Marinated Zucchini and Chicken Sandwiches

     Ever thought of making and eating a zucchini & chicken sandwich? 

     I must admit, this has never, ever crossed my mind.

     I recently found this particular recipe as a way of using up some of our zucchini.  Unbelievably, I had all of the ingredients on hand. 

     Surprisingly, we all enjoyed this zucchini-chicken sandwich filling.  We couldn't even tell it had any zucchini in it!  Bonus!!!

Marinated Zucchini and Chicken Sandwiches
Makes 4 servings.

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced lemon zest, optional, or lemon pepper
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound chicken breast or cutlets, or 2 cups leftover chicken
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
• 1 loaf Italian bread, or Italian sub rolls

     Using a vegetable peeler, slice the zucchini into thin ribbons.  Combine peeled zucchini with sliced onion, lemon zest or 1 Tbsp. lemon pepper, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and 2 Tbsp. lemon juice.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste; let stand in bowl on counter for 30 minutes.

     Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste and broil until fully cooked (no pink), or cook using frying pan or microwave.  Shred cooked chicken with two forks, or use food chopper to chop into small pieces.  Add cooked shredded or chopped chicken to marinated zucchini.  Stir in chopped almonds and fresh parsley, if desired. 

    Cut a large loaf of Italian bread in half horizontally, or split open single serving sized Italian sub rolls.  Drizzle extra olive oil onto cut sides of bread, if desired.  Spread bread with zucchini-chicken filling.  Add romaine leaves, if desired.

     EnJOY!