Friday, February 10, 2012

Zucchini Cheese Wedges


Just a quick blog today!
Sue and I are having a Valentine's dinner party tomorrow so I have a bazillion things to prep still.
I love Valentine's day. I know everyone says it isn't a true holiday and it's created to make money for the retailers.
Harumph I say to those people.
I think any day devoted to love is a great day. I know it's specifically targeting romantic love but we celebrate it as a day of showing love to everyone.
Anyway, this blog isn't about Valentine's Day. I will rant more about that in another blog :)
This particular blog is about the yummy photo of the zucchini chips that you see above.
Only 3 ingredients and you are on your way to low carb, cheesy heaven.


Zucchini Cheese Wedges

Ingredients
1 large zucchini
2 eggs
2 cups shredded cheese
(We used a pre-shredded blend from Kraft, I believe it was the "Tex-Mex" blend)
 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
Sprinkle of seasoning salt (if desired)

Directions.
Preheat oven to 450. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Draw 6 - 8 inch circles on the parchment paper and then flip paper over.
Cut ends from zucchini. Shred. Mix with egg, cheese, and flax until well combined.
Pat mixture firmly and evenly into the 6 circles.

Before the cooking begins.

Bake at 450 for about 12 minutes. Loosen and gently flip the circles over. Bake for another 5 - 10 minutes - until cheese is nice and crispy.  (Hint - I rotated the cookie sheets from front to back and then top to bottom every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking.)

The first side is done. Just need to flip over and crisp up the other side.

Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt (if using) then cut each circle into 6 wedges.
Let cool completely on wire racks for 6 - 8 hours. You want them to air dry for a bit.

Let them completely cool and air dry before storing them.

To store - keep loosely in a bag or plastic container in the fridge. Best used within a week of preparation.
Note - after the wedges have dried completely you can place them in a plastic container and toss with popcorn seasoning to achieve different flavors.

I brought these to the office for everyone to try and they were a hit. You don't taste the zucchini at all, it's mostly just the crispy cheese that you taste. I can live with that.
I didn't season mine with anything but the sprinkle of seasoning salt but it would be interesting to try them tossed with the popcorn seasoning.
Oh, we also cut our circles into 8 wedges instead of just 6. We liked them a bit smaller.

I would have to say the only challenging thing about this recipe is flipping the circles over halfway through cooking. I tend to panic with things like that - that's why I haven't attempted crepes - but Sue is the flipper master so she did it no problem. A hint for you - if you loosen it from the parchment paper with your flipper and it feels like it is separating then just put it back in the oven for another minute or two and then try again. It should hold together quite well to be able to flip.

And, a last note, according to my calculations the nutritional info for approximately 1/3-ish of the recipe (so, 2 circles) is - 150 calories, 1 carb, 1 fibre, 10.5 protein, 13 fat.
Don't quote me on that - it will depend on the cheese you use, the size of your zucchini, etc.... Over all though it is a great low carb, high protein, mid-calorie snack.

47 comments:

  1. I would never have thought to do something like this. What a great healthy snack.

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  2. Hi there, love your blog!

    Just made these super tasty treats and had a thought.....what about making a huge baking sheet sized (like a rectangle) one then flip halfway (upside down) onto another baking sheet?? Using a pizza cutter to cut in squares after?? I will try and let you know.

    Thanks again for your wonderful and flavourfull recipes!

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    1. Thanks you for the kind words! Great idea with the pans....let us know how it works!

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  3. I made these with scallopini, and it was delicious! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. Love the idea but I have a question for you. Why do you need to allow them to air dry for 6-8 hours? Could you just eat them straight out of the oven while they are nice and hot?

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    1. Yes you can eat them hot. You just want to air dry them if you plan on storing them so they don't get soggy

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    2. So you have to leave them on the rack that long

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  5. Stuck like glue to parchment paper. Never seen that happen before! Couldn't even get a corner off!

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    1. I really think the baking paper/parchment is the problem, cheaper ones can stick, invest in a good brand.

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    2. Totally agree. Good baking paper shouldn't let anything stick. The fat from the cheese helps to grease it all too.

