Anyone Want To Help Tim Brush The Cat's Teeth?

Seeking applicants now for this super great job! Otherwise, I get stuck with it! So, back to the vet tonight for her follow up from the dental and tooth pulling (what was left of it). All looked well from the cleaning, and we left armed with all sorts of goodies including the referral and name of the cat dentist in Indy...and it's not just Indy, no it's CARMEL. Even farther away! (I was quick to point out to Tim, however, that at least we could hit Memoirs while poor little Garden Kitty was getting her full mouth xrays and tooth extractions if it comes to that, if not, we'll go anyway and they can sit in the car!)

We also got a cat toothbrush and toothpaste that supposedly tastes like fish and nuts, and some liquid oral mouth rinse. Now, I want to know why when we go for our dentals we get a free name brand toothbrush and toothpaste and GK's products cost us a good twenty-some dollars tonight. I find it unfair.

So, the plan is this. Three times a week Tim and his helper will attempt to brush GK's teeth. Funny isn't it? At least there is a fighting chance that she'll let him in the long run. And we can be assured he won't lose any fingers in the process cause she's just not a biter.

Then he has to put a dab of this blue gel stuff on his finger and smear it on each cheek inside her mouth and I forget how often that is. Maybe twice a week? Or daily maybe. Anyway, the bottle will last two months refrigerated.

This is gonna make for some great pictures and scrapbook pages. I'm sure you can hardly wait. I know Tim can't.

Oops, How Could I Forget The Big One?

The big, giant Christmas tree that hogs up half my den space? Oh yeah, that one. It still is tucked (well, smashed actually) away in the closet waiting to be pulled out and decorated! I had planned to go back to our tradition of decorating it Thanksgiving weekend since I'm staying in IN this year but with KET coming that Monday I'm thinking sooner might be better.

So, okay, one more to go.

Unless I break down and try doing a travel themed tree this year....so that would be two more. Okay, not done yet. Still at the getting there phase.

Let The Panic Begin

Well, we've been asked to let KETV come and film our house/collections/Christmas decorations and the d-day date is November 26th. That is 3 weeks and 3 hours away. I'm not freaking out, I'm really not. There is still much to be done and a lot of it is in the dusting department. I worked hard and fast all day Sat and part of today and I have to say I've gotten almost all the decorations out and the trees done. One more to go and that will be a done deal after tomorrow. I did even start on dusting the den. It always goes faster than I think it will but it's definitely not the hightlight of the season or anything.

Tim still has to put up his tree, the aluminum tree and his decorations upstairs but he plans to work on that soon. He's been super busy the last couple of weeks with freelance jobs so decorating has been put on the back burner. And he wanted to enjoy the last of Oct without every nook and cranny screaming Fa La La.

So, I'm really not freaking out.

I'll keep you posted on that if it changes though.

Here's Another One

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cans of chicken
1 can rotel
1 can cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
Salsa
1 package shredded Mexican cheese
Mexican Seasoning ( I can never find Mexican seasoning, use taco seasoning)
Garlic Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Flour tortillas (about 10)

In large bowl mix canned chicken, rotel, cream of chicken soup, ½ of the sour cream, 2/3 of the package of shredded cheese, and seasonings to taste. In another bowl mix the rest of the sour cream with equal parts of salsa. Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with non stick spray, and pour a small layer of the sour cream mixture in so the tortillas don’t stick. Spoon the chicken mixture into the tortillas and roll up, layer in the casserole dish. Add a layer of the sour cream mixture followed by a layer of filled tortillas. Top with the rest of the sour cream mixture (I always use more than the recipe calls for, so I would make extra). Then top with the remaining cheese (and again I always use extra). And bake covered at 350 for 30-45 min, take of top for last ten min. Can be done in a crock pot, low for 4 hours.

Recipes

It's 1:16 am and why not post recipes on my blog? I should actually be working my way up to bed but what the heck.

Here's the one that was talked about tonight at the crop. Makes a lot and is pretty quick and easy. Great if you need a large amount.

Double Cheese Spaghetti

8 oz spaghetti
8 slices bacon, cut in small pieces
½ of a med onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs ground beef
3- 8oz cans of tomato sauce
4 oz can mushrooms, sliced, drained
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 ½ tsp salt, optional
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I use more!)
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (I use more!)

