Tag: dog treats

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

Happy Thanksgiving Leftover day! I hope your leftovers are tasty!

I did make two new recipes for Thanksgiving, but the souffle was not made for dessert. I had big plans, but the interweb said that it wouldn’t rise after being transported in batter form and I was having an off cooking day. I thought I shouldn’t risk it.  I didn’t want to ruin Thanksgiving. We brought caramel brownies instead (from a box! The horror!). I burned the brownie edges actually, by mis-remembering the temperature. This was after my squash refused to flambe and my cranberry sauce was more like soup… I shudder to think what the souffle would have done.

I’ve made five new recipes this week. My unexpected day off helped on Monday. Fancy got a batch of seasonally appropriate pumpkin treats. She likes the apple ones better, I think, but these still get the tail wag and sometimes even a head tilt!

These were a Pinterest recipe.

1- Peanut Butter Pumpkin Oatmeal Dog Biscuits by Created by Diane.

https://www.createdby-diane.com/2012/10/pumpkin-peanut-butter-oatmeal-dog-biscuits.html

The dough was very wet. I hadn’t ground up the oats, so that could have been why.  They didn’t bake up hard at all. They are nice soft little cookies. They work really well as a trick to get Fancy to eat when one of us isn’t here. We can crumble them up over her food and she seems to realize she’s hungry after picking out all the bits.

2- Triple Chocolate Ice Cream from the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Bowl attachment book.

This was good. I had thrown in a tiny bit more cocoa powder because I was at the end of the box and it showed up as a bitter aftertaste. I forget that the sweetness level goes down after being frozen. This was not the Husband’s favorite. He couldn’t get over the bitterness. I liked it.

3- Glazed Butternut Squash from Cast Iron Cookbook by Joanna Pruess. Section: Vegetables and Other Sides. 

No picture of this, but it looked like mashed squash. 🙂 It was a little mushier than I liked. I started with unexpectedly tiny chunks of squash, which might be why. I was disappointed in this. It had brown sugar, bourbon, butter, and maple syrup and still tasted a bit bland.

4- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Casserole from Natasha’s Kitchen.

https://natashaskitchen.com/2011/04/17/chicken-and-mushroom-casserole/

This was very good. I needed more mushrooms, but even without them it was delicious. The Husband rated it very highly and requested that I make it again. We had fresh parsley from the garden and fresh parm.

5- Mulled Cranberry Sauce from Food Network Magazine, November 2017, V. 10, N. 9.

This was tasty, despite being a little soupy. I think it needed more fridge time, as it seems to have firmed up a little over night.  My inlaws enjoyed it as well. It had all the flavors of mulled wine in it.

Tonight we had beef fajitas, instead of leftovers. I need a day in between turkey dishes, since I’m not a huge fan of it to begin with. My M-I-L made a delicious turkey though, so I know the leftovers will be good. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the squash. I can’t make anything for Fancy with it, since it has things in it that are bad for dogs. I’ll keep you all updated..

I hope you’re all enjoying time with family!

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

I had to wait to post for two reasons. The Husband was gone for most of the night yesterday with his play and Fancy was sprawled across my lap, not letting me up. Also, I had only tried one new recipe! I was horrified and decided I needed to try at least one more before I posted.

I had a bunch of late nights this week and the Husband was at practice, so I had frozen chili and microwave soup, while he had pork one night and leftovers or a frozen meal the rest of the nights.

Here’s Fancy, judging me for the lack of meal planning and homemade dinners… (I’m pretty sure it was actually her judging me for stopping the pets to take the picture.)

Here are the couple of recipes I made:

1- Grilled Cuban Flank Steak from Kayln’s Kitchen.
https://kalynskitchen.com/cuban-flank-steak-recipe/

This was pretty good! It marinated while I was at work and we broiled it on Tuesday. It got dark a little too quick to grill. The Husband had a salad, I had buttery garlic green beans. I also had a pear.

2- Banana Carrot Dog Treats.

http://homemadedogtreatsnow.com/banana-carrot/?utm_content=bufferead83&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

I had a banana to use and since we are still keeping Fancy off chicken, she needed more treats. She was less than enthused about the fish biscuits I found at the store, so I decided to go with things I knew she liked. She does not like bananas plain, but loves carrots.