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  6. Okay so what am I doing wrong? Mine are stuck to the parchment paper like I've glued them down!! I did manage to get some off, but it's a proper mess and not at all successful. I love the idea, just need some help on the execution! Should I be non-stick spraying the parchment?

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    1. Honestly, I've never had that happen so I'm not sure what would be causing that. You could try spraying the parchment paper with cooking spray to see if that helps. Sorry I can't be of more help :/

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    2. I think some people mistake wax paper for parchment. That might be the issue. I have never had anything stick to parchment.

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  7. I laid a new sheet of parchment on top whe i took them out of the oven...then i flipped them with the new parchment now on the baking sheet. I then peeled the original piece off like a fruit roll up...Voila!

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  8. why the flax seed?

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    1. Just for the added nutritional value. It is not totally necessary to the recipe if you do not want to use it :)

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  9. I think the flax seed also helps to absorb some of the moisture of the zucchini. I've made a baked zucchini & cheese casserole, twice, and found it better when added some golden ground flax.

    This looks like a great idea!

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  10. Will this work using egg whites?

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    1. I'm sorry we have never tried it with just egg white. If you do give it a go - please let us know how it worked out for you! :)

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    2. In my experience, egg white makes things go soggy. In some recipes I sometimes use just the yolks for that reason. So they might not crisp as readily with whites only.

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  11. These were SUPERB! Served them to guests here in the South with garlic cheese grits. My guests tied me down, kicking and screaming (no shades of gray) and tickled me until I give them my "secret" recipe. You have new fans. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I'm a professional dieterMarch 15, 2015 at 4:44 PM

    I just made these and they are AWESOME!! Thank you so much!

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  13. Ok Thanks! Do you know approximately weight or cups of zucchini? At this time of year there really aren't any "Large" ones out there! Would like to make for tomorrow night!

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    1. Oooh...that is a tougher question MIndy. It's been a while since I've made them and at the time I didn't measure. If I had to guess I would say approximately 6 to 7 cups.

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  14. Ok Thanks! Do you know approximately weight or cups of zucchini? At this time of year there really aren't any "Large" ones out there! Would like to make for tomorrow night!

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  15. How do you get 6-7 cups from one zucchini?

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    1. I'm not sure where you get the 6-7 cups? We just used a large zucchini.

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  16. I consider a large zucchini to be about 18 inches long, so a rough guess as to how many cups, or what size you consider to be "large" would be really helpful. :)

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  17. I went to a couple sites and the closest I could get to a measurement was a large zucchini is 11 1/4 ounces. I would say you could use up to a pound and it would still be fine

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  18. I really like to grate my own cheese because those pre-grated cheeses have been coated with cornstarch so the pieces don't stick together. That's fine if you aren't trying to stick to a low carb diet.

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  19. For everyone asking about the size of zucchini - it really doesn't matter that much :) If it's huge, add more cheese. If small, use two. You don't want marrow sized zucc but otherwise, anything will do. When grated mine was probably 3/4 - 1 cup, and it worked great :)

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  20. Thanks so much for this recipe :) I've made it twice in 24 hours because I love it so much!
    I made them square and cut them into quarters when cooked, that way they're like crackers. Delicious :)
    I also grate my own cheese, and found this recipe works fine with just one egg (probably even fine without an egg, the cheese would hold it together well!)

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  21. I used Kraft fat free cheese cut a ton of fat! great snack, loved it!

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  22. So when you say need to dry...what about leaving in oven after cooked, but turn down to 250 for 30 min???

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  23. Maybe I missed this, but what is the reasoning behind drawing a 6 - 8" circle on the parchment paper and then turning it over?

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    1. It's in the instructions but - the reason is you use those circles to form your zucchini rounds.

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  24. I am wondering if a TBS or two of Coconut flour mixed would absorb most of the moisture?

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    1. We've never tried doing that Ellie, but if you do try it please let us know how it turns out!

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  25. We dont get large zucchinis in South Africa - our large is about 12cm long with 1.5cm dia. - very small. Could you perhaps give me an estimate in grams?

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