they are still mushy and become new shapes everytime I go near them with a spatula. I manage to flip them over as the first perfect patty almost turns black. (Domestic goddess, domestic goddess, domestic goddess). I quickly decide to assemble them with cheddar cheese in the middle thinking that maybe in sandwich form they will start to behave. As I am placing a second patty on top of the first I hear a crash. Baby girl has found my diaper bag, flipped it upside down and the entire contents of the bag spill onto the tile floor.
Okay, now I start to get tense. Diaper bag securely in the dining room and baby playing with a muffin pan (whatever works kiddo) I go back to my zucchini. I manage to make one whole grilled cheese and transfer it to a plate. Sadly it is not crunchy but soft. I press on, too deep to turn back now and not willing to waste any food. The remaining patties do not crisp and all in all I end up making two and a half "sandwiches". They turn out mushy like pancakes, cheese pancakes, that just happen to be green. There are bits of zucchini all over the counter, oil on the stove and one baby on the floor demanding to be fed. If your husband/wife/partner/pet is anything like mine, one fake sandwich will not be enough of a dinner. Luckily for me I have one cauliflower crust frozen pizza (say that five times fast) from Trader Joe's in the freezer. I recommend this pizza highly since its all assembled and I do not have to sacrifice my kitchen towels in the battle against moisture.
All in all the zucchini grilled cheese was very tasty but not what I expected. I might make them again if I have the nerve and the patience. Another episode of Katie's battle of tricking vegetables to act like carbs.
Here is the link to the recipe I used (with a neat little video) if any one is feeling inspired...
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52458/zucchini-grilled-cheese-recipe/
My husband had an impressive garden this summer and there were some mutant sized zucchini sitting in the fridge. Zucchini is one of those vegetables I swore I would never like but have come to use it all the time. I've made zucchini noodles, zucchini lasagna, zucchini boats etc. (I love me some "faux" meals!). So I decided to try a recipe I saw a while ago, zucchini grilled cheese! Anything with cheese is fine by me. In another life I may have been cheese, I love it that much. So into the kitchen I went with dreams of grilled cheese "sandwiches" dancing in my head and my baby girl on the floor happily surrounded with toys and a whisk that has now been dedicated to her only. Any other moms out there know the dance of trying to make food with a baby crawling at your feet? It's not always the best idea.
First off you have to grate the zucchini into about 2 cups, easy peasy. Then you have to squeeze the moisture out of the zucchini with a kitchen towel. I squeezed what seemed to be a never ending amount of zucchini water out which was strangely cathartic and disturbing, especially when it turned my kitchen towel green (ew). Next you combine the grated zucchini with an egg, parmesan cheese, green onions, salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Now I did not have cornstarch (hello low carb) so I put in some bread crumbs (okay those are carbs, I'm only human). Step three is scoop veggie mixture into a skillet heated with oil and mush the mixture into a patty form while at the same time not burning yourself with oil splatter. I get three patties in the pan and start to clean up and grab some cheese. I attempt to flip the patties to crisp on both sides, one is fantastic, the other two are mush. I tell myself not to worry and give them more time. A few minutes later they are still mushy and become new shapes everytime I go near them with a spatula. I manage to flip them over as the first perfect patty almost turns black. (Domestic goddess, domestic goddess, domestic goddess). I quickly decide to assemble them with cheddar cheese in the middle thinking that maybe in sandwich form they will start to behave. As I am placing a second patty on top of the first I hear a crash. Baby girl has found my diaper bag, flipped it upside down and the entire contents of the bag spill onto the tile floor.
Okay, now I start to get tense. Diaper bag securely in the dining room and baby playing with a muffin pan (whatever works kiddo) I go back to my zucchini. I manage to make one whole grilled cheese and transfer it to a plate. Sadly it is not crunchy but soft. I press on, too deep to turn back now and not willing to waste any food. The remaining patties do not crisp and all in all I end up making two and a half "sandwiches". They turn out mushy like pancakes, cheese pancakes, that just happen to be green. There are bits of zucchini all over the counter, oil on the stove and one baby on the floor demanding to be fed. If your husband/wife/partner/pet is anything like mine, one fake sandwich will not be enough of a dinner. Luckily for me I have one cauliflower crust frozen pizza (say that five times fast) from Trader Joe's in the freezer. I recommend this pizza highly since its all assembled and I do not have to sacrifice my kitchen towels in the battle against moisture.
All in all the zucchini grilled cheese was very tasty but not what I expected. I might make them again if I have the nerve and the patience. Another episode of Katie's battle of tricking vegetables to act like carbs.
Here is the link to the recipe I used (with a neat little video) if any one is feeling inspired...
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a52458/zucchini-grilled-cheese-recipe/
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