Wednesday, May 25, 2016

how to be your pet's favorite in one easy step


this post was sponsored by the lovely people at nutrish. the comments and opinions are all our own.

my life is pretty high maintenance. with all of my kids running around, work to do, life to live, i needed pets that were pretty low key. i got two cats who, while fairly easy to care for, pretty much glare at me on a daily basis. i used to fool myself into believing that they just had a resting angry face but, no. i'm pretty sure they are thinking mean thoughts in a british accent as they stare at me each day. 


don't get me wrong, they love certain people in our family. the boy cat sleeps with my oldest son every night and the girl cat will sleep anywhere within a five foot radius of my husband. she just sleep by me by default. if i move, she stays put. if he moves, she gets up and leaves the room with him. i'm pretty much superfluous where my cats are concerned. 

it's my fault, really. i gave them names that belong in british literature. mr. darcy has never forgiven me and jane, i believe is just insulted that she got named after a minor literary character and not a leading lady. they have never forgotten who named them and so, i'm not their favorite person.

i can't really blame them. they are loved by so many people in our household that i'm really not needed. i usually walk into a room where one child or another is touching them or petting them, usually when the cats don't want to be bothered. sometimes they are even pet with my child's feet instead of hands. when i tried to convince my four year old not to pet the cat with his feet his response was simply, "she likes my feet the best." who can argue with that? the cats seem happy with that kind of attention and i'm not one to argue with four-year-old logic.

for the most part, the cats exist without needing much from me. the one exception to that is their daily meals. somehow they know that i'm the provider of food and water so when they want one or the other, they follow me wherever i go. it's the one time i feel wanted by them on a semi-daily basis. meal time is the one and only area of their lives that they are high maintenance. first, they refuse to drink from a bowl. ever. if the water isn't fresh and trickling from a stream of water from the faucet, then it doesn't meet up to their standards.  

can you say, "high-maintenance?"

they go one step farther in their neediness as they are sensitive to certain foods and we have found that grain free food settles much better with them than the alternative. because of this, we recently switched from our normal nutrish cat food to nutrish zero grain chicken and potato recipe. our cats have done amazingly well with the switch and seem to be responding exceptionally well to their new food. don't let their resting angry face fool you. 


we have always loved rachael ray nutrish pet food but the new zero grain for cats chicken & potato recipe is even better than what we have used before. it is made with simple, natural ingredients, plus the vitamins and other minerals your cat needs for a complete and balanced diet. there are never any grains, glutens or fillers. u.s. farm-raised chicken is the #1 ingredient. there is zero grains, glutens or fillers, zero poultry by-product meal and no artificial preservatives, colors or artificial flavors. the potatoes and peas are easily digestible and are naturally gluten free to be gentle on a cat's sensitive digestive system. the food gives my cats everything they need to eat and nothing that they don't. they may not notice the difference but i can tell the difference in how well they are digesting their food and how much energy they have around the house. they even look a little less annoyed with me each day. 


the best part about this food is that i don't have to go far to find it. anywhere i run to get groceries, i can find the food i need. if i am every wondering if a store carries it, i can search the nutrish website and get all the information i need to find it in my area. that's about the lowest form of high maintenance  i can find. 

if you would like to try nutrish zero grain cat food, here are three ways that you can get some great deals and even some free bags of cat food to try.
1) head over to the "switch to nutrish" website and sign up to get great coupons and offers.
2) comment on our website or our facebook page. one winner with get a gift package from nutrish with zero grain cat food and some goodies for you and your pet.
3) comment on our website and you could receive coupons for free nutrish zero grain cat food. 

what have you got to lose? free cat food and happy cats are a pretty great combination in my book. who knows? maybe, just maybe i will start to be my cats' favorite person. i'm not counting on it or holding my breath but at least i may move up past the child that pets them with his feet. here's to hoping. 

we love rachael ray and nutrish pet food and we are sure you will as well. you can follow nutrish at:
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NutrishforCats
twitter: http://twitter.com/nutrish
instagram: http://instagram.com/nutrish
pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nutrishforpets/

rachael's rescue: rachael's personal proceeds from the nutrish pet food line go to rachael's rescue. this organization was created to help shelter pets in need. to date, she has donated over $14 million dollars. this money has gone toward food, medical supplies and treatments for these unfortunate animals.

Monday, May 16, 2016

fun finds: awesome shirts for boys


i am constantly on the lookout for fun shirts for my boys that are not exactly like every other kiddo on the playground are wearing. i love my target, but apparently so does every other mama.....imagine the lost and found at school....it's crazy town.....filled with tons of the same things that you have to dig through. as usual, i turned to my favorite site etsy for unique, fun tees for my little men to wear. support small business and embrace the creative goodness.......happy shopping! xo
























































Wednesday, May 11, 2016

mmmmm: gluten free chicken spaghetti


i'm constantly trying to change old recipes to accommodate my new gluten free self. sometimes the results are pretty delicious. this one gets rave reviews from everyone...the four year old up to my 70 year old parents and everyone in between. seriously, i don't have anyone in my family who is not a fan and that is nothing short of miraculous. it's also easy and makes a ton of food...always a win for us. i hope it's a lifelong win for your family as well.


gluten free chicken spaghetti



ingredients:


1 pound gluten free spaghetti
4 large chicken breasts
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1 bag of frozen, chopped onions (or one white onion chopped)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 green bell peppers, washed and diced
2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup chicken stock
2 cans organic, gluten free cream of chicken soup (or make your own) note: this is not a concentrate. it is the actual ready to eat soup.

2 cups cheddar cheese


instructions:


boil the chicken in a pot full of water, 1 tablespoon of garlic and the worcestershire sauce. allow the chicken to cook for approximately 25 minutes. remove cooked chicken from water and shred or chop into bite sized pieces.

break the pasta in half and boil per package instructions. after cooking and straining, rinse the pasta well with water. gluten free pasta is typically more sticky than other pastas and rinsing helps to eliminate some of that.

sauté the peppers, onions, garlic and butter until onions are translucent and peppers are soft. set aside.

in a large pot, melt the cream cheese until smooth. add the cream of chicken soup, the chicken stock and all the spices. mix well.

add the pasta, chicken and vegetables to the sauce mixture and mix well.

place half of the pasta mixture in a large casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray. cover with one cup of cheddar cheese. layer the rest of the pasta mixture and top with the last cup of cheese.

bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. enjoy!