Things Keeping Me Sane This Month: June 2015

I feel like a vampire right now...sequestered indoors with all the lights off. I planned on having a blog post up yesterday but I had a horrible migraine hit me around midnight (Wednesday) and was very sick and pretty much continued on that way for 12 hours. Once I started to feel somewhat human again I had no energy left and mindlessly laid on the couch binge watching Netflix. Now I have succeeded in giving myself a sinus infection from puking so much the past day. Awesome! Things could be worse though so I am just sitting here with a box of Kleenex while all three of the boys lay on the couch with me sleeping. Enough whining! I wanted to just do a simple post today and share some things with you guys that I am totally adoring right now and that are currently my favorite so far this month. I will also tell you why they are my favorite. Some are products and some are books/tv/movies. Here we go!

#1. MasterChef - This show is on it's 6th season and I have watched every single one. I love it. It's a nicer version of Chef Gordon Ramsey than Hell's Kitchen (which I also love) and I just find it fun to watch all these home cooks put into these crazy tests and situations. It's a nice way to relax for me and zone out for 45 minutes.

#2. Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek, M.D. and T.J. Mitchell - I read the description of this book on Goodreads and I knew I had to read it even though it sounded really morbid. It is morbid but it always instills the message of live life to the fullest and it's just such a captivating read. I don't want to give much away but it had me laughing at some parts and then cringing in others. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and definitely cried during one chapter. Books like this that are out of the normal every day reading for the average person remind me why I love to read so much. 

#3. The Weeknd - Where do I even start?! His voice...sweet baby Jesus. Perfection. I don't find him particularly attractive but his damn voice is what makes women faint. Not all women but the women who know what a sexy voice is. I better quit before my husband divorces me.

#4. CoverGirl LipSlicks Smoochies Lip Balm - It's the perfect balance between a lip balm and a lipstick. I have at least 5 of the shades and my favorite is the darker shade Text Me. I can actually pull it off without looking gothic! 

#5. Organic Dark Sweet Cherries - I eat these like candy. They are so delicious! I add them to little smoothies I make with coconut milk and pomegranate seeds...best thing ever. I think I could just live off cherries but then I would probably weigh 500 pounds because they are so sweet and sugary. Whatever, no regrets! 

Well sorry for the tiny boring post. Hopefully I will feel like a normal non-sick human in a day or two and then I will post more interesting things. What have you been enjoying this month? Let me know! 

Winston Wednesday: Apple Banana Pumpkin Oh My! Muffins

Are you ready to spoil your dog? Here is a great and easy recipe to do just that! It has been Winston approved as well. I spoiled the cats on Monday with some homemade treats so I figured today I would make Winston some special treats. I literally looked in the pantry and pulled out what seemed like a good ingredient and went with it. So I had no idea if this would work out or not but I gave my makeshift recipe a try and it worked!!! I was thrilled and so was Winston. Now I am going to make it easier for you than it was for me by adding in little tips. So here you go, my made up recipe for my made up treats, which I am calling:

Apple Banana Pumpkin Oh My! Muffins

(Makes about 12-13 muffins)

* 2 cups of oat flour

* 1 Tablespoon of baking powder

* 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree

* 1 ripe banana (smashed)

* 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

* 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter

* 1 cup of water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get a cupcake/muffin tin ready by greasing it with non-stick cooking spray (I always use coconut oil spray). Set aside for use later.

2. In a large bowl combine pumpkin puree, banana, applesauce and peanut butter.

3. In another bowl combine the oat flour and the baking powder.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ones mixing in a little at a time then when it gets too thick add small amounts of the 1 cup of water. Alternate adding the water and then the flour mixture until its all mixed into the one bowl together.

5. Once it is all mixed together pour it into the cupcake/muffin tins and set it in the oven on 350 degrees for 25 minutes. 

The final result. Not the prettiest things but Winston will be the judge of how they taste!

Winston's final verdict was captured on video just for you guys. Let me know what your dogs think of these if you end up making them! 

Meow Monday: Homemade Tuna Bites

Today I decided to spoil my cats just a little extra than I normally do and I was thinking of either making them a toy from scratch or some treats and I settled on treats! This recipe is really easy and I honestly had all the ingredients already in my pantry which was nice. I found the recipe on Pinterest and figured I would give it a try. Although every post on Pinterest makes everything look all beautiful and professional...I don't have the patience for that. This is the link to the original post which I changed a bit by omitting catnip and renaming because I like my name better: Design Sponge Here is my messy take on the whole thing and Charlie and Jasper's reactions which good lord Charlie would not leave me alone once the can of tuna was opened up where as Jasper was a little gentleman and kept his distance.

Homemade Tuna Bites

(makes about 3 dozen or 2 if you make them larger)

* 1 (5 oz) can of tuna, packed in water
* 1 cup of oat flour
* 1 large egg
* 1 tablespoon of olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper which you can set aside for right now.

2. In a mixing bowl or food processor combine drained tuna, oat flour, egg and olive oil.

Charlie was making it difficult to do anything.

3. Mix together well. It seems really thick and kind of dry but it is easily manipulated.

All mixed together

 4. Roll the dough into little balls and place them on the parchment paper. I then decided to just press them down to flatten them a little by using my thumb because I wanted to make sure they cooked nicely. They look huge in this picture but they are quarter size.

Charlie waiting for the first batch to go into the oven

5. Bake the treats for 10-12 minutes at the 350 degrees. 

All done! 

I then let them cool down and started another batch and once I was done I put them in this little container to keep in the fridge.

You can store them in the fridge for up to 7 days

Once they had cooled down it was time to let Charlie and Jasper test them so I brought one to Charlie who was sleeping on the couch and immediately Winston stole it! So I had Charlie come into the kitchen for better results. As for Jasper he pretended not to want it but as soon as I left him alone he gobbled it up. 

Well I hope you guys enjoyed this little post today and there will be a new one going up on Wednesday so make sure to check back! :]