Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

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I NEEDED to fill up the Cookie Jar, Fast! See, my husband bought me a lil sign to hang in the kitchen: “Grandmas never run out of Hugs or Cookies!” and the grandsons were on their way over so I needed to get some cookies baked. The only problem is that I had a Turkey in the oven! But no worries because I have this fancy new stove that has duel oven capabilities! So, next step, find something yummy to bake that I can do all in one hit and not be feeding baking trays into the oven all afternoon long; voila, Cookie Bars!

Now the only trouble is that they were so good my Cookie Jar is almost empty again!

I found the recipe at Very Best of Baking

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 cup Butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs

2 1/4 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Chocolate Chips
1 cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly spray at 15×10″ jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides)

In mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition; stir in vanilla.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.
Add chocolate chips and chopped nuts; stir well.

Spread cookie dough onto prepared pan, patting it down with your hands and pushing it towards the corners. (very messy process!)

Bake in 375F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool in pan on wire rack.
Cut into bars.

Makes up to 48 bars.

Baking for Dogs

Dog’s Breath Biscuits

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When we first got our Lab/Shep cross we often gave him treats when we were training him. Buying wholesome treats became pretty expensive! Then I remembered seeing a recipe for Dog Biscuits in a Canadian Living magazine, not that I could remember which issue; so I googled it and was pleased to find what would become a regular for Bear.
One time I went to make the biscuits, clicked on the saved bookmark and ACK! The recipe was missing! I quickly sent off an email to Canadian Living begging them to look into it; at first I thought maybe they had found the recipe was not suitable for dogs or something but they were quick to send back a response and the recipe was back online. Now I know it would be easy to just always google Doggy Treats but sometimes when I find a recipe that I really like, I prefer to stick to the tried and true. I swore I was going to get the Canadian Living recipe up on my page ASAP so I would never have to worry about finding it missing again….a year later and well, here it is, finally on my site. The biscuits do keep well in an airtight container so  I always double the original recipe and here on my site I give you the doubled amounts.
Oh, tried and true or not, I do like to experiment a little so I have also added some add ins that Bear has liked.

Thanks Canadian Living for a great recipe for an important member of our family!

Dog Biscuits, made with Love for our Bear
Dog Biscuits, made with Love for our Bear

1 cup Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups Rolled Oats
1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Butter, softened (I sometimes sub in a bit of Bacon Fat)
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
4 Eggs
1 Tablespoon dried Mint
2 Tablespoons dried Parsley
1 cup shredded Cheese (optional)
4 strips cooked Bacon (optional)
1 Apple, shredded (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In medium mixing bowl combine flours, oats, cornmeal, brown sugar,  baking powder and salt; set aside.
In mixing bowl beat together butter, peanut butter; add eggs, one a time then cream until smooth.
On low speed, stir in dry ingredients, mint, parsley and any optional ingredients to make a soft dough.
Turn out onto floured surface and knead until it all comes together; divide into two portions.
Roll out one portion of dough to  1/2″ thickness and cut with bone shaped cookie cutter.
Arrange on prepared baking sheets; you can put them pretty close together.
With second portion, again roll out, but directly onto a piece of parchment paper, into an 8″x11″ rectangle.
Trim rough edges; using a sharp knife, cut into small rectangles but do not separate.
Roll scraps and cut more bone shaped biscuits.
Bake in 325F oven for 35 – 40 minutes, until golden and firm; I start checking on them at 25 minutes, removing those that look like they are cooked through.
Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
With the 8″x11″ sheet, break along cuts to make treats to stuff into Kong toys or to have on hand when you go out for a walk.

 

Baking for Dogs

Canine Pupcakes

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Our Lab/Shep cross celebrated his second birthday! Last year I made him a cake for his first birthday and was left storing a huge portion of uneaten cake in the fridge/freezer. This year I got clever and made “pupcakes”; infinitely easier to store!
I used Brown Eyed Bakers recipe with a few minor alterations and the addition of a Doggy Icing to top the Pupcakes with. I also made Bear some Biscuits, a few of which I crumbled on top.

Birthday Pupcakes!
Birthday Pupcakes!

 

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Rolled Oats
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I used Bacon Fat)
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Eggs
1 Apple, peeled, cored and shredded
1 cup shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In mixing bowl combine flours, oats, baking powder and baking soda.
In separate bowl combine applesauce, water, fat, honey, eggs, shredded apple and cheese.
Pour all at once into dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time.
Remove from oven and let cool in tin on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.
When cool, Frost with
Doggy Delight Icing
4 ounces Strawberry Cream Cheese, or plain
2 ounces Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
In mixing bowl combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.

