Homemade Dog Treats

Do you ever tear something out of a magazine expecting to use it soon and then lose it forever? I came across a recipe for homemade dog treats that came out of a magazine (Good Housekeeping, I think) about 3 years ago. I'd wanted to make them and then lost the recipe, I assumed, forever. Apparently not. It showed up a few days ago so I thought I'd give them a whirl. They were well received by both our dogs and my parent's dog. I suppose that means they get the stamp of approval.

Homemade Dog Treats

3 tbls. brown sugar
3 tbls. dry chicken gravy mix
1 cup nonfat dry milk
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup warm water

Preheat oven to 300*. Mix all ingredients together until combined. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. (Honestly, I skipped this step). Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a 12-inch square, 1/4 inches thick. Cut dough into 1 1/2"x2" pieces or cut using a cookie cutter. Place treats about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes; turn cookies over and continue to bake another 10 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Super, super easy and the doggies loved 'em. I made mine with a bone shaped cookie cutter I had picked up at a kitchen store a long time ago just for this purpose.

This makes about 4 dozen treats. I put about half in the freezer for later.

Tricks, Treats and Birthday Cake

Ah....Halloween. The scaring of little ghouls and goblins and the overloading of way too much sugar.

We lean on the not so scary side of Halloween since the kiddos are still kinda little. Pretty tame and this year with Halloween on a Saturday we were also able to celebrate Micaela's birthday on her actual birthday. Yes, Kayla is my treat for Halloween. She was born smack dab in the middle of trick or treating time. Not my idea, but doc was headed off for vacation the next day.

We traditionally spend the evening at my grandparents. It started because we live in the middle of nowhere with no real place to trick-or-treat. The grandparents live in a nice neighborhood that's got a few good blocks of houses. Now it has morphed into my entire family being there. We have dinner, go trick-or-treating and then come back for dessert.

We headed off to the grandparents with fond distant memories of last year's trick-or-treating. Last year it was nearly 70* at trick-or-treating time. We didn't even need a jacket. This year it was windy and somewhere in the 40's. We went out with coats and gloves. Brrrr!!

Since we were celebrating Kayla's birthday (8th) we started the afternoon off with presents. She got lots of fun things from her aunts, grandparents and of course, mommy and daddy. Mommy made the lamb <--. After presents we had our customary, kid-friendly dinner of mac & cheese and fish sticks. Actually, quite tasty. Thanks grandma!

The kids couldn't resist playing with their food a little.After dinner it was off to canvas the neighborhood. It was the knight, the indian and Laura Ingalls in search of candy treasure.

And boy did they ever find treasure....

Last came the birthday cake. They were supposed to be little pumpkins, but apparently the trick was on me. I waited too long to get them started so since they were too warm they didn't cooperate. We called them chocolate volcanoes instead. At least they tasted great! Happy 8th birthday Micaela and Happy Halloween everyone!

Recipe of the week -- The Best Mexican Dip Ever!!

Okay, seriously it may not be the best ever in everyone's opinion, but it is in mine.

With the all the holiday entertaining coming up I thought I would share one of my favorite dip recipes. I normally serve this at buffet style parties and I rarely have any left over. In fact my kids and I have been known to make an entire meal out of this. It's great alongside the obligatory barbecue meatballs at any buffet/appetizer get-together.

Sorry I don't have any pics.

Best Mexican Dip Ever!!

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb. Velveeta, cubed
1 can (15 oz.) cream-style corn
1 jar (12 oz.) salsa, pick your favorite
Tortilla Chips for serving

Mix all ingredients, except chips, in a 3 1/2 to 4 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on high 30-40 minutes or until cheese is melted; stir. Cover and turn on low setting until ready to serve, up to 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

I have found that the best chips to serve this with are those Tostitos Scoops. Those awesome bowl shapes hold this really, really well. Oh man, now I'm hungry.