Recipe Swap: Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries with Sriracha Lime Mayo

{photo was lost in a blog email address transition 1.24.14}

I belong on a cooking forum and have been there for about a year or so. I enjoy having a cooking blog although it's really not much compared to other blogs. I like to be in the kitchen and I'm excited to make Lauren's baby food in the next month or so.

One thing I love about the cooking forum is the group participation. There are recipe swaps a couple times a month. I have participated in these recipe swaps once before.  I really love the idea of the swaps.  Bloggers are "assigned" another blog A Taste of Home Cooking hosts these blogs each month and provides us with the link below so that you can check out all of the recipes.

I was given Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks as my blog for this swap. I seriously waited until the very last minute to make the recipe because I just could not decide what I wanted to make. I browsed through her desserts, appetizers, main dishes, chicken dishes, beef dishes etc.  I finally had to tell my Husband to browse her blog and pick a recipe. I knew he would pick one, without hesitating like I was doing.

Lately, my Husband is watching what he eats, counting calories, limiting carbs and trying to get more exercise in. So far, it's working! He's lost 9lbs.  While it makes for a challenging time when trying to meal plan, I'm proud of him for sticking with it.

This recipe is a great way to sneak some veggies in to your (or your kids'!) diet.  I really enjoy zucchini (tell that to my 10yr old self!) and usually only make it in a stir fry or on kabobs. This really didn't take any time at all to prepare and could easily be made for a crowd or for one. Make as little or as much as you like!

What I loved most about these is that I could definitely see myself replacing regular, potato french fries with these. They have a slight crunch to them, but the inside is soft, similar to the soft, potato inside of a regular french fry.

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries with Sriracha Lime Mayo
Recipe adapted from: Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 

Ingredients: 
4 heaping teaspoons of flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 medium zucchinis

Sriracha Sauce Ingredients: 
3 tablespoons mayo
1 1/2 tsp Sriracha
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 425. Cover a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Cut the ends of each zucchini and cut the zucchinis into "fry" shapes. You could even cut them in discs if you wanted zucchini chips, I suppose. 

 You'll want to set up a small station. The beaten eggs should be in one shallow dish and in another shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Gently mix together with a fork. 

Put the 4 teaspoons of flour into a ziploc bag. Place all of your cut zucchini in the bag. Zip the bag shut and gently shake the bag until all pieces are coated. 

Next, dip the floured zucchini pieces into the beaten egg, coating all sides. Then, you'll put them into the breadcrumb mixture and again, be sure to coat all sides. 

Place the breaded pieces onto your prepared cookie sheet.  Bake for about 25 minutes until they're golden brown and crispy. 

While the fries cook, whisk together the ingredients for the sriracha mayo. I chilled mine while the fries continued to cook. 

Serve the fries warm with the dipping sauce. Yum!