Pigs-in-a-blanket for Dogs

"This little piggy went to market. This little piggy went to town. This little piggy had roast beef,This little piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home - into Mochi's belly."

Pigs-in-a-blanket is one of my favorite appetizers/breakfast. It's so easy to make with Pillsbury crescent rolls and some cheddar mini sausages. Of course, I would never feed the things I eat to Mochi. I saw these graduates meat sticks when I was in the baby food aisle and the ingredients are better than those found in sausages that we eat. I looked up a pigs-in-a-blanket from scratch recipe to make my own dough. I omitted ingredients that aren't good for dogs (salt, sugar, butter) to make this healthy treat.

INGREDIENTS:

(7-8 pigs-in-a-blanket)

• 1 C. whole wheat flour (regular or white)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 C. grated cheddar cheese
• 1/3 C. water
• 2.5 oz jar of Gerber Graduates Lil' Sticks Meat (7 pieces)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil.

2. Sift the dry ingredients (flour through baking powder) into a mixing bowl

3. Add honey, olive oil, cheddar cheese, and water. Mix well and knead into dough ball.

4. Roll dough onto a rectangle surface (I used my 9 x 7 cutting board). Trim sides to get a rectangle.

5. Slice into fours then diagonally to make 8 triangles.

6. One at a time, roll up the sausages in the triangles. Place pointy side down on greased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until golden brown.

STORAGE:

After cooled, place in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold. Shorter shelf life because of meat stick.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Hearty Turkey Dinner Biscuit

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope you are all gobbling till you're wobbling. Don't forget about pooch for Thanksgiving! Here's a nice, tasty, dog biscuit that is wholesome, healthy, and is perfect for Thanksgiving.

Mochi is thankful for all her furry friends, toys that she has decapitated over the years, and lots of love from Erica (especially love in the form of food and cuddles).

INGREDIENTS:

(~50  1.5'' bones)

• 2 C. of whole wheat flour (regular or white)
• 1 C of oatmeal
• 1 jar of sweet potato baby food
• 1 jar of green bean baby food
• 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/2 C. cooked brown rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Put ground turkey, sweet potato baby food, and green bean baby food  into a blender. Add a bit of water to get the blender going if you have too.

3. Pour turkey puree into a large bowl. Add oatmeal, brown rice, and flour. Dough will be sticky.

4a. Easy option: using a spoon, spoon out quarter sized dough and put on cookie sheet.

4b. Harder option: knead and roll dough. Use a doggy bone cutter to cut shapes out.

Or if you are me, do half hard and when you get lazy do the other half easy.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

STORAGE:

After cooled, place in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold. Shorter shelf life because of meat in the biscuit.

For longer shelf life: Store in freezer for up to 8 months. Take out enough for 2-3 days at a time.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Looks like Mochi's got a case of food coma!

Turkey Jerky & Green Beans

Adapted from petplace.com

 Out of shear laziness, I decided to make some turkey jerky while dehydrating green beans as a snack at the same time. Green beans are super easy, just wash, cut, and place on a cookie sheet right into the dehydrator or oven. In my case, an oven.

The turkey is a bit more work. I used some ground turkey, blended it with oil, and parsley and poured into a baking pan. These two simple foods are fantastic for your dog's health. Green beans are a good source of plant fibre, vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese. It's a great weight management treat. Turkey is always a great source of lean protein.

Mochi was initially confused by the green beans. She spat it out and sniffed it. When I thought she was going to walk away from it, she picked it back up and started crunching on it. She loved em! I gave it a quick taste test too, not gonna lie, pretty tasty! Who would of thought green beans could taste so good on its own?

Looks like these treats are winner winner turkey dinner! Can one substitute one poultry for another?

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 lb of lean ground turkey
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 C. green beans, washed, trimmed, and cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 225 degrees.

Turkey: (total bake time: 4 hours)

2. Puree turkey, parsley, and olive oil together in a blender.
3. Pour into a baking pan.
4. Bake in oven for 2 hours with door slightly open to let out moisture.
5. Flip over, use pizza cutter or knife to cut into individual pieces and bake for another 2 hours.
Tip: (learned this the hard way) use foil or parchment paper to ease clean up.


