Beach Combing

Sharing some photos from last summer at South Padre Island

Cool and Tranquil

Sharing some Botanical Garden photos

Animal Instincts

Sharing some zoo photos

Mangia - Homemade Meatball Recipe

Most folks have a memory of a good roast as their main meal on Sunday.

Not mom. Her Sunday memory is full of meatballs, sauce, bread and pasta. So yesterday, she decided to make dinner from scratch, and share the meatball recipe with you. Well, it's not really "her" recipe - it's her mom's, who we call Meme. When she visited here a few months ago, mom made Meme measure out all the ingredients (instead of doing it by "feel").

Presenting, Homemade Meatballs by Meme

Ingredients:
2 pounds Ground Beef (80/20)
1 pound Ground Pork
1/2 Large Onion - Diced, Cooked and Cooled
3 Large Eggs
1 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Grated Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste (about 4 pinches each)
Parsley for Color

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Put all of your ingredients into a large bowl

Mix the ingredients together. Be careful to not compress or overmix the meat. Put your hand into a "claw" and mix lightly with your hands. Compressing the meat or overmixing it will result in your meatballs not being light and moist.

Once everything is mixed together, roll them into balls. The size depends on your own preference. Mom likes large meatballs, so she makes them kind of huge. But any size you like is OK. Again, don't compress the meat when making the meatballs. Take a handful into your hands and lightly roll them into balls. 

Pop them into your heated oven, and cook for 15-30 minutes. Mom's usually take about 27-28 minutes. Meme's usually take 15-20. It all depends on your oven. 

The meatballs are done when the outside is slightly browned. 

Add the meatballs to your sauce. Don't forget to add the drippings - it adds flavor to your sauce. The meatballs will taste better after cooking for an hour or so in the sauce. 

Now, it's time to eat and enjoy! Mangia!

Hot, with some relief in sight

We've been pretty lazy around here lately. I only go to class if it's cool enough, which means I've skipped a lot of classes lately. No walks. Quick trips outside to do our business. Back to the cool house, and just nap.

It's supposed to cool off today, so I'm hoping I go to class tonight. Keep your paws crossed.

Getting my rear kicked

OK, so the contest for Creekside Pet of the Year isn't going so well. I have lots of votes, but nowhere NEAR the number that the top dog has.

What am I to do?

I would like to share why I want to promote Creekside, and all the good they do.

When we moved to Texas, mom was a little worried about finding a new vet. That was way more important than a house, job, etc. Luckily, we went to the Pug-o-Ween, sponsored by DFW Pug Rescue. Creekside was there, so mom decided to give them a call. Was she ever glad she did that. They are so wonderful, caring and competent. They especially helped Levi during his final months, giving him the best possible care. Dr. Fischer was there at all hours to help mom with any questions, and always made time to see him when things got bad.

The added bonus is that Creekside takes care of a lot of DFW Rescue Pugs - which means they REALLY know Pugs. And that's important. They also attend their events, so even when I'm not in for an appointment, I get to see the good folks that work there while I socialize.

So please head over to the contest and vote for me www.creeksidepetoftheyear.com

I'd love to be able to spread the word about Creekside and ALL rescue Pugs. After all, I'm a rescue myself.

Help a girl out, will ya?

Mom entered me in a contest, and I need your help for us to win.

The contest is with our vet, the fabulous Creekside Pet Care Center. If I win, we get a credit at my vet AND will be featured on their website and marketing materials for a year. Yes, I would be a SpokesModel!

But I need your help to win this. The winner is the dog with the most votes. You can vote every single day, and the contest ends June 30.

Please, please, please vote for us. It's a Facebook contest, so you have to "Like" the page, go to "vote for a pet", then vote for me. I'm about halfway down the page. Here's the link to the page:

Creekside Pet Care Contest

Here's the picture mom sent in:



How can I not win, right?

Feel free to spread the word.