Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats

This Christmas I wanted to make our dog treats from scratch vs. just buying them at the store. (I think this actually ends of being more cost effective as well. This recipe made over 4 dozen treats for us because we made them small). Trust me, it is SO easy. Why? Because if you mess up, who cares? Trust me, your dog will still enjoy :).



To get started, you'll need just a few ingredients. You might already have all of these around the house:
Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 cup creamy peanut butter

All you need to do is mix all of the ingredients together as if you were making a batch of cookies. Since these were for Christmas, I used Christmas cookie cutters for fun shapes. Any other time of year you could use dog bones, etc.




Pre-heat your oven to 375. Spray a cookie sheet and spread out the treats. Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top. Remember, they are for dogs. A little soft or a little crunchy? I doub't they will mind! 

Mackenzie and all of her friends have been enjoying these treats for the past week. Hopefully your dog will too!



Monday, December 9, 2013

Easy Twist: Upside Down Pizza

If your house is anything like ours, we tend to get bored of the same routine - pasta, tacos, chicken, pizza - sometimes you need to shake it up! But then you start thinking of shaking up, and that means an extra trip to the grocery store, and more planning on your weekend when all you really want to do is....nothing! So how do you avoid the dinner hum drums? Just take some of your favorite dishes and mix it up a bit using what you already have!

This is what we did this weekend when Sunday was rolling around and I didn't have a plan for dinner. I knew we had what was needed to make pizza, but how could I switch it up a bit? I looked to my friends at www.pillsbury.com and got a great idea! Upside Down Pizza!



This was a really easy and fun dish. We ommited the olives because, well they're gross. Take a look below and try it out for yourself!

Ingredients


1
lb bulk mild Italian pork sausage
1
jar (14 oz) pizza sauce
1
package (8 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms
2
cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/2
cup sliced drained roasted red bell peppers (from 7.25-oz jar)
1/4
cup sliced ripe olives
1
can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
2
tablespoons olive oil
1/2
teaspoon Italian seasoning
2
tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Steps

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking up sausage with spoon, until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. Stir in pizza sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, bell peppers and olives. Spoon mixture into pan; spread evenly.
Unroll dough. Shape dough to fit over sausage mixture in pan. Brush dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Use sharp knife to make several 1-inch slits in dough.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Amazingly Easy Pot Roast

OK guys, it's official. I am in LOVE with my crock pot. I mean seriously - it can do everything. And on top of that? It makes everything easy. You can pretty much think of any meal you love, and it can probably be prepared in a crock pot. If you don't have one and haven't discovered its magic, you should just stop reading now and head to Target. You'll thank me later.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about this delicious Pot Roast I made for Terrance and I's 4 year anniversary. We had been talking about having this for a while, but I was always turned off by the amount of work I thought it would take. Once I did my research I realized that it wouldn't be hard at all. It is a tad expensive since there are so many fresh ingredients. That being said, you should have plenty of left overs (we sure did!).

POT ROAST INGREDIENTS
2 - 3 LB Ground Chuck (we used shoulder)
1 container of beef broth
3 medium potatoes (we used Yukon Gold - but whatever you have will work)
1 white onion
3 celery stalks
5 cloves of garlic
3 whole carrots
Salt (lots!)
Pepper (lots!)
Thyme (lots!)

The first step in making this process is chopping all of your vegetables. You can do this however you like, but I recommend cutting into large chunks. These veggies are going to be cooking for a long time so you want to make sure they hold up. Also, it's just nice to chomp into a perfectly good carrot. 



Honestly the hardest part is now over. Yes that might have taken a minute, but wasn't fun (be honest, you like the idea of being a Susie Homemaker - why else have you read this far??). Now it's time to brown the meat. Take out a deep pot and cover the bottom with oil (I used vegetable oil). While that is warming up, take this time to REALLY season the meat with salt and pepper. Once you think you've done enough, add about 3 times that amount. There is a lot of meat here and it is going to cook for a long time. You can't season it enough. Once hot, drop your cut of meat into the pot and sear on each side for about 4-5 minutes. 



Now that the meat is searing and really starting to smell great, it's time to officially get the crock pot involved. I took about 1/2 of the veggies and dropped them in first. Once these are in, I took the salt, pepper, and thyme and seasoned them all. I then added the meat, re-seasoned, and then added the rest of the veggies, and then again... re-seasoned.



Now that everything is in the pot, it's time to pour in the beef broth. Depending on the amount of veggies and size of meat you'll need to use your best judgement. For the amount I outlined above I actually used the whole container (it filled up the pot almost to the top). This will reduce as the cooking progresses. 

I set the crock pot on medium heat and left for work. It cooked throughout the day all on it's own and I didn't have to worry about a thing! In total, the meat cooked for 8 hours. Right before I was going to serve it, I wanted to make a gravy. I simply took some of the "juice" from the pot and mixed it with a little bit of flour. Start with a small amount and add more if needed. This combination made a tasty thick gravy to pour over the meal - yum!

When I started to take out the meat and veggies I actually gasped. First the smell is amazing. If you weren't hungry before, now you'll be starving. Secondly the meat is so tender that it literally breaks apart right when you touch it. I've never had meat this tender - delicious! Once I had everything on the plate I took the gravy and covered the plate. 


So what's the morale of this story? There's actually two:

1. Buy a crock pot. You won't regret it and they aren't expensive. Just do it!
2. Season this like crazy. Even with all of my seasoning I still added more at the end. You can't go wrong here. The flavor of the meat and veggies will be so wonderful as long as you pay attention to the seasoning. 

Now that the leaves are turning colors and the weather is getting colder, crock pot meals are a must. Try this one for your first - it's easy and a sure fire hit! After you've rocked this meal you can conquer the world!

Until next time, happy cooking!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Grilled Honey Teriyaki Chicken and Tropical Rum Punch

This week I celebrated my 25th birthday and it was quite a week (I even had my own hashtag - #jspearbdaywk). I wasn't feeling very celebratory heading into 25, but it just goes to show that having amazing friends can make anything fun.

Last night I hosted a Luau complete with grass skirts and coconut bras (head to my Facebook page for pictures). For my food contribution I made a Grilled Honey Teriyaki Chicken. This is an easy recipe that really pleased everyone (the chicken was gone within a matter of minutes). What made this chicken tasty was the brine. Check out the ingredients and directions below:

Grilled Honey Teriyaki Chicken
8-10 Chicken Breasts
Brine
2 cups water
1 cup brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 head garlic, unpeeled
4 slices gently bashed ginger root
2 tablespoons salt
8 sprigs fresh thyme

Teriyaki Glaze
2 cups teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 large ginger root
1 head garlic (halved)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Dash of pepper
Scallions and toasted sesame seeds for garnish

To get started, simply mix all the ingredients for the brine together and pour into a resealable bag. Slice the chicken into desired sizes and dump into the bag. Once the bag is sealed place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.



While the chicken is in the brine mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Heat your grill to medium heat and place the chicken on the grill. Each piece should cook about 10 minutes on each side. Once the chicken is done remove it from the grill and place it in the bowl of sauce. Once the chicken is coated place it back on the grill to cook for 4-5 additional minutes. All that's left after that is to eat it!


Tropical Rum Punch
These portions are suggestions. Honestly this drink will be delicious no matter what so you can portion to your liking (more citrus, alcohol content, etc.). 

1 cup lime juice
2 cups grenadine
2 cups Jamaican white rum
1 cup light rum
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
orange, lime, and lemon slices for garnish