Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Buddy Boy Beef Pies


We can't forget Fido at Christmas time, can we?  These are a hit at my house.  My dogs absolutely love them, but then my dogs love just about anything they think is a special treat.  You can give them their everyday dog food and they will gobble it up as long as it's not in their bowl.  But for for Christmas we have to have a really special meal.  These hit the spot.


INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered dry milk
3/4 cup water
1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour and dry milk.   Mix in egg.  Add water (a little at time) so that mixture forms a ball.

Roll out dough 1/4" thick.  Cut out shapes with a biscuit cutter.  Tops and bottoms (tops a little smaller than the bottoms).

Roll the cutout shapes a little flatter to fit your muffin pan. 

 Press the larger bottom dough into your muffin tin.

Fill with meat (I used leftover roast from our Christmas party) peas and carrots.  Make sure the vegetables you use are dog friendly.  Pour a couple of teaspoons of stock over it so they don't dry out during baking.  Keep in mind, dogs can't tolerate salt and shouldn't have sugar.  I used a veggie stock, no salt or sugar added.

Cut a slit or two in the top and put it in place.  Pop them in the oven  and wait patiently while baking 17 to 20 minutes.  You can brush the top with a beaten egg to give them more of a sheen.


Store in an airtight container.  You can also freeze them for a longer shelf life, if they last that long!



Tuesday, December 14, 2010

RoCkY rOaD cAnDy--YuM!

This is a family (and many of our friends) favorite recipe. It seems everyone we make this candy for, falls in love with it. My mom would make this candy every Christmas season. Although we (my siblings) all loved it, it was my brother Steve’s favorite. My marshmallow-loving husband absolutely fell in love with it after I made it for him the first time. And my daughter once dated a guy who would do just about anything for a batch. So for the marshmallow and chocolate lover on your list, this is a must have recipe.  It is super easy to make.


RECIPE:
One bag of Holiday-shaped marshmallows
Two large chocolate bars
2 cups chopped walnuts



Mix the marshmallows and the nuts into a large bowl.

Melt the chocolate and pour over the nuts and marshmallows.

Stir until well covered.

Spread over a cookie sheet.

Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Making Holiday Houses

On Sunday my D-I-L, two-year-old granddaughter Hayleigh, and eight-year-old niece Sam, made our Christmas houses.  Usually, we do them out of  gingerbread, but this year we decided to try the Rice Krispies Treats Holiday Houses.

I thought it would be easier for the little ones and more fun if everyone had their own house to decorate.  Although the houses turned out cute and they were a loads of fun, next year I think we'll make the Rice Krispies Treats houses for the little ones and do the gingerbread houses for the adults.

Here are our houses:


This is Amber house.


This one is Sam's.

 

Here is Hayleigh's house.  She loved the pink sugar!  :)


And last but not least, my house.  Like I said, although these were fun, next year I think we'll leave the Rice Krispies Treats houses to the kids and do the traditional gingerbread for the adults.  Has anyone else had experience with these houses?  What did you think? Better than the traditional gingerbread houses?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Flowerpot snowmen and reindeer

Meet our collection of reindeer, snowmen and ladies from last Saturday's family craft day.  My D-I-L, Amber, hosted it this month.  Although we had a dwindled down crowd those of us who came had a blast.  Thanks Amber!

This is Courtney's reindeer and snow lady, and Amber's cute snowman.

Here is my eight year old niece Sam's reindeer, and my snowman and reindeer.

And again here is Amber's snowman.
Supplies needed
mini flower pot
styrofoam ball for head
googly eyes
bells
white paint
black paint
pink paint
brown paint
Christmas ribbon/material for scarf
Fuzzy pipe cleaners variety of colors
pom-poms variety of colors & sizes
paint brushes
glue guns
scissors
Imagination!