When she was a puppy she would put anything and everything into her mouth. When we first got her, within the first two days she became very sick. We found out that she had a bouncy ball lodged in her intestines. I have no idea where the bouncy ball came from. We had no kids running around, so there weren't any bouncy balls running around either. I'm pretty sure that was our first sign that she was going to be.....something else.
Since then she has found a way to eat an entire bar of soap, tin foil, my favorite shoes, an entire chicken and the list goes on. None of those did any harm, in fact she gained the ability to blow bubbles out her butt and we were able to test tin foils advertising as non-stick. FYI, it truly is. Nothing stuck to it, it came out cleaner than it went in. She has provided us with a book load of memories, days of unconditional love and uninterrupted listening, hours of cuddling, and minutes of nose nudging.
Now that she is 11 1/2 she doesn't run as fast as she used to and her arthritis makes it difficult to jump up on the bed. She also has these small strawberry looking growths, which is common to her breed. She has had a few of them removed, and that is what we are going to the vet for today. To have one on her rectum checked out.
This is her opening up a christmas gift this past Christmas.
During the summer, her and I both love to spend our days outside. These days she loves to just lay around and soak up some vitamin D.
I'm sure I've said before how much I love to grill when the weather is beautiful. Yesterday I grilled some marinated chicken and beef shish kebabs. They turned out rather well, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I used two different marinades, one for the chicken and one for the beef.
Chicken Agave Marinade
1/2 c agave nectar
7 oz pineapple juice
1/4 soy sauce
1/4 teriyaki sauce
4 ramps or shallots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
You will also need for the chicken kebabs:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cubed
1 red onion, cubed
1 red pepper, cubed
1 green pepper, cubed
3 c pineapple, cubed
Beef Beer Marinade
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tblsp black pepper
1 tblsp red pepper flakes
1 tblsp smoked paprika
1/2 c beer
2 tblsp vinegar
You will also need for the beef kebabs:
2 lbs beef, cubed
1 white onion, cubed
1 green pepper, cubed
3 c mushrooms, cubed
To prepare: If using wooden skewers soak in water over night or as long as possible. Prepare marinades, by combining all ingredients in a large liquid measuring cup. Use 1/2 to marinade meat and 1/2 to marinade vegetables. For the chicken kebabs, I used 1/2 of the marinade for the chicken, 1/4 for the vegetables and 1/4 was reserved to turn into a sauce. Marinade meat and vegetables for at least 1 hour or over night.
To prepare skewers layer vegetables and meat in any order desired. I used the vegetables and meat combinations listed above, but you can use any combination you might like. However, you want to try to pick meat and vegetable cubes that are the same size to place on a skewer, so that everything cooks in the same amount of time.
I started grilling the chicken kebabs first, because chicken takes a little longer than steak or beef. Grill on high heat to get a good sear and then move to lower heat to finish cooking. Make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of about 165 F. About mid way through the chicken, I added the beef kebabs. Grill the beef on high heat to your liking.
You should rotate the kebabs to grill on all sides. If the meat easily pulls off the grill plate, then the kebabs are ready to be turned. Take the reserve chicken marinade and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in 1/2 tblsp cornstarch and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until it thickens. You can baste the chicken kebabs with this the last 5 minutes of grilling.
I served this on top of a bed of rice. They were easy and looked rather pretty, if I do say so myself.
Chicken Agave Marinade
1/2 c agave nectar
7 oz pineapple juice
1/4 soy sauce
1/4 teriyaki sauce
4 ramps or shallots, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
You will also need for the chicken kebabs:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cubed
1 red onion, cubed
1 red pepper, cubed
1 green pepper, cubed
3 c pineapple, cubed
Beef Beer Marinade
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tblsp black pepper
1 tblsp red pepper flakes
1 tblsp smoked paprika
1/2 c beer
2 tblsp vinegar
You will also need for the beef kebabs:
2 lbs beef, cubed
1 white onion, cubed
1 green pepper, cubed
3 c mushrooms, cubed
To prepare: If using wooden skewers soak in water over night or as long as possible. Prepare marinades, by combining all ingredients in a large liquid measuring cup. Use 1/2 to marinade meat and 1/2 to marinade vegetables. For the chicken kebabs, I used 1/2 of the marinade for the chicken, 1/4 for the vegetables and 1/4 was reserved to turn into a sauce. Marinade meat and vegetables for at least 1 hour or over night.
To prepare skewers layer vegetables and meat in any order desired. I used the vegetables and meat combinations listed above, but you can use any combination you might like. However, you want to try to pick meat and vegetable cubes that are the same size to place on a skewer, so that everything cooks in the same amount of time.
I started grilling the chicken kebabs first, because chicken takes a little longer than steak or beef. Grill on high heat to get a good sear and then move to lower heat to finish cooking. Make sure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of about 165 F. About mid way through the chicken, I added the beef kebabs. Grill the beef on high heat to your liking.
You should rotate the kebabs to grill on all sides. If the meat easily pulls off the grill plate, then the kebabs are ready to be turned. Take the reserve chicken marinade and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Whisk in 1/2 tblsp cornstarch and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until it thickens. You can baste the chicken kebabs with this the last 5 minutes of grilling.
I served this on top of a bed of rice. They were easy and looked rather pretty, if I do say so myself.
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