What a fun one I have for you today - Air Fryer Zucchini - coated in Dot's Cheese Curls.
The crunch and flavor factor are spot on with these!
If you've been around here for any amount of time you know too things about me. 1) some recipes start out as one idea and somehow turn into something completely different and 2) I love Dot's Pretzels.
Here's the back story.
For about a week I had a recipe idea in my head to coat chicken tenders into crushed Dot's Cheese Curls and throw them into the air fryer until crispy. Good idea, right?
Well, life got busy and each day when going to bed I'd say to myself "I forgot to make and photograph that chicken today".
So at about Day 7 of this, I finally opened up the fridge, got out the chicken, unwrapped it and immediately GAGGED at the smell.
My friends, the chicken had gone bad. Rotten to the core. It was awful. Both in the sense that I had wasted {once good} chicken and that my idea had to be thrown in the trash.
I already had the egg wash prepped, the flour bowl sitting out and my Dot's Cheese Curls pulsed to a fine crumb sitting there waiting.
What a waste.
And if you've followed me long enough I wasn't going to let these Dot's go to waste! I love their company, their story and they have jumped on board with my 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways the last two years.
But then I glanced over on the stove where I had a big, 'ole zucchini sitting. I immediately knew my day was saved because my mind went to FRIED ZUCCHINI SLICES.
Coated in Dot's Cheese Curls.
You guys, the substitute idea worked. And worked well. This air fried zucchini is amazing! With just egg, flour, zucchini and crushed Dot's Cheese Curls as the ingredients they don't take much, but still have so much flavor because the cheese curls are so darn tasty.
When these slices came out I immediately called over my 10 year old daughter {as we know, she is our most adventurous eater} and told her to take a bite. She even acclaimed them fabulous BEFORE she dipped them in ranch dressing.
If you have kids, you know that is saying something.
They are cheesy and crispy with a soft and tender zucchini middle. We loved them! One big zucchini makes a couple batches {depending on the size of your air fryer - here is mine for reference}.
We did end up dipping these crispy, cheesy slices in ranch dressing to go along with our lunch, because, well....why not?
They make a fun appetizer or even a side dish in in the Summer {when zucchini are plentiful} to go along with any meal. People will immediately say, "what are these coated in?" I just have no doubt about it.
