Geeky Cooking - Potato Crocchette

This is one of my all time favorite comfort foods - Potato crocchette or "Crocchette di Patate" in Italian. I was skeptical towards the idea of serving them to my kids because they are so picky, especially when it come to trying new foods! In the end explaining to them that it was "fried mashed potatoes" convinced them enough to try them and guess what? They liked them!

Potato Crocchette

What you need (makes about 7 large crocchette):

- Parmigiano reggiano, at least 1/2 a cup (the more, the tastier my mother always says!)
- 2 large potatoes
- 2 large eggs
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- 3/4 cups Olive Oil

What to do:

Boil potatoes whole, with skin on, till tender.

 Let cool. Peel off the skin, cut and mash the potatoes with potato masher into a bowl.

 Then add the salt, pepper, parmigiano, and one egg.

Mix the ingredients until well combined.

Mash

In two separate plates pour the bread crumbs in one, and the remaining egg in the other (beaten).

Grab a half hand-full of the mash, press into desired shape and roll it in the beaten egg first, then in the bread crumbs. Repeat with the remaining mash.

Heat a frying pan with the oil on medium/medium high heat. Fry the crocchette on both sides till golden brown, put them on two sheets of paper towels to absorb some of the oil and add salt to taste immediately after removing from oil. Serve and enjoy!

P.S: Geeky tip: You may add some mozzarella cheese and ham/cooked bacon bits in the center of the crocchette to add flavor and nutritional value....

Based on: http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Crocchette-di-patate-con-cuore-filante-di-mozzarella-e-prosciutto.html

Geeky Reorganization!

Today it is the last day I will have the two mini-geeks home with me all day. That's right, on Monday they will start a new school year. It will be different this year though because they will be going to a new school. They are excited but at the same time a little overwhelmed. You have to know that my two mini-creatures do not usually do that well with change so this will be a big challenge but it may also help them learn how to be more flexible. On the positive side it is considered one of the best schools in our city (one of the reasons why we moved). To make it a little less "scary" for the kids I will also be applying to volunteer at their new school, they will see me often and this should help, at first at least.

As if this were not enough, on Monday I will be starting my last college semester too, meaning that I will have to start applying to University and getting organized for my next step towards the "career" world.

To add to all of this I have decided to take on a new fitness journey as well. I will start kickboxing this month to get me somewhat ready for my black belt testing which should take place, as you know, about a year from now. The kickboxing should help with the endurance, weight loss and lean muscle I will need to perfect my techniques.

(Keep in mind that we have no family or nannies etc. to help us out through all of this!)

So these next few months will be pretty intense, considering Eddie (our oldest) will have to take on HIS black belt testing in October, if everything goes as planned. Planning - this is the key and what I will be relying on this coming year, more than any other.

My plan will start by writing weekly and daily to-do lists. By writing EVERY appointment, commitment, meeting or test on our white-board kitchen calendar.

Also FINALLY keeping in mind the "having a place for everything, everything in it's place" technique my father has always tried to pass on to me and my brother (with little successes till now). It's amazing what you will resort to when desperate to get results!

So to get off on the right foot - supplies have been bought, new backpacks ready and, a positive attitude..... check! Check! Check! Now let the fun begin. Bring it on!

P.S: Will keep you posted on the results.

Geeky "7 Habits of Happy Kids"

Two friends of ours, a couple with four kids, suggested that we get this book to read with our children. It is "The 7 Habits of Happy Kids" by Sean Covey.

I have to say I am always a little skeptical about "self-help" sort of books but this book seemed very promising. So we went ahead and bought a copy and started reading it with the kids. It is a book for children but also parents that guides us through certain situations that inevitably arise in everyday life. It teaches kids how to handle the situation by presenting it through the lives of certain animal characters.

For example one "Healthy Habit" teaches that you should always do what you have to do first, then what you want to do. The character in this case is "Pokey Porcupine". He ends up failing his Friday spelling test because he gets distracted doing other things with his friends all week long, forgetting to study for his test.

What I find very useful about this book is that at the end of each tale there are questions for the children to answer concerning the story as well as giving practical ideas to children on how to apply these principles daily. For example, at the end of Pokey's story, it suggests that the child could try to do his/her chore before mom or dad asks him/her.

The mini-geeks love it because it gives the opportunity for conversation and we can all say what we think about the story and what we can learn from it. What amazed me is that it actually worked! The day after we read the "Put First Things First" story, the children remembered to do the dishes WITHOUT me asking! Hurray!

Geeky Legos

In the last three weeks the hyperactive mini-daleks and I have been almost totally confined to our house. Anyone with children (especially very active ones) knows how hard it is for both them and the parent to have to stay in the house all day, let alone three weeks!

 It all started with our six-year-old catching strep throat. Of course it is very contagious so as soon as he got better, I caught it. Now this was just the beginning. A fever started showing up in our oldest son too so I presumed he had caught it as well. Little did I know, after taking him to the doctor's office and a series of chest x-rays the result was pneumonia! :-o Mom's stress and anxiety aside, this caused us to spend another ten days at home (he is fine now, thank God).

Well I am so grateful for the Lego company! They came out with these "Lego creators".

Lego Creator (Motorcycles)

Basically, with pieces from the same box of Legos, kids can make three different models.

Model 1

My youngest son loves these and spent most of the day building, breaking and rebuilding these models without getting too bored (three times the fun and the time it kept him occupied!) They are also pretty cheap (about $15/$20) considering the hours of peace it gave mom too in these last few weeks of illnesses.

Model 2

There are many different types of "Lego Creators". We like the motorcycles, airplanes, cars and helicopters but there are also dinosaurs and buildings. A great, fun, pretty cheap idea to cheer up children who for one reason or the other have to stay inside.

Thanks!

P.S: I thought they were pretty fun too. :D Shhhh...

Lego Creator link: http://creator.lego.com/en-us/Default.aspx