Oatmeal Dog Biscuits

These are some of the easiest dog treats I've made yet, and my pups absolutely love them!

I'm posting this without pictures as I need to make more tomorrow, but wanted to post this for a friend tonight.

There's only 4 ingredients - pumpkin, oatmeal, peanut butter, cinnamon - for this recipe, and you can do some of the prep work ahead of time and have the dry ingredients ready to go. No wheat, no corn, or vegetable oil (which may include corn).

So let's get to it!

Equipment needed:

• Baking sheet
• measuring cups & spoons
• cookie cutter (if you want a specific shape)
• parchment paper
• strong wooden spoon
• large mixing bowl. 
• Optional: food processor or blender, rolling pin

Shopping List:

• 5 cups  Old-fashioned rolled oats (or steel cut) OR oat flour
• 2 tblsp Peanut butter (make sure it has no artificial sweetners, best if you use organic)
• 1 tsp    Cinnamon
• 1 can (15oz) pureed pumpkin - pay attention to this, you do not want a pre-spiced pumpkin, you simply want plain old pumpkin; pre-spice pumpkin may contain nutmeg which is bad for dogs

Prep work:

If you have a good blender or a food processor, make your own oat flour by grinding down the old-fashioned oats into a "rough" flour. (I will get pictures of this).  This is when I pre-make a lot half of this recipe. I make the oat flour and then poor/ladle/spoon it into a 32oz. Ball jar and top it off with the cinnamon. This stores really well and it's the perfect amount to mix with the "wet" ingredients. Don't convert all of the oats to oat flour, you'll want about a cup to roll or press the dough into.

If you don't have a food processor or good blender you can purchase oat flour online, although a lot of stores now carry oat flour. You can use wheat if you like, but my dogs prefer the oatmeal.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit (375 works too).
2. Dump entire can of pumpkin into the mixing bowl; add the oatmeal flour, cinnamon, and peanut butter.
3. Mix well with a wooden spoon
4. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper - you can do without but they may be hard to remove from your baking sheet

Remaining steps using cookie cutters:

1. Taking a handful of dough, shape into a rough ball and place on parchment paper
2. Roll out or pat out the dough until it is roughly 1/4" thick
3. Cut out with cookie cutters or a glass
4. Place cutouts on the lined baking sheet
5. Bake full sheet for 30-35 minutes; depending on your baking sheet size you may only get one sheet
6. When done, turn off the heat and open the door, leave the baking sheet (or last baking sheet if you had more than one) in the oven for another hour while the oven cools. You want these to dry out well to make them more crunchy for your pup.

Remaining steps NOT using cookie cutters:

1. Use a spoon or your hands and pull a small amount of dough out and roll into a ball. It should be about the size of a walnut.
2. Place the ball on 
3. Flatten out the ball with the palm of your hand or the bottom of a glass to about 1/4" thick
4. place 
5. Bake full sheet for 30-35 minutes; depending on your baking sheet size you may only get one sheet
6. When done, turn off the heat and open the door, leave the baking sheet (or last baking sheet if you had more than one) in the oven for another hour while the oven cools. You want these to dry out well to make them more crunchy for your pup

Store the treats in an airtight container. These may be frozen or placed in the fridge to make them last longer. With two large Great Pyrenees in my house, I rarely have any around at the end of the week.

June 1st - Check yourself!

Boy, it seems like each passing month is busier. June is a National Cancer Survivor's month. All the fighters need to be remembered, and the survivors I know remember those that fought until the very end.

Know your own normal and if anything is "off" go get it checked out.

Don't be afraid to demand tests, don't even hesitate to demand tests. If your doctor won't listen, go find another.

Know your normal. Trust your gut. And NEVER be afraid to be your own advocate. You know YOU best.

SuperGirl Left the Planet & Her Favorite No-Bakes

Yep, it's been a bit over 4 years since our SuperGirl  left the planet after giving cancer a huge battle. She fought bravely, with true grace and dignity and she is desperately missed. My sweet friend leaves behind many who love, admire and adore her, but she left us with the greatest treasure, her daughter who is so like her.

