Tag: gluten-free

Friday Frolic #5 – One for the Puppies

Friday Frolic #5 – One for the Puppies

It’s Friday and it’s time for another Friday Frolic!

So far I’ve shared some recipes for the humans in the family and circles of friends but let’s not forget the furry, tail-wagging variety either. I have a little, girl-dog so I’ll focus on dogs but it must be said: I love cats too. My dog, however, does not. Since I live in my dog’s home, I am not allowed to have a cat join us.

Since that is the case, I will share a simple recipe for doggie treats that my little girl loves. It’s easy to do as-is and can be adapted for gluten-free as well as various add-ins as you desire:

BASIC DOGGIE TREATS

Ingredients

2-1/2 Cups flour (plain wheat, whole wheat or oat)
1 tsp salt (optional)
1 egg
1 tsp chicken, beef or vegetable (onion free) broth (you can substitute a bouillon cube instead but definitely eliminate the salt)
1/2- Cup hot water if using bouillon cube

*optional add-ins (approximately ¼ cup…maintain doughy consistency)
Whole oats, liver powder, wheat germ, shredded cheese, bacon bits, peanut butter, pumpkin, coconut oil, chopped green beans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
If using bouillon cube, dissolve it in hot water in large bowl.
Add remaining ingredients.
Knead dough until it forms into a ball (approximately three minutes).
Roll dough out on a floured surface until it’s about ½” thick. (Remember, if you used oat flour to be gluten-free, use oat flour on your surface.)
Cut into slices, squares or rectangles the size you want or use cute cookie cutters. I use tiny cutters found in the clay section of the hobby store, since my little girl needs tiny snacks.
Place the snacks on a cookie sheet (parchment paper makes this a non-stick proposition).
Bake for 30 minutes.
Cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy the weekend with your fine, furry friend(s)…

Friday Frolic #4 – A Spicy Blend

Friday Frolic #4 – A Spicy Blend

Welcome to another Friday Frolic!

Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of articles, news stories, and blog comments about minimizing salt in our diets. Combining that with my recent health scare, I’ve been working furiously this week to revamp my cooking style, including my myriad of spice blends. In addition to minimizing salt, I’ve been seeking out and eliminating MSG (monosodium glutamate) and HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) from my diet as I have discovered they are, indeed, poison to my system. The results? Salt-free, gluten-free, healthier food.

To that end, the first spice blend I revamped is my favorite – my Spicy Blend, which started out as a taco seasoning, then was tweaked here and there until I realized I used it on everything from chicken to vegetables – raw and cooked – so I changed the name to Spicy Blend.

It’s very simple and can be changed up in many different ways to suit your own tastes – if you like more or less cumin or oregano, by all means, make those adjustments. If you’d like some salt, throw some of that in too. I did originally come up with this as a salt substitute, which is why there’s no salt listed. I would suggest if you are going to add salt, add sea salt, as the sodium content is lower so it doesn’t have the same negative results as plain table salt. Additionally, as you’re purchasing your spices to assemble this blend, please check the labels to ensure there are no unnecessary additives such as MSG or HFCS hiding in any of them (you may be surprised – I was).

SPICY BLEND

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1-1/2 Tsp Cumin
1-1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Oregano
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
1/4 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions

Stir together all the ingredients.
Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

This recipe yields about three to four tablespoons, which is a good place to start until you figure out what adjustments you want to make. Once you have fine-tuned the recipe to your liking, increase the quantities to accommodate how much you’ll need for a three to six month period to save time in the kitchen.

Enjoy your Spicy Blend weekend…