Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dogs. Show all posts

8/31/2009

Puppy Chow at Table Talk

Calling all puppies...It's chow time!
So, my very favorite part of the General Mills Table Talk event was when they let us grab a red apron and do some cooking in the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens. That is definitely in the top 5 coolest things I have ever done!We got a main dish recipe to try and review, our group had Spicy Skillet Chicken. You can get the super-easy recipe here on the Betty Crocker website.
It looked good, but I knew that my 2 and 4 year old wouldn't touch it. OF COURSE I had to make it fun somehow.
Luckily, I had packed my Gourmet-Mom-on-the-Go Utility Belt!
Little H is very into puppies right now...so I was inspired. She will eat anything if she thinks it's in a doggie dish. So, why not turn dinner into "Puppy Chow"?! It only takes an extra 60 seconds and you have fun food for the kids AND a grown-up dinner for the adults...perfect.
Plus, I don't have to cut up anyone's food at the table. Sold!
Instructions:
Make Betty Crocker's quick and easy Spicy Skillet Chicken (It's 25 minutes prep and super-easy. I don't know if I'm allowed to post it here, so you'll just have to follow the link).

To assemble the "Doggie Dish", place a small bowl upside-down in a larger one (whatever size you want).
Fill with hot rice and push down with the back of a spoon to pack it tightly.
Turn upside down onto a plate and remove bowls. Add a little more rice in the bottom of the doggie dish if desired.

(Note: You could do all kinds of fillings in these "doggie bowls"!)
Dice chicken and place on one side of the bowl. Place the rice/bean/corn mixture on the other side. You can serve it this way and the little pups will gobble it up!Or, if you want to get fancy, add some icing eyeballs, a nose (I used a large sprinkle), and pretzel whiskers (thanks Lisa!) Call the dogs for chow-time!
If you really want to go wild, let them eat under the table in "The Dog House"
(it's a favorite around here)
Thanks, Gourmet Dad, for taking such great care of the girls while I was away at Table Talk. I think he liked the souvenir I bought for him.:)
I'll have some more dinner ideas from Table Talk coming soon!

5/09/2009

Gourmet Doggie Treats & Singing Chef

It's the singing chef!:) Gourmet Dad's favorite broadway song is "I Dreamed a Dream", so I did a quick recording of it as a surprise for him so he can hear me sing it whenever he wants. You can go here to hear it yourself--I didn't record it in the kitchen, but we sing in there all the time, it has great acoustics!

We've never featured canine food before, but Baby H has serious issues with one of our best friends' dog and we're working on making friends. Here's a super easy and yummy dog treat recipe the kids can all help with, we had a great time!

Gourmet Doggie Treats
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 c. ground flax seed (if you don't have it, just do and extra 1/4 c. whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup cornmeal
2/3 cup flavored liquid (broth, bouillon, etc)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together. Add more broth or oil 1 T. at a time if dough is too dry. Roll out to about 1/4" thick and cut into shapes.
Place on greased cookie sheet and Bake at 350 F for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving to your favorite doggie!

8/18/2008

Pupcakes

Right now it's everything "doggie" at our house! The girls pretend to be doggies, bark their favorite songs, you name it. They would love a puppy, but that just isn't happening right now. So, we decided to celebrate their stuffed animal dogs' "birthdays" with some Pupcakes!

I also think you could make the white ones with coconut fur and use them as a "Book and a Snack" with Norbert Rosing's fabulous The World of the Polar Bear. The kids will love flipping through this huge book with amazing photos. They looked more like polar bear prints than dog's to me, anyway.:)Pupcakes
Ingredients:
Your favorite cupcakes
Icing (I used buttercream, a can of coconut pecan icing, and chocolate buttercream)
Mini York Peppermint Patties (sold in bags in the candy aisle)
Jr. Mints Candies
Flaked Coconut (optional, if you need some "fur")

Directions:
Frost cupcakes with your choice icing, depending on what color "paws" you want. I thought the can of coconut pecan icing looked great, almost like real fur! The coconut on the white icing reminded me of a polar bear.:)
Place one Mini York Peppermint Patty on the frosted cupcake and three Jr. Mints candies on top to look like a paw print. Woof!

8/08/2008

Doggy Dinner

Who says cleaning out the freezer/fridge can't be fun? It's one of our favorite days around here! During the week, I throw our leftover veggies in a big ziploc baggie that I keep in the freezer. When it's full, I make a huge pot of veggie soup, using the Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup recipe as the base.
Normally, this is kid-feeding suicide....LEFTOVER VEGGIES thrown in a soup?? Well, if you take about five extra minutes you can turn this into one of your kids' favorite dinners! It's all about presentation.;) Add some Doggie Biscuits, let them eat in the Dog House, and you have a winner!
What You Need:
Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup (add your own veggies/whatever you have on hand)
Doggie Biscuits (recipe below)
The Dog House (instructions below)

Doggie Biscuits:
Ingredients:
Can of Refrigerator biscuits (any kind)
Directions:
Open can, seperate biscuits. Pinch off about half of biscuit and make into circle shape. Seperate the rest of biscuit into 3 or 4 pieces and roll into balls. Place around the top of the larger piece to look like a "pawprint". Bake as directed.
The Dog House:
Find some old sheets or tablecloths, cover them over your kitchen table so edges touch the ground. Print or make a Doghouse Sign (optional). Let them climb in to eat! Smile when they tell their teacher at school that their mom makes them eat in the doghouse.:)
Here's the Doghouse Sign, click to enlarge and print.

Holiday Playlist

My grandmother hasn't been doing well...to cheer her up, I rounded up a few of my musical friends and made an album of Holiday songs fo...