Ethel (the Tree Cat) Makes the "Daily Cute"

Remember when I was talking about the oft-tree-bound Methyl last week?  Well, she charmed some friends of ours by killing a snake in the backyard this past weekend... and made Parade.com's Daily Cute.

For more photos of her sleeping on the changing table, click through here...

Happy Friday!

The Daily Cute

My friend Jon has just about the best job I can imagine - he finds a cute picture, writes a corresponding cute caption, and it's published on Parade's "Daily Cute".  Nice life, huh?

It just so happens that yesterday's "Daily Cute" featured my very own Bean the Cat a.k.a. Beanjamin Button a.k.a. BeAndre Jordan a.k.a. Jaisa's BFF.  Jon needed a cute picture that had to do with baseball so he could reference spring training.  I tried to get Bean to snuggle up inside of a baseball glove for a nap but she had none of it.  Luckily, she was down for cuddling with a baseball instead:


Now that you've seen the shot from Parade, here are a few outtakes that didn't quite make the cute cut:

Happy Thursday.  Stay cute, Bean!

Homemade Bacon & Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here's a quick recipe I made for my furry little friends to show my love -  homemade heart-shaped dog treats hot n' fresh out the kitchen.

I shared another homemade dog treat recipe a few weeks ago and I have since tweaked it a bit, added some ingredients, ran it by the bassets for a taste test, & am ready to share with you!  This new recipe includes two ingredients that my dogs go nuts for - peanut butter and bacon grease.  Like my last recipe, I love that everything I needed to make these was already in my pantry (or, in the case of the bacon grease, in a sealed jar underneath the sink so nobody can steal it, open it up, and hide in a closet while devouring it, FRED).

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 cup bacon grease (heated slightly so it's liquid)

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup water

1 egg

Mix all ingredients together and knead the dough into a ball.  Cool in the fridge for half an hour and roll out onto a floured surface...

... and then cut the dough into shapes:

Bake in an oven at 375 for 20-25 minutes.  Remove when the edges of the treats are crispy and golden.  Like the last recipe, your kitchen will smell incredibly good (unlike the last recipe, I was not tempted to taste test since the memory of solid-to-liquid bacon grease was very fresh in my memory).  Allow the treats to cool, feed to your dogs, & stay hungry!

 

PS - Last year's pet-centric Valentine's Day craft...

Basset Snacks: DIY Dog Biscuits

Happy Friday, readers!  Sarah at Total Basset Case is featuring Fred & Tillie over on her blog today and in honor of the occasion, I figured I would share a quick and easy dog treat recipe so you can make snacks for your favorite pups from scratch.

The best thing about this recipe is that these are all ingredients I had at home when I decided to experiment with dog treats on a whim.  Here's what I used:

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup oats

1/2 cup broth (I used veggie broth but chicken, beef, etc would work, too!)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

Mix all of the ingredients together...

...and then knead by hand until you have a ball.  Chill for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once the dough is chilled, roll it out on a floured surface and use a cookie cutter to make your treats:

Put the treats onto a greased or nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

At this point, your kitchen will smell pretty tasty.  Remember: these are for your dogs.  Take out the treats and place on a rack to cool.

Once your treats are cool, store them in an airtight container for up to a week.  This recipe makes 48 treats, so you'll have plenty for your favorite dogs.  Enjoy the weekend and stay hungry!

Valentine's Day Sachets (or Cat Lady Strikes Again)

A few years ago, I went on vacation with Jesse's family to the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. We rode bikes around the small towns, rented kayaks, & ate amazing food. While there, we visited a lavender farm and I brought home a big plastic bag of loose lavender flower buds. I'd been meaning to use it but never did anything. This Valentine's Day, I finally got around to putting the flowers to use - paired with a pretty fabric, I made a quick & easy sachet.

First, I cut two small squares of fabric and, right side in, sewed three and a half of the edges shut...

I flipped the fabric so that the right side was now on the outside....

...stuffed with lavender and sewed the open edge shut.

A perfect little gift for V-Day.

And while I was at it, I grabbed some catnip and made up one for our cats. My dad told me once that I had "early onset cat lady tendencies." I can't imagine where he'd ever get that impression...

Stay homey!