 

Poultry

Super Simple BBQ Chicken Breasts

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When the day gets away from you, you forgot to take something out of the freezer to defrost and the last thing in the world you want to do is cook but you have to feed your family then this has got to be the most simple meal to throw together!
I had some thin boneless Chicken Breasts in the freezer to work with, half a bottle of Chicken and Rib BBQ sauce in the fridge and I always have some kind of Potatoes and fresh vegetables on hand. Here is what I did:

Preheated oven. Got the Chicken into a baking dish, threw some baby potatoes into another and got them into the oven. Then I prepped the broccoli and went to put my feet up for a half hour before coming back to the kitchen to get the plates ready by layering lettuce leaves, sliced red cabbage, celery and tomato on one.

Now I am a Vegetarian so I skipped putting Chicken on my plate; instead I added chopped pecans, a bit of shredded Cheddar and some dried Cranberries to my salad. Not the most wholesome meal for a Vegetarian but, man, I was beat and so not into cooking two separate meals!

Super Quick BBQ Chicken Breasts
Super Quick BBQ Chicken Breasts

1- 1lb pkg Thin Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 cup Chicken and Ribs BBQ Sauce

3/4 lb each Baby Red Potatoes and Baby White Potatoes
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning spice mix
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 head Garlic

Preheat oven to 375F.
Spray one 9×13 inch casserole pan, 1-8″square casserole dish

Separate and lay chicken breasts, slightly overlapping if you need to, in prepared 9×13″ casserole.
Pour BBQ sauce over top, spreading with a pastry brush if needed.
Cover with Aluminum Foil.

Place baby potatoes in prepared 8″ casserole.
Whack the head of garlic and separate each clove; add to potatoes.
Drizzle both with olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning mix and toss to coat.

Put both pans in the oven and cook for 35 minutes at 375F.
Remove foil from Chicken casserole dish.
Increase oven temperature to 425F and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

When you remove the foil and increase oven temperature that is when you would turn the broccoli on to cook and get your salad together.

 

Low Carb Baking

Low Carb High Protein Fruit and Nut Bites

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You know how you get that craving for something sweet but you don’t want to undo all your good work by loading up on empty carbs and way too much sugar ie: Cookie Monster Time! I decided to give Low Carb Sweets another look. And I will continue to do so for the rest of January 2013 just to see what I come up with and determine whether or not LC will fill the void.

I entered Low Carb High Protein cookie recipes into google and had a browse through the first few hits. I liked the look of Healthy No Bake Protein Cookies because I almost always have protein powder on hand these days, love peanut butter and always have dried cranberries, dates, raisins and a variety of nuts on hand.

Low Carb High Protein Fruit and Nut Bites
Low Carb High Protein Fruit and Nut Bites

How I made them:

6 ounces Peanut Butter
2 ounces Tahini Paste
1/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar
1 1/2 Scoops Vega One Protein Powder
1/4 cup chopped Dates
1/4 cup dried Cranberries
1/4 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Sliced Blanched Almonds
Fine Coconut  – about 1 cup

Melt the peanut butter and tahini paste over low heat until melted, stirring constantly to discourage scorching and eliminating all lumps.
Remove from heat and stir in protein powder and Splenda brown sugar.
Stir in dates, cranberries, raisins and sliced almonds until well incorporated.
Use a #2 Pampered Chef scoop to scoop portion dough into even sized balls, roll between your hands to attain even form then drop into coconut and roll around to coat.

Yield: About 24 cookies

What I would do different next time:
I just happen to have Splenda Brown Sugar on hand…I almost threw it away but considering how much I paid for it, I thought I better use it up. When the Splenda BS is gone I will use Honey, but not the cup stated in the original recipe; I will probably use 1/3 of a cup.
I will make them with all Peanut Butter; I have Tahini Paste in the pantry for when I make hummus but I don’t make it that often and hummus doesn’t call for much of it! A shame to have the Tahini Paste going stale in the pantry so this was a good opportunity to unload a bit of it.
I will add a splash of vanilla.
I will grind the almonds rather than using sliced…sliced almonds made the rolling process too difficult.
My dear husband says the only thing I should do different next time is to dip them in Chocolate!

Low Carb High Protein Fruit and Nut Bites
Low Carb High Protein Fruit and Nut Bites

 

 

Welcome to my Kitchen where the most important ingredient is Love.