Heather's Bytes

I’m breaking out of my standard human-food recipe post today for some animal munchies! It’s been a pretty eventful week as far as our household animals are concerned: we picked up a new litter of kittens last Saturday to foster until they’re big and old enough to go up for adoption. The five little kitties can be seen live for most of the day at their very own website, at http://thekittenroom.com!

So, in honor of all the four-legged family members in my home, both permanent and temporary, I’m going to share a recipe for dog biscuits that my dogs absolutely adore (I’ve tried treats for the cats but they don’t care for anything beyond catnip!).

I love to make my own homemade dog treats because I like knowing exactly what’s going into them — and what’s not. These biscuits are always a hit, and I swear our two little dogs know when I’m prepping for them, too.

These biscuits are easy and foolproof, but make sure you don’t store it in an airtight container (they’ll get moldy)

Fido’s Favorite Treats

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken or beef instant bullion
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup)
1 egg, beaten
2 cups wheat flour (white flour will work, too)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. In large bowl combine rolled oats, margarine and water and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk,cheese and egg. Mix well. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in remaining flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness; cut with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Store loosely covered or in the fridge. Makes 3 1/2 dozen large biscuits.

Last summer, when I was writing at Chocolate Bytes, I bit the bullet and made my own batch of chocolate covered bacon. It’s become a staple at county affairs across the US, and after reading yet another article about how much people are looking forward to trying it, I decided to whip up some of my own. Read More

If you missed it, here’s Part 1 on how to save a few bucks in the kitchen. These are just some small tips and ideas that I use to stretch a few bucks when I buy and prepare meals and food for my family.

Add something cheap. I don’t mean cheap in quality, but something that’s just usually inexpensive. When we make homemade burritos, I used to have to use two pounds of ground beef to get a decent sized burrito for each of us, but I hated using so much meat for one meal. Now I use one of my “pounds” of ground beef with a packet of seasoning mix as usual, and then add in a can of refried beans, mix it together in the pan and heat through. The beans stretch out the meat perfectly for my family of five, and the seasoned meat seasons the beans as well. It’s perfect. Read More

Everyone has tips and ideas that they like to use and share on how to save money around the house. One of my favorite places to see if I can save a few bucks is in the kitchen. There are the old standbys, like using coupons or reusing disposable containers, and I’ve got a few that I’ve done for a few years that I’ve found help us out when times are lean.

Invest in a kitchen scale. We buy our ground beef and ground turkey in bulk, in packages of five or so pounds each. A kitchen scale lets me get exactly the amount I need when I separate the ground meats into bags to freeze, instead of just guessing or eyeballing. Which brings me to: Read More