I just got my bone shaped cookie cutters in the mail. This is the smallest cutter. I figured if I was going to be the crazy lady who bakes for her dog, I may as well have the cute shapes. I subbed rye flour for the whole wheat flour. The dough is very wet and looks like it won’t hold together, but it actually did. Fancy seems to enjoy them.

3- Chocolate Chip Bars from The Wooden Spoon Cookbook by Miriam Miller. Section: Cakes and Cookies

This is for my father-in-law. It’s his birthday today, so I thought he could use a giant cookie. 🙂 I added vanilla to the batter and used M&Ms too. We haven’t eaten it yet, but it smells good. We are planning to eat it with ice cream.

I made another batch of yogurt and have found the perfect ratios for me, so I thought I would share my secrets. It’s the recipe from the instruction manual for my yogurt maker, so it’s not a new one, but it works very well. The yogurt maker was a terrific investment.

I’ve been making just plain yogurt and then typically adding jam, mini chocolate chips or coconut flakes, and some type of nut. This bowl has my homemade strawberry marmalade and walnuts. Mmmm….

Here’s what I do. Heat 5 1/4 cups milk to 180 over low to medium heat. (It’s not supposed to boil, but I swear it waits for me to look away and then explodes, so it has typically boiled.) Turn off the heat and let it cool to 95. Then I add 10 T of dried milk powder to the mix along with the starter yogurt and whisk it until smooth. Pour the mix into my little jars and put the machine cap on. 8-10 hours later, I have beautiful, firm yogurt to eat. It almost has the texture of greek yogurt.

One of these times I will try making it with jam, but I like the freedom of having plain yogurt. I got through the mix in about a week and save one jar for a starter. I’ve not seen a difference using homemade yogurt or storebought as a starter. It’s definitely saving us a bunch of money, considering what I was spending on yogurt per week.

I have plans to make dinners in the crockpot over night in the next week. I just made three beef freezer meals and have plans for three chicken ones, plus the omes we had already. The Husband’s play opens this coming week, so he will need lunch and dinner at work. I want to try some more veggie meals for me too. If I make the dinners overnight, we can both have it for lunch and then he can figure out a second meal.

Well, it’s time to head out to deliver the cookie! Hopefully he likes it!

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

I love my job! Sometimes it’s difficult, heartbreaking, and crazy, but other days I do feel like I’m accomplishing something. This week in particular has been stressful, due to long hours and some difficult situations. On Tuesday though, my dollhouse was home to a puppy party and the dolls were buried in puppies! Then on Wednesday, the dinos took over. They made a huge mess! It made me smile though, so that was good. The fireplace was also built by a client and I think it’s great.

So with this week being long, we didn’t have many new recipes. We had another of the freezer/crockpot meals, an original recipe, and I made a special biscuit recipe for Fancy. She may even like them better than her store-bought treats.

Speaking of Fancy, she is currently aggressively snuggling me on the couch. The Husband is off at Cedar Point with people who don’t get horribly ill on roller coasters, so she is a little clingy. She’ll just climb on up on your lap because she’s in denial about not being a lap dog. I say this like I mind, when it should be fairly obvious that I love snuggling her. How could anyone not love this pup?

Here are her treats and recipe so you can spoil your pup, just like we do.

1-Ridiculously Simple PB Dog Treats

http://simplificlife.blogspot.com/2013/11/ridiculously-easy-peanut-butter-dog.html?m=1

They are unbaked in this picture, but didn’t really change much when baked. I used chickpea flour instead of regular and half water/half chicken broth.

There was way too much liquid! I don’t know if chickpea flour causes problems with texture or not, but both dog treat recipes I used it in were way too sticky. I had to add at least another cup of flour. They also have a little rye flour after I ran out of chickpea flour.

I only made half the batch, as I didn’t have time before work to make it all. The rest is in the fridge, where I am hoping it will be better behaved after being chilled.

Fancy loves them! Her tail starts going a mile a minute and she gets dancy feet. 🙂 They came out very crunchy, so if I can get the dough figured out, I may make these again.

2- Sweet Chinese Beef from Freezer Meals by Julianna Sweeney. 

I added peppers and a little bit of broth, since it was a little less than half the crockpot full. It was alright, needed a little more seasoning. Good for a quick dinner though. I didn’t get a picture of it though.

3- “Catch Your Man” Chicken Potpie, recipe by me.

