Treats, for your best friends.....

You cook for yourself and for your loved ones, why not make treats for your best friend, ok Man's best friend.  Your dog and your cat.  Here are a few idea's:

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CAT CRACKERS

6 ounces of undrained Sardines in oil (no flavorings!)
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into treat sized pieces. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool. Give to your cat and watch them gobble it up.  You can make them once a month and store for weeks.(By The Way, they REALLY stink while you cook them, but that's what makes them attractive to your cat.

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Breath Freshening Biscuits For Dogs

Ingredients:

3/4 cup minced parsley leaves and tender stems

1/4 cup finely grated carrot

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 cup corn flour or finely ground cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together parsley, carrot, and oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours and baking powder. Add parsley mixture and work into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water, and mix and knead with hands until dough comes together in a smooth ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using a small (2-1/2 inch) bone-shaped cookie cutter, cut out biscuits, re- rolling scraps as necessary. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes for softer biscuits; 30 minutes for hard.

 

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Ingredients

    1 cup  (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided

    1/3  cup  fat-free milk

    ¼  cup  egg substitute

    1  teaspoon  ground cumin

    1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper

    1 (14 ¾ ounce) can cream-style corn

    1 (15oz) Black Beans

    1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)

    1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

    Cooking spray

    1 (20-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)

    2 cups  shredded cooked chicken breast

    ½  cup  fat-free sour cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray a 13 x 9–inch baking dish.  Boil chicken, drain and shred.  Place 1/2 of the enchilada and the shredded chicken in the bottom of the casserole dish.  Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 8 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture on top of the chicken mixture.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Chicken and Feta Tabbouleh

I decided to try something new.  Craig and I love Greek/middle Eastern food, so I thought this was a great option.  Just finished putting the salad together, and it tastes WONDERFUL!

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Chicken and Feta Tabbouleh

Yield:  4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

¾  cup uncooked bulgur
1 cup boiling water
2 cups chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1 cup tomato, diced
1 cup English cucumber, diced
¾  cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup green onion, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. Place bulgur in a medium bowl; cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

2. Combine chicken and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add bulgur to chicken mixture; toss gently to combine.

Smooth and Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I really don't measure, so I'll give you "about" measurements.

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
2 heads of celery root, cleaned up and diced
4 Yukon potatoes, diced
2 leeks, cleaned and diced (say cleaned, because leeks can have sand in the layers)
2 cups white wine
3-4 cups chicken broth
3 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large heavy bottom pot.  Saute the onion and garlic until translucent.  Add a small amount of wine to de-glaze the bottom of the pot.  Add the leeks to the onion mixture.  Continue to saute.  Add in the Celery root and the potatoes. Continue to add wine to de-glaze the bottom of the pot.  Add spices and the broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.  Heat until potatoes are completely tender.  Blend the mixture in small amounts until smooth.

Serve with crusty bread.

* when blending hot liquids, always work in small amounts.  Keep a towel handy and hold the lid of the blender.  If you add to much hot liquids, the blender will blow up, so just add the liquids, and pluse until smooth.

Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies

Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies 

These cookies are amazing!  It took me about 10 minutes to put the dough together, roll and get ready for the oven.  I took the 3 dozen cookies to work and they were gone in about 2 hours.... Whoever you make these for, they will LOVE you for it.

½ c. butter
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
3 T Honey
2 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 Cups Rolled Oats
1 c. flour
1 c. Grape-Nuts

Mix cookie dough and drop on pan. 

Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.