Meet The Girls

DH and I were heartbroken when we lost two of our fur babies in the last year. Our friend Barb has been trapping and neutering feral stray cats in her neighborhood in east Mesa. She works with the kittens to socialize them so they will be able to be adopted into good homes. We were thrilled when she invited us to choose a kitty from her latest bunch. We actually took two - a pair of tabby sisters. Posh is the shy one with the white paws and Danica likes to race up and down the hallway and get into trouble. They're adorable and fit right in with Chopper the bunny.

We Love Our Dyson

There's a lot of chatting in my Yahoo Groups about vacuums lately. I always chime in and let eveyone know how much we love our Dyson Animal. With several furry creatures under foot everyday, we need something that can really tackle the pet hair and cat litter. Dyson does it all. DH and I still laugh about how stunned we were the first time we used it. We thought our other vacuum was good, but the Dyson picked up so much we were just blown away. As you can see from the awful cell phone picture - Chopper loves the Dyson too!

Jersey Girl Cafe

For lunch yesterday we stopped in downtown Mesa at the Jersey Girl Cafe. Friends have been telling me for months that I need to check the place out and they were right. The food is fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. Lunch for two was about $15.00 for 2 sandwiches with a side and and a pickle, a huge tropical fruit flavored iced tea with free refills and choice of a homemade cookie for dessert. The decor is adorable and there is a large map of New Jersey on the wall where you can put a push-pin in the city where you lived.

I ordered a tuna melt on sourdough with a side of potato salad. The sandwich was perfectly grilled and loaded with cheddar. The red potato salad was perfect, with crunchy bits of celery and onion and free of all the weird spices most restaurants throw in to disguise the fact that their product is usually several days old. It's probably the best potato salad I've had in a long time.

My friend Barb ordered the chicken salad sandwich and she was raving about it too. I'll have to try that next on our next visit.

Jersey Girl Cafe 218 West Main Street, Mesa, AZ (480) 924-7887

S'mores

Thank Heaven for the Weather Channel! We managed to make some S'mores before the dust storm hit. Happy 4th of July!

Healthier Grilled Sour Cream and Onion Burgers

This week I received the latest Betty Crocker email newsletter with a recipe for Grilled Sour Cream and Onion Burgers - sounds yummy!

The downside - 20 grams of fat. Since hubby and I are still doing "Lean and Green in 2008" I had to make some modifications to make this a healthier burger. It's still not the most low cal choice but with the additional fiber and fat free sour cream, it's still healthier than the original version without losing the taste. Hubby gave it two thumbs up!

Healthier Sour Cream and Onion Burgers

2 lb very lean ground beef
1 package Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix- dry
1 cup non fat sour cream (find one made from skim milk, not chemicals)
2 pkgs single serving plain oatmeal with flax seed, blend in food processor until powdered
8 whole wheat hamburger buns


1. In large bowl or stand mixer, combine all ingredients except hamburger buns. Form mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Chill for at least 2 hours.
2. Heat gas or charcoal grill. Place patties on grill. Cover grill; cook over medium heat 10 minutes, turning once, until meat thermometer inserted in center of patties reads 160ºF. Serve on buns with your choice of condiments.

Strawberry Lemonade

Hubby and I love Chili's Strawberry Lemonade and I have been trying to find a copycat recipe. Most of the recipes I found contain either strawberry syrup or frozen strawberries. Fresh lemons and strawberries are so abundant right now in Arizona it's a shame not to put them to good use. I played around in my kitchen today and although it's not exactly like Chili's - it's pretty tasty.

Strawberry Lemonade

2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 quart very ripe strawberries, leaves removed
2/3 to 1 cup sugar - depending on the sweetness of the strawberries and your taste
8-10 cups of water, divided

Disolve the sugar in the lemon juice. Put in blender with the strawberries and 1-2 cups of water. Process until strawberries become liquified. Pour into a 2qt beverage container and add the remaining water and stir. Add more sugar if desired.