Mr Jax and Angel budgeting and fun

05/08/2024

My turn to do update. So Angel have a recipe or budget idea next post. She says she is too cold and tired to think. So I’m going to post some of our recent favourite funny pictures. Laughing is good and free.
The weather is icy cold and so much rain!!!! Some days we haven’t got outside at all because it’s been too wet. Night’s have been icy cold. But we keep the heater on low at night. Mum said we have something called cabin fever because we have been little bit naughty passing time inside. The one mum was most shocked about was us stealing chicken and eating nearly all of it. Mum rugged up. Got on her mobility scooter. She drove up to the shops because we were running short on some cat supplies. She got half a cooked chicken for us to share with the outside cats. Angel and I decided nope we wanted it all. Mum said when she got back it was for dinner. Before she put it in the fridge mum went outside to top up the dry food. While mum was gone we loved the smell. We got it off the bench and boy it was so good. We ate nearly all of it. Mum couldn’t believe it. But she said she still loved us. What was left mum pulled off and put in a container for the outside cats. They got a little bit each with dinner. But mum learnt never to leave chicken unattended again. The noise across the road where they are working on the railway line is awful. I can’t hear it. But keeps mum and Angel awake. It only bothers me when I feel everything shaking. Because I can’t hear I can’t understand why everything shaking. This part of the works is moving things like water, power, internet and other connections. So they are regularly turning them off for over a week. Mum is annoyed because it should be finished by now because it’s already been a year of building the bridge but we are now told at least another year of it. We have new neighbours moving in soon. Once they finish fixing it up. Lots of work people coming and going. We watch them when it’s not raining. They have a really really big woof woof. But mum said she is nice. The people moving in have been nice to mum. That’s all we want is nice humans next to us. Outside cats are good. The heating rugs work well. They sleep better at night. But they are like Angel and I right now so hungry. Mum hoping once the icy cold stops our eating will go back to normal. But we all agree that the best thing about winter is cuddling up on the couch at night and watching tv.
We hope everyone has a great day or night.
Love Jax 😻😻

21/07/2024

Attention attention!!!! We feel awful not sharing Gilbert auctions. We are missing them because of silly facebook not showing up on our feed. But this time it has. Gilbert Auction Page has another amazing auction for pets in need. Help by bidding and sharing. Even add on bids. All help is appreciated. So many great items in the auction.
Love Jax 😻😻

https://www.facebook.com/share/QJtxPkstLNmT4Z2Q/?

auction to start July 17th at noon MDT and will end Monday July 29th MDT

21/07/2024

Very crazy weather here right now. Rain, hail and really cold. Mum has let Jack move into her mobility scooter. Keeping him really dry and warm. Batman and PussPuss have moved into the small garden shed to keep dry and warm. When it’s not raining Jax and I go outside and play in the palace. Well I play. Jax won’t get his paws wet. He sits on the roof of the small house in the middle of the palace. We got a leak in the ceiling in the kitchen. A man is coming tomorrow to fix it. But Jax and I are enjoying winter. Sleeping near the heater and eating lots. We eat so much when it’s cold. Mum been sleeping a lot. It’s been a rough few days for her. So Jax and I take turns sleeping with her. Mum said we are her best medicine. This is a yummy slice. Bit like a cake. Easy to make. Looks like lots of ingredients but works out very cheap. Dusting with icing sugar at the end is not essential. You could use most citrus for this like lime or orange. We hope you enjoy this recipe. Everyone have great day or night.
Love Angel 😻😻

Lemon slice/cake

75g (1/2 cup) plain flour, sifted
215g (1 cup) caster sugar
85g (1 cup) desiccated coconut
4 eggs, lightly whisked
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
125ml (1/2 cup) fresh lemon juice
375ml (1 1/2 cups) milk
125g unsalted butter, melted
Icing sugar, to dust

�Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Line a 23cm (base size) square cake pan with baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang 5cm above sides.
�Place flour, sugar, coconut, eggs, vanilla and lemon rind and juicein a large bowl and stir until combined. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until just combined. Stir in the butter. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
�Set aside in pan for 1-2 hours or until cooled to room temperature, before placing in the fridge for a further 1 hour. Dust with icing sugar and slice into squares to serve.