So, two out of the four guys I have ever made this for proposed and I married the second one, so I figured the name was appropriate. 🙂

This is one of the Husband’s favorite dishes, especially when I make it with pie dough. He thinks I should make this my Masterchef audition dish, but I’ll have to find a way to elevate it first.

I based the recipe on a Betty Crocker one, but never use it any more. I use a roux first and then add milk and broth. I’ve used both frozen and fresh veggies and either works. It’s a great comfort food.

4-Flamingo Mac and Cheese, recipe by me.

I made this last night. I didn’t want canned soup and didn’t actually want to eat anything, but needed to eat. The flamingos helped. I added peppers and shallots, Pensvy’s “Forward!” Spice, salt, pepper, and smoky bacon cheddar cheese. Fancy was extremely interested in it.

I am planning on making Fancy pupcakes for tomorrow and am debating between a pumpkin recipe or a pb one. I think I can just use gluten-free flour, but need to double check. I also have rye flour, so may just use that. Fancy is a wheat free dog, so the rye should be okay. She’s fancier than us for sure!

She is also demanding a walk, so I’d better take her out. She’s been waiting patiently all day while I was gone. Tune back in tomorrow for a pupcake update!

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

I took lots of pictures this week and the Husband helped too! I took a few different shots to see what looked good, so you’ll have to tell me which ones you liked best.

1- Salted Caramel Gelato from KitchenAid. I bought it along with the mixer attachment. https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kitchenaid-reg-2-pack-fanzese-gelato-salted-caramel-mix/1047357136?Keyword=Salted+caramel+gelato

Modifications: None. It was my first time using the attachment, so I didn’t deviate from the instructions at all. We just added the milk and made it up. It was extremely fun and made us feel ever so fancy. We froze it for a few more hours to make it more of a harder texture, but it was still nice and soft. We ate it with mini chocolate chips. Fancy was very sad that she couldn’t eat it.

The Husband helped me take pictures, as it is impossible to pour the gelato mix into the mixer and take a picture.

It was definitely a hit and I have a bunch more recipes pinned on the blog’s Pinterest page. The Husband has requested a rich vanilla ice cream next, because we can put all sorts of toppings on it. I want to try a basil  ice cream recipe that I found as well. It looks very interesting and I bet it would be good if I used the lime basil too.

2- Mongolian Ginger Beef Freezer Meal from Freezer Meals: 365 Days of Quick and Easy Make Ahead Meals for Busy Families by Julianna Sweeny. Section: Beef Freezer Meals

Modifications: I added a little bit more water to the crock pot and added white pepper as well. I also used chuck steak instead of flank. We couldn’t find flank or skirt steak and it was going to be cooking for a long time in the slow cooker.

It was delicious! My first thought when I took a bite was “oh my gosh, this is melting.” The meat was so tender! I thickened the sauce more at the end, as it was a bit watery. I might make a double recipe of this, it seemed like it wasn’t going to make a lot. I will definitely make this again. The recipe includes directions to freeze the meal and then make it in the slow cooker, but we cooked it right away this time. This book was a birthday present from a friend and it will be put to good use.

3- Freezer Spicy Enchilada Soup from the above cookbook. Section: Chicken

Modifications: I added garlic and garlic powder, because who makes a recipe for an enchilada soup with no garlic? I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed, because it was what I had, and I didn’t crush the bay leaf. I just left it whole and then fished it out at the end.

This was another slow cooker recipe and it cooks for 8 hours, so was perfect for my long day on Monday. It was also delicious.

I did notice a few odd things about the cookbook. One, there are page numbers in the index, but no page numbers on the actual pages, which makes it a little confusing to find things. Two, there seem to be some repeat recipes with different names and slightly different instructions, but the same ingredients. The beef recipe has a twin about 10 pages in front if it that just has differently worded instructions, but that mean the same thing.

Overall, I really like the cookbook and will probably break my rule about one recipe per section, mostly for the sheer simplicity of it. We are in desperate need of meals that go in the crockpot, or can just be put in the oven by the Husband too and this book has plenty.

4- Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup from Our Best Bites. http://ourbestbites.com/2009/10/tortellini-sausage-soup/

Modifications: First off, I finally made the soup! I had only been talking about for weeks and it somehow never got made. I don’t use the recipe anymore, just kind of throw things in, but the one thing I do not ever leave out is the apple juice. The recipe says it is not the same without it and they are totally right.

