ZUCCHINI CHILE

ZUCCHINI CHILE-CHEDDAR MASH
1 tablespoon oil or bacon grease
1 1/4 pounds zucchini (4 average size)
1 medium onion, chopped (5 ounces)
4 ounce can chopped green chiles
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded *
Salt and pepper, to taste

Trim the ends off of the zucchini and shred it in a food processor. Saut?the zucchini and onion in oil or bacon grease in a large skillet over medium heat until very soft, about 20 minutes. You may need to turn the heat down after about 10 minutes to avoid over brownig. Stir in the chiles and cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Put in a 1 to 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake at 350?for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

* The recipe called for only 2 ounces (1/2 cup) which didn't seem like enough to me.

Per Serving: 180 Calories; 13g Fat; 9g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 2.5g Dietary Fiber; 5.5g Net Carbs

This was posted at Low Carb Friends. The author said that she got the recipe from "Eating Well" magazine. As I mentioned above, I put in 4 ounces of cheese instead of only 2 ounces. I skipped the mashing step in the original recipe because the zucchini was already shredded and soft. I also decided to bake it in the oven instead of just heating it in the skillet since I was going to bake some Jalape駉 Chicken anyway. It worked out well because I used half of the 8 ounce bag of shredded cheese on the chicken and the rest in this casserole. The timing was perfect too since both needed to bake for about 10 minutes. I used bacon grease to saut?the zucchini and wished I hadn't done so. I think the flavor would have been nicer with a more neutral flavored oil or butter. I only gave this 3 stars because of the off flavor of the bacon fat but I might have given it 4 stars otherwise. Click the photo to see a close-up.

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