08/07/2024

Well still freezing cold here. But we are all keeping warm. Outside cats, Jax, and I are eating mum out of stock. We get so hungry when it’s cold. Mum never lets us go hungry. She always checking specials. Buying as much as she can when it is. One of the people that comes to help her drives her to shops too far to go on her mobility scooter if there is a good special. She appreciates this and so do us. Lately mum been getting nervous again at night. She told Jax and I years ago a bad man kicked in her door and chased her out of the house she used to live in. Lately some strange things have happened here and brought back those scary memories. But she says even though she is nervous she still feels safe. Anyway mum decided to do something about it. Mum got a couple of cheap cameras. Over the weekend mum put them in herself and connected them too. Took a long time. We got nervous watching mum on the step ladder putting the one on the roof up. But all went safely. Then she added a doorbell with camera. All the front is covered by cameras now. And connected to mum phone. Next we do the side and our enclosed fenced yard area. We are doing that next pension. Mum is looking forward to sharing videos of the outside cats too if all goes to plan. And some of Jax and I playing in the palace. Including a picture of Jack sleeping on the front door mat taken by the new security camera. For cheap camera it is a good picture. Decided to share an easy apple slice recipe today. Apples are very cheap. Add some sugar if you want apple slice sweeter to the apples. Or a little honey works well too. Can have on its own, with ice cream or cream. Hope you enjoy it. Everyone have a great day or night.

Love Angel 😻😻

Easy Apple Slice

340g packet vanilla cake mix
2/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups stewed apples or 4 Granny Smith apples
200 grams sour cream

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 30 x 20cm baking dish with baking paper.
In a bowl, combine the cake mix and melted butter to form a dough. Spread the dough evenly in the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the apples and sour cream. Spread evenly over the base and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Let cool then chill in the fridge (this gives the base time to set).
Serve chilled.

27/06/2024

Very cold and wet here. But we are keeping warm. When it stops raining we go out to the palace to play. Outside cats hide in their houses when it’s raining. Mum been told about warming rugs that don’t need power. Or heat source. Uses the cats body heat. So we ordered one see if they work. If they do mum will save up to get one for all the outside cats. As Jack is the oldest and feels cold the most we will let him trial it first. It gets here next week. Was cheaper to buy online. We will have enough money to buy all of them one by middle of next month so we are okay. Mum and Jax played peek a boo this afternoon when it was raining. He’s good at playing it covering his eyes. Mum got some photos of him playing on the bed. Instead of sharing a budget recipe some hints to save money when shopping. We shared this a long time ago but in case you missed it or new to the page here is some tips that may help you save a few dollars each week.
Love Angel 😻😻

Tips to help save few dollars shopping.

Plan your meals.

Write a shopping list.

Don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

Find recipes that are similar to your favourite takeaway that are still quick to cook.

Consider having more vegetarian meals.

Give yourself “treat days”

Shop the specials.

22/06/2024

Keeping warm as possible here. Mum went to thrift store because they had half price off blankets. They are already cheap but we could get more. So she got extra ones for outside cats. Because nights are going close to freezing. We wanted a spare blankets for everyone so when mum washes them mum doesn’t have to panic about them drying. Mum has a thing about being organised where possible. She said Miss Jasper who I never met used to check all the sales and specials each week for things we needed. So I am getting more excited about specials and sales. Sitting with mum as she reads them out. Then we talk about whether it’s good special and how many to buy. This does make mum happy when I sit with her to do this. Sometimes little things are the most valuable but cost nothing. Chosen a great recipe for those in summer right now where strawberries are cheap. Very easy recipe. Good to have on its own with crusty bread or with some meat/fish/chicken. Thought be good to have a savoury way to use strawberries. Everyone have a great day or night
Love Angel 😻😻

Strawberry Feta Tossed Salad

6 cups torn mixed salad greens
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1 package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup sunflower kernels
Balsamic vinaigrette

Place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. To serve, drizzle with vinaigrette; toss to combine.

