Homemade Dog Biscuits

Now don't get too excited, these aren't for you but for your pets (beloved in my Mom's and my case)! This recipe is truly loved by my dogs as well as our neighbors dogs.  In fact, our dog Maggie just waits by the oven when these are baking and somehow knows that they are her "cookies".

 For this recipe, you can use those soon to come turkey drippings or just any drippings you end up getting.  If you don't have time to make these biscuits, don't be afraid to freeze the drippings until you are ready to make them.  We recently got our drippings from a cooking class we went to sponsored by Slow Food Utah.  These biscuits are cheaper to make then buy at the store and even healthier for your furry family members and friends! They make great gifts for the holidays so I hope every dog in your life enjoys them!

Getting the biscuits ready to sell at the Holiday Boutique in some decorated, recycled cans!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup hot water or meat juices*
1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour (we use freshly milled)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, pour the hot water or meat juices over margarine.
3. Stir in powdered milk and egg.
4. Add flour and mix well. Knead for 3-4 minutes, adding more flour to make a very stiff dough.
5. Roll out to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness and cut out with desired cookie cutters (we use dog-bone cookie cutters).
6. Place on prepared cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes or until hard to the touch and brown around the edges.

Makes approximately 1 1/4 pounds at cost of less than 25 cents!!

*Or just use some beef, pork, or chicken bouillon.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Anyone else getting cold! Wow! Winter is really coming fast as summer and the farmer's market start to fade off into the distance. But don't fear, we can still make it through the winter with delicious and nutritious food! For those who have froze your food you might be even better off.  As Jack Frost starts to nip at our nose, ears, and even my toes, a warm dish is never a bad idea.  This recipe is one of the delicious recipes that will warm you right back up.  I personally didn't like bell peppers even a couple of years of ago, but now I will eat them plain.  They are sweet and have just the right taste to compliment our local quinoa and cabbage.  I have taken these to school a couple times and every time my friends laugh and say I have a "luxury lunch." Hopefully, you will get this feeling too after you eat these delicious stuffed peppers!

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbl. olive oil
1 tbl. ground cumin
2 gloves garlic, minced (Sandhill Farms)
1 small head green cabbage, chopped (Jacob's Cove)
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes or approx. one 28 oz. can prepared tomatoes
(reserve any liquid)
3/4 cup quinoa
3 large carrots, grated (Jacob's Cove)
1 cup grated cumin spiced cheddar cheese (Gold Creek Cheese)
4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded and ribs removed

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add cumin and garlic and saute for one minute. Stir in cabbage and tomatoes and add about 1/4 cup water. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated.
2. Stir in cabbage, carrots and quinoa, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese. Season with ground pepper, if desired.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking dish by adding reserved tomato juice.
4. Fill each half pepper with quinoa mixture and place in baking dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle each pepper with remaining cheese. Bake 10 minutes more or until cheese has melted. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.
adapted from Weight Watchers recipes
Options:
--can't believe that peppers and tomatoes came in so late this year that we could still make this recipe. I did use some bell peppers that I had halved, blanched and then frozen to see if they would work in this recipe. You couldn't tell which ones were made from fresh peppers and which ones were made with the frozen ones.
--You could use any cheese on this recipe and weight-watchers called for low-fat cheese which my Mother NEVER buys! She thinks if you are going to eat cheese, eat the GOOD stuff! The cumin spiced cheddar cheese is really delicious and we just cut slices and eat it plain.
--Remember, we just use whatever we have in the house so for this recipe the cabbage replaced black beans in the original recipe and we still had fresh tomatoes so it replaced canned tomatoes.

Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Galette

Wow, can't believe the Farmer's Market is over! Time really does fly by and now we are back to the snow and bitter chill of winter, but don't fear; good recipes don't stop with the warm weather.  Winter does end the growth of many vegetables and fruits that we love, but winter squash does begin to come in around this time.  This recipe uses one of these delicious squashes to make a warm and tasty recipe.  This recipe with the yeasty, pizza like dough, the squash and the blue cheese makes for a delicious mix of textures and tastes. The amount of blue cheese you put on is your choice, so put on as much or as little as you want (not too much for me). This recipe is great and I hope you enjoy it.  Try not to get to cold out there and get ready to enjoy the winter season!

Ingredients:

Yeast Dough-

1/3 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 tsp. honey
1 1/2 cups flour (we use freshly milled)
1/2 tsp. Redmond Sea Salt
1 large egg, at room temperature (Clifford Family Farms)
3 tbl softened butter (Winder Farms)

1. In a bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand in a warm place until bubbly, about 10 minutes.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour and salt and make a well. Add the egg, butter and yeast mixture to the well and, using a wooden spoon,  incorporate the flour into the liquid ingredients to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface and knead briefly until smooth.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down the dough and let it rest briefly before rolling out.

Filling-

2 1/2 lbs. butternut squash or other winter squash
Olive oil
1 small head garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
1 small onion, finely chopped
10 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried sage)
l/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 crumbled Delano Peak Blue Cheese (Snowy Mountain Creamery)
1 large egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Halve the squash using a sharp knive, scrape out the sees and fibers. Lightly brush each cut side with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Please the garlic cloves in the cavities and turn the squash cut sides down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a knife or fork.  Garlic should also be soft and, if not, return to the oven a bake a little longer.  Scoop out the squash flesh into a bowl and squeeze the garlic out of it's skin into the same bowl. Mash with a fork until fairly smooth.
2. In a skillet, warm teaspoonfuls of olive oil over low heat. Add the oinion and sage and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and beginning to color, about 5-7 minutes.  Add to the squash and garlic along with the Parmesan cheese and mix well. Fold in 1/3 cup of the Blue Cheese.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured baking sheet (we use a pizza peel), roll out the dough into a 14 inch round. Spread the squash filling over the dough leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle remaining blue cheese on top. Fold up and pleat the border of the dough. Brush with the beaten egg.
4. Bake until the crust in nicely browned, about 25 minutes. Serve hot or warm. Leftovers are great for lunch cold!
adapted from The Savory Way by Deborah Madison