Fun Dinner Idea: Baked Zucchini Fries and Bloomin Onion Sauce (Best Sauce Ever!)

I found a great recipe on Pinterest last week, and really wanted to try it. I changed the listed recipe a bit to suit my taste and it turned out amazing! This was a big hit with the family and the sauce is so yummy! It is pretty versatile so you can use this sauce with tons of your other favorite foods, or even as a spread!

Here's what you need for the sauce :

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar ( you can also use white vinegar)
1 tbsp mustard (Dijon style)
dash of brown sugar
butter for sauteing
1 med to large onion
1 C. Mayonnaise


This is what I did...

1) Cut your onion in slices, then add a stick (half a cup) of butter to your pan. You are going to start sauteing your onion. You want it to caramelize, so this will take about 20-25 minutes.

2) Once you start your onions you can work on rinsing and cutting your zucchini. This will give it time to drain before you bread it. I cut it in half (length wise) turned it and cut again. This made it much quicker to cut the thinner strips. Once they were cut and rinsed I put them in the colander to drain.

3) Check on your onions and get your breading ready for your zucchini. You will need :

Milk or Egg
1 C. Breadcrumbs
1/2 C. Parmesan Cheese
2-3 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

4) Now it's time to start making the sauce! Take you sauteed onions and put them in your food processor (blender or chopper will be fine too). Add your honey, vinegar, dash of sugar, and mustard.

5) You can let the sauce sit while you bread your zucchini. All you need to do is dip your strips into milk or egg then roll in your breadcrumb mixture. I sprayed a baking sheet with Pam and put my strips in rows to bake. These will bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Take them out, flip them, and continue to bake an additional 10 minutes.

6) Grab your sauce mixture and add one cup of Mayonnaise. Mix well and put in a serving bowl or container. I put the sauce in the fridge after this step while I waited on the zucchini.I am telling you...this sauce is amazing!!!

Since I decided on doing something fun and easy for dinner I made quick baked sandwiches from Hawaiian Sweet Rolls and Croissants! Here is what I used:

7) One back of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls cut in half. Add Ham ( I used a Black Forrest Ham) and Swiss cheese.
Several croissants (I used store bought deli croissants) cut in half. Add Roast Beef and Swiss Cheese. The Blooming Onion Dip is great on the Ham Rolls! I also made a side of Aus Jus (in the gravy pack isle) for the Roast Beef.

I stuck these in a large baking pan and put them in the oven with the zucchini fries. These cook at 350 for about 10 minutes or until the bread is slightly toasted and the cheese is melted.

That's it and you're done! That is a simple and fun dinner idea! It is much better for you than a burger and fries and tastes great!! This was a hit and even my kids loved it! I never thought I could get two boys to eat zucchini!

I did make a quick and easy Eclair Pie for dessert. It was completely gone before the next morning! I didn't think to take a picture of the entire thing, but here was a quick shot of a piece! I make this in a 9x13 pan!

Just in case you decide to try this quick and yummy dessert here is what you need :

Box of Vanilla pudding mix
Milk
Graham crackers
Cool Whip (regular size not the large)
Chocolate Icing

Take your pudding mix and make it following the pie directions. Stir in your entire container of Cool Whip. Next, make a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of your dish. Add your Pudding mixture on top of the crackers. Put another layer of crackers on top of the pudding. Cover the top with the chocolate icing and
Voilà you're finished!

Let me know if you try any of this and what your thoughts are! Happy cooking!!

Xoxo,

Brandi