Tagged: Pug

21 June, 2012

The French Poodle Vinaigrette

Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together.

LIZ TAYLOR

Welp, it’s official. Doug finally made the leap.

While Chris was getting our mail today, a very mischievous pug met him halfway. Doug’s spent over two years just starring over the fence, but he finally got the courage to jump.

It surprised me that this overly clingy pug would try and escape, but after finding him trying to break back into the yard, I realized he was just taking his attachment to a new level. The only time he likes to get out is to see us. Great…

Onto the next great thing…my mom has introduced me to a delicious new salad dressing, The French Poodle Vinaigrette.

She has been ordering The French Poodle Vinaigrette from California six bottles at a time. My aunt said that she liked it so much that she “took her morning pills with it.” Now you know a salad dressing is good when you’re drinking it straight from the bottle.

I was dying to get one of my own, but they are currently back ordered. To hold me over I went in search of a similar concoction and found Lucini Italia Bold Parmesan & Garlic Artisan Vinaigrette.

It was delicious…but it just wasn’t the same. It had a little too much Parmesan for my liking, but, at the same time, my senses might have been tainted by the surprise cilantro in my salad mix.

I was so surprised. My taste buds were telling me it was cilantro, but I just couldn’t believe it was in the salad mix. After checking the label, I concluded that it really was just part of the bunch.

So if you pick up the Mache Mix at Whole Foods, just know what you are getting into. I wish the Thunder knew what they were getting into upon arriving in Miami. It has been a heat wave and not in our favor.

What is your favorite salad dressing?

18 June, 2012

Spicy Tuna Melt

The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead.

MARILYN MONROE

Sometimes I wake up to the peaceful sunlight shinning into my room, and other times I wake up to the sound of Darth Vader hovering over me wanting to be let outside.

I don’t know what it is about that dog but he refuses to drop his toys, choosing to breathe heavily into them instead. It’s not pleasant at 5:30 in the morning.

Somehow I managed to get through my tired day, possibly just knowing that I was having this for dinner.

Spicy Tuna Melt

Ingredients:

2 (4 ounce) cans tuna

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon dill pickle relish

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt or mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 whole-wheat English muffins

6 slices American or pepper jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine tuna, onions, relish, cayenne, and garlic powder.

2. Mix in yogurt/mayonnaise and mustard.

3. On a baking sheet, top English muffins with tuna salad.

4. Top with slice of cheese and bake for 10 minutes.

5. Enjoy!

What’s nice about the tuna melts is that the cheese holds everything together so you can eat them with a fork or just pick them up to enjoy.

Even if you top with American cheese, the cayenne really adds a nice spice to the mix.

These tuna melts are savory with the onions and garlic, have the perfect mix of chewiness with the soft English muffin, and bring the heat all wrapped in to one little bite.

I scarfed mine down in record time so not to miss one minute of The Bachelorette. I don’t know about you guys, but the boney donkey scene at the end of tonight’s episode killed me.

What’s your favorite tuna recipe?

2 May, 2012

Fiesta Chicken Taco Salad

Life always offers you second chance. It’s called tomorrow.

UNKNOWN

It’s Doug Week! A week dedicated to celebrating my adopted pug’s quirky tendencies. I mentioned yesterday how he is attached to my side, at all times. This means that while my other pug is enjoying the beautiful outdoors, Doug in inside. He literally hates being outside unless I am out there with him.

What kind of dog does not like being outside? I told my husband that I think he lived in the wild before we adopted him, but he thinks that is ludicrous. I don’t know. He does always manage to find empty mayonnaise bottles to feed off of.

Doug, get out of the recycling bin!!!

The only time he enjoys being outside is in our company, especially when we are gardening or throwing him the Frisbee, obviously.

Which is straight where I went to get started with dinner, cutting off some fresh lettuce.

