Teacher Appreciation

Teachers are an extension of you.  You depend on them to direct your child in their learning when they are not at home.  Great teachers are those who positively influence your child, beyond the book knowledge.  We have been so thankful to have such wonderful teachers at my oldest daughter's school.

This year, for teacher appreciation week, we gave her this:

Apparently we ruined a perfectly good mascara day.  I know how that can be.  We, especially my daughter, will sincerely miss being in her class.

Reorganizing your counters

Sometimes all it takes is moving a couple of things around to make you wonder why you never thought to do it before.  I moved my toaster oven to another counter to allow a larger workspace by the fridge, where I was also storing knives and cutting boards.  Now I can also fit my food processor when I need to get it out. I also have more space when I am packing lunches and doing other food prep.

Why did it take me almost 6 years to think of this?

We have a section in our kitchen with mini-cabinets (less depth) and a counter.  I store my food processor, stand mixer, blender and some cookbooks there.  They're at a comfortable level for picking up and moving to a workspace, but out of the way when I don't need them.

What are your counter-top organization tips?

Zucchini Pasta

I was reading a recipe on Whole Living lately that was meant to be vegan.  I chose to change it up a bit, to fit our family's style, and thought it may be a way for my kids to actually enjoy zucchini, which has been a hard sell.  When my youngest saw zucchini in the fridge, she got excited and said "Yay, zucchini bread!"  LOL  I had to try very hard not to disappoint.

Before I share the easy way to make this meal, let me tell you about my excitement to hear that Consumer Reports named my food processor, the Breville Sous Chef, the best out there.  I had a nice Kitchen Aid that lasted me for about 13 years, but it was on it's last leg, and so I replaced it late last year.  The Sous Chef makes me happy.

To make the Zucchini Pasta, I took 2 large zucchini and cut them in half lengthwise and also in half the other way.  Then I used my french fry attachment to cut them.  For us, I boiled 1 cup of whole wheat penne.  While that was boiling, I sauteed the zucchini with 1 minced fresh garlic clove and fresh cracked pepper in about 2 Tbsp olive oil, over medium heat.  It took about 12 minutes for both the pasta and the zucchini.  I did cover the zucchini some, so that it would be tender-crisp.  I served with our favorite marinara sauce and some fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese.

What a healthy meal!  The zucchini was good enough to replace pasta, but I have to ease my family in, and there's no harm in a little bit of whole wheat pasta.  The kids ate the zucchini, and even said it was good, and that's good enough for me!