19/06/2024

Quick hello. Angel curled up with mum taking care of her. It’s been up and down here for mum. But she is improving. Mum feels bad when she can’t get us on to post. But sometimes she just needs a little rest. Cold weather is wonderful for curling up and sleeping. We have all been doing this. Mum friend took her out on Sunday night to see what humans call a concert. Her friend said that she needed to go out for a little while. Mum left the outside cats, Angel and myself extra food and treats to have fun too. Mum got a photo of Angel in her spot she likes on the sofa. I have included some funny pictures to bring a smile to everyone today. Tomorrow Angel will have another recipe to share with you all. We hope you all have a wonderful day or night. Love Jax 😻😻

11/06/2024

We are going well. Keeping warm cuddling up with mum. Lots of rain and winter weather. We are being careful with the heating. Mum does turn on at night on low because nights are getting very cold. Mum got out the thick soft blankets. So warm. On days it’s raining we don’t go out in palace. Jack is doing really good. Fur is growing back on the big area on his back where the bite was. Someone left a bag of wet food at the door for the outside cats. They eat so much food especially at night when it’s cold. So mum is giving more dry food just before bed and they love this. I got to the bag first and checked everything that was in there. Mum got a helper start in later afternoon now
on a Monday. So they went to do some errands yesterday. Mum stopped at the supermarket to see if anything was on quick sale. And she got some of the best bargains in a very long time. And for us she got a whole cooked chicken for $1-25 saving over $10. Because food got so expensive mum hasn’t bought cooked chicken much. So we got very excited. Mum said she couldn’t not get it at that price. Jax and I are going to let outside cats have some too. We have chicken for days. Which got me thinking about recipes using leftover chicken meat. This is a fast couple step recipe. Mum made it for the neighbours and they love it. Add more pasta to bulk it out more. More chicken if you have it if you want. Plan ahead. Cook pasta the night before and cook extra pasta ready for this to save time. The recipe you use cooked pasta in it before mixing with sauce and chicken. Using leftovers to make a whole new different dish is great way to bring down shopping bill each week. We hope you all have a great day or night.

Love Angel 😻😻

4 Ingredient Chicken Pasta casserole

2 cups Leftover, frozen or pre-cooked chicken
1 Jar Marinara sauce
4 cups any type cooked pasta, drained
1-1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
Combine pre-cooked pasta, chicken, and marinara sauce; Pour into prepared baking dish.

Top with the shredded mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.

07/06/2024

Something everyone should have in their kitchen mum and I think is a slow cooker. A slow cooker is a good investment. Great for cooking meals especially for the time poor and save on take out. Or if you work long hours and get home and dinner ready. Another great thing about cooking in them is making cheap cuts of meat yummy and tender. With better cuts of meat becoming a luxury it’s a great way to save money on food bill. By cooking the cheaper cuts of meat slowly they come out full of flavour and tender. And it is very hard to muck up a slow cooker recipes. Throw everything in together, put on high or low and however many hours the recipe calls for. Can be an expert cook without being one. We use slow cooker all year round. We love it in summer because it doesn’t give off a lot of heat.

Tonight an update on one of the outside cats Jack. Couple weeks ago Jack got bitten by something on his back. Vet thinks it was a cat bite. Was nasty and infected. Our vet came here and said he had to go with him to be treated. He spent four nights with the vet before coming back. He’s been on antibiotics and a special cream mum rubs on it three times a day. Vet came back and is very happy. We are all happy too. Vet was nice about the bill. He says he forgets everything he needs to put on it. A lot less than expected and he letting us do payments so no stress. Everything works out. And Jack is back to his old self. He was in a bad way so we decided to wait till we knew he was going to be okay and make full recovery before worrying everyone unnecessarily. Jack let mum take a photo of him today to say hello to everyone.