Green beans: (total bake time: 3 hours)
2. Place on cookie sheet.
3. Bake in oven alongside turkey jerky.
4. Flip every hour.
5. Green beans are done when crispy (approx 3 hours)

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container in refrigerator after thoroughly cooled for up to 1 week.Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

For longer shelf life: Store in freezer for up to 8 months.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Chicken Eyeballs

Can you see what I see? I can eat what you see.

I made myself some chicken meatballs and decided that I should turn this into a dinner for two - meatballs for her and meatballs for me. Just cause it's halloween I added cheese and carrots to them to look like "eyeballs". The carrots dry out easily so I would recommend waiting until serving to add the garnishes. Being the awesome multi-tasker that I am (sarcasm - I'm mostly just lazy) I had two bowls out and made both recipes at the same time. I used my meatball recipe as a basic but opted out of everything that was bad for dogs which at the end left it to 5 ingredients. That's what happens when humans have an inferior sense of taste and smell - we need all these other flavors. Dogs can get the same enjoyment out of simple ingredients and, um, dirt and sticks but we won't go there.


INGREDIENTS:

(~20 eyeballs)

• 1/4 C. of white whole wheat flour
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground chicken
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
• 5 slices of thinly sliced white cheese (cheddar, provolone, go for reduced fat)
• 20 carrot chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees.

2. Combine ground chicken, egg, olive oil, parsley, and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Mix well.

3. Add flour a little at a time to firm up the meatballs (in case they are droopy).

4. Form into golf size balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool.

7. Using the medium round cut-out, cut slices of cheese. Place circle onto center of meatball.
8. Using the smallest round cut-out, cut out the center of the eyeball and cut out about a 1/4'' chunk out of the middle.
9. Continue with the smallest round cut-out and cut carrot chip into small circles.
10. Place carrot circles into the center of the eyeball in the space that is cut out.





11. Place them over your eyes and pose for a picture. (optional)

12. Tease your poor dog. (also optional)

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container once in fridge after thoroughly cooled for up to 1 week due to meat in the treat . Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

Store in freezer for up to 1 month.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Dirt Peanut Butter Cups - Worms, Mud, and Dirt oh my!

Diggin' this dog treat? 

I remember in Mrs. Hall's class in the 5th grade, we would watch scary movies, write scary stories, and share them in the dark with a flash light. Mrs. Hall would also bring in these oreo dirt pudding cups for Halloween.  It was my favorite part of class - chocolately, crunchy, and gummi - a kid's dream come true.

So for this Halloween, I wanted to make my pup's dream come true by turning my favorite childhood Halloween dessert into a dog treat version. I spent some time thinking about what I would use for oreos or chocolate pudding instead since those are big no-nos for dogs. I wanted to put them into cupcake liners but was afraid Mochi would eat the paper. 

Borrowing ideas from my last two recipes (bat crisps, mini pies) I used a mini cupcake tin and lined it with a similar pie crust recipe. I filled the cooked pie cups with unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter to replace pudding. I then crushed the bat crisps to look like oreos. Lastly, in place of gummi worms, I used chicken sausage. I went all the way to whole foods to find sausage with the least crap in it. I swear Mochi eats better than I do.

INGREDIENTS:

(~20 mini cups)

• Pie cups:
• 1 C. of whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 C. skim milk
• 1 C. unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter
• 2 chicken sausages sliced lengthwise into 1/4'' thick strips, cut in half
• 1/2 C. of crushed black bean bat crisps

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix together flour, olive oil, and skim milk. Knead dough.

3. Roll to 1/8'' thickness. 

4. Using a 2" circle cookie cutter, cut into circle shapes.

5. Flatten circle to stretch dough out slightly.
6. Put into mini cupcake pan.

7. Poke holes at bottom of the pie cup with fork to avoid bubbles and air rising in the pie cups.
8. Bake for 18 minutes.

9. Bring a small pot of water to boil.
10. Add chicken sausage strips and reduce to medium heat.
11. Let simmer until strips curl. Drain.

12. Let pie cups completely cool then fill with 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter.
13. Top with crushed bat crisps and chicken sausage strips.

How spooky... 13 steps. Coincidence? Yeah, probs.

