a healthy alternative to fries or an unhealthy alternative to veggies. you decide.

you'll have to decide how you feel about this one. tonight we had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli for dinner. nothing exciting or fancy, but of course, it was delicious. andy got a hankering to be a sushi chef for a short instant and decided he was going to fry the broccoli butts. they turned out nothing like the veggie tempura we order when we go out to sushi, but my goodness they were yummy. i dipped one in ranch, ate it, and declared: this is such a great alternative to the french fry!

as i continued to eat my dinner i thought about that comment. we weren't even having french fries with dinner this evening. so really, the fried broccoli wasn't a good alternative to the fry but was a bad alternative to good old steamed broccoli. oh well. it was scrumptious and i thought i'd share it. it would be great as a side for any dinner and may be good for those who don't like to eat their veggies! here's the recipe:

put a frying pan on the stove with oil in it on medium-high heat. it's important that the pan be hot before you drop the broccoli in.

prepare three bowls and set aside in a line.

1. season a cup of flour with salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika.

2. one egg, whisked

3. panko (or breadcrumbs) seasoned with salt and pepper

slice broccoli stalks into quarter inch thick pieces

blanch the stalk pieces

dip the stalks of broccoli in the flour, then in the egg wash, and finally in the panko.

put the broccoli into a hot pan with olive oil in it. brown on each side.

serve hot. they go great with cold ranch