Love Angel 😻😻

07/06/2024

A friend found a kitten at their work. They named it Shrimp. Yes times are tough. Even sharing will help. Or help if you can. A link to the Wishlist on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/B1CGAXJHVBNP?ref_=wl_share

Sharing photos of more details about Shrimp and how to help. Also a cute photo of Shrimp.

Love Jax 😻😻

04/06/2024

Another crazy storm on the weekend. Jax and I needed time to calm down. The center of the thunderstorm went right over us. Was very scary. Jax was very fluffed up after and not happy after. He sat on his box looking out the window for hours after. I hid during it behind the bed. Took me hours to come out after. Mum left me alone to come out when I was ready. When I did I had big meal. And then slept on mum stretched out. Jax and I are both okay now. We hope no more big storms for awhile.
This is a favorite recipe of mums. Light and fresh. Easy and quick to make. This is a big treat right now because cabbage has got so expensive here. Today when mum went to the shop near us they were $8-50. Mum won’t pay more than $5 for a cabbage. So she gets excited now when she finds one less than $5. But most places cabbage is a good budget buy. A vegetable that can be used from salad to soup. As always add other flavours to the recipe if you think it will work. Like some mustard to the dressing. We hope you enjoy it. Everyone have a great day of night.

Love Angel 😻😻

No mayo coleslaw

1 head of green cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 yellow or red onion, finely sliced

DRESSING

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey, (or more, depending on sweetness)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Add the shredded green cabbage, carrot and onion to a large bowl.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper to create the dressing. Taste the dressing and decide if you'd like to add more honey.
Add about half of the dressing to the cabbage, onions and carrots and gently toss. Slowly add more dressing until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Serve and enjoy!

31/05/2024

Angel has roped me into talking more about quality of bedding. And explain more about thread count. The higher the thread count the higher the cost. But keep your hard earned money. Doesn’t mean better quality. Thread count is the number of threads in a set area. And only a maximum amount can fit in that area. And the makers can be cheeky doing this. The best cotton bed sheets often have thread counts between 300 and 500. Anything above 500 isn't necessarily better, and you should be skeptical of a thread count over 1,000. Why should you be skeptical? Often threads are simply split to create a higher thread count, misleading the consumer that it's better, when in fact it can weaken the fabric and cause pilling. For this reason, thread count should not be the deciding factor when purchasing high-quality sheets. So technically you are buying say over 500 threads but they are split ones. We rather buy lower thread count to save money and have threads not split. Mum has found her 300 thread sheets lasted the best. I hope this saves you some money next time you buy something that has a thread count like sheets, pillow covers, comforter covers and other items like that. Angel decided there is more ways to save money we need to share than just yummy, easy, cheap recipes. Everyone have a great day or night.
Love Jax 😻😻

30/05/2024

The drought has broken here couple days before winter starts. So hot last week mum was still turning the cooler on last week. We had less than an inch of rain since last November. But the weather been very sudden change. First a big storm. Very scary. I hid behind the bed. Jax hid once when thunder was very close. He can’t hear it but he felt it. Then came the rain and the icy cold. It’s rained all week. Mum turned the heater on last night. So we are cozy now. Mum thinks it’s going to get very cold now and she is getting out the warm blankets. And starting to get out her warm clothes too. Working out what will last another winter. One thing mum finds good quality clothing and blankets from the thrift stores to last a long time and a few years. In long run buying better quality even from thrift store is worth it and saves money in long run. Even summer clothing and bedding. Also don’t get sucked in by a thing called thread counts. Because after a certain number it’s not possible for higher number. Our next post will be explaining more about thread counts with bedding so you don’t lose precious money on nothing. Jax will do it as he is better with numbers but haven’t told him yet. He’s be always so sleepy when it gets cold. Chosen pumpkin soup. This is a good comfort soup. Cheap and easy. Freezes well. Using butternut pumpkin makes it nutty sweet soup. Jax and I love pumpkin. Bit of a twist. If you cook a roast day or two before roast the pumpkin you are going to use for the soup in separate pan with oil. Using left over roasted pumpkin gives it a different but delicious flavour. And cooks soup quickly. We hope you enjoy your day or night.

