Dog Treats That Humans Will Hijack

Yesterday was a rainy day which was a great setting for finishing up the baking that I didn't get to on Saturday. I had about an hour to kill while waiting for some cookie dough to chill, but already had the oven on from the first batch. I thumbed through a couple cookbooks for quick inspiration and came across a recipe for Cheese Bone Cookies For Dogs. Now, my dog gets treats regularly, but I've never actually MADE them. There's a first time for everything, though, right?

These were crazy simple to make, especially because I didn't bother with the cookie cutter step. I figured I can make them cute next time IF the pooch actually liked them.

When they came out of the oven they smelled awesome! Of course, garlic cheddar anything coming out of the oven smells amazing. Curiosity got the best of us all, and we HAD to try these treats. Aside from needing a little salt, the common opinion is that they taste like Crazy Bread. Seriously! Next time, I'll make two batches. One for the pooch and one with a teaspoon or so of salt for the humans.

Even if you don't have a dog, you should give these a whirl. They would be great with a bowl of soup or dipped in your favorite pizza sauce. I'll be adding them to the keeper pile for sure!

I almost forgot! The pooch loved them, too :)

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 9/4/2010

Happy Saturday rockers! I woke up this morning knowing I was about to make a ton of lasagna. What I had conveniently forgotten, however, was that we only have enough sugar for coffee. Yikes!

I really didn't feel like running out the store around the corner and paying twice as much as I would at Winco, so I knew I needed to get creative.

I made the four lasagnas ( two for tonight and tomorrow's leftover night and two for the freezer). I knew I didn't need to make much for breakfasts after last weeks crazy insane bake fest. I did need to make somethings for lunch snacks. Without sugar.

Usually, I know at least a few days in advance what I'll be making on any given Saturday, but this week I couldn't think past the lasagnas. As I was rummaging through the cabinets for inspiration, I found four open boxes of random cereal and a bag of marshmallows. Peanut Butter krispy treats it was!

Then, I was staring at a stack of yellow cake mixes and I thought about making pineapple upside down cake. That wouldn't work, though, because we finished up the oil last night for taco shells.

Wow, no sugar AND no oil!! Maybe we should have grocery shopped this week, after all.

While I was going about the morning, I remembered reading a recipe a while back for Cake mix cookies. That might work! I jumped online, did a quick search, found the recipe, and went back to square one because oil did not magically reappear in the cabinet over the course of the morning. Awesome!

Finally, I thought about a Christmas cookie I make that starts with a cake mix and uses butter instead of oil. Houston, I think we may have lift off!

All I did was mix a yellow cake mix with an egg and 1/4 cup melted margarine. Then, I added about a half a cup of drained pineapple pieces because I still had the upside down cake on the brain. I dropped TBSP sized scoops about two inches apart on the baking sheet and baked them for about ten minutes at 350. After they were done, I pressed a chocolate covered macadamia nut into each one. The only thing I will probably do differently next time is make them a little smaller. I had a little trouble getting the baking time just right with them as big as they were. Other than that, Hubby declared them a keeper and said I need to make a double batch next time. I love when experiments have a happy ending!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday rockers! I know I will :)

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Apple Butter Update

Yesterday I mentioned that I was trying this Apple Butter recipe. A couple weeks back while I was out with a friend of mine, we passed an apple tree in the country that had apples all over, including a bunch all over the ground. We decided to stop and ask if we could pick some. The lady was so nice and even offered us a bag. When it was all said and done, we had two big bags full. If I had to guess, I'd say it was easily 25 pounds worth. Well, I'd baked my way through, eaten and given away so many, but the apples just wouldn't disappear! Finally, I came across the Apple Butter recipe. I've heard of it before, but I've never tried it. Since I'd canned most weekends over the summer, apple butter seemed like a nice fit. Well, after my crazy, insane baking day, I got caught up having a beer with the guys after dinner. Somewhere in the middle of beer number two, I remembered the big bowl of apples that were still sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to be peeled and chopped for the crock pot. Lovely!! The guys decided to help me out. So, there we sat, on a Saturday night. Music, beer, and apple peeling. Do we know how to party, or what?!? When we finished up, the crock pot was full. That was the only thing I didn't follow in the recipe. Everything else I left alone. When I woke up this morning, the house smelled amazing! The apple butter didn't look very appealing, though, and I wasn't sure if it was going to be a keeper. I decided to press on anyway. I ran the apples through the blender and through them back in the cooker for another hour. They thickened up nicely, but still looked scary. Really, the stuff looks like barbecue sauce! I reluctantly jarred it up and set some aside to finally try. It still smelled wonderful, I just had a hard time with the appearance. Now, I'm so mad at myself for not taking pictures! This stuff is so good! I can't wait to try it on biscuits or pancakes! It totally rocked on a blueberry muffin, too! I thought it would have the texture of jam, but was much lighter and sweeter like applesauce/syrup. The recipe couldn't have been much easier, and the end result was addictive. That's what I call a keeper. Now, I want to go pick apples again so I can make up a few more batches for Christmas presents. If you try it, let me know what you think! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 8/28/10 Crazy Insane Edition!

