Two-Ingredient Dog Treats

We spent a lot of time with "the boys" this weekend - for those of you I've yet to meet, that's our two Shelties, Blue and Sambucca. That's not particularly unusual, except that we were a lot more clingy than they are used to. And with good reason...

Brian's parents lost one of their own Shelties, Holly, Saturday afternoon. A complete accident, just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it made us appreciate our guys that much more.

So they got attention, pats and rubs. Lots of rubs. And treats. Lots of treats. Cantaloupe, Greenies, and these super easy, two-ingredient treats I whipped up after a quick trip to the grocery story.

They had kind a weird texture (full disclosure: I tried one) - a little spongy in the middle, but that didn't deter the boys at all. I made them in two batches - 1 jar of baby food and 1 cup of flour for each - so I could try different flavors. The boys seemed to equally like sweet potato and pears; I'll be curious to try others. Hopefully they'll be this excited next time!

Ingredients:

• 2 4-oz. jars of baby food
• 2 C whole wheat flour

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix baby food and flour together to form a stiff dough. If necessary, add extra flour or water as needed.
3. Pull off evenly sized pieces of dough and form in your hands into a ball.
4. Place on cookie sheet then flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass or your fingers. (These cooked up better than the ones I left in balls.)
5. Place treats about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before storing in a paper bag (storing in an air-tight container will make them soft, but they're still edible).



Holly, our sweet little girl.  Sue adopted Holly this past November for Kevin's birthday. She fit right in, right from the start, and loved her family and big "sister" Roxy. Here she is in one of her favorite places: the kitchen at the house on Plum Island!  She was barking up the wrong tree if she thought I was going to give her any human food, but she was almost cute enough the wear me down!

Source: Curbly

B&B

Could stand for B&B, my new favorite after-dinner drink.

Or, brothers & best friends.

Or, maybe Bucca & Blue.

Ya, that's it!

Pinky Swear

OK.  I pinky swear I will not be like one of those people who posts daily pictures of their kids, pets, vacations, tomato plants, etc.  But, I have to share this picture of Blue...

He runs around like a maniac then drops like he's been shot and sleeps - often flat on his back - for a 20-minuter.

Clearly, it's been a long time since either of us has had a puppy and he's pretty entertaining!

Our regularly-scheduled programming will return momentarily...

The Dog Days of Summer

Thanks to all of you who've reminded me that I've not posted in a while.  Here it is, not even officially summer, and weekends are full of picnics, parties, and the beach.  Lots of great food and fun times - plenty to blog about, just need to make the time.

We've had our hands full with Sambucca's new brother, Blue!  He's an 11-week-old Blue Merle Sheltie, and he couldn't be cuter.  Even Bucca's starting to think so! ;-)

Brian picked him up last Friday after work and he spent his first weekend at the beach!

Smooch

This is currently my favorite picture...all that is good about a lazy Sunday morning with someone you love, whether you're in the picture or taking it!

Dog-gone Good Biscuits

I cut this recipe out of a long-forgotten magazine years ago and they are always a huge hit with whatever four-legged friend I make them for. Brian and I made them for Bucca today and this is the thanks we got!

1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C cornmeal
1/2 C dry powdered milk
1 T granulated sugar
1 tsp salt, optional (I never use salt in mine)
1/4 C peanut butter
1/2 C chicken stock
1 egg slightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In large bowl, combine flours, cornmeal, powerdered milk, sugar and salt.
3. With a pastry blender, cut in peanut butter until mixture is crumbly.
4. Stir in chicken stock, beaten egg, and water, one tablespoon at a time*, until dough forms a ball.
5. On lightly floured surface, knead dough for 2 - 3 minutes.
6. Roll dough out to a 1/2-inch-thick circle.
7. Using a 1 x 2 inch cookie cutter of your choice, cut out treats and place on ungreased baking sheet.
8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until golden. Coll on baking sheets on wire rack.

*Sometimes it takes a tablespoon, other times upwards of a 1/4C - and I think the difference is due to how much oil is in the peanut butter. I can usually tell pretty quickly that a tablespoon won't make a difference and can eyeball how much to add. I also use more chicken stock instead of water.

Happy "Birthday," Ginger!

I've had Ginger for a year today - B brought her home from the local animal shelter Christmas Eve, 2009.

A week before, I had to have my very elderly cat, Edith, put to sleep. I was very sad, and Smokey didn't know what to do with himself...and that made it all the more sad. (You can tell how thoughtful he is...!)

B and I had split up in the morning to finish last minute errands, and I remember texting and calling him as my day wound down, to see if he wanted lunch. He didn't answer or reply - very unusual, so I got lunch for myself and went home. I was watching TV when I  heard him come in the house and rustle around in the kitchen, then he came into the family room. He was acting weird, it seemed, but he said everything was fine when I asked him about it.

