puppies
Tidbits
This is one of the Texas hurricane rescues, she was brought back in an effort to save her and her litter. She is heartworm positive with some other maladies and her prognosis is uncertain. She and her puppies would already have been put down had she stayed.
Mmm… red beans and rice. TaMara mentioned the dish in one of her posts and it reminded me that we haven’t had any lately. This one was cooked with a ham hock. I added the andouille late because it will get tough if it simmers a long time.
Here’s a kitteh! Not a hurricane rescue, he is a local kitty boy.
Our fig trees/bushes exploded this year. We put rooted cuttings in the ground spring of ’16 and reaped a scant harvest but this year we should do better.
There are a lot of figs coming on and they are getting to a size they couldn’t match last year.
This one-eyed kitteh has been adopted since the photo was taken. I don’t have any more info than that.
Cheesesteak! This was tasty – I did the flat iron steak sous vide, it was in the water bath 6 hours @140 degrees. For service, it was sliced and added to a pan of caramelized onions and tossed to mix and rewarm then covered with a nice cheese sauce of American and cheddar.
Tommy is a tuxedo kitteh born in March this year. He’s a good kitteh, Brent.
Tidbits
French toast and those teeny breakfast sausages are a big hit around here, Mrs J is up for this anytime. Me, too!
This is another Harvey rescue. Cute as a button and already adopted. SQUEEE!
Kroger has these chicken quarters on sale pretty often. I think they are asking about $1/lb. I usually buy several packages and put them away in vacuum bags.
Crinkle fries and baked beans with the chicken are just perfect. Mrs J is the crinkle fries fan, but I’m no slouch at putting them away.
More of that crockpot Italian beef, this one on a deli bought roll.
This is a really hopeful looking kitteh. It’s not a Harvey rescue but don’t let that stop you! http://www.stfrancis-care.org/
One moar!
I just pulled this lasagna from the oven. It’s made with those no boil noodles. We are going to have it for dinner tonight and I’ll have more photos later.
Tidbits
Bitsy is a fan of boxes but she deemed this one too small.
It’s really too soon for B(E)LTs but I was in a hurry and they make quick lunches. I made do with a Kroger tomato. They can leave the vine on, connecting a half dozen tomatoes, and call them vine ripened but that doesn’t lean for a minute that they taste good.
We have puppies too! 
A trio of picnic side salads. A bog standard potato salad on the left, a copy-cat slaw on the right, and a mish mash of a bean salad in the middle. My usual recipe calls for chick peas but I was out of them and subbed in great northern and black beans. I though it needed more color so I sent Mrs J to the freezer for corn. She said it was white corn but it might do, so we tossed those in as well. It didn’t hurt it.
Beans! I made a double batch because I figure we are heading into peak container garden planting season and they would go well with the other stuff.
Kittehs! A brand new batch.
A sloppy dog, now with extra slop.
Kitchen Is Coming Along Nicely
The kitchen is shaping up. The table and chairs still need a coat of paint, but that will wait until the days are warm for more than just a few hours. The planters need to be hung, but not until we finish the crown moulding.
Took down the old vertical blinds, painted my old wooden rod white and hung my old panels. They are too short, but will do until I decide what I really want on the window.
Bonus puppeh picture:
Why I never get any work done. My faithful staff. They are part-time and trade shifts with the feline helpers.
Bailey is still choosing to sleep in most mornings. Can’t say I blame her.
Tidbits
We don’t have much info on Cleo, AKA Grumpy Kitty. She’s an older kitteh and hasn’t been at St Francis long.
Stir fry chicken and broccoli is a favorite around here. This one has red bell peppers, red onions, and mushrooms in a brown sauce with noodles.
I mentioned doing a brisket in the smoker and finishing it in the toaster oven set to slow cook. Here it is after a night in the fridge to firm it for slicing.
I said the new counter top oven would fit a 10″ cast iron skillet, here it is with beans ready for baking. I use the same skillet for cornbread.
This is the same puppy we last saw with her head in a bag full of chicken. She is a chihuahua mix with what may be terrier of some sort.
The local Kroger has sales on boneless rib eyes pretty often, not sure why that cut is featured above others but they can count on me to grab extra every time.
We often buy frozen shrimp already butterflied and breaded but these I did myself. Dust the prepared shrimp with seasoned flour, dredge in beaten eggs, and then coat with bread crumbs – on these I used panko and they came out great after frying in 350 oil for about 2 minutes.
This is Roma. She’s 4 months old, very affectionate, and would be thrilled to go home with you.
Bixby Diaries: The Struggle Is Real
Sometimes, after a hike, Bixby doesn’t want to go home….
Bixby Update: Foster Puppy Adventures
Bixby is really all leg, isn’t he? Love this dog. He’s maturing into a big sweet couch potato. He has his favorite tug towels and his favorite stuffies – he prefers the ones gifted to him by friends. We spend our days walking, working and visiting friends. As far as he is concerned a play date does not have to include another dog – he’s happy to tag along with any one of my friends.
His latest desire is for Jake (here) to play tug with him. He will bring his blue tug towel to Jake and go into play stance, tail wagging and trying like anything to get him to play with him. If cats could roll their eyes…
Tux (front) and Boots (back)
Our latest adventures include LFern. In the fall, LFern and Mr. LFern lost their beloved belgian tervuren shepherd. LFern decided that she wasn’t ready for a new dog and Bixby visits weren’t enough to fill the void, so she began volunteering at the local shelter. Walking dogs and cuddling kitties turned into fostering dogs in need. The two above are her second run at it. Her first one, Denali, was successfully adopted after a month of recovery from surgery with the LFern family. Denali and Bixby had a great play date and so happy she’s in her forever home.
Yesterday, it was time for a new play date with the two new fosters. Tux and Boots. Full disclosure, Tux completely stole my heart and if we were moved and not still in such a small place, I’d have few excuses not to bring him home.
These guys are very sweet, but very timid. Tux more so than Boots. A great big Dane was a little much for them. So we let Bixby do his thing and they sat around and watched him. I was pleased that Bixby learned their squeals of “get the heck away from me”, and he heeded them. He was happy to go play by himself. This gave them time to become comfortable with him. While they were never quite ready to play with him, they did let him give them a good sniff and they sniffed back.
Watching Bixby with curiosity
I was happily surprised that Bixby allowed me to play with these guys with nary a hint of jealousy. Which gave Tux plenty of time to win my heart. Both dogs are great – Boots is very outgoing and very intelligent – he’s going to be a great companion. He’s got a lot of Bixby energy. Which is probably why the quieter, more thoughtful energy around Tux drew me in. One can only have so many “Bixbys” in their life. LOL. He will have no problem finding his forever home, either.
I’m hoping we get another play date before they go back to the shelter, but if not, we look forward to the next foster.
LFern and Mr. LFern are doing amazing work here and these are some lucky dogs. If you have room in your home, most shelters are desperate for fosters to help socialize animals so they are more likely to get adopted. Try it out. Another friend of mine fostered kittens for several months until they found two they wanted to adopt. In the process they helped many, many other kittens socialize and grow big enough for adoption. Her kids loved it.
Bixby and I are headed out into the big wind (gusts of 60+ mph predicted). He makes a good anchor. LOL. Until next time ….
What's 4 Dinner Solutions 