Hey rockers! It's great to be back to my blog! As much as I hate to see summer leaving, it feels great to get back into the "normal" routine of life. I won't lie, though, it's been rough getting started. Today I felt like I was making up for several weeks worth of baking and prep work, even though I'd still accomplished smaller baking days throughout the summer.

With the garden still giving like crazy, we had to plug back in our big old standing freezer. It's an awesome feeling to know that it will be full soon with the summer's garden goodness that will last us the coming months.

Here's today's goodies:

3 (yes 3) Zucchini Pies ( to be frozen)

2 batches of blueberry muffins (snacks and breakfasts)

1 big pan of chicken breasts ( for dinners this week)

1 batch Latte Bars (I haven't made these all summer, I swear!)

1 pan of apple snack cake (snacks and lunches)

1 batch of bread pudding (breakfasts)

1 big BBQ pizza (lunches, not pictured because it was still in the oven)

Still on the list:

a big batch of salsa (for the freezer)

a batch of corn bread (for tonight's dinner)

and a batch of Apple Butter. I can't wait to try this! I'm going to toss everything in the slow cooker tonight before bed. Keep your fingers crossed. I'll post the results tomorrow.

I hope you're all having a great weekend! I'm going to finish up in the kitchen and then get back to enjoying this Saturday outside.

Until next time, rock on my friends!

Clean the Fridge Stir Fry

Hey rockers! It turns out cell phone pictures aren't that great, but try to ignore the blur, alright? In my quest to make the most of the garden and what we have on hand, I wanted to give you a better look at our Clean the Fridge Stir Fry. I talked about it over here a few weeks back, in case you missed it. After last weekend, our menu for the week is all about makin' due. The cool thing is, makin' due doesn't have to suck. This recipe never turns out the same way twice, which rocks because we never get sick of it. Since we'll have an exploding garden soon, this'll be a weekly staple. I don't follow a recipe anymore, but here's what I did this week: Cooked up a pound of linguine (the kids prefer it over cooked ramen noodles, whoops!) Then, I cleaned out the produce drawer in the fridge. I found celery, carrots, red and green onions and a couple zucchini from the garden. I also ran out back and found a yellow squash, a couple handfuls of green beans, one bell pepper, two jalapenos and three cherry tomatoes. I rinsed, peeled and sliced everything and threw it in my biggest skillet. I sauteed it all up with a couple tablespoons of olive oil until it's cooked to our preference. If I'm adding leftover cooked meat, I'd add it now, but didn't this week. I did however misjudge how much the veggies would cook down, so somewhere in the middle I added a bag of frozen broccoli to the mix to make sure we'd have enough for leftovers. Once it was all cooked up, I mixed two beef gravy packets and about a tablespoon-ish of soy sauce in two cups of cold water and dumped it in the pan. Then, just stirred until the sauce was thickened which only takes a couple minutes. Serve over the pasta. It's really that simple. On a side note, I only put it on the platter for the picture. In reality, the skillet and pasta pot would have been on the table :) Since I was curious, I added up an estimated total cost of this dish and came up with around $3.61. For five people, guys. Plus leftovers! We may just make it through the week after all! I'd love to hear if any of you have a "clean the fridge" dinner of your own. I'm always on the lookout for cheap cheap meals that rock. These recipes definitely make makin' due suck a lot less. Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 6/12/10

Yay for me! This is my last baking day off for a few weeks. We're out on a road trip without the kids for a much needed weekend with great friends, lots of booze and a KORN CONCERT!!! I'll definitely be back to baking next Saturday, but this week, I've traded my apron for my favorite boob shirt. I hope all of you have a great weekend too! Maybe I'll see some of you metal heads at the show. For all of you that couldn't make it out, here's a recipe to try: Down-In-The-Dumps Pudding Beat together: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt and 4 Tbsp. cocoa. Stir in: 1 cup milk, 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, 2 cups chopped nuts (optional, and I leave them out). Spread mixture in an ungreased 9x13 pan. I also put the pan on a cookie sheet. I've had this rise up and over flow a bit in the oven and make a big, big mess. Blend in a small bowl: 2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa. Sprinkle over the top of batter in pan. Pour over all: 3 1/2 cups hot water. DO NOT STIR. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. This is my daughter's favorite dessert. She even asked for it instead of birthday cake last year. It's a gooey, chocolaty, mess but it'll fix even the worst sweet tooth. Alrighty rockers, enjoy. I'm going to get back to my mini vacation. Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 6/5/10

