Puppy Cookies

I have made these a few times and my dogs LOVE them.  So much so that Julie was staring at me the entire time I was rolling out the dough. 

Ingredients

1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 1/4 wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl combine peanut butter, vegetable oil, and water. Incorporate 1/4 cup flour at a time.  Then incorporate oatmeal.  Roll dough out into 1/4 inch thickness and cut using cookie cutters.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. 

Let cool for 5 minutes before giving to your dogs.

Taziki Sauce

We made lamb with a mint marinade on Saturday and had plenty of leftovers (not good enough to post).  We were going to do lamb tacos tonight but I had an epiphany while driving to try to make Taziki Sauce.  For my first try, Tim said I was dead on.  I used Chobani yogurt because I find that it is a little more tart than the other brands of greek yogurt that I have tried.  I used an English cucumber because I find that they have less seeds and are not as bitter as regular cucumbers.

Ingredients
1 8 oz container of Chobani plain Greek Yogurt
juice of half a lemon
half of of an English cucumber seeded and chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh Dill
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl mix all ingredients and set in fridge for about 20 minutes before serving.

Limoncello Sparkling Sangria

This is a nice light alcoholic beverage for the hot summer days.  Happy belated Summer Solstice.

Ingredients
4 oz blackberries
6 oz raspberries (4 oz whole and 2 oz with lemonade)
4 oz strawberries sliced
1 lemon sliced thinly
1/2 cup limoncello liquor
2/3 cup lemonade
1 750 ml bottle of chilled sparkling wine

In a large pitcher, combine blackberries, 4 oz of raspberries, sliced strawberries, and lemon slices.
Stir in limoncello.  In a blender combine 2/3 cup lemonade and 2 oz raspberries.  Blend until smooth and strain into pitcher.  Refrigerate for 4 hours to 24 hours.  Add the chilled sparkling wine before serving.

Mesquite Spicy Tequila Chicken

This recipe uses the smoker box we bought a few months ago.  It is optional, the chicken will still taste great without it but then it will not be Mesquite.

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
50 ml tequila
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1/2 tsp hot cayenne powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

1 cup Mesquite wood chips
1 stick cinnamon


In a gallon size Ziploc container mix all ingredients and marinate 2 hours to 24 hours.  30 minutes before grilling soak your mesquite chips and cinnamon stick in water.  Put the mesquite chips in your smoker box or make an aluminum foil package with slits on the top to vent.  Place mesquite package over direct heat on grill and cover until it begins to smoke. Place chicken on grill on medium high heat until internal temperature is 170 degrees.

Zucchini Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Saturday night we went to dinner and a show.  The restaurant we had dinner at had a zucchini salad that was really good.  This salad was being served as a side to the Salmon, but I had it as a side to my burger.  I think due to the strong lemon flavor it should be served with fish.  However, this evening I served it with a Rib eye steak and roasted corn on the cob.


Ingredients
4 medium zucchini
1 medium red onion
Juice and zest of 3 medium lemons
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil


If you have a food processor use the shredder blade and shred the zucchini and onion.
Using a hand grater, zest the lemon.  Be careful not to get too much of the pith (the white part under the yellow).  In a small bowl combine the juice of the lemon and the olive oil.  Whisk in the salt, black pepper and the lemon zest.  Pour over zucchini and onion.  Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Orange Butter Roasted Chicken

We did another roast chicken.  We think this mix would be really good on a roast duck.  

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
zest of 2 large oranges
2 oranges chopped
1 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
Kosher salt/black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 chicken to roast 

Preheat oven to 450

In a small bowl combine butter, orange zest, rosemary, salt and pepper, garlic, onion powder.
Pat chicken dry with some paper towels.  With your hands massage butter mixture under skin and all over the skin.  Stuff the cavity of the chicken with remaining oranges.


Place in cast iron pan or roasting dish.  Place into oven and lower heat to 425 and cook for about 1 and 1/2 hours (20 minutes per pound) or until internal temperature of the breast is 180.

Dairy free Creamy Mixed Berry Popsicle

I know a lot of people who are lactose intolerant or who are following the Paelo diet.  This is a great guilty pleasure without a lot of the guilt.

Ingredients
8 oz of mixed fruit (banana, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry)
2 cups almond milk

In a blender combine all ingredients and liquify for a 2 minutes.  Pour in molds and freeze.

Fudge Puddles-AKA Peanut butter cookies w/fudge

Baking is more of a science than cooking, and lets face it, not all off us were cut out to be scientists. Before meeting my husband and my mother in law, Mary, I was not a baker.  I still am a little hesitant with some of my baking skills, but I am getting better thanks to Mary's guidance.
Thank you Mary, for this recipe.   

In the month of December I usually make over 600 of these.  Today I made a mere 48 for the Ronald McDonald House of Atlanta. 

Ingredients for the Cups:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Ingredients for the Fudge:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream together the margarine, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  Once combined add egg, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt.  Slowly add the flour a little bit at a time.  Chill about 10-15 minutes in the freezer. 

Shape into 48-1" balls and place in lightly greased mini muffin pan.  Bake at 325 for about 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and immediately make wells.  I use a hot sauce bottle and wrap with foil or cling wrap.  Take the bottle and press the center down lightly.  Cool 5 minutes, remove carefully to a cooling rack.

To make the fudge combine all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat for 20 seconds and then stir.  Then heat for 10 seconds and stir.  Continue this process until the filling is smooth. 
Then pipe the fudge into the wells.  Let set for about 2 minutes. 

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

3 year old neighbor

With the weather getting hotter here's something to keep you a little cool.
I really want to try the Zipzicles but I could not find them at my local super market.
Tim has not tried them yet but my neighbor's 3 year old really enjoyed it.

Ingredients
16 oz strawberries (Stems removed)
1 cup Lemonade ( I use Simply Lemonade)

In a blender puree the above and pour into Popsicle molds or Dixie cups with Popsicle sticks.  Freeze.