Zucchini Tots

This is likely the last you'll hear from me until the bar exam is over on July 30. Excuse me while I panic in the corner.

It feels like we've been doing nothing but studying. We took a brief break on Tuesday to watch soccer (for the sake of being honest, I went for the excellent happy hour specials, NOT the soccer), and it was so nice to feel like a normal member of society.

When we got back, I felt EXTREMELY guilty for taking 3 hours off studying, and I started craving pizza, sushi, pasta, and ice cream.

We didn't eat any of those things, BUT (in case you didn't get the point) I am a MAJOR stress eater. And it's not like I crave baby carrots and spinach when I'm stressed (though how nice would that be?).

SO, as the bar exam gets closer, I've needed to find things that taste unhealthy, but are not unhealthy. Hence, zucchini tots.

Justin was SUPER skeptical: "I don't actually have to eat those, right?" And then he ate 1/2 of them. It doesn't taste like a normal tater tot, but they are SUPER delicious and satisfied my fried food craving.

Here's what you need (from Skinny Taste) . . .

3-4 zucchini, skin peeled off
1/2 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup of bread crumbs (we used GF ones from The Fresh Market)
1/3 cup of sharp cheddar, shred
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Here's what you do . . .

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Shred your zucchini with a cheese shredder - I used one that looks like this, and it worked perfectly. Then, use a kitchen towel to wring as much water as possible out of your shred zucchini. The dryer, the better.

3. Mix dried, shred zucchini, onion, egg, bread crumbs, cheddar, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

4. On a baking sheet coated in non-stick spray, make little balls with the zucchini mixture. I push mine into little flat pancakes. If you weren't able to dry out your zucchini well, you may want to pop the baking sheet with the little pancakes in the fridge for 3-40 minutes - it helps.

5. Bake for 20 minutes total and flip them about half way through cooking. I also turn on the broiler for about 3-4 minutes at the end to get a nice crisp on top. Enjoy!

I've already made these several times - they hit the spot, and I don't feel guilty, which is a huge bonus.

Thank you all for the amazing words of encouragement. I will be needing them over the next few weeks!

See you on the other side!!!!! #oneanddone