Mason's Favorite Charity- The Wally's Friends Fundraiser

As you know, after my friend, Mason, passed away in May, I began this blog as a way to process through her loss. 

Mason and I enjoyed eating, so you can rest assured this post will include a meal!

Mason and I also loved animals! Mason volunteered at Wally's Friends (http://www.wallysfriends.com/ ) a low cost (sometimes no cost) spay and neuter clinic. 

Their Mission: 

The mission of Wally's Friends™ is to dramatically impact the numbers of unwanted animals destroyed in shelters and starving on the streets by:

• Providing high quality, high volume, low cost, spay and neuter surgeries for cats and dogs, with an emphasis on serving rural and lower wealth areas of Chattanooga.

• Connecting people and animals through education on dog and cat overpopulation and responsible guardianship to elevate the quality of life within the community.

• Providing transport of animals to the clinic for low wealth and disabled guardians, and free spay/neuter when guardians lack the funds for spay/neuter

So her family and friends decided to get behind what she believed in and loved!

Two tables were reserved in her name at the Wally's Friend's annual Fundraising Banquet!!!

I love the table decorations here! Dog biscuits, gift bags for dogs and cats, and Mason's favorite treat- M&M's!!!

The name of the fundraiser was Spay-ghetti No Meatballs...Haha!
But as you can see here...we had one meatball!

Mason's sister took "Mason jars" and filled them with dog biscuits. These held the "Mason's Menagerie" signs to mark her tables, What a cute idea!

Jazz band during dinner. I LOVE Jazz!!!

Milo, a pug-mix, was a destructive little dog, until this trainer discovered how to channel all that energy!  Milo was adopted by his trainer. This little fellow can dance on cue, by following a few hand motions!

Milo is also an agility dog. I was able to help with the props and be a part of his act!!!

This pup dressed like Minnie Mouse is a rescue who now works as a therapy dog at nursing homes around the Chattanooga Area!

They had a silent auction, and the Hubs and I came home with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon with a Springy-Cat Wine Topper!

This was an emotional night for many of us.
I felt both sad that Mason was not there, and also happy and proud that through her life so many have joined this cause for the love of her and the animals!

I feel that it is important to help and serve each other. I think it is incredibly important to help those who can't help themselves.
I have been blessed to see the work of Efren and Gema Ormaza and their work with orphans and widows through medical missions in Ecuador. I have been moved by the work of Hospice workers and the grace and dignity with which they served my grandmother, Nanny, at her passing. I'm honored to work with the staff and volunteers at On Point who meet Middle and High School students where they are, without judgement...with grace, knowledge and skills- encouraging them to thrive!
And I am humbled by the service of organizations like Wally's Friends and the Pet Placement Center (a no-kill shelter for dogs and cats).

Thank you all for giving of yourselves!


Mason, I miss you so much!
Thank you for introducing me to such a wonderful organization that is doing such important work!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!!!

Super Bites!

I love the Food Network app on my phone!

Both of these recipes are from Sunny Anderson and they are very good!

Smoked Gouda-Chorizo Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:

2 links of Mexican Chorizo (casings removed), 1/2 lb smoked Gouda (shredded), 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, 1 egg, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 3 Tbsp sour cream, 1 Tbsp hot sauce, 12 large jalapeno peppers (stemmed, seeded and halved), salt and freshly ground pepper

I wore gloves to seed the jalapenos. I rinsed the jalapenos and then drained them on some paper towels.

I browned and drained the Chorizo, and mixed the Chorizo, cheeses, onion, sour cream, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to taste in a large mixing bowl. 

The tang from the sour cream along with the cheeses balance the heat and spice from the Chorizo and hot sauce!

I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper and filled the jalapenos with the Chorizo mixture.

I was watching the Kitten Bowl while cooking these Super Bowl-Super Bites.

Our rescue cat, Minnie, was very excited about the Good Witch Wildcats...the whole team was full of black cats like her!

These baked at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Yum!

My second bite was Sunny's Farm in a Basket- these were the Hubs favorites!

I sauteed 1 cup of golden raisins and a small (finely chopped) red onion in 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat.

I cut 8 crescent rolls in half, and placed 1 piece of thinly sliced salami, then 1 thinly sliced piece of provolone on top of each halved crescent.

I put a Tbsp of raisin mixture in the center of each piece of provolone.

I rolled them up and placed them on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

I baked them in a 375 degree oven for 13 to 15 minutes.
These are both savory and sweet!

These appetizers were easy and delicious!

We want to Congratulate all of the kittens of the Kitten Bowl on getting adopted.

Joe Montuna won the game for Minnie's favorite team, The Good Witch Wildcats!

Speaking of animals in need of our help, Wally's Friends Spay-ghetti No Meatballs Fundraiser is coming up this Saturday!

Wally's Friends provides low cost (and sometimes no cost) spay and neuter for dogs and cats. They even have a feral cat initiative!

Mason loved this organization and volunteered for them for many years.

If you are in the area and want to support this great cause get your tickets here: http://www.wallysfriends.com/spaghettiauction/SpayGhetti2015.htm

I hope you all enjoyed your Super Bowl Sunday! 

Enjoy this little video: Dear Kitten...The Super Bowl:

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Clams with Beer, Bacon & Fennel

Wow- isn't this pretty!!!

I found this recipe in the last volume of Coastal Living. 

I've cut this recipe in half for just the Hubs and me.

This was the first time I used my new, bright red Dutch Oven!
My Parents gave it to me for my birthday- I was so excited!

I sauted the about 3/4 cups of chopped fennel in 2 Tbsp of butter on medium-high until it was tender.

I added a little over 1/4 cup of beer & 2 more Tbsp of butter to the fennel, reduced the heat to medium...
and added 1 1/2 lbs of clams!

I placed the beautiful red lid on and let it cook for 10 mins! 

Look at how beautifully they opened up!
*Be sure to discard any that do not open.

I sprinkled them with chopped, fresh parsley. (Add crumbled cooked bacon- can you believe that I forgot mine?!)

We served ours over a bed of Far East Garlic and Olive Oil Cous Cous, and added a side of Vision Health Green Giant Steamed Veggies!

This was such a beautiful...and healthy meal!

Can you tell our table is decorated for Valentines?

The flower bouquet is made of wooden flowers. I added red place-mats...and of course Mickey & Minnie salt and pepper shakers!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

PS- Mason volunteered at Wally's Friends- a low cost (sometimes no cost) spay and neuter clinic in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She dearly loved animals (particularly- dogs...very particularly- Golden Retrievers). Wally's annual fundraiser- Spay-ghetti No Meatballs- is Saturday, February 7th.

Tickets are only $35 (seated dinner, wine/ beer). There is also a silent auction.

Please consider going. I have provided a link for tickets.

Click Here For Tickets!

If you don't live near this event, why not consider helping at your local shelter?

Animals are just one more blessing that make it La Bonne Vie Y'all!