Dog Training Article

As always...Here's another dog training article about teaching the "leave it" cue.

I find this one to be especially useful and important- whether its playing with an item they shouldn't be or trying to bring you a dead squirrel.

(Yes...Riko did do that once several years ago. He was quite proud of his prize and was very offended that I took it out to the field for the coyotes.)

Anyway...Here's how to teach it in parts.

http://www.examiner.com/article/fundamentals-of-training-teaching-the-leave-it-cue

Happy 4th of July!! Fireworks, Yeasty Paws, and Recipes. Mmm.

Happy 4th of July!! Bella is rockin' her patriotism with her scarf and looking adorable if I might add....

There's a number of things that our country could do better and perhaps its a little stuck up to consider ourselves the "greatest nation" (how can you determine where the best country is to live without having experienced other countries and cultures?)
But I know I quite enjoy living here,
and even with our faults,
still proud to be an american.

'Merica.

We all had a fantastic celebration involving margaritas, fireworks, and hanging out with awesome friends. I have to say that my new group of submariner wives (and others too!) have truly become another family and I am so glad to have them. With that said, we had an amazing night, and the details of the events shall remain top secret.

What happens in the group, stays in the group.

Anyway! Now that we have that settled, have I mentioned how much I love coconut oil? I'm eating it and using it experimentally on my spider veins on my legs to see if it really does help. Sure does make your skin feel amazing!
The dogs love it (Bella likes it more than peanut butter) but the downside is that she tries to lick it off of Riko's feet. haha.
Riko's yeasty foot problem has cleared up tremendously! He is now out of the cone of shame. Occasionally he's been getting a dip in solution to keep his feet yeast free, and still getting coconut oil to fight bacteria and keep the pads soft. His large abrasion has now successfully scabbed over.

The worst paw on the first day of treatment....

The same paw three days later after getting nothing but coconut oil on it!

So this all good. Now on top of that tasty picture, I have three delicious recipes to share that I tried the past couple of weeks:

Bruschetta Chicken

http://firsttimehw.blogspot.com/2015/07/taste-of-home-bruschetta-chicken.html

Ginger Steak with Quinoa and Brussel Sprouts

http://firsttimehw.blogspot.com/2015/07/taste-of-home-ginger-steak.html

Crispy Tomato Tilapia

http://firsttimehw.blogspot.com/2015/07/crispy-tomato-tilapia.html

Crispy Tomato Tilapia

I really enjoyed this recipe! In the past my tomato tilapia has been only okay but this is definitely a good recipe to try. 

Also quick and easy!

Ingredients:
3 tbs oil
1 chopped onion
1 c. diced tomatoes
1/2 can of tomato puree
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar
Parmesan
1/4 c. bread crumbs (garlic and herb preferably!)
1 egg
4-6 Tilapia

1. Heat oil in pan and cook the chopped onion for about 3 min. 
2. Add tomatoes, puree, vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 min.

3. Combine cheese and bread crumbs in dish. Dip Tilapia in egg and then coat with cheese mix.

4. Fry in skillet 2 min on each side, then serve tomato over fish.

Super easy! It paired well with a delicious salad with chunks of mango.

Taste of Home Ginger Steak

This has actually become a new favorite of mine...I'm not usually very big into steak but this is a delicious combo! 

The steak is easy and I decided to serve it over quinoa with sauteed brussel sprouts (I think I cried eating dinner. It was so good.)

Original recipe:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/ginger-pepper-steak-stir-fry

1. Combine the first five ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Place cut pieces of steak in bowl and mix so that it really gets to marinade- then set aside. (You can also refrigerate for a few hours to get a really strong marinade, but honestly it tastes just as good without soaking for that long!)
Instead of cornstarch I substituted flour (use twice as much) as well as fresh ginger instead of ground.

2. Stir fry peppers for 2-3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon. (I of course used coconut oil for this.)

3. In the same pan, stir fry the steak and marinade for about 3 min or until preference for done-ness has been reached. Keep in mind that the flour and coconut oil will become a little bit thick so make sure to keep it stirring so it doesn't burn.

4. Return peppers to pan and heat through.

In the mean time... get some brussel sprouts frying and follow the directions on the box for quinoa.

Then enjoy an amazing dinner!!

Taste of Home Bruschetta Chicken

This bruschetta chicken was super delicious and very quick and easy to make!

The link to the original recipe:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/bruschetta-chicken-for-four

1. Dip chicken in flour, then eggs, and then the bread crumb mixture. (I used chicken thighs because I like them way better than chicken breast. The dark meat was so much more moist!)

2. Drizzle with butter and bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 25-30 min.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

4. Spoon over chicken and return to oven for about 5 minutes.

And serve! Delicious with a spinach and romaine salad (garnished with almonds and honey mustard of course!)