Fried Cheese Sticks With Tomato Sauce

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup mushroom, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup fine dry breadcrumb
• 1 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 lb cheese, well chilled (cheese suggestions, swiss, monterey jack, mozzarella, muenster, cheddar, fontina, gouda, edam, havar)
• 2 beaten eggs
• cooking oil (for deep-fat frying)

Recipe

• 1 melt butter in a small saucepan.
• 2 stir in tomato sauce, mushrooms, oregano and basil.
• 3 bring to boil.
• 4 reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 5 cover and keep warm while frying cheese.
• 6 combine bread crumbs, wheat germ and red pepper in a small bowl.
• 7 cut cheese into 2x1/2x1/2-inch sticks or 1 inch cubes.
• 8 dip each piece of cheese in eggs, then into the flour and then the crumbs to coat well; repeat one more time to ensure even coating.
• 9 heat 1 1/2 inches of oil to 375 degrees.
• 10 fry a few cheese pieces at a time for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until golden on all sides. (do not overcook or you will have a melted mess).
• 11 drain well on paper towels.
• 12 serve warm with tomato sauce.