Friday odds 'n' ends

What's up? Well, yesterday we took Leo to the vet because he has not been eating right for the past three days now. I even tried giving him some catnip to help induce his appetite. It definitely is NOT like him to not eat like it is going out of style and we always worry because he was diagnosed with F.U.S. (Feline Urological Syndrome) a year ago. Since then, he has been on a prescription diet only and had no problem with it until as of late. The vet examined him and could not find anything wrong on the surface ... i.e. she said that he does not have a full bladder or anything. So she took some blood and will have it tested as well as a urinalysis. Now, she would normally get the urine from a cat right there at the facility but because of his F.U.S. it would do no real good. Since the use of a needle would show some blood in the urine sample and they would not be ale to decipher if the blood was from the needle or from his urine sample itself, she sent Leo home with a home urine kit (a special kind of cat litter that will not soak up the urine and will coagulate it so it can be picked up by a dropper and taken to a lab), and four cans of different wet food he is allowed to eat. So far, he is not touching that food either! My poor baby, I am so worried about him! :(

After we got back from the vet, I thought I would take a quick walk. You won't believe what critters I saw on my travels ... eight turkey vultures in a row crossing the road in front of me and two groundhogs walking along up ahead of me. LOL! I just love running into all the cool wild life where I live. One time, I saw a groundhog trying to cross the road while I could hear a car coming up in back of me so I clapped my hands a couple of times to scare the groundhog off the road so he would not get hit. It worked. ;)

Moving on, I finished my natural oil sprays today. One for sleep aid for a friend of mine who requested I make one for him, and finally the tick repellent. I decided to use the witch hazel instead of the rubbing alcohol because my mom wants to try it too and she has some major skin issues so I figure that the witch hazel would not be near as harsh ...

I added this recipe for my friend Mary from her blog Moontides ... ENJOY!

Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients needed:

• 1 whole chicken about 5 lbs
• Cooked, chopped/cut into cubes potatoes (as many as you would like)
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 stalks celery chopped
• 4 medium carrots chopped
• 1 -2 tablespoons fresh parsley or 1-2 teaspoons dried parsley

Pot Pie Dough:

• 2 cups flour + extra for rolling out
• 1 egg + 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5-6 Tablespoons milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove anything inside the chicken. Rinse the chicken. Place chicken in a stock pot. Cover with water. Add a bay leaf and 1 teaspoon parsley. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low-medium. Simmer for about 1 hour or until thoroughly cooked.
2. Turn off the heat. Remove chicken from broth. Allow chicken to cool. Meanwhile, strain broth.
3. Once cool. Remove chicken from bones. You'll need about 4 cups. Reserve the rest for another use.

For pot pie squares:

1. In a separate bowl add flour, egg, egg yolks and salt. The dough should come together easily and form into a ball. If it's too dry add an additional tablespoon of milk. If it's too dry add flour a tablespoon a time until dough forms easily into a ball. (You can also use a stand mixer or mix by hand. 
2. On a floured surface flatten dough into a circle. With a roller pin using flour as necessary to keep from sticking. Roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness.
3. Using a pizza cutter cut into approx 2-inch squares. If there's extra dough on the edges roll into a ball and repeat.
4. Place squares on floured baking sheet. You can pile on top of each other just make sure there's plenty of flour to keep them from sticking.

For Pot Pie:

1. Heat chicken broth and add cooked potatoes, carrots and celery. Cook until softened, about 15-20 minutes. Turn up the heat, bring to a boil. Drop dough squares one at a time into the pot, stirring frequently. If you drop a bunch in together they will stick together in a clump.
2. Maintain a very gentle boil, cook the dough for 4-6 minutes. Add the reserved chicken and chopped fresh parsley. Stir and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until hot. Serve.

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