Zucchini Fritters

I despise trying to think of what to make for breakfast and lunch. I don't know why, but my best guess is that during the  "school year" Mike and I get our own breakfast and lunch, and Hailey eats both at daycare. The weekends would consist of the breakfast classics: pancakes, bacon, eggs, omelets, french toast, etc. So, during the summer, I hit a cooking rut. The monotonous routine of cereal, granola bar, yogurt, repeat, no longer works for Hailey and I.  This morning I tried my first different recipe.  It was zucchini fritters. I came across the idea on Pinterest, but if course, gave it my own twist.  Without further ado, here is my pin a week challenge, Week 3.

Zucchini Fritters

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon lemon 
• 1 Tablespoon fresh cut or 1/2 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 medium clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. STEP 1

   Using the large holes of a box grater, grate zucchini into a medium bowl. Add the salt, lemon juice, chopped parsley, garlic, pepper, and eggs. Mix well to combine. Slowly add flour, stirring so no lumps form.

2. STEP 2

   Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until the oil sizzles when you drop a small amount of zucchini mixture into the pan. Carefully drop about 2 tablespoons zucchini mixture into pan; repeat, spacing fritters a few inches apart.

3. STEP 3

   Cook fritters until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium. Turn fritters, and continue cooking until golden, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer fritters to a plate; set aside in a warm place. Cook remaining zucchini mixture, adding more oil to pan if necessary.

   Helpful Tip: Although I cooked the recommended time, the middle seemed really wet or raw. I believe it was the moisture from the zucchini. I recommend patting your zucchini dry before mixing. 

Pin A Week, Week 2: Bathtub Fun!

My 18 month old, Hailey, LOVES the water, but she HATES getting her hair washed.  My husband and I do what we can to distract her, but the little wind up toy that swims around the tub wasn't cutting it.  My first purchase was tub crayons by Crayola.  She really enjoys those and it worked, she barely noticed us washing her hair.  She gets bored easy though, so I needed a backup ready to make the tub double fun!  I found this idea on Pinterest.  The pin explained how to do the project, but I added a little twist by writing some learning opportunities as well. I hope you can use it to entertain your little ones and provide an unexpected learning experience as well. :)

Noodles in the Tub

What you Need:

- 2-3 Pool Noodles (the cheapest I found was at WalMart.  I only used one and she liked it, but it didn't really fill the tub like it recommends)
- Sharp Knife (no serrated, this makes a mess! lol)




What you Do:

1. Lay the Pool Noodle on a cutting board, peice of cardboard or something to protect your cutting surface.
2. Cut into sections that are 1-3 inches in length.  I did two sizes so I could talk about big and small
3. Throw into bathtub and your children will have a blast!

Learning Opportunities:

1. Color Naming and ID- Choose 2-3 different colored noodles so that you can have your child identify and name colors in the tub.
2. Counting- Take groups of anywhere from 1-10 out and put them on the side of the tub to have your child count them out. If they can do more than 10, great! If you have an older child, have them count how many of each color then add them together for an extra challenge!
3. Sorting- Have your child sort by color or size by having a few large Tupperware bins available (they will float in the tub)
4. Size- Talk about big and small. Have your child name big and small and also identify big and small by holding two up and saying "which one is smaller/bigger"?
5. Cause and Effect- Some examples: When I hold the noodle up and pour water on it, it goes through the hole and into the tub.  When you put it under water what happens? (It pops back up.  This can lead into the science activity listed below)
6. Science- Does it Float or Sink?  Although this activity is geared toward older children, it certaintly doesn't hurt for your younger ones to see and listen to the experiment.  They will pick up on the vocabulary as well as the cause and effect of each.  Start by talking about the noodle and that it popped back up from under the water because it floats.  Then choose an object that sinks and talk about how it stays under the water because it sinks.  Have several objects that float and sink available and have your child identify each.

Fun can be learning, so go and have some fun! :)

First of my Pin a Week Challenge

It was bad enough when Pinterest was introduced and you could click and sort awesome ideas and recipes at your convenience, but then they came out with the app for iPhone.  Just click and hold and there you have it!  I have been going "pin crazy" while Hailey is napping lately, intending to find ideas for my classroom, but one pin leads to another.  So I have all of these pins and probably haven't done anything with most of them.  What is the use of pinning if I am not going to do it.  I have seen the Pin a Day challenges, but I don't have time for that between my family, teaching, my side business and now coaching color guard! So I have decided to go with the "Pin a Week Challenge".

My first project was something I pinned to my PCOS board.  Because of the inconsistent sugar levels in my body and they way my body processes those sugars, it is extremely difficult to lose weight.  I needed a visual to keep me going, and this seemed perfect!

Weight Loss Jars

You will Need:

- 2 jars of your choice (I used two cylinder vases that were .97 each at Walmart)
- Marbles, floral stones or something else that can be counted out.
- paint markers or "puffy paint"
- glitter or other decorations

Directions:

All I did to complete this project was use my paint to write "Pounds to Go" on one vase and "Pounds Lost" on the other.  I decorated with polka dots, dusted on some fine iridescent glitter and let it dry.  Once it dried, I counted out how many pounds I need to lose to be at my goal weight, which is 94 pounds! Yikes!  Those stones went into the "Pounds to Go" vase.  I then put how many I had lost already (I made these a week after I started my lifestyle change) in the vase labeled "Pounds Lost", which is 7!  Each week when I weigh in, I will be able to move stones over for pounds lost.  If I gain, I have to move them back :(  My hopes are that I am not going to want to move them back and am going to strive to fill the "Pounds Lost" side, even if it is just one stone a week.  

Hope this is something that can help you too!  Enjoy!