More of my favourite things

Yum. That's all I can say.

Well, maybe I can say a few more words. It's been a Christmas tradition every years for the past number of years that Cody make a party mix to give away to some family members. It was born out of necessity...he being a poor, penniless, starving student. But it continues because it's such a popular gift (well, to be honest he's still poor & penniless but now he's an aspiring actor...not a student)

So here is the recipe for Cody's Party Mix. It's GOOD.

6 cups Cheerios
6 cups Crispix
2 x 200 gram bags pretzels
300 grams salted peanuts
1 cup melted butter
4 - 5 tbsp worcestershire sauc
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp chili powder and/or
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix up dry ingredients in a foil roasting pan.
Melt butter and add other ingredients. Mix well.
Pour over dry ingredients and mix well. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes and stir every 15 to 20 minutes. (Keep an eye on the top layer - it may get dark - reduce heat or cooking time) YUM!!

Another favourite thing...continuing in my theme of hand made things for Christmas:

A wonderful long sleeved t shirt from Beebee Mod for our lovely Miss M. Isn't he the cutest snowman? Check out Jen's etsy shop to see all her great designs.

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I'm getting there!

Go Bananas Pawty Cake

Here's a cake recipe for you...well, actually for your four legged friends. Yes, a cake for dogs. What can I tell you? It's a crazy world out there. I have baked this cake on several television shows. Usually the host of the show will try it out. It's a little bland for the human palate, but dogs love it.

Barking Biscuit Go Bananas Pawty Cake

2 cups water
1/4 cup mashed banana
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
3 cups whole wheat flour (you can substitute rice flour, but you'll have to reduce the water)
1 cup dried bananas
1/2 tbsp baking powder

Frosting:
250 grams low fat cream cheese
3 teaspoons carob powder (not chocolate!)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a bowl, mix together water, bananas, vanilla, egg and honey.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, dried bananas and baking powder. Mix thoroughly.
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well. The dough will be thicker than regular cake mix.
Pour into an 8 inch greased cake pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will be quite dense...definitely not light and fluffy.

To make the frosting, beat ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth. Spread over the cake and decorate it with pieces of dried banana.

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Let your four legged friends enjoy!

The Power of Pumpkins

This photo is not our Mulligan....but it sure looks a lot like her! I received the photo last year from Jennifer. This is Sammy.

Do you have a photo of your dog with pumpkins? If you do...please email it to me! Maybe we'll use it on our new & improved pumpkin biscuits. If you don't have a photo, what are you waiting for? Get creative! (remember, we change the photos to black & white to use on our tags and we need a minimum of 300 dpi)

A very dear friend of mine has a dog battling bone cancer. Molly can no longer eat any grains. I have been experimenting with a couple of recipes and have decided to bring back our pumpkin biscuits. (our friend & customer Erin will be happy to hear this....she was so disappointed when I dropped pumpkin from our biscuit line)

I've modified our previous recipe and have eliminated the oats. The new recipe is currently being tested and if all goes well it will be hitting the shelves in October. The new list of ingredients in our pumpkin biscuits will be: pumpkin, brown rice flour, unsalted sunflower seeds, water, egg, corn oil, baking soda, and allspice.

Pumpkin and allspice are very good for the digestive system. These biscuits are packed with healthy goodness and boy do they smell good!

Very Merry Berry Muffin Recipe

Last year I was fortunate enough to be featured on a couple of tv shows. Late in the year I made some festive muffins on the morning show for The A Channel in Ottawa. Believe it or not, after the show many of the muffins disappeared...the camera crew were eating them as snacks! This happens quite often with our biscuits. We always use human grade natural ingredients...so lots of people try out our biscuits themselves. Some of our fans eat them regularly. But, I digress. After the tv show I had lots of requests for our Very Merry Berry Muffin recipe. I thought I'd share it with everyone:
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/3 cups unbleached (or whole wheat) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cranberries

Combine wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Mix together. Add cranberries. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Our dogs love them. Let me know what your dog thinks!