Thanksgiving Day Dog Treat Cake

Thanksgiving Day Dog Treat Cake

(adapted from the Birthday Cake for Pups recipe on bullwrinkle.com)

Makes: 2 mini loaf cakes or 1 regular loaf cake

This Thanksgiving we couldn't forget those who we're most thankful for and my furry babies definitely make that list. 

I wanted something bland but with all the excitement and warm comfort of a full Thanksgiving meal so I decided to make them a cake that would combine all of our favorite flavors.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ cup butter (softened)

½ corn oil (I used vegetable)

8 ounces turkey gravy

4 eggs

plain mashed potatoes (no seasoning)

Directions:

Set your oven to 325 degrees.

Spray two mini loaf pans (or one regular sized loaf pan) with Pam. I used the baking one with flour to make it less greasy.

Microwave butter in a small bowl until soft.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter, oil, turkey gravy, and eggs until combined.

Add in flour and baking powder, mixing until a smooth batter forms.

Evenly distribute the batter into the loaf pans.

Place a large cookie sheet with raised sides on the rack underneath the cakes, this will catch any leaking or overflowing oils.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool completely and frost with mashed potatoes.

Store covered in refrigerator.

Slice as needed and microwave for 15 seconds to give your furry friend a warm holiday meal!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us!

Enjoy!

Halloween Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

Halloween Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

This Halloween I was looking for a festive and appropriate recipe, after all, with all the tricks my dogs play on me I guess they deserve a treat every so often. 

I found this recipe on http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-dog-treats/ that I loved because it had such a fall element to it by using pumpkin. Also I was just itching to use my Halloween cookie cutters and this gave me the perfect excuse. 

Ingredients:

15 ounces pumpkin puree

2 eggs

3 cups whole-wheat flour

3 tablespoons peanut butter

½ teaspoon cinnamon

*Note: This recipe makes a fair amount of treats. I decided to share them with a dog friend of ours since we were invited to a Halloween party the next day. These are wonderful for sharing and giving as gifts.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, use a whisk to mix together the pumpkin, eggs and peanut butter until smooth. Add cinnamon and flour and stir until a sticky dough forms.

On a floured cutting board roll out the dough to about a 1/2 inch thick and using festive cookie cutters cut out shapes until all the dough is gone. 

Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Remove to cooling racks to cool completely. 

Store these in the refrigerator and don't forget to give one to your favorite trick or treater this year :)

Quick & Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Quick & Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is a good one to have on hand for those days when tummy troubles creep up on your poor furry friends. 

We've all been there and nothing helps warm the tummy like a nice bowl of homemade soup. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups boiling water

2 chicken broth bullion cubes

egg noodles

sliced carrots (chopped into small chunks)

Directions: 

First chop your carrots into small non-choking hazard pieces. 

Then throw them in a pot to boil with the noodles. Boil until tender.

Next drain the mixture and set aside to cool.

Boil water and add the bouillon cubes, stirring until they dissolve. 

Set aside until the broth cools enough to be just lukewarm.

Distribute the carrot / noodle mixture into bowls and pour the warm chicken broth over top. 

Serve lukewarm and watch those tails go crazy.

Valentine's Day Honey Bun Bites

I found this recipe at http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/08/26/homemade-treats-national-dog-day/ and it looked so good I just had to give it a try. 

It’s not only humans who should celebrate love on Valentine’s Day, especially when our furry friends shower us with it year round :)

Valentine’s Day Cinnamon Honey Bun Bites with Peanut Butter Drizzle

(about 24 mini buns)

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup water

¼ cup canola oil (I used vegetable because that’s all I had)

1 large egg

2 tbsp. honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

peanut butter

*Note: The original recipe calls for cinnamon, walnuts/pecans and cream cheese drizzle but I decided to make a few changes to fit the needs of my dogs and what I’m comfortable feeding my pups. I believe that if you’re in doubt or uncomfortable with an ingredient it’s always safer to make a substitution. (I do give my dogs cinnamon in some of their treats but I forgot this step and cut out the cinnamon completely by accident. Whoops)

Preheat your oven to 350^o F and cover two cookie trays with parchment paper.

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the water, oil and egg and stir until combined. Using your hands knead the mix into a dough.

Place the dough on a lightly floured cutting board and roll out until you have a rectangular shape.

Drizzle the honey over the dough. 

(In the future I want to mix the cinnamon with the honey before drizzling to see if it makes a difference)

Okay this is the part I messed up on, had to redo and ended up with a sticky mess of honey covered everything. The dough should be laid out in front of you the two shorter sides should be on your left and right, while the two longer sides should be directly in front of you.

*Note: Due to the difficulty of rolling the dough I couldn't take any photos but here's some of me attempting to explain with a piece of paper.

Now take hold of the longer side closest to you and roll it tightly. I rolled about a centimeter of the dough then pinched it together to make that nice cinnamon bun center we all seem to love so much, then continued rolling.

When your dough is completely rolled and pressed together firmly so that it stays take a serrated knife and cut each bun about a half an inch thick.

Place buns on parchment paper covered cookie trays and in the oven for about 13- 15 minutes or until the bottoms begin to brown. Place buns on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.

Fill a small Ziploc sandwich bag with a few scoops of peanut butter and microwave for 10 seconds or until it feels like liquid. Massage the peanut butter to one corner of the bag and snip the end of the corner off with scissors to make it easier to drizzle. Drizzle the melted peanut butter over each bun.

Place buns in the freezer for a few minutes to allow the peanut butter to set.

Remove and serve to the nearest furry friend!

Happy Valentine's Day!