Puppy Love

As much as I don't understand the desire to have a dog in the house to chew up designer shoes and shed fur all over, I can appreciate the love that a puppy brings to the world.  I'm pretty sure that unless my health dictated it, I would never choose to get one because I have enough to feed and clean up after in my world and I don't like having extra responsibilities.  Why do I have children if I don't want responsibility, you ask?  Well, they eventually grow up, leave the house and then take care of me.  My oldest daughter can't get enough of dogs.  She loves them.  I don't get it.  I hope she brings home grand babies some day instead of grand-puppies.

My dearest friend lost her best canine buddy a few months ago.  She was very sad at the loss of this little Yorkie who had seen my friend through the most difficult years of her life.  She has mourned the loss of her little friend and I'm sure that never a day goes by when she doesn't remember the love that little Kalie gave her.  She said to me recently that dogs are very therapeutic for her, and I believe her.  She is a dog person through and through.

That said, my dear friend has a new arrival, and my daughters and I got to go to our first ever doggie shower to welcome Lulu Cupcake, one of the cutest little German Yorkies I've ever seen.  I got to make the cupcakes for the party (as seen above).

I wanted to make her something extra special, so I did some reasearch and came up with a recipe for doggie biscuits.  Ever wonder what do do with the 10 pounds of leftover turkey from Thanksgiving dinner?  Well, I've got an idea for you.

Turkey Bacon Treats
2 c flour (whole wheat or white)
3 c oatmeal (blended into a coarse flour)
1 tps. baking powder
1 egg
1 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. flax seed oil or fish oil (or olive oil, if you don't have this on hand)
2 c. finely shredded cooked turkey or chicken  (I used a food processor to chop mine up into small bits.)
1/4 c. bacon bits
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (opt. to keep the fleas away)

Flour surface and roll out dough into about 1/4" thick sheet. Cut out desired shapes and place on cookie sheet.  They don't puff much in the oven, so they can be fairly close to each other.  Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350F for 30 minutes until golden, turning after about 20 minutes.  After 30 minutes or so, take out of the oven and brush each treat with a mixture of 1 egg white and 3 tbsp. water.  Return to oven for 3 minutes.  Turn and brush the other side and bake for another 3 minutes.  Cool completely before serving and refrigerate or freeze to maintain freshness.

And there you have it, for all my dog loving friends and family (whom I don't understand).  Love you, Lulu!

for Kalie, Shiloh and Cadi.