Freezer Cooking: Let's not forget the puppies!

This is my last post on freezer cooking...for now. And let us not forget we have two other bodies in our home. Odin and Freya. And for all of their smelling and not being able to eat, shouldn't they get a treat too? And could I possibly spoil them more than they already are? Yes.

And so, dear friends, my last freezer cooking day was dedicated to my puppies. I found this great recipe on www.allrecipes.com for dog treats and boy, do they love 'em!


THE "ODIN AND FREYA LOVE THESE SO MUCH" DOG TREAT:

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup boiling water
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, margarine, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, mixing in additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut with cookie cutter (I prefer bone shaped), and place 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool before serving. Store in a loosely covered container.  

 

 

Nat's notes: Now, before I post my step-by-step picture guide, I did make a few exceptions in this recipe. I had cornmeal on hand, however there is debate that cornmeal is not that great for puppies. So, I happened to have flax seed meal in my pantry and I substituted that in equal parts. Also, instead of using sugar, I used honey in equal parts.  I must also note I made a double batch, as I had everything I needed already on hand. Best to use it before it goes bad! Okay, on to the good part!

 

 Everything I needed, I had on hand. I decided to make these because we had all that left over cheddar from making burritos and such, so best to use it up instead of letting it sit there.

Add boiling water and butter to oats. Let them sit for 10 minutes.

Start adding your other ingredients! But, not your flour.

Mix those first.

Next, add your flour. This turns out to be a lot of flour and gets too thick for your spoon to handle. So be ready to get your hands dirty!

Lightly flour your counter and start kneading the dough. I ended up having to separate the dough into two parts, because I did a double batch and it was hard to get it to join.

Next, I rolled it out with my rolling pin.

I cut them out with a dog bone cookie cutter. I happened to have this on hand, because I bought a doggie cookie dough pack last year. Any cookie cutter will do.

Next, lay them out and let them bake. I only made one batch this time around and gave some away as a gift! And what did I do with the remaining cookie dough? You guessed it!

I put it in two bags and stuck it in the freezer! Now, when I run out, I can just make a fresh bag of dog treats!

 

 See? I promise I didn't have any more room for recipes! But, I will keep you updated on how it goes and post new recipes as soon as I try them! Bon Appetit!