Cook spaghetti and drain. In a large skillet, fry bacon and drain
and crumble into small pieces. Add onion and beef and cook
until done. Mix tomato sauce, mushrooms and seasonings in.
Simmer for 15 minutes. Combine meat sauce and spaghetti.
Place ½ the mixture in a 3 quart casserole dish. Top with ½
the cheeses. Repeat. Bake 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

I have left out the bacon and mushrooms and it tastes the same!

And another all time favorite, this one is SUPER easy:

Beef Rice Skillet Meal

Place 1 pound ground beef in skillet and cook until browned.

Remove from heat and stir in:

1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 lg can of diced tomatoes, not drained
3/4 cup raw rice
4 oz mushrooms, optional

Cover and cook low about 30 minutes
or until rice is tender. Sprinkle
1 cup or more shredded cheddar
cheese and cover. Cook until melted.
Add more cheese and melt in
microwave if desired.

Are you still wanting more? This a great recipe and very different. The buffalo sauce makes it. You can even make the meat and freeze it.


Buffalo Style Empanadas

3/4 lb lean ground beef
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup purchased buffalo wing sauce
1 (16.3 oz) can Pillsbury Grands Refrig
Buttermilk Biscuits
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese
½ cup ranch salad dressing

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown beef in
large skillet, stirring frequently. Drain.
Add onions and buffalo wing sauce and
mix well. Remove from heat.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press each
to form 6 in. round. Spoon beef mixture
evenly onto half of each biscuit. Top
each with 2 tbsp cheese. Fold dough
over filling and press edges to seal.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 to 17 minutes or until
golden brown.

Microwave ranch dressing and cheese
until melted. Spread mixture on
cooked empanadas to cover.

A super favorite and can be frozen, although not quite as good as the first time around, but almost:

Garlic Gourmet Chicken Breasts

6 large boneless chicken breasts
2 cups dairy sour cream
¼ cup lemon juice (bottled)
2 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp paprika
2-4 garlic cloves, minced (I used already minced garlic, the equiv. measure
is on the lid!)
8 oz pkg chicken herb seasoned stuffing, crushed (I used Wal Mart brand)
¼ cup melted butter

Rinse chicken, trim fat, and pat dry. In non-metal container, combine sour cream, lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika, and minced garlic. Add chicken to sour cream mixture, coating each piece well. Cover; refrigerate over night or up to 24 hrs.

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Remove chicken from sour cream mixture and roll in stuffing, coating evenly. Place in ungreased 13 x 9 baking dish. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 ½ hours or until golden brown.

Macaroni Casserole

Cook 1 cup uncooked macaroni in water in drain.

Mix with 1 lb sharp grated cheddar
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayo
grated onion, optional
1 can chopped mushrooms, optional

Put in a greased 1 ½ qt glass casserole.
Cook at 350 degrees for an hour.

Okay, there ya go, gotta love having them right there in Microsoft Word to just cut and paste....now I'm off to bed. Happy cooking.

Plano Box Update

Good news! I miscounted and I only really have 11 of these so one more can be added down the road! Whew!

Let's All Go Fishing! (Or My Least Favorite Store To Shop At)

I absolutely despise going to Bass Pro in Clarksville. It's just not my kind of store. You can never park close to the entrance because of the whole ambiance of the place, the boats parked out front, yada, yada, yada. Then once you trek to the overdone, oversized entrance, you have to squeeze through a turntable to get even further inside then you have to trek to the back of the store to get to the fishing and tackle area. Now that my friend is exciting stuff. Fishing rods, tackle boxes, and fake bait. Wow.

And I go through the same thing every time when I'm there on my hunt for the Plano Stowaway tackle box. They never have it on the floor, they are out of them or they have moved them. Which was the case tonight. They had moved them. I carry the style number with me in my wallet if you can believe that because of this repeated scenario. We look it up in the catalog, the very unknowledgable kid/employee plugs the number into this handheld thing and discovers they have 11 to sell. Nobody knows where they are hiding these 11 but they have do them this time.

He finally is directed to a top shelf now in the middle area of the fishing area and finds two for me. Then I lug them to the front and check out and the girl asks me if there's anything else I need/if I found everything ok, blah, blah, blah. Uh, no thanks. I'm done.

Why do I do this you ask? Well, a scrapbooker has to do what a scrapbooker has to do. It's chipboard letters. I am now the proud owner of 12 of these boxes and this is it, I'm outta room. Does that mean no more chipboard letters or what? I'm afraid to think about it. But for now, I have room with just minor shifting to be done and I can put away my new Doodlebug sugar coated chipboard alphas.

And I survived yet another trip to Bass Pro. I even get the catalog in the mail I'm such a good customer. Scary.