Then I realized that Bucca hadn't come into the family room with him - very unusual for our little shadow. A short while later, B left the room and returned almost immediately with one of those cardboard pet carriers you see that he sat on the hassock in front of me.

I remember very distinctly saying, "B - what have you done?!"

I opened the box and this beautiful, orange cat stared back at me. I cried, he cried...sweet! We let her out and she made herself to home, nosing around. She and Bucca made friends, and then she settled in on the little mat she had come home with.

We spent Christmas Eve with B's parents and had much discussion about what to name her...Cinnamon, Saffron, Noelle, Holly, Scarlett, Creamsicle...and we finally settled on Ginger.

As you can see, she has made herself quite to home, all over my home! She and Smokey are fast friends, and although she won't let you hold her, she loves to be patted and brushed.

Happy "birthday," sweet girl.

Lawson Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the B's family yesterday. His brother and his family were in from South Boston, and his aunt was here from New Jersey. We got to his parents' in time to visit with Gramp - I was especially glad, as my cold had kept me from visiting him for a few weeks.

The day got off to a rough start when we temporarily "misplaced" Sambucca. We had let him out shortly after we arrived and about a half hour later, B asked if someone could let him in. His dad came into the living room a short time later and mouthed to me, "Bucca is missing." I didn't give it much thought, as Sambucca NEVER wanders...we went out and called him. Nothing. With my heart in my throat I walked up to the main street, afraid but not really believing he had ventured that far and had been hit. Nothing. B went out in his car, his sister-in-law took her dog in another direction, and I was walking up and down the street calling for him.

I was starting to think someone must have taken him, because - as anyone who knows him knows - Bucca's herding instinct and attachment to B would prohibit him from just walking off.  Then, just as his dad was heading out in his car and as he passed B coming back in his, I thought again "Poker would NEVER wander away. He HAS to be here." I turned back to the house and spotted the garage...sure enough, there he was, right inside the door! Someone must have gone in and closed the door without realizing Bucca was in there.

You have never seen happier people than we were. Buc was nervous and thought he was in trouble, since we all had been shouting his name (with increasing panic and urgency) for about 5 minutes - the longest 5 minutes. The poor pup!!  That would have taken Christmas in a whole new direction...

I starting drinking wine right after that!

Thankfully, my appetite wasn't terribly affected by the dog-hunting drama. B & I were in charge of appetizers and decided to make two new ones. I made this crab dip from Allrecipes.com, one of my favorite places to search for recipes. I love that most of the recipes are posted by home cooks like me, with normal ingredients, and I love to read the reviews. People are really specific about what changes they made, how it worked out, etc. So, never one to make a recipe exactly as written, I pieced together some info from the reviews and used a little more mayo, added sour cream, sauteed the onion w/ some garlic, and added some Cholula hot sauce and finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and served with toasted baguette slices. Everyone else loved it, but I wasn't crazy about the texture...I will definitely continue to saute the onion and garlic, but next time I think I'll use less cream cheese and mayo, more Cholula, and will skip the sour cream and cheese. Might add a little cheese and some Panko to the top.

B picked a Swedish meatball recipe from Penzeys Spice. His dad proclaimed they were the best meatballs he's ever had! They were delicious - definitely a keeper!

Christmas Eve Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
1 C minced onion (1 large)
1 1/2 C bread crumbs
2 T minced fresh parsley
2 - 3 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
2/3 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil

Gravy:
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 t smoked Spanish paprika
1 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 C boiling water
1 1/2 C sour cream
2 whole bay leaves

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the vegetable oil and mix thoroughly.
2. Shape into walnut-sized balls.
3. Heat the oil to medium-high in a wide, deep pan.
4. Brown the meatballs in batches so they aren't overcrowded.  Use tongs to flip them. Figure about 6 minutes per batch, flipping them after 3 minutes.
5. Remove each batch from the oil after browning and set aside. (B drained them on paper towel.)
6. When all the meatballs are browned and removed from the pan, make the gravy.
7. Add the flour, paprika, salt and pepper to the drippings in the skillet. Stir and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
8. Whisk in the boiling water. Whisk well, reduce heat to low, then whisk in sour cream. Add bay leaves.
9. Return the meatballs to the grave and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
10. To keep warm for serving, place the meatballs and the gravy in a slow cooker on low setting.

B followed the recipe almost to the letter with a few exceptions: He used regular paprika (since we didn't have smoke Spanish) and left out the bay leaves (again, none in the house) - would try to use both next time just to see what difference it makes.  Also, since we were in  a rush to get to his parents', we never simmered the meatballs and gravy on the stove top - we transferred both finished products directly to the crock pot and let them warm for about two hours before we served them.  They got better and better as they warmed!!

Hope your holiday season is going well. Next weekend we celebrate with the Martins...always fodder for a good story!