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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Milk Bones


With the Christmas season fast approaching, my friend Holly I have been busy making homemade gifts for our friends and family (see prior posts Strawberry Jam & Oreo Pops).  We didn't want to leave out our furry friends, so we decided to try making homemade Milk Bones. We thought they turned out looking pretty authentic (thank-you dog bone shaped cookie cutters!), but the true test was in what our dogs would think of them.  They ate them right up and pleaded for more afterwards. Success!

Ingredients
- 1 cup broth (beef, chicken, or veggie)
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat broth in the microwave (about 40 seconds, or until hot enough to melt butter).  Pour broth over butter and stir until melted.

Stir in powdered milk, and beaten egg.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

Roll on floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness (if the dough is too thin, the Milk Bones will burn).

Cut into bone shapes using a cookie cutter, and place on lightly greased cookie sheet.



Bake for 50 minutes.  



Cool for about 20 minutes.  Milk Bones will harden upon cooling.

Makes just over a pound.

Enjoy!  ;)

Our "official" taste testers Raya & Milton.


 Milton is a rock star when it comes to balancing treats on his nose! 



This picture came from our Twitter invitation to Holly & Milton to come make dog treats:

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Oreo Pops


Photos by Holly LaRochelle
My friend Holly and I made these to give out as Christmas gifts.  She found instructions on a blog (link here), and they looked really easy and yummy, so we decided to try them out.  
Ingredients
- 1 family sized box of Oreos (48)
- 4 boxes Bakers chocolate* (we used 1 box (8 squares) semi sweet, and 3 boxes (18 squares) white chocolate).  It worked out to be approx. 6 squares chocolate per 10 Oreos).
- assorted sprinkles


Additional Supplies
- 48 wooden coffee stir sticks (we found ours at the dollar store)
- 48 3 1/5 inch x 5 1/4 inch candy bags (we lucked out and found these at our local Walmart)
- 48 ribbons or foil twist ties
- 1-2 zip lock bags (or more depending on if you want to use different colours for drizzling chocolate).
- cookie sheets (or counter space)
- wax paper

* It's important to use Baker's chocolate (or something similar).  We tried to be thrifty by using white chocolate chips instead, and found the chocolate consistency to be too thick and not very desirable for dipping.  The Baker's chocolate was the perfect consistency for dipping, and gave a nice smooth finish.  It also stuck the Oreo's together better than the chocolate chips.


Directions
Start by separating the top from the Oreo cookie.  We started by using a knife to separate the two pieces, but found it easier to do by hand.  Do whichever works best for you.


Using one of the sticks, place a small dab of melted white chocolate in the centre of the Oreo.



Place the top Oreo piece on and press Oreo together, firmly (but not enough so to break the Oreos, we had that happen a few times!).  


Let Oreo's harden (by the time you are finished with the last Oreo, the first Oreo should be ready to dip).

Next, melt your chocolate.  We used 1 brick of chocolate at a time.  First, we chopped the chocolate into fine pieces to ease the melting process.  Next, we placed the chocolate into a glass bowl and microwaved in 3 - 30 second intervals, mixing the chocolate, and scraping the sides at each interval, until the chocolate was fully melted and smooth enough to dip.

Dip the Oreos in the melted chocolate and place on counter or cookie sheet lined with wax paper.  If you scrape the chocolate to the bottom half of the bowl, it makes dipping a lot easier!  Simply dip one side, flip over to coat the other side, and let chocolate drizzle to cover the bottom and sides of the Oreo.  We had to try this a few times before we got it right!


Cover dipped Oreo's with sprinkles (it is important to do this before the chocolate hardens). 


Let Oreos harden (refrigerating or popping into the freezer for a few minutes will speed up the process).

Put a small amount of melted chocolate into a ziplock bag.  Cut a very small tip off the end and drizzle chocolate over Oreo's in a zigzag pattern.



Allow to cool/harden once again.


After hardened, wrap and seal with a foil twist tie (or ribbon). 



Enjoy! 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Baked Baby Potatoes



I recently had a dinner party with some friends and made these.  They were a huge success!  You could easily use less potatoes and adjust the olive oil accordingly for smaller portions.  Serve with a dallop of plain greek yogurt, and a sprinkle of bacon and chopped green onion for a true baked potato feel. 

Ingredients
- 1 (2 lb) bag red baby potatoes
- 1 (2 lb) bag white baby potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Wash and dry baby potatoes and place on cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss ingredients with hands.


Bake for 60-90 minutes (depending on size of potatoes and desired firmness).

Enjoy!

Note: Freeze any extra's for a quick side dish with dinner on days you are pressed for time. 




Sunday, November 6, 2011

Creamy Potato Soup

Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 medium carrot
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups milk
- 1/2 cup frozen corn

Garnish (optional)
- sprinkle of cheddar cheese
- dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt
- green onion, chopped

Directions

Wash vegetables and peel (if desired).  Chop potatoes and carrot into bite size pieces and dice onion. 

Pre-heat a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add butter and olive oil.  Once butter has melted, add chopped vegetables.  Cook until potatoes and carrots are cooked about half through, approx. 15 minutes.



Add broth and bring to a boil.  Cook over medium until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. 



Add milk and bring back to a boil.  Add corn and simmer until soup thickens, about 15 minutes.



Add garnish (optional).



Enjoy!
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