Zucchini Tots

It's been a while since I've been really excited about something that I've whipped up in the kitchen. I am so excited about this recipe that I am posting it with pics from the original site - I don't have my photos downloaded yet, but I wanted to share this recipe right away!

This recipe was:

• easy
• healthy
• super delicious
• no complaining from kids
• cheap
• hubs liked it

Photo credit

Recipe Adapted from Two Bite Club

Ingredients (makes 24 tots)
Preheat oven to 400

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1/2 white onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 oz sharp cheddar cheese (I used Trader Joe's New Zealand sharp cheddar)
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• salt & pepper

Start by grating the zucchini. I grated it into a mesh strainer positioned over a large bowl. I grated one zucchini with a microplane grater, and after it was grated up, used the back of a spoon to push out as much liquid as I could. Put zucchini in another bowl and repeat with the second  zucchini. You can save the zucchini liquid to add to smoothies, veg stock, or just chill and drink straight up! I tried it, it was actually refreshing and a little sweet.

Add 1/2 white onion (super finely dices) to zucchini bowl

Grate the garlic cloves into the bowl

Grate the cheese into the bowl

Add breadcrumbs (Panko is key! I like Kikkoman brand)

Add 3 eggs and stir all the ingredients together. Add a liberal amount of salt and a few turns of the pepper mill.

At this point I had to run a kid to track practice, I set the bowl in the fridge. When I got back, a lot of liquid settled to the bottom. Next time I will put the mixture in a strainer over a bowl and let it rest in the fridge that way to get even more liquid out.

I used a 24 ct mini muffin tin, sprayed with Pam. This was exactly perfect for the amount of mix I had. I scooped the mixture into the tins, pressing down with my spoon so it was firm. I left a lot of liquid in the bottom of my mixing bowl - I was a little worried that my mix was still too wet - but no worries, it turned out perfectly.

Original recipe calls for 15 - 18 minutes, but mine weren't brown yet, and I wanted them to be nice and crisp - like tater tots!

Cook @ 400 for 35 minutes.

The nutrition stats could be improved. For 8 tots (third of the recipe) - 286 cals, 20 g carbs, 16 g fat, 18 g protein. My kids only ate 4 as a side dish, I ate 8 as my main course. This could certainly be lightened up by using only the egg white, using less or low fat cheese.

But as is - so worth the calories!! They were brown and crispy on the outside (rarely do I turn out a recipe that looks as good as the original blog I found it on - but I did!), it was a light and squishy on the inside. The browned cheese and garlic added a nice strong flavor, while the zucchini and white onion added a subtle sweetness. I had to stop and walk away from keeping myself from eating the whole pan.