I put this in the crockpot before I left for work, made the tortellini when I came home and then added them in. The spices cooked off a little and it wasn’t as flavorful, so I think I will stick to the stovetop for this.

5- Thin and Lacy Pancakes from Food Network Magazine: The Big Breakfast Issue, April 2015. V. 8, N.3.

Modifications: None! I love crepes. I cooked down frozen strawberries and peaches to make a sauce.  I completely forgot about the vanilla yogurt in the fridge, which was perfect the next morning for breakfast as a topper. I actually made these for dinner on Tuesday, as I was feeling rather horrible and wanted something gentle for my stomach. (Apparently stress is bad for you. My doctor told me I should stop having so much of it… Thanks, I guess?)

I didn’t have to share any of them either, as the Husband doesn’t like them. I also played around with the picture and was pretty pleased. Maybe a lighter color plate might be nicer next time.

6- Leg of Lamb from A Taste of Lebanon by Mary Salloum. Section: Entrees. 

Modifications: This was a circus. A full circus with clowns, tigers, and bears. I thought it was only a pound and a half of boneless leg of lamb, but apparently it was 2.38 pounds, which meant it was nowhere near cooked when I had said it should be cooked. The Husband, who was cooking it for us was extremely distressed and I had clients, so couldn’t tell him to do anything until later in the night. It did work itself out, he found the package and had the recipe, so figured it out. By the time I got home, it just needed a few more minutes. Recipes that have a set time to bake seem to be a better idea.

I used Lamb Seasoning from Penzey’s Spices. It has allspice, ginger, oregano, pepper, cumin, and something else that I can’t remember. The recipe called for allspice, salt, pepper, and 6-8 cloves of garlic. The garlic was sliced and stuffed into slits in the meat. It made the lamb delicious and it wasn’t overcooked at all. I highly recommend any Penzey’s spice. My brother and sister-in-law gave us some spices from them several years ago and they were all wonderful. Plus, Penzey’s is currently supporting various peaceful protests and attempting to spread kindness through food, which I highly approve of.

7- Wheat Free Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats from Doggy Dessert Chef.

http://doggydessertchef.com/2011/11/08/wheat-free-peanut-butter-pumpkin/

Fancy is undeniably a spoiled pup. Lately, she has been waking me up for morning snuggles when the Husband leaves for work and now thinks she can sleep on the bed whenever she wants! Silly puppers. I really should snuggle her on the couch, but it’s normally half an hour before my alarm goes off and it seems like a lot of work to get up and move.

Modifications: I used Chickpea flour for this recipe instead of brown rice flour, since it was all I had. They smell funny, but she seems to like them. I’m still on the hunt for a hard biscuit recipe for her, but can’t seem to find one that bakes up hard. I’ve got a few more to try. This was her, waiting patiently for her treats.

I don’t remember making homemade things for your dogs being a thing in the past. I know our dogs when I was a kid got table scraps and vaguely remember giving them treats, but certainly never actually making stuff for them. I tend to go nuts when buying her treats though, so as long as I make ones with things we have on hand, it might be cheaper. I just can’t resist when I think she might like something. Plus, I bake for everyone else, so why should she be any different?

8- Spicy Beef from Wok and Stir-Fry. Section: Poultry and Meat. 

Modifications: I am not supposed to eat spicy foods for at least two weeks thanks to my stomach being dumb, so I left out the spicy part. I also really only used the recipe for the sauce recipe, as I have trouble with proportions when making stir-fry sauces. The recipe doesn’t call for any veggies, just scallions. I added red pepper, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms. I cooked the separately and used already seasoned beef left over from kebabs at a friend’s house that we had frozen. It turned out really good.

Reenergized by my sad review last week, I made a lot of new recipes. Now I just have to remember that feeling in the next few weeks, so my next review is full of new things. I also need to realize that my new recipes can also be breakfast, side dishes, or lunch dishes, they don’t always have to be dinner. I’ve used a lot of the entree sections of cookbooks and need to look for sides to go with my familiar dishes as well.

I’ll leave you with those thoughts and a picture of Fancy with her new favorite toy. We now get our cardio by playing tug with her. She has an amazing grip and gets so excited while playing. She likes playing tug with the Husband more, because he’s a little rougher with her. She’ll go bark at him until, he comes out of his office and plays with her. Last night she did that four times. She just couldn’t get enough playtime. Hopefully, you all have something that makes you as happy as she gets with her toy.

