More Super Bowl Recipes

Following suit with our previous posts, we're preparing our beloved City Greeners for a Super Bowl smorgasbord. The central theme of our featured recipes incorporates a healthy twist on the old favorites.

Today we're featuring two concoctions. The first is a favorite pub food - onion rings! These little guys are battered then baked in the oven instead of fried. The second delicacy is an alternative to french fried potatoes- they are oven "fried" zucchini sticks!

Happy cooking, City Greeners.

Oven Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet yellow onions
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat
• 1 Tablespoon seasoning blend, such as Cajun or jerk
• Olive oil or canola oil cooking spray  

Preparation

1. Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat 2 large rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Cut off both ends of each onion and peel. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick (or slimmer) slices; separate into rings. Place the rings in a medium bowl; cover with cold water. 
3. Combine flour and baking powder in a shallow dish. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs and seasoning in a third shallow dish. Working with one ring at a time, remove from the water, letting any excess drip off. Coat in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in egg and let any let any excess drip off. Then coat in the breadcrumb mixture, shaking off any excess. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Generously coat the onion rings with cooking spray.  
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn each onion ring over and return to the oven, switching the positions of the baking sheets. Continue baking until brown and very crispy, 8 to 10 minutes more. 

Makes 6 servings of 6-7 onion rings each. Active time: 40 minutes; total time: 1 hour. 

Oven Fried Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients

• Canola or olive oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds zucchini (about 3 medium), cut into 1/2-by-3-inch sticks
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. 
2. Combine flours, cornmeal, salt, and pepper in a large sealable plastic bag. Dip zucchini in egg white, shake in the bag to coat, and arrange, not touching, on the baking sheet. Coat all exposed sides with a generous amount of cooking spray. 
3. Bake on the center rack for 10 minutes. Turn the zucchini and coat any floury spots with cooking spray. Continue to bake until golden and just tender, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Serve hot. 

Makes 4 servings. Active time: 20 minutes; total time 40 minutes. 

Onion ring recipe and pictures courtesy of EatingWell.com
Zucchini fries recipe and pictures courtesy of EatingWell.com