Dog Treats from Santa

If you have ever spoken with me for more than a few minutes, 

it is entirely possible that I mentioned my dogs.

I love my dogs.

I love your dogs.

I just love dogs.

So, considering the above statements, I made treats for all my dog friends this Christmas.

Fun!

Mint leaves for the fresh breath.

Sweet potatoes.

Never met a dog that didn't like the sweet potato.

Healthy whole grain.

Mix together.

Shredded apple.  

MmmHmm.

Make a dough ball.

Roll it out.

Cut with the dog bone cookie cutters.

2Groovydude took on this project for me.

Thanks, 2Groovydude!

(Yes, I had these in my kitchen.  I'm telling you, I love dogs!)

Now, the real test.

Did my dog friends approve?

Very enthusiastically, I must say.

No little furry friend turned me down on this treat.

Even finicky, Rubes, wolfed it down.

(Woof!)

Bellie

and the

Rubes below.

(Hee, hee, hee!  Never fails to make me laugh!)

Find the recipe at the link below:

Dog tested and approved.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3113

Yummy Muffin

I was complaining to a co-worker how hungry

 I was after eating cereal one morning and she told me about this muffin recipe.

Protein packed and keeps you from being hungry until lunch.

You will be amazed.

It's called Muffin in a Minute (MIM) from the Atkins Diet website.

Find a mug and mix dry ingredients: Flax meal, baking powder, cinnamon.

Then add egg, and sweetener.

So, this recipe as it stands is a little dry and not that tasty.

To make it really great, add a tablespoon of some kind of nut butter.

My friend uses soy nut butter.

My favorite is almond butter, but peanut butter is also good.

(I actually like anything that ends in the word butter.)

I haven't tried others, but any would work.

I also don't like artificial sweetener, so I add a

tablespoon of honey to mine.

Mix everything well and place in microwave for 1 minute.

Here it is out of the microwave.

Run a knife around the edge and dump out the muffin.

How cute!

Little mug muffin.

  

Cut in half and butter.

Delicious!

Follow the link below for the original recipe.

You can try variations to get the taste you like.

Check out the pumpkin alternative below.

            http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase1/WhatYouCanEatinthisPhase/AllAboutMIMs.aspx

And if you are still in the mood for pumpkin, the site below has recipe for pumpkin MIM.

Mmmmm!

http://community.atkins.com/discussions/viewTopic.jsp?messageBoardId=1198&forum=Recipe+Exchange&action=previous&topicId=4711641

Goblin Eggs!

I think the "deviled" part of deviled eggs has something to do with the preparation?

Not sure, but for Halloween season I guess they are just scary.

Let's just carry it through Thanksgiving also, you know "gobblin".

(Yes, I realize that was extremely corny.)

I found this recipe on the Key Ingredient app.

You can also see the recipe at http://www.keyingredient.com/

Boil the eggs.

I cover the eggs with cold water, then bring to a boil.

Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Mmmm...goat cheese.

The egg yolk mixture uses the usual mayonnaise with a little goat cheese.

Yeah!

Peel and half the eggs, scoop out the middle and mix with the deviling ingredients.

I don't know, that's just weird.

After mixing, spoon the mixture back into the white halves.

Now here's the best part.

Bacon!

Chop crispy cooked bacon and green onions to garnish the top.

Oh, my!

What could be better?

Bacon and eggs, baby!

These really were good.

Daddio and I polished them off quickly.

Don't be scared, just try them!

To follow the Key Ingredient recipe and for a printable version click on the link below.

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/9043096/goblin-deviled-egg/

Spaghetti? Squash?

Alright, what is it really?

Yes, it would be the spaghetti squash.

Strange veggie that I have somehow never tried.

Now, Daddio is skeptical of all things squash.

(He doesn't even like pumpkin pie! Crazy!)

So, needless to say, he was a little leery.

He's is a good sport, though. and agreed to go on my squash adventure with me.

Cut open, it does resemble our pumpkin friend.

 

Get busy scraping out those seeds and other gooey stringy, whatever that is.

The recipe that I'm going to send you to, at the bottom of the blog, calls for feta cheese.

Well, I had some herbed creamy goat cheese that I wanted to use up, so there you go.

Chop tomatoes, and green onion.

Recipe calls for regular onion, but I want green.

You know how I am.

Once again, the recipe just calls for basil.

But my friend above seemed to be calling.

Remember the Spice Market that sets up a booth at the farmers market?

http://www.spicemarkettogo.com/

Love this stuff.

It has a little crushed red pepper, that spices up all things.

Mmmm.

Add the black olives to the cheese mixture.

Saute the tomatoes and onions in a little oil.

In the meantime, the squash goes in the oven, in a pan with an inch of water.

Fun!

Now, here is the really weird and crazy part.

I have heard of this squash, but never met it in person.

It really does come out of there looking like spaghetti.

Look at it!

Scrape out squash halves and add to the cheese mixture.

Add the sauteed veggies.

Mix it up!

To find the recipe and a printable version click on the link below.

http://www.keyingredient.com/search/?query=Spaghetti+Squash+with+Feta

(Key Ingredient can also be found as an i-phone, i-pad app.)

This was a pretty good side dish.

However, the next day, I put all the leftovers in a baking dish.

Poured spaghetti sauce over the top and sprinkled cheese over that.

Baked at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes and that was really tasty.

Try it, even Daddio liked it, squash hater that he is.