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

I used two new recipes this week, both for Fancy. For the Husband and I there were familiar, but good,  recipes. Tomorrow is my last shift at my third job and I’m hoping that this will free up some more creative time for trying new recipes. I am very excited to try some recipes from the freezer cookbook a friend gave me on my late evenings.

Despite the Husband telling me multiple times that he can feed himself, I’m still fighting off guilt when there isn’t a homemade dinner. I blame my Scandinavian heritage for that one. I get very nervous if I can’t feed someone properly. The few times I haven’t wanted to feed people have been weird for me. It also seems to be how I know that I don’t like someone; I won’t feed them. So you can see the problem, when my Husband is eating frozen dinners and saying “they really do taste better now. They’ve changed the recipes!” I just can’t imagine it.

So to prevent this, tomorrow I am making Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup, from Our Best Bites. http://ourbestbites.com/2009/10/tortellini-sausage-soup/

It normally turns out delicious, although I do need to see if we have apple juice. If we don’t, it may get moved to later in the week and I’ll make something else.

Here are the other meals we’ve had this week.

1- Lasagna, recipe by me. We had spaghetti over the past weekend while a friend was visiting, so I used the sauce over noodles. I used store-bought pasta sheets, as my day got away from me. I also used real shaved Parmesan. I’ve got the Husband hooked on good/fancy cheese and it makes both of us feel like fancy people.  It turned out pretty good.

2- Chef’s Salad with eggs and bacon. No real recipe, I just made a big salad and the Husband cooked the eggs and bacon when he got home. It works for a dinner and a lunch normally. We also have a fancy spicy pepper cheese that was a good addition.

3- Tequila Lime Chicken With Pico De Gallo. I used to use a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, but when I went to look for it to link it, it wasn’t there. I threw bone in, skin on chicken breasts in a bag with two sliced garlic cloves, fresh cilantro, silver tequila, olive oil, a chopped and seeded Serrano pepper, salt, pepper, and green onions. Then I let it marinate until I  came home and threw it in the oven. I baked it for about 45-50 minutes at 375. In the summer, this is really good to grill if you use boneless thighs or breasts. We had it with homemade pico and chips. I also had mango pieces with mine.

I did try to note what I was using for my pico this time, so I’ll write down what I think I did.

4- Pico de Gallo, method by me.

Roughly dice 3-4 Roma tomatoes. Chop a handful of cilantro, 2-3 green onions, and 1-2 jalapeños. I normally seed one half and leave the seeds in the second half, depending on spice levels. Add lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Serve with chips, or over chicken.

The Husband will eat an entire bowl of it himself if I let him. The first time I made this with chicken for his parents, his Mom was amazed that he would eat it, as he has never liked raw tomatoes. It was pretty funny.

5- Apple Cinnamon Dog Treats from Two Little Cavaliers. http://twolittlecavaliers.com/2013/11/make-apple-cinnamon-dog-treats.html

Fancy haunted the kitchen the entire time these treats were baking and she likes them even better than her store-bought ones, judging by how intently she watches us when we have them, and by her incessant tail wagging. I was able to use up all my bruised apples too and know exactly what is in these treats. I never thought I would be the person who bakes for her dog, but I guess it makes sense. I do bake for everyone else. She is also a gluten-free dog, apparently she has stomach and skin problems when she has gluten, according to the rescue. We decided to keep to that and it seems to be working.

6- Chicken Rice Treats from Kol’s Notes. http://kolchakpuggle.com/2012/02/tasty-tuesday-hearts-for-my-valentine-chicken-dog-treats.html

Fancy was very excited by these as well. Chicken is one  of her very favorite things and I was able to use up leftover rice and chicken in these. I had to give her two right away, as she snatched the first one before I could get a picture. She can be a tall dog when she wants to be and I forget how short I am until she’s jumping for something.

Hopefully this week, I can make some new meals. I have one very late night and some early evenings this week, so I am planning at least one crockpot meal.

There will also definitely be an ice cream or gelato recipe, as I just bought us the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment. It was on sale and I had a coupon and ended up saving about 40%. I’m very excited and bought a salted caramel gelato mix with it, so we are going to try that soon. Pictures to come, of course!