In graduate school, I was known as "freezer girl", because every recipe that someone told me about, my first question was always, "Can you freeze it?"
Hey, I was a single gal, and there's only so much I could eat in one sitting! Plus when I was too tired to cook, but too poor to go out and eat (which was pretty much every night as a lab rat grad student), I wanted to just nuke something yummy in the microwave.
Well, a stash of these zucchini bites were my answer! I always made a double or triple batch of these when zucchinis were in season to have enough leftovers to store in the freezer.
Even though zucchini is not in season right now, with the shelter in place still in effect, and all of us trying to minimize grocery shopping runs to reduce risk, getting a big bag of zucchinis, and freezing some of it in the form of these zucchini bites for a serving of tasty vegetables when your veggie bin in the fridge is empty is a good idea. So I hope you give this recipe a try!
They're real easy to make.
The trick to not have soggy bites that fall apart is to mix the shredded zucchini with the salt first and then squeeze out the water.
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| Shred zucchini |
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| Mix well in bowl |
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| Spoon into a well greased mini muffin pan and bake at 400F for 15 min |
Update added Sept 5, 2020: This is a recipe that you can do with the kids. Kids love helping to "paint/brush" the oil on the mini-muffin tin, and mixing the ingredients together, and then spooning them into the cups. It's a good way to introduce healthy cooking to the little ones.
My 4 year-old niece helped make this twice now already, and each time, she said, "Zucchini? I don't like zucchini. Are we making anything else?" But when the finished product came out, she said, "I was confused. I like zucchini when it's like this.", and ate 5 of these in one sitting.
Other recipes kids can help make: Healthier Mac N Cheese
Yields 24 bites
Ingredients:
- 2 zucchinis shredded (about 2 c)
- ½ c dried chopped onions*
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c panko
- ½ c shredded cheese (cheddar, provolone, mozzarella or monterey jack)
- ½ t salt
- ½ t dried oregano (optional)
- ¼ t black pepper
Procedures:
1. Shred zucchini using the large holes of a grater, and place zucchini in a strainer. Mix in ½ t salt and allow to sit for 10 min, then squeeze out the water from the zucchini using the back of a spoon, and discard the water.
2. Transfer squeezed shredded zucchini to a bowl and add in the remainder of the ingredients (dried onions, eggs, panko, cheese, oregano, and pepper). *IF you do not have dried chopped onions, you can substitute with ½ c finely diced red or yellow onions, and add in ½ c of panko instead of 1/3 c to compensate for the added moisture.
3. Mix thoroughly to combine.
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into a well greased 24 cup mini muffin pan (preferably a non-stick mini-muffin pan).
5. Bake at 400 F for 15 min or until golden brown on the edges.
6. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 min in the pan before transferring them to a serving plate. Delicious warm, or at room temperature.
7. To freeze, cool the bites completely, and transfer them to a ziplock bag in a single layer. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and place flat in the freezer. To reheat, remove the number of pieces you want to eat and microwave them for 60 seconds or until warmed through.