Happy Hungry Hummingbirds

Okay, first things first, since I have been so sporadic with my posting lately,

be sure and go over to the right and sign up for an e-mail notice when I have a new post.

That way when I finally get around to it, you will know and you won't have that disappointing

blog check that you have already seen before.

Now down to business.

Hummingbirds and what to feed them.

If you live in Oklahoma, you will see our little hummingbird friends from about late March to September/October.

That's when you will need to put out your feeder and keep it full.

If you put out a feeder keep it full.

Oh, did I already say that?

That's because the little guys rely on you, so don't tease them.

Alright, let's make some hummingbird grub.

4 parts water to one part sugar.

So that means 4 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar or any variation thereof.

I'm pretty sure I have never used the word "thereof" until now.

The water is brought to a boil to get rid of all contaminates.

I add the sugar after boiling, but you can just pour it all in at once

and microwave until boiling bubbles appear.

My microwave boils 4 cups of water in about 8 minutes.

Easy and brings lots of hummingbird porch moments that you will enjoy.

I wish I could say that this guy was on my back porch, but no.

This is one of the giant hummingbirds we saw in the rain forrest.

They were very people friendly and allowed some great photos.

Check them out below.

These hummingbirds were at least twice, if not more, as big as the ones I see on my back porch.

Watch out!

Coming in for a landing.

That was the other cool thing about their feeders in Costa Rica.

They provided the little guys with a perch.

So, the old rumour that hummingbirds never perch, untrue.

Now I just have to go on Costa Rica Amazon.com and find one of those

perchy feeders and we will be all set.

Try it for yourself, I promise you won't regret it.

In A Pickle

Cucumber fans unite!

Well, if you would like to turn them into pickles, that is.

My favorite way to munch a cucumber.

Mmmm, the salty brine, the sweet and spicy.

Wow, I want some pickles!

First, of course, start with some cucumbers.

These are the small minis that come wrapped in a little package.

Gather up some pickling items.

I had no clue, but most of the stuff I already had in my pantry.

Just had to pick up those yummy pickling spices.

Mine came from Whole Foods.

My recipe donator (see below) got his at Williams Sonoma.

I tasted both and both were tasty, so go with what you can find.

So, I have never made pickles.

If you are like me, then this is a great way to start with refrigerator pickles.

Lulu's Cole gave me the recipe and I was able to sample before making.

That always makes a recipe worth trying, when you know it's good.

You, on the other hand, will just have to trust me.

Slice the cucumbers and salt then put in fridge for a couple of hours.

Rinse and lay them out on a kitchen towell to absorb some of the juices that the salt brings out.

Okay, this was fun, and looks so pretty on my tomato towell.

Photogenic cucumbers.

Huh.

Add the pickling spices and other ingredients to vinegar

in a medium sized pot and bring to a boil.

Once they start to boil, then simmer on low to get out all those great flavors.

Smells good!

Add some cucumbers to prepared (washed) jars.

Cole makes his in one big jar, but I went with the four jelly size.

Add some of the liquid.

We are layering here.

I acquired some canning jars from Farmer Gibson.

He's our chicken farmer friend.

I don't know how he knew I needed them for pickles, but hey.

Bird's eye view, with another layer cucumbers.

More liquid and I added the cucumber and onion salad that was left over from the day before.

Onions pickled, that's good also.

Put the lids on and refrigerate immediately.

You can eat these delicious babies as soon as they cool.

No waiting around.

Good, because it's hard to wait.

Let me just say, crunchy, sweet, spicy, can't stop eating, once you start.

Yea!

Thanks Cole for the recipe!

Details below.

Refrigerator Pickles

1 1/2 lbs. cucumbers, sliced (That's about two of the mini packages.)

3 cups vinegar (I used Apple Cider vinegar.)

3 cups sugar

2-3 T. pickling spices of your choice

1 Bay leaf

Pinch of crushed red pepper

4-5 Garlic cloves

Toss cucumbers in 1 1/2 t. of kosher salt,  Keep in fridge for 2-3 hours.  Rinse cucumbers to remove salt and pat dry.  (Lay out on the towell and use another towell to pat, like above.)

Bring vinegar, sugar, pickling spices, garlic, bay leaves and pepper to a boil.  Simmer very low for 15-20 minutes to steep.  Add layer of cucumbers to a huge jar.  Pour some liquid on top, then continue layering until you run out of cucumbers.

Refrigerate after sealing jar(s) and eat up!

Side note:  With the canning jars, the lids seal because you are putting the hot pickles in the fridge.  Cole uses one of those flip-top lid jars with the rubber seal.  So, go with what you got.  Hope you enjoy, mine are already gone.

Garden Goodness

Daddio asked 2Groovydude to help dig potatoes on Father's Day.

Of course, 2Groovydude had to accept, since it was Father's Day.

Nice and sneaky, Daddio.

So, here you have them.

This year's crop of potatoes.

Up close and personal.

Red, white and purple.

Too cute.

The only logical thing to do was make green beans and new potatoes.

And these babies are new.

Like from yesterday.

They have barely seen the light of day.

Which is bad for potatoes anyway, so cook 'em up.

This recipe is really so easy.

I had never made this until this year.

Wow, what I've been missing.

This is a tasty little dish that I found the recipe for on

The Food Network.

Southern-Style Green Beans with Bacon and New Potatoes on the Food Network

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/southern-style-green-beans-with-bacon-and-new-potatoes-recipe/index.html