Vegetarian Diaries - Cheesy Zucchini Bites

The dilemma of what to do with all of this zucchini is taking over my life!

I have added shredded zucchini to scrambled eggs (delicious, by the way), tried my hand at zucchini fries (they didn't turn out so well), made lots of zoodles (zucchini noodles), grilled some, added some to soup, made zucchini bread and zucchini chocolate cake.

I found this recipe here .  The whole idea of adding cheese to shredded zucchini and baking it sounded yummy, so, I just had to try it.  Turns out, the recipe was a crowd pleaser.  Even for those who aren't big zucchini fans.

I'm still in search of more zucchini recipes.  You know, like, zucchini soap, zucchini toothpaste, etc.  I'll keep you up to date with my finds.

Oh, yea, here's the recipe:

Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites

Ingredients:

1.5 cups shredded zucchini
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs*
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper to taste


Directions:

Oven 425F.

Grease a baking sheet (or use parchment paper)

Put zucchini on paper towel (or clean towel) to remove excess water.

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix.

Place scoops of mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and slightly flatten with your hands.

Bake 16-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.


*I used ground up oats instead of bread crumbs and they were quite tasty.


If you make Cheesy Zucchini Bites, let me know!  I would love to hear how they turned out!

Enjoy!

The Bouncy Ball Incident

While on vacation, we visited a museum.  As a little incentive and to make it fun for kids, they had a treasure hunt with a prize offered at the end of your tour.  Bella decided to do the treasure hunt.

They had a local artist visiting.  He was painting and talking to people.  RT and I talked with him a bit while Bella tried to find answers for her treasure hunt.  We caught up with her and made our way through the rest of the museum, filling in answers as we went along.

When we finished the tour, Bella turned in her form and was able to choose from a basket of prizes.  There wasn't much of a selection, and she decided on a bouncy ball.  She carried it as we went into a couple of different stores.  As we were heading to the car, she decides to bounce it on the sidewalk.  RT asks for it and he bounces it once, misses it and it goes toward a parked car, rolls under it, then back and rolls down the sewer.

We are saying, "Oh, it went into the sewer!"  People walking by are all worried.

"What went into the sewer?"

I said, "Her ball fell down there.  She just got it."

I didn't want to say, "The free bouncy ball she got that her father carelessly bounced, didn't catch and it landed in the sewer."

Luckily it was only a bouncy ball.  I'm sure we have millions more around the house.

I guess it's one of those life lessons that make you tougher.

Sometimes you put a lot of work into something and it just bounces away from you.

When you put a lot of time and effort into something, you should cherish it and take care of it.

And, most importantly,

Don't let Dad handle your bouncy ball right after you get it.  Especially if he is standing near a sewer.

You know you've had a good time at the beach when there's sand in places it shouldn't be.

My swim suit bottoms worked out great.  Thanks for asking!  At least I didn't almost lost my suit like someone else.

Swim Suit Shopping

Not one of my favorite things to do.

On our last get away, I forgot the bottom half of my swim suit.

Yes.  It was a tragedy.  Swim suit shopping, at least for me, is very depressing.  Trying to find that perfect suit that actually looks good on you, makes you thinner and sexy looking.  Not an easy find.

August is not the perfect time of year to shop for swim suits in the Midwest.  They already have fall clothes (and winter coats) out now.  Swim suits are put out in January (when it's -20F).  The perfect time of year, because everyone is thinking about swim suits in January.

Before we even get to the store, I already decided that I would settle with a pair of shorts.  You have to be open and flexible this time of year.  And, hey, I'm on vacation.  I won't see these people again!  And do they really care what I'm wearing?  I can probably wear a tent and no one would notice.

Unfortunately, the one store we went to (I don't think RT was up for multiple stores) had really large size bottoms and one really small size (I think it was a kid's size and might have fit my foot?).  I headed to the workout shorts section and found a couple hundred pairs to try on.

Please note that RT and Bella are in tow.  I requested their opinion and assumed both followed me to the fitting room.

When I arrived at the fitting room, only Bella was with me.  I assumed RT had other shopping to do.

I tried on a couple pairs and decided on one.  I received the thumbs up from both of my judges on my choice.  (RT appeared out of no where)

On our walk out, RT told us that we disappeared on him.  He was on his phone, looked up and he was hanging out in the bra section of the store.  I'm sure the security team found it odd that a man was hanging out in the lingerie department.

The moral of the story is supposed to be, don't forget your swimsuit when going on vacation.

I think the lesson I learned is, don't leave your husband unattended in the women's section of the store.

Kindness Rocks

They are all the rage.

Kindness Rocks:  a rock, painted with a picture, a bible verse or words of encouragement or love, placed somewhere to be found by another person.  Messages in kindness rocks are uplifting.  Finding a kindness rock can make a person's day.

We found several kindness rocks when we were in Colorado.  Some were around town, a couple when we were on hikes.

Prior to our mini weekend trip, Bella decided to paint a few rocks to bring with us.  (I was told that I could not post a picture of the rocks, in case any of my two loyal followers find them).

On the back of the rock, you can put a # (hash tag) so you can track your rocks and see who finds them and where in the world they go.

Bella placed the rocks and we walked around for awhile.  We returned the same way (back to the car) and the rocks were gone.

We have been checking social media to see who the lucky recipients are and where the rocks are headed.  We hope they make whoever finds them very happy.

That Time I climbed a Mountain....

Yea.  You read that right.

I was out in Leadville, Colorado and the mountain was Mt. Sherman.  RT and I trained for that day.  it's not easy to mountain climb train when you live in the flat Midwest, but, we found a ski hill near us.  We filled our backpacks (I used cans, RT used weights) and we climbed up and down the small ski hill.  Oh, yea, and don't forget my daily walks carrying my backpack throughout the neighborhood.

When the big day came, we hopped into the car and headed to the mountain trail head.  We had a few slight hiccups along the way.

*We took the wrong road

*Our car almost got stuck

*We parked where we were and hiked the last quarter of a mile to the trail head

*I fell a million times going up and down the mountain

*Bella sang, "I'm a Goofy Goober," at the top of the mountain

*I had to walk a quarter of a mile backwards directing RT while he drove in reverse so he could turn the car around

Despite the hiccups, it was a real cool experience.

What's going on in September?

For the last month, RT has come out with a new outburst.  We can be watching a movie, eating dinner, doing yard work, and, out of the blue, he will blurt out, "What's going on in September?"  To which I reply, "I don't know."

When I'm able to grab the calendar, I look and see that we don't have anything going on that month.  RT insists that something is going on but he can't remember what it is...

Recently, I found out that I will have a baby shower to attend.  I remind RT that we will probably host a family get together.  He still insists that something else is going on and we are forgetting about it.

So, I guess my question to all of you is,

What's going on in September?