Nothing taste better than fresh produce, which I used to make…

Fiesta Chicken Taco Salad

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast

1 green pepper

1 red onion

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 taco salad shells

1 cup brown rice

1 cup cilantro, chopped

½ lime, juiced

1 cup Mexican Cheese Dip

2 cups Romaine lettuce, shredded

1 cup pineapple, cubed

Directions:

1. Brown onions and peppers in oil over medium heat.

2. Cook chicken. Stir in ½ cup cilantro and lime juice.

3. Stir remaining cilantro into rice and fill taco shells.

4. Top rice with lettuce, onion and pepper mix, and chicken.

5. Drizzle cheese on top.

6. Garnish with pineapple and enjoy!

There is something about the pineapple on top that makes this salad out of this world! Combined with the melted cheese and chicken, it is simple perfect.

Be prepared to eat every bite because there is no going back after you taste how delicious it is.

Knowing that I grew the lettuce, made this salad even better.

Have you enjoyed any vegetables from your garden this year?

1 May, 2012

Mexican Cheese Dip

When you are in Love you can’t fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams.

DR. SEUSS

It’s Doug Week here, and today I wanted to showcase a day in the life of Doug. Okay really more like a day in the life living with Doug. For those of you that don’t know him, he is a Stage Four Clinger. He follows me around all day long like a lost puppy, no pun intended. From the moment I roll out of bed, there he is.

You would think he would stay out of the bathroom. Nope, he follows me everywhere…including the shower. Seriously dude, back off!

I don’t really mind the pestering in the kitchen because I know if I drop something, I don’t have to pick it up.

The kitchen table is a whole other story. He’s quite polite, but it is just kind of strange eating with a dog keeping me company.

The worst part of Doug’s clinger tendencies is when he has to be on my lap at all times. Dude, don’t you realize it is really hot in Oklahoma and so are you! Give me some space.

Just call him Doug, my partner in crime.

Tonight Doug and I got busy in the kitchen. I wanted to try and recreate the perfectly spiced cheese dip I had at Iguana’s Mexican Grill last week. Here is what I came up with…

Mexican Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon butter

½ cup milk

2 cups Fontina cheese, shredded

1 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

Directions:

1. Melt butter over low heat. Add milk and cheese. Continue stirring until cheese has melted.

2. Stir in pepper and cumin.

3. Enjoy!

Iguana’s is my favorite Mexican restaurant here solely for the salsa and cheese dip, and what makes that dip unbelievable is the addition of cumin.

My version taste just like the real thing, only it is made in the convenience of my own home. Score!

This dip is like crack so be prepared anytime you make it.

Do you have any clingers in your life?

30 April, 2012

Skinny Grilled Cheese

Be where you are, not where you think you should be.

UNKNOWN

Instead of having Shark Week, like Discovery Channel’s week-long series of programs dedicated to sharks, I am having Doug Week. This week I am giving you all an insight into the creature we dubbed Doug and all of his “special” characteristics.

Doug is our second child we adopted through Homeward Bound Pug Rescue and Adoption of Oklahoma. When pugs come to my mind I usually think docile, lazy, thick, and hungry. Doug is none of these things. From the minute that boy found a Frisbee, I knew why. Click PugFrisbee to watch him in action.

We have learned to love Doug and all of his quirkiness over the last two years. Be it balls or Frisbees that pug is all over it. Kind of like I am with…

Skinny Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

2 slices Sara Lee Delightful bread

2 slices Kraft 2% Milk American Cheese

Spray Butter

Directions:

1. Coat one side of bread with spray butter.

2. Over medium heat grill bread for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted.

3. Enjoy!

With April wrapping up, I knew I had to get in one more grilled cheese in honor of National Grilled Cheese Month.

A typical grilled cheese sandwich has at least 500 calories, but the Skinny Grilled Cheese is only 180 calories. Score!

I have been swapping in the Skinny Grilled Cheese for years, and my husband actually prefers it. The spray butter toasts the bread more evenly than real butter would, and the lighter cheese makes for a creamier filling.