Max...

So today Max is exactly 7 months and 1 week old TODAY!! :)

He has brought so much joy to my life since we got him!! I will admit that I never thought I would ever have my own pet, let alone a puppy/dog... About 2 months after I arrived here I started missing Milo a lot (I had spent everyday all day with him for like almost 3 months, and he really was just too cute in everything he did), so I started getting 'broody' for a puppy :)

On September 16, 2011. Dustin took me to the Utica Pet Shop to have a look at some puppies, I had found them online so I was a bit nervous they were going to be dodgey... But they were FAR from dodgey, such down to earth owners and they had a GORGEOUS selection of pups! I remember being allowed to go to the back where all the crates were, and I remember seeing my little boy in the second crate at the top with another pup. While Dustin and the owner were discussing politics (ugh! this is a regular occurrence where ever we go together!!) I watched my angel and his buddy playing (wrestling each other), and all you could see was a "ball" of light and dark fluff rolling around (in not very much space), I was going between the two of them, and finally when we were able to move on to see more I just kept wanting to go back to that second crate at the top level to see the little apricot furbaby... The owner then asked me which one I wanted to look at and I walked over to Max's crate and told him the white one. The moment I held my little boy I knew he was the one. So Dustin and I got the chance to sit in the front of the store and play with him a bit, while Dustin and the owner spoke MORE politics...

We then paid the deposit, and sadly went home to prepare the arrival of my new baby boy <3 :) The next day September 17, 2011 we went to pick up my little boy - me being too overwhelmingly excited!! Haha

He got use to his new home fast (in about 3 days) and soon started ruling the roost :D

Here he is through the months since I got him :)

My New Keurig Machine...

Dustin got me a Keurig Coffee Machine for Christmas, and I must tell you, this is an amazing machine!! I love it sooooo much, it is awesome for making one cup of tasty coffees - flavored or plane! I can also make my own iced coffee and iced teas in the summer - I can't wait to try that out!!

Here is my Keurig Machine....

Last night Dustin and I went to bed bath and beyond and got some yummy K-Cups. I got Mocha (YUM!) and Chai Latte (Again YUM!) and Dustin chose some Starbucks plane coffee. They also had the carousels so we got one of those too :) here it is filled up with my new K-Cups :)

It's really awesome to see it work, so instead of me explaining took a video of me making a Mocha :)

Breakfast In A Muffin...

While playing around on my Pinterest I can across a pin someone had pinned on their board and thought I would add it to my blog...

Breakfast in a Muffin (go to Elizabeths blog - she has some interesting and yummy recipes http://pleasenotepaper.blogspot.com/2011/04/breakfast-in-muffin.html)



I adapted the recipe from this one... and by adapted, I mean, I took a slightly lazier approach.

Ingredients:

1 package refrigerated biscuits (the kind in the tube)
large eggs (one for each biscuit)
monterey jack or cheddar cheese
butter to grease the muffin tin
salt and pepper
bacon

Grease your muffin tin. Flatten each biscuit with the palm of your hands and line the muffin tin with them. Fill every other cup... (please excuse my makeshift tins, I really need to invest in a decent one).



Place sliced cheese in the bottom of each cup. I used monterey jack because it's my favorite but cheddar would work well too. Crack one egg into each cup.



Top with a little more sliced cheese.



Bake at 375 degrees until the eggs have hardened. The biscuits seem to cook faster than the eggs. I had to cover the muffin tins with aluminum foil halfway through the baking process so they would not burn.

Once they are cooked through, add some bacon and enjoy!

If you're feeling extra innovative, you could add some hollandaise sauce to these. I'll definitely be doing that next time.

Dustins Spare Ribs...

I have ALWAYS heard Dustin speak about 'my spare ribs', and so the other day I was doing some weekend grocery shopping and saw a rack of pork ribs and thought about buying some for him to make - now bare-in-mind that I don't really like ribs, but when I was here Au Pairing Kim use to buy a rack of ribs from COSTCO. and I absolutely loved them... I still to this day remember how they tasted and still remember the day we all ate them! :) I decided to try the "famous Dustins ribs" and called him for the ingredients he needs.

He made them on a Sunday (I think it's two Sundays ago now). I made some Spaghetti Squash for the first time ever - I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, and some Cauliflower Mash - YUMO!!!! The ribs weren't bad, still no COSTCO. ribs, but they were nice! :) Here's a pic of what they turned out like...

Blueberry Pancakes...

This week I made some Blueberry Pancakes for Dustin and I for breakfast - they turned out SO delicious!!

Porcupine Potatoes....

So I have just recently been introduced to the new craze ~ Pinterest, and so decided to see if this would work if I tried to Pin it to one of my boards :) For some reason I have been thinking a lot about Porcupine Potatoes - my Mom use to make some delicious ones! I don't know if the stores here will have the ingredients as home (South Africa) that my Mom uses, I actually keep forgetting to check - I may be wrong though :) Don't know what a Porcupine Potato is? Have a look at the pic - I couldn't find one that looks like Moms, so basically imagine this potato with the seasoning on top, and you can make the slices thicker if desired...

It's really pretty easy...

PORCUPINE POTATOES



Potatoes (however many you want)
Olive Oil
Brown Onion Soup Mix

1. Slice the top of the potato vertically along the top, but not all the way through to create a hassle back style potato
2. Rub oil all over the potato
3. Place potatoes into a glass dish (spray 'n cook the bottom so they don't stick)
4. Sprinkle the Brown onion soup mix onto each potato
5. Put into the oven at 200 C until crisp, golden and cooked through
6. Serve immediately