Savory Beef Left Over Cookies

    If you follow my blog, you know I hate to waste. I try to use every bit of leftovers from our home. Whether it's feeding our dogs raw diets, or freezing them to use in pet recipes. Over the weekend, I created a new recipe. I took some savory beef scraps and drippings from a roast. I want to share this with you because my girls went bonkers for these and I know your fur babies will too!

Savory Beef Left Over Cookies

    Back home, our loved ones raise farm animals for meat. When we were moving, they stocked up our freezer with grass fed beef and pork. (We have amazing family!) Last week, I cooked up a hearty beef roast. I took the drippings from the crock pot and froze them, as well as scraps from the roast that we didn't eat. I knew these would make fantastic cookies for our dogs. Using just a few other ingredients that I had in the pantry, I whipped some tasty vittles. Are you ready to get started?

What You Need:

• Cooked Beef Scraps (I'm not one to measure when I cook or bake. My best guess was about half a cup of shredded beef)
• Beef Drippings (I used about a 1/4 of a cup.)
• 1 cup of Oats
• 1 cup of Flour
• 1/4 cup of Water
• 1/4 cup of Applesauce (unsweetened, but cinnamon in it is fine.)
• 1/4 cup of diced (cooked) green beans

PREHEAT OVEN to 400°

    Normally, I used my Ninja and blend up the meat and veg, however, that somehow ended up in the attic. I actually didn't even find it until Sunday afternoon. (Thank goodness because I love that thing!) So I just sliced and tore up the beef. Then I cut the green beans into smaller pieces.

    Add in the beef drippings, water, and applesauce. Mix well. Next you'll add the oats, and stir. Lastly, add your flour a little at a time. Once you get a thick dough, you're ready for baking. I lightly greased my cookie sheet. Then, using a tablespoon, I dropped dough onto to pan. (I didn't use the entire tablespoon, so if you want a measurement, I would say the cookies are about half of a tablespoon.)

    Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool, and let your fur babies enjoy! You can store these in the fridge for a week or so. Since there's no preservatives, I freeze mine. I take out a few each morning to thaw. They last that way for months.

Yields approximately 3 dozen

Protect Your Eyes from Water

    One of Liam's sensory aversions is water in his eyes. So it's imperative that he can protect his eyes from water.

Protect Your Eyes from Water

I don't personally care for water in my eyes, especially if it's highly chlorinated. However, for my son, it's a sensory nightmare. So having quality goggles on hand is a must. I just got Liam two pairs. (He's kind of in between, so i got him a child's pair and then an adult pair. I have to cover my bases. ;) )

Free to Fly Kids Goggles

    I love this set. It not only comes with goggles, but also a nose plug and ear plugs. Liam won't swim without a nose plug either, so this was a big selling point for me. The goggles are made from hypoallergenic silicone. They're latex and PVC free so they're safe for your kids.

    The lenses are electroplated and have a mirrored coating. This helps to filter out harmful rays. So not only will these goggles keep water out of their eyes, but they will offer some protection from the sun as well. The strap is easily adjustable so you won't have to fight with it to get them to fit your child.

Free to Fly Adult Goggles

    Liam is a growing tween. We're at the stage where he's not only in between a child and adult emotionally, but size wise as well. So I also grabbed him a pair of Free to Fly's Adult Goggles. These sleek goggles are pretty cool. So much so, that my husband snagged them until Liam grows into them. (Guess I will be ordering another pair!)

    The adult goggles from Free to Fly feature a double layer silicone seal to keep water out of the eyes. The gasket is made to accommodate different facial sizes, nose sizes, and even hair length and thickness. Assuring that anyone whom wears these goggles won't have water in their eyes. These goggles even have a buckle on the strap making them super easy to put on and take off.

    Anti fog goggles means you won't have to worry that air temperature and water temp will be fogging up your lenses and making seeing harder. These goggles have a mirrored coating to protect from UVA and UVB rays. The polycarbonate lenses are panoramic, offering you more viewing area.

Perfect Holiday Gift for Water, Beach and Yoga Lovers

     I love to give practical holiday gifts. That's not to say that I don't enjoy giving fun presents too. However, I was raised that something useful is an amazing gift too. So if you have a water, beach or yoga lover on your holiday list, then this post is for you!

Perfect Holiday Gift for Water, Beach, and Yoga Lovers

    These Quick Dry Water Shoes make a wonderful gift! They're super comfortable, lightweight, and feel like second skin. Whether you or someone you love needs a pair of shoes for the pool, or for yoga class, these fit the bill! They're durable, yet cover your feet well. The non skid bottoms will help loved ones from slipping on wet floors, or when maneuvering those different yoga positions. They can easily be rolled up and slipped into a purse, backpack, or gym bag.