In honor of her and to share with the world her favorite treat that I could make for her, I'm posting this recipe from the cookbook. Named for her so that she is truly immortal, in print at least.

SuperGirl's Chocolate Chip No-Bakes 

These were my sweet friend Shanon’s favorite cookies. She said they rock and I trust her opinion. Shanon fought all sorts of battles from fund-raising for Cystic Fibrosis and Susan G. Komen, to being a single mom of one of THE best young women on the planet, and cancer. Shanon is a local superhero who truly earned her nickname of SuperGirl.

I remember Grandma making a version of these that involved butterscotch chips and crunchy noodles. I think I may have gotten sick on Grandma’s version when I was a kid and that’s why I get nauseous when making these, I think no-bake cookies are more of a MidWest thing than a California thing as I never made no bakes until Shanon asked for some.

I searched around for several ideas and discovered that there are many versions of no-bake cookies out there. Most involve peanut butter and chocolate in some combination, so I took the ones that seemed the best, then made some changes and ended up with this recipe.

These are perfect for kids to make. No mixers involved and the use of a microwave helps avoid burning the chocolate. They also make the perfect cookies for dorm-bound college students.

Equipment needed

• Silicone spatula or wooden spoon
• Pyrex or microwavable mixing bowl - at least 2 quart (2.36L)
• Cookie sheets
• Wax paper (parchment paper or aluminum foil can be used in a pinch but it doesn’t work as well)
• 2 teaspoons - as in regular silverware, not measuring spoons

Groceries Needed

     ½ cup butter

     ½ cup semi-sweet, milk or dark chocolate chips

     2 cups sugar

     ½ cup milk

     ¾ cup peanut butter, creamy

     3 cups quick (1-minute) oatmeal

     2 tsps vanilla

Directions

1. Grab a few large cookie sheets and cover them with wax paper for dropping the cookies on. Don’t set these on a counter as the wax paper tends to get stuck to the counter top.
2. Measure out the oatmeal into a bowl; this needs to be added quickly before the liquid ingredients set up.
3. Place the chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl.
4. Microwave the chips for 30 seconds. Stir the chips and repeat. Cut the butter into chunks after the second go-round and add to the melting chips, nuke for 20 more seconds, stir and repeat. When the butter is mostly melted, add the peanut butter and nuke for another 20 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chips and butters are all melted.
5. Add the sugar and vanilla and stir until everything is dissolved. If it starts to get a bit too firm, nuke for 20 seconds.
6. Add the oatmeal all at once and stir until everything is chocolate covered.
7. Using 2 teaspoons, quickly spoon the dough onto the wax paper, shaping the cookies as you go. Let them completely cool before eating.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Mary’s Secrets

• Use mini-chips when possible as they speed up the melting process.
•  If you’re making these in the summer months, place the cookie sheets in the fridge or freezer to get them to set up more quickly.
• Place the finished cookies into an airtight container, keep in the fridge and they will last for a few weeks.
•  If you forget to add in the milk before putting in the sugar, simply microwave the milk for 30-45 seconds to warm it up and it will stir in very easily.

May Day! May Day! Check yourself!

Boy, it seems like each passing month is busier. May is a Melanoma and Skin, Bladder, and Brain cancer month.. Know your own normal and if anything is "off" go get it checked out. Check out www.cancer.org for a list of symptoms.

Don't be afraid to demand tests, don't even hesitate to demand tests. If your doctor won't listen, go find another.

Know your normal. Trust your gut. And NEVER be afraid to be your own advocate. You know you best.

Charlie Brown's Brownies - These are the Real Deal!

Charlie Brown's Brownies - These are the Real Deal!

(This is a repost from last year)

I thought I had lost my 1969 Peanuts Cookbook when I couldn't find it to fulfill a baking request from my brother.  A little over a year later, I found it! And discovered that the problem I'd had with the only recipe I could find online, the measurements were way off for some of the items.

My sincere apologies tot he Schultz family and Universal Features Syndicate, Inc. if I'm treading on a copyright issue, this book has been out of print for a long time and it's not available in my county's library system. Not one single copy.