Love Angel

Pumpkin Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion peeled and sliced
750 gram pumpkin peeled and chopped
1 litre chicken stock

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil.
Sauté onion and pumpkin until golden.
Season with cracked pepper.
Add the chicken stock plus 1 cup (250ml) water.
Over a medium heat, gently bring to the boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes, then use a stick blender to purée.

Optional: Serve dotted with 1 tsp. coconut cream and a few fresh parsley leaves.

28/05/2024

Giving mum and Angel a night off. So decided to do some funny cat photos again. First ones Angel and I chose went well. So we hope you get a smile from these. Everyone have a wonderful day or night.
Love Jax 😻😻

26/05/2024

Very busy weekend helping mum. This week she got new
medication. One is very strict not to have certain foods or she will end up at the hospital. So we helped mum sort pantry and fridge of foods mum can’t have now. We boxed it up and gave it to humans who needed food. A new recipe we haven’t shared before. We hope you like it. Few ingredients and couple of steps. We hope everyone has a good day or night.
Love Angel 😻😻

Apple chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (1-1/2 pounds)
3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Sprinkle chicken with seasoned salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on both sides. Remove from pan.

Add juice and thyme to skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Return chicken to pan; cook, covered, over medium heat 3-4 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°.

Serve with mashed potatoes and vegetables like beans.

23/05/2024

Mum been bit down this week for different reasons. Few obstacles. I met the new lady in charge of the help that comes here. She got my okay. She is now going to work on changing the ones that are mean to mum. That will make me happier. So mum went out for afternoon appointments. She couldn’t get any of her helpers to drive her so she got the bus. While she was gone some presents were left at the front door. Big purple bag. We don’t know where it’s from but brought a smile to Angels, mum and me. She brought it in. Lovely warm red and black pet blanket. Really big. Big enough for both Angel and I to share. Three big bags of dry food. Mum said she will share it with us and the outside cats. Also a big box of chocolates and bag of lollies. Such a nice present. Be nice to thank the person or people who left it. The dry food really helps mum with budget too. We are doing okay with our budget but anything like this really helps. After mum got everything out and put down the blanket on the new couch I had to check make sure it passed my okay. And also sniffed bag for any clues where it came from. I’m going to work it out. Hope everyone has a great day or night.
Love Jax 😻😻

21/05/2024

In our usual routine. Mums helpers coming. She went to a long afternoon appointment at the hospital. I’m giving mum so many cuddles. Mum say we are her most important helpers. Tomorrow mum meets the new person from the place taking over mum organising help. From there they are going to talk about getting rid of the feral helpers which will make Jax happy. I normally stay out in the palace when the ones that aren’t nice are here. Good things are happening. I’m going back to basics tonight. Because not everyone has a lot of cooking skills. Potato salad is good recipe to know. Good in summer and winter. Can be had warm or cold. To pimp up basic potato salad add chopped up hard boiled eggs or fried bacon bits or chopped up walnuts. Or whatever you like in it. We hope everyone enjoys it. Have a great day or night.

Love Angel 😻😻

Potato Salad

3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 scallions, green and white parts sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes until tender and can easily be pierced with a knife. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl while still warm.

In the same large mixing bowl with the warm potatoes, add in the sour cream, mayonnaise, sliced scallions, salt and pepper. Gently toss to combine.

Can be served warm, or covered with saran wrap and refrigerated for 1-2 hours and served cold. Will keep in an airtight container for 4 days

20/05/2024

Something different today.Mum spends lots of time looking at funny cat pictures. So every now and then Jax and I are going to share our favourite ones. Humans are strange finding some things funny. But it brightens mums day and good to see her smile. So we hope this brings you a smile for your day or night. Smiles are free which is even better for an ever tighter budget now.
Love Angel 😻😻