Friday's Food: Zucchini Oven Chips

I didn't take this beautiful picture...it's from myrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  seasoned salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 2 1/2  cups  (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

~Recipe from www.myrecipes.com

Thursday's Thing to Do: Home-Made Silly Putty

Mix together:
1 C. Cornstarch
1 C. Salt
1 C. Flour

Add 1/2 C. water, then mix until right consistency.  (It may take more than 1/2 cup).  It's easiest and messiest to mix with little hands!  This can be stored in a zip-lock bag in the refrigerator

Honestly, I haven't done this one, but came across it in my Kid Recipes and will also be trying it this week.  No matter what the final outcome is, the kids will love messy hands and feeling new textures. 

Have fun!

Friday's Food: Peanut Butter Quesadillas

Because of the survey....I've learned that several of you would like kid friendly food ideas.  I'm glad you thought of it!  What a great idea!  So, Friday's will now include Food, not only Favorites.  Our first recipe is very simple...but if you haven't tried this simple twist on two classics, you really should!

Peanut Butter Quesadillas (kind of...there's no queso)
1 tsp. butter
1 flour tortilla
2 Tbl. Peanut Butter
2 Tbl. Grape Jelly

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Spread one side of the tortilla with peanut butter.  Fold tortilla in half so that the peanut butter is on the inside.  Place folded tortilla in skillet, and heat until lightly browned on each side.  Slice into wedges, and dip in jelly to serve.
You can also serve this unfried, and spread the pb&j inside....a great alternative to bread. 

Thursday's Thing to Do: Children's Play Dough

Play Dough of any kind is a wonderful thing. 

Not only is it fun, it's great for development.  Play Dough is also a great activity to involve children of different ages.  Children from toddler's up to about age 10, and sometimes older, love to manipulate the dough and create anything from snakes to intricate castles.  By playing with play dough, they learn about textile manipulation and creativity.  Young children can also learn about shapes as they use shape cookie cutters or you help them mold the dough into various shapes.  With older children they can take turns being the artist and have guessing games to see what others are making. 

You can use Playdoh, real dough (but be careful your kids don't eat it, they'll have tummy aches), or if you'd like to make your own fun play dough, there are many recipes out there that are great. Here's one to try:

Peanut Butter Play Dough
4 lbs. Peanut Butter
3 lbs. Powdered Sugar
3 1/2 C. Karo Syrup
2 Tbl. Vanilla Extract


Combine all ingredients in no particular order in a large bowl.  Stir until completely mixed.  (This will take some muscle work--hang in there!)  This play dough should be stored in the refrigerator, and should not be used after about three days. 
*(and, yes, it's edible)