So, in an attempt to be appropriate, I do not have the copyright to this recipe, the recipe belongs to June Dutton and the Schultz estate (I'm assuming). The Peanuts Cook Book was printed in 1969 by Universal Features Syndicate, Inc., with cartoons by Charles M. Schultz and recipes by Determined Productions, Inc. Both my sister and I were given a copy for Christmas that year.

On page 10 of this book was my all-time favorite brownie recipe. Charlie Brown's Brownies.  This is how it is written on page 10 of the Peanuts Cook Book:

(beginning quote, in case you can't see it)
"

CHARLIE BROWN'S BROWNIES

                                                             1 stick butter (1 cube)
                                                             3 squares unsweetened chocolate
                                                             4 eggs, beaten
                                                             2 teaspoons vanilla
                                                             2 cups sugar
                                                             1 cup flour, sifted
                                                             1 cup chopped nuts

In a large bowl (over a pan of boiling water) melt butter and chocolate. Remove from heat and add beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar, sifted flour, and nuts. Stir well. Pour into greased baking pan. Bake at
325^o for about 35 minutes. Center should stay moist. Cool before cutting. If they last an hour, you're lucky.
"
(end quote)

I tried to get the formatting as close to how it looks in the book as I could. Yes, the title in the book is in all caps.

To clarify "1 stick butter" equates to 1/2 cup of butter and "3 squares unsweetened chocolate" is 3 squares of baking chocolate.

Here's my updated ingredient list in today's terms and more detailed instructions for those that may be making these with kids.

1/2 cup butter, straight from refridgerator
3 squares baking chocolate, unsweetened
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour, sifted
1 cup chopped nuts, optinal (walnuts work best)

So here's you do this without burning the chocolate or butter.

1. Grease and lightly flour an 8x8 baking pan (typical brownie pan).
2. Pre-heat oven to 325^o.
3.  Get a big pan (I use a 5-quart pot and a large metal mixing bowl) filled with water and start heating the water to a boil. A very large double boiler is the ideal equipment, but few people I know now have those.
4. Measure out the sugar into a medium sized bowl.
5. Sift a cup of flour into the same bowl.
6. Add the nuts to the bowl with the sugar and sifted flour. This will help with pouring.
7. In a separate medium bowl, break all 4 eggs in and beat them with a whisk or electric mixer until throughly beaten.
8. Add the vanilla to the eggs, no need to stir.
9. Hopefully the water is boiling by now. Using a bowl that fits just inside the pot of boiling water, place the bowl in the water.. Alternatively, if you're really good with melting chocolate in a single pan, you can melt the chocolate and butter in about a 2-quart pot and have enough room for all the ingredients.
10. Place the butter and chocolate in the bowl to melt. Stir continuously until the chocolate and butter are melted. A silicone spatula is best for this  task.
11. Remove the bowl or pan from the heat. Dump in the egg/vanilla mix and stir lightly (less than 30 seconds), then add in the dry ingredients. Mix throughly.
12. Pour the mixture into the greased and floured pan.
13. Place into the pre-heated over and bake for 32-35 minutes (depending on your oven). The middle should remain moist.

I will try to get a picture to post soon. My brother doesn't like walnuts in his brownies so I make them without chopped nuts.

Cutest Easter Idea Ever!

Saw this posted on Facebook and I just HAD to share How cute is this?

It comes from an Australian-based page (see link below). I do not own the photo, but it was too cute not to share.  If you have littles, you might want to give this a try yourself.

https://www.facebook.com/mummiesandaddies/photos/a.413729748733160/1988227917949994/?type=3&theater

No Foolin' Around - Check Yourself!

April is a busy month for cancer awareness. April covere Testicular, Esophageal, and Head and Neck cancers. Proof that cancer never takes a break, so I'm here to remind you to know your own normal.

Don't be afraid to demand tests, don't even hesitate to demand tests. If your doctor won't listen, go find another.

Know your normal. Trust your gut. And NEVER be afraid to be your own advocate. You know you best.