Beach Combing Must Have

    We finally followed our dreams, and bought a beach home. We're now walking and a short driving distance from area beaches. This means we do a LOT of beach combing. Liam has been asking for a pair of "beach shoes," but not just any shoe will do. He's autistic with sensory issues, so he's super specific about what he needs. They can't be too heavy, scratchy, or make any kind of squeaking noise. The shoes must also be easy to get on or off, with no laces. So when I saw these Quick Dry Water Shoes, I knew I had to check them out.

    As soon as they arrived, I slipped them on. I wanted to test them out myself, since I'll be putting them away to give him as a Christmas gift. I was super impressed. They easily slipped on my feet, and we were very comfy. I walked around the house, and even put a bit of water on the floor. There was no squeaking sound, and they kept me from slipping on the floor. The bottoms are great because they will protect Liam's feet from hot sand and any sharp shells we may come across on the beach.

Let's Talk Specifics: These shoes are 

• Made of breathable, lightweight fabric, so don't worry about sweaty feet
• Have sturdy soles made of synthetic material
• Made with quick dry material so shoes won't stay wet long
• Perfect for gripping when walking

tRuth, JusTEAS, and the American Way

    I'm sure you can tell by this title that I'm talking about tea again. Well not just any tea. Another amazing blend from TeaBook. If you believe in justice, equality, and the power of women, then this is the tea for you!

tRuth, JusTEAS, and the American Way

Ruth Bader Ginseng is a new blend of tasty tea, from TeaBook. This green tea has a blend of lemon myrtle and organic ginseng. It smells and tastes wonderful. Start your morning off right with a steaming cup of RGB tea. Let the qualities that makes Ruth Bader Ginsburg amazing, be your inspiration to be the best human you can be.

Ruth Bader Ginseng is number five in the PoliTEAcal series. As a person, Ruth is one of my heroes. She is fierce, hard working, and stands for what is good our country. While you're partaking in your RBG Tea, take time to pore over the wrapper. You will see images of the many things that make Ruth a real life super hero!

    It features her fight to protect the fourteenth amendment. The rainbow shows how she stands up for the LGBTQ community. Her life's work has been spent fighting for civil rights, which really does make her a super hero! You'll see references to her Jewish heritage, her home of Brooklyn, and her love of opera, and staying in shape.

More from TeaBook

TeaBook also has other tea series. Each with inspiring people, and punny names. I'm loving the Fred TEA Mercury. This organic tea is Bohemian Raspberry. (Get it!) What Tchaikovsky? Are you a fan of his works of music? What about his tea? Yes, he has one too! It's Chaikovsky tea, and you guessed it, it's Chai tea! (One of my personal favorite flavors of tea.) Chaikovsky and Fred TEA are part of TeaBook's LBTQTEA series. So whether your identify with LGBTQ or you're an ally, show your support and enjoy a tasty tea!

These are just a few of the awesome and inspirational teas that TeaBook has to offer. To see them all, head to their website!

Follow TeaBook via  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Instagram  /

CelebriTEAs by the TeaBook

    I come from a long line of tea lovers. I am told that my great aunt four times removed, came from Czechoslovakia and actually used to read tea leaves for family and friends. (Umm, that's awesome!) Needless to say that when I discovered these celebriTEAs I knew I had to have some.

CelebriTEAS by the TeaBook

    In all honesty, what originally drew me to TeaBook teas was the artistic covers and catchy names of their teas. Last Christmas I gave some to my babcia, mom and sister, and we all had great laughs over the names and images on them. The one no one would drink? ImPeachMint tea. It features Donald Trump and all of the reasons he shouldn't be on office. Now the tea itself sounds so tasty, but the cover was just to great to destroy. These teas are actually collectTEAbles, so we were right not to destroy the foils. We all have one on display in our homes, and they're a great conversation piece.

Barry Berry Tea

    With that being said, now they have Obama tea, or Barry Berry Tea. (Seriously, their word play is fantastic!) This time, I thought ahead and grabbed a bunch of these. TeaBook was also cool enough to send us eight by ten posters of the art in that is featured on the foil. Liam grabbed one, ran upstairs, and hung it in his bedroom. (Obama is his favorite President of all.)

    The art on the tea foil involves all of the things that made Obama great. For instance his Nobel Peace Prize, the Garden of Eden for his religious views, and so many more. You have to get some of this tea just so you can look at the intricate art, and see if you can pick out all of the things the artist included about Barrack and even his wife, Michelle.