Happy Saturday rockers! I am happy to report that there is no baking going on in the Headbangin' Household today. None what so ever. Instead of baking yummy cookies, breads and lunch goodies, I'm probably floating down the river in our raft that we've lovingly named The Big Floating Turd. (Yes, really.) As much as I love baking, I'm so thankful for the break. So, I hope you're all enjoying your Saturday. If you're missin' the baking too much, here's one of my favorite recipes you may want to try. How about Latte Bars? Just kidding! :) Zucchini Bread 3 eggs 2 c. sugar 1 c. oil 1 Tbsp. vanilla 3 c. flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 Tbsp. cinnamon 3 c. grated zucchini In a large bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, combine remaining ingredients except zucchini. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and blend until smooth. Add grated zucchini and mix by hand until zucchini is evenly distributed. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350 for about an hour, until toothpick tests done. Enjoy! Until next time, rock on my friends!

Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal

Yesterday I promised I would post this recipe. It's become a staple here at the Headbangin' Household and the possibilities are endless. Sometimes I add chocolate chips, raisins or mashed bananas. Chunky Peanut butter is really good in this too. It's also freezer friendly which is always great for those mornings when you're running late or just don't feel like cooking. Believe it or not, that happens around here more than I'd like to admit! Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal 3 c. quick cooking oats 1/2 c. packed brown sugar 1 c. milk 2 Tbsp. melted butter 2 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. vanilla 1/2 c. peanut butter extra milk for serving Mix all and spread in a 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. If you like it a little crunchy on top, cook for a few minutes longer. Serve warm with a little milk poured over the top. That's it! Simple as can be! I'll be back in a bit with the rest of the baking for the week. Until next time, rock on my friends!

Baking Day 5/29/10

Happy Saturday! Even though I'm only half way through my baking this week, I've decided to finish up tomorrow. Why am I baking like a mad woman this weekend? Simply because I won't be home during the next two Saturdays. I want to have the freezer well stocked to make up for the lack of baking in the near future.

I'll still be posting on Saturdays, I'll just be doing things a little differently over the next couple weeks.

Here's where I'm at so far:

A pan of chocolate chip bar cookies. These are actually for dessert tonight and for snacks this week. I'll make another batch tomorrow for the freezer. Note to self: don't walk away from the oven when the phone rings. The poor things turned out a little more crisp than they should have. Sorry guys, just keepin' it real.

I've got a double batch of pizza crust in the big bowl. When the giant ham (not pictured) comes out of the oven, I'll be making ham and cheese cups for lunches. Now that I think about it, they would make great breakfasts too with a side of scrambled eggs. Bonus!

Yes, that is yet another batch of Latte Bars that have made their way into the baking list. I did, for the record, freeze half of last week's. I'll be freezing half of these as well.

I got a pan of Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal done. This stuff is so good. It's nothing like the traditional bowl of mush, which is why I think the kids love it so much. Sometimes I add a handful of chocolate chips or Raisins, but didn't this time. I'm having trouble with the recipe link I usually use for this, so I'll post the recipe tomorrow for you guys.

In the oval and muffin tin is a new recipe to me. I found the recipe in one of my (many) old cookbooks. They're called Moist and Minty Brownies and were totally simple! Here's the recipe

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. butter or margarine

2 Tbsp. water

1 (10oz) pkg. Nestle Toll House mint flavored semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. In small bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, combine sugar, butter and water. Microwave on high 1 1/2 minutes; stir. Microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes; stir until smooth. Add 1 cup chocolate chips and vanilla, stirring until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with mixer after each addition. Stir in flour mixture and remaining chocolate chips. Spread in a greased 9" square pan. Make 25-35 minutes until center is set. Cool completely. Cut into squares.

You can see I stole one of the little muffins of goodness to sample. I couldn't share the recipe unless I knew it was a keeper. I can't wait to experiment with different flavors of chocolate chips in this recipe. Something tells me these won't last long.

There you have it for today folks. Stay tuned tomorrow for the second half of my baking spree! Have a great rest of your day!

Until next time, rock on my friends!