Ingredients:

• 3 c Whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c applesauce, unsweetened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients until just blended
3. Roll out dough to 1/4″ thickness, and cut into bite size pieces or use cookie cutters
4. Bake for 40 minutes, and cool for 2 hours.

Took mom’s idea and put the rolled out dough onto the silpat – and used the pizza cutter and then broke up the pieces after it came out of the oven!

Lots of good for the pups ingredients!!

Ingredients

We decided to also join for the year so that we could have some romantic days this coming year!

It was a gorgeous day and the flowers were amazing!! Here are a couple photos of some of the ones we saw!!

I decided to see what else was out there to try and make for the pups!

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats

These were very easy to work with – definitely skip the whisk business, all it does is clump up in the middle!

And the smell… Oh my goodness – the pumpkin and peanut butter combo is so good…  alas, for people these are a little bland, but for the pups, it was pretty spectacular!

I did follow the instructions and make this with canned pumpkin – since we give them pumpkin anyway to help with “gland issues” but i think next time I’ll try to use some of the sweet potato or pumpkin that i have already cooked and frozen for the boys!

We had a couple other new things to try this year.

Stickers for negative space visions and then the normal rubber bands and marbleing!

We colored somewhere near 60 eggs – obviously i lost some during the boiling process, but we did start at 60!

And all of them in all their glory!

Our hiking book said it was 1.5 mile hike. It was only a 1.12 mile hike,  a pretty short hike compared to what we expected to be a short hike!

I’m pretty sure it took us longer to drive to Boulder than it took to do the hike, but we wanted a short hike for our first one of the season!

Hubby and the pups and i head off on our quick adventure!

The trail is pretty clear and well maintained. The right – Pines to Peak circles around and into the top, while the left is a quick up to the top

There was a number of burn areas, but a lot of re-growth

We attempted a family photo at the top – alas…  we only got parts of each of us!

The view at the top is pretty.

The boys did well although they did get a bit hot, which was funny… since it was not as hot as it should have been.

A quick and easy adaptation from CL.

I love that this marinade can be used for a 1 hour quick turn around, with a second marinade as a dipping sauce or over night to give more mmm!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons chili sauce with garlic
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – pounded thin

Directions:

1. To prepare chicken, combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning bag occasionally.
2. Prepare grill.
3. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from grill; let stand 5 minutes.

Cajun Quiche in a Rice Crust

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• 2 cups cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese $
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup prechopped onion
• 1/2 cup prechopped red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
• 1 hot link, chopped (about 2/3 cup)
• 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese $

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. To prepare crust, combine rice, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 egg. Spread mixture into the bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle bottom of crust evenly with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
3. To prepare filling, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and the next 3 ingredients (through sausage); sauté 5 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly into prepared rice crust. Combine the egg substitute, fat-free yogurt, salt, hot pepper sauce, and egg whites; stir with a whisk until well blended. Pour egg substitute mixture over sausage mixture. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until the center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I would definitely use less rice next time – i love the combo of the garlic and onion powder in the rice! But i think the bottom and sides could definitely be less thick and it still be tasty!

• 6 ounce(s) lite feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) dried rosemary
• 1 bunch(es) kale, thick stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup(s) unsalted pine nuts, toasted
• 2 clove(s) garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon(s) lemon juice

directions

In the last year she gave up the business and i’ve considered making some treat for the pups and possibly as gifts for friends and family at christmas.

Last week i was perusing a Rachel Ray magazine (anyone get me this for xmas? cause it just started arriving and was wondering how!) and stumbled onto the last page where she had a recipe for dog treats. It was pretty easy, minimal ingredient and figured i’d give it a try.

The original recipe called for dried cherries, but those sounded expensive and i knew i had dried cranberries as home. So i checked on-line that this fruit wouldn’t kill them and went to town with the recipe!

Puppy Love – Cranberry Crunchies

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries – chopped
• 1 egg – beaten
• 2/3 cup to 1 cup water

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients and 2/3 cup water, adding more water as needed if the dough is too stuff (i’d us my kitchenaid mixer next time, stiring with a spoon is a pain!)

2. On a slightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/4 inch thick. (using my fancy rolling pin that had the measured discs to ensure correct thickness!) Using a 1-inch cookie cutter (i use tiny ones, since i have tiny guys) cut out the dough and transfer to a greased cookie sheet (i use a silpat and they just slid right off!). Gather and combine all the scraps, roll and form more cookies; repeat until all of the dough is used. Bake until crisp  25-30 minutes (even 30 minutes wasn’t crisp at Denver altitude, might cook longer or roll thinner next time) Transfer to a rack to cool

This was a super fun time! Took very little time – maybe an hour total and i’m sure i had way more than 25 cookies ! I’ve got 2 sour cream containers, and 1 frosting container full of teats for the boys.

Again, they were a good thickness but not “crisp” – alas there is no humidity in Denver, so maybe at sea level it might crisp up a bit better!