Let's Talk Tea

    The tea itself is amazing. The Barry Berry Tea is fruity with a hint of spice. That's because it featured Hibiscus, rosehips, dried pomegranate, cinnamon and orange peel. Is your mouth watering yet? Being a tea lover, mine was as soon as I read the list of goodies in each tea bag. It's caffeine free so if you want a sweet and spicy night cap, this tea is for you.

TeaBook is the Coolest

    I kind of collect teas. As a matter of fact, I have drawer and a canister that is packed full of loose bags of teas. To be honest, it's a bit of a mess. Which is where TeaBook comes in. This lightweight book, holds up to one hundred and forty-four bags of tea. It fits easily on a shelf in the pantry or even on your coffee bar. You can easily see all of the tea you have and if you have guests, they can pass it around to pick their flavor. I mean seriously, how handy is that? So be sure to check it out.

    And, since you're one of our loyal readers, you can use Teatime2018 for 10% off your order. The holidays are coming. Stock up on tea for family and friends. While you're there, grab some for gifts. Trust me, they make wonderful conversation pieces.

Fresh Doggie Kisses

Wow! It's already been two weeks since I started the Whimzees Thirty Day Challenge with Josie. Let me tell you, we're all impressed!

Fresh Doggie Kisses

    Two weeks ago, when Josie would try to kiss us, we all would recoil. Her breath was horrid! It broke our hearts because she would look so dejected. This combined with the fact that she absolutely refuses to let me brush her teeth. Seriously. My sweet old girl will take your finger off if you try to get at her teeth for brushing. We were told we could have her put under to have her teeth cleaned at a vet. That didn't sound like a good option. She's getting older and I don't want her under any anesthesia unless it's medically necessary.

    These are just a couple of the reasons we wanted to take part in the Whimzees Thirty Day Challenge. We're certainly glad we did too! Within a few days her breath was already better. Fast forward two weeks, and and it's even better yet. I honestly can't get a good look at her inner teeth because I happen to like my fingers. However, her front teeth already look a bit cleaner, and I can see there is less build up around her gums. (This tartar and plaque residue is what causes pet breath to be so awful. Not only does it make their breath stink, but it's not good for their teeth either!)

Two Weeks to Go

    While there are still two more weeks in this challenge, I am already impressed with the results. Just one healthy Whimzee per day has helped my baby girl so much. She loves them too which is another bonus. You can join us as well! Just head to Chewy.com and grab some Whimzees for your fur baby.  

Keep Their Litter Fresh

Litter is the bane of my existence. I love my furry granddaughter, but with a sensitive nose, I can always smell the litter box. It doesn't matter where it is in the house, or how often it's scooped.

Keep Their Litter Box Fresh

    Liam is in charge of Clara's care. It's his cat, and the condition on getting her was that he was to take care of her. Which I personally love because I just get to play with her and love on her without worrying about scooping her poop or emptying her littler pan. However, we've tried a few different litters and I just wasn't that impressed.

    First of all, as I mentioned, I have sensitive olfactory glands. Meaning I can smell a litter box from anywhere in a home. So one of the reasons I wanted a new litter was to get something that didn't smell of clay, or urine, no matter how clean the box is. Another reason is I don't like the clay dust. Both myself and my son have asthma, and filling and dumping a litter pan results in a ton of dust when using traditional clay litter. We were in search of another litter option that didn't include clay. So what did we choose?

My gorgeous granddaughter Clara

Frisco Crystal Cat Litter

    We do all of our pet shopping on Chewy.com. (If you don't you're missing out, so get to their website stat!) Liam and chose to try Crystal Cat Litter by Frisco. Liam was excited because he was thinking crystals like quartz. However, I did set him straight, and told him that even though it isn't quartz crystal, it's still made of absorbent crystal like material. These lock in urine to stop that dreaded pee smell emanating from the litter. It really does work. Since putting the Crystal Cat Litter in Clara's pan, I haven't smelled any pee!

    Get this! If you only have one kitty, then just one bag of Frisco's Crystal Cat Litter could last for up to a month! Because this litter is so absorbent, and the crystals lock away odors, this litter will last longer than traditional clay litter.  In the long run, that will save you more money. Which is a huge plus as well!

    Simply scoop the solid waste from the pan every day. Then stir around the crystals. They're lightly scented so it will release a light summery scent. Voila! Fresh and clean litter pan in a matter of minutes. I love the ease of this cat litter!

Non Tracking

    Another thing that bothers me about litter is how it gets tracked all in front of the box. I loathe that! Cleaning that up every day gets annoying. However Frisco's Crystal Cat Litter is low tracking, which means more of it stays in your cat's box. And don't worry, those pretty crystals are gentle on kitties feet as well. So head to Chewy.com and stock up on some Frisco Crystal Cat Litter. You won't be sorry!