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week due to meat in the treat.

Tip: Write date on container to keep track of expiration date.

Squash Chicken Jerky

Cheeeeken

Giving the chicken jerky a lil sumtin sumtin....The squash gives the jerky a dark color and it looks more "smoked" if you will. It also smelled amazing. I took it out of the oven and I almost wanted to eat it myself but I'm not even a fan of human jerky. Oh gosh, I did it again. When I was talking about chicken jerky for Mochi at work I told a coworker "making the chicken jerky for dogs is the same process as human jerky" Totally came out wrong.... I meant "making the chicken jerky for dogs is the same process making jerky for humans" Be careful of wording or you'll come off as Hannibal Lecter. Probs not the best reputation at work.

Regardless... Mochi loooooved these treats. She couldn't get her mind off of it even when I showed her the new toy from amazon that I got her - a 16 squeaker alligator. She usually loves anything that squeaks so I thought she would love this times 16 but no response. Her eyes were glued to the chicken. It's all about the jerky. You know what they say... bitches love them jerk(y)s. Get it? Mochi is a female dog. Oh nevermind.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 jar of squash baby food
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp unsalted chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse chicken and remove fat. Fat causes the jerky to spoil faster.

2. Slice chicken breast into thin 1/8'' to 1/4'' slices. Slice with the grain.

3. Combine squash baby food, olive oil, and unsalted chicken broth. Stir.

4. Place the chicken slices in the squash marinade and turn to evenly coat.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

7. Place chicken on wire racks, keep slices separated. Use baking sheets if you do not have wire racks and turn every hour.

8. Place chicken on racks in oven for 3 or more hours.*

* Due to difference in meat size and ovens baking time may vary. Your jerky treats should be firm and dry. If in doubt, it is safer to go a little more dry and firm than underdone.

Storage:

Store your chicken jerky treats in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 8 months. Write date on the plastic bag to ensure treats are eaten in a timely matter.

Breath Freshin' Chicken Jerky

Ain't nobody dope as me your breath so fresh so clean

I started clipping coupons here and there (made an attempt at my own version of extreme couponing but find it's unrealistic). Of course, I came across coupons for dog treats from beggin' strips to rawhides and these Milo Kitchen's treats. I cut a few to give Mochi a new treat. Sneaky girl always seems to know when a grocery bag contains new treats or toys. Spoiled brat. 

I use to feed the dogs I had previously beggin' strips but upon turning over that label, I realized it's nothing but fillers. Treats should add nutritional value to your pups. I mosey on over to the Milo's Kitchen treats... there is attractive packaging and it looks convincing enough that it's good for you pets health. There's a limited number of ingredients and that's usually a good sign. However, one red alert is that they do use garlic powder. Granted, a large amount of garlic powder is needed to make a dog sick but the same goes for chocolate and you don't see me dipping my dog's treats in chocolate. So I avoided those treats. The only ones that seemed suitable enough for me to buy was the Milo Kitchen's Chicken Jerky.

Mochi grabbed these jerky treats right out of the grocery bag and gobbled it in only a few bites. Seeing how much she loved them, I took a stab at making some home-made jerky. It is healthier since home-made jerky doesn't have preservatives and what not.  I also added some parsley to keep her breath so fresh and so clean clean. 

PR Intern verdict: She loved 'em just as much and now has fresher breath!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 chicken breast
• 2/3 C. unsalted chicken broth
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 C. water
• 1/2 tbsp dried parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse chicken and remove fat. Fat causes the jerky to spoil faster.

2. Slice chicken breast into thin 1/8'' to 1/4'' slices. Slice with the grain.

3. Combine unsalted chicken broth, olive oil, water, and parsley. Stir.

4. Place the chicken slices in the broth marinade and turn to evenly coat.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

7. Place chicken on wire racks, keep slices separated. Use baking sheets if you do not have wire racks and turn every hour.

8. Place chicken on racks in oven for 3 or more hours.*

* Due to difference in meat size and ovens baking time may vary. Your jerky treats should be firm and dry. If in doubt, it is safer to go a little more dry and firm than underdone.

STORAGE:

Store your chicken jerky treats in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 8 months. Write date on the plastic bag to ensure treats are eaten in a timely matter.