Zucchini Casserole

Here is another great recipe from my college roommate Jen. This is a vegetarian dish with a meat option.

Zucchini Casserole:
2lbs zucchini and/or yellow squash
1 box cornbread stuffing
1 can cream of celery soup
8 oz sour cream
2C shredded cheddar
1 can sliced water chestnuts

*optional chopped cooked chicken

Cook stuffing according to package directions. Boil sliced zucchini until tender. Drain. Mix all ingredients except 1C stuffing and 1/2C cheddar. Spread mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Top with remaining stuffing/cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min or until headed all the way through.

Italian Crockpot Chicken

I love crock pot recipes! This one came from my college roommate. It tastes like the creamiest Chicken Alfredo.

Italian Crockpot Chicken:
1 to 1.5 lbs of chicken breasts/tenders
1 package of dry Italian Seasoning (found in the salad dressing aisle)
1/2 C white wine (or chicken stock)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
4 oz cream cheese with chives
2T butter

Brown chicken on the stove top. Line a crock pot (makes the clean-up so easy!). Combine all ingredients and cook on low for 4 hours. Serve over your favorite pasta - egg noodles, angel hair, etc.

It really is that easy! Thanks Jen!

Entertainment

Looking for something fun to do in your area? Check out Go City Kids. This website will help you find things to do in any city. We like to check out this site before we head out on vacation. They even list free things to do in the area. We spent most of our summer doing the activities listed under free stuff.

Free Music

A friend of mine (Kathy) sent me this wonderful find. You can download some great children's songs for FREE at PBS Kids. There are also some great activities for the little ones. Check it out.

Quick and Easy Dinner Recipes

I am looking for quick and easy dinner recipes. If you have one that you would like to share please send it to me so I can post it on the blog. I know we would all appreciate any short cuts in the kitchen.

Get Organized for School

Start the week off right by planning ahead what your child will wear. With this helpful hanging closet organizer from Ikea you can place clothing in each bin for the week. You can even place days of the week labels on each bins so your child can practice reading the days of the week. This is a great way to keep your mornings quick and easy.

Bath Play

Looking for an educational way to let the kids play in the bath tub and clean at the same time? Have the kids play in shaving cream! You can draw different shapes, letters or numbers with the shaving cream on the tile and have them identify what you drew. You can have them smooth out the shaving cream once they have identified the object and have them practice writing the letter, shape or number. This is great for fine motor and cleans the tile at the same time.

Lunch Ideas

As the kids head back to school parents are faced with the difficult task of making healthy lunches. This is a constant struggle in our house with my little guy who is a picky eater. Remember when making your child's lunch you want to try and make the lunch look like a rainbow the more colorful the lunch is the healthier it will likely be. One of my favorite sites to visit for nutritional lunch ideas is laptop lunches you will find several ideas that even the pickiest of eaters will love. While you are visiting the site check out the bento boxes for your child's lunch box they are an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags.

Back to School

Many of us are getting our little ones ready to head back to school. One of my all time favorite back to school books is The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. This is a must read before the first day of school. It is a beautiful story of Chester the raccoon heading to his first day of school and his fears. Mommy raccoon comforts him with a kiss in the palm of his hand and reminds him that she is always with him. This book helps open the door for your child to talk to you about any fears or concerns they my have about the first day of school. For my own kids I will give them "forever kisses" a kiss with my lipstick on their hand so they can look at it and know I am with them. Another idea is to draw a heart on their hand the first day so they will know you are with them and place a note/picture in their lunch box. This makes the first couple of days easier.

Here are a few other great Back to School Books:

If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff
Arthur's Back to School Day by Marc Brown
The Night Before First Grade by Natasha Wing
Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London