One of the reasons why I bake my own dog treats is so I know what Molly is eating is healthy and free of chemicals, sugar, preservatives, and by-products normally found in store bought treats. Here's a favorite recipe of Molly's. Use your favorite cookie cutter shape... I used a dog bone shape that is about 2" in length and got about 72 treats. I think they turned out cute!

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

1 cup all purpose unbleached flour*

1 cup whole-wheat flour*

1 TBSP baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter (I used chunky)

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk.

Add wet mixture to dry and mix well.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out to 1/4" thick and cut out shapes. Re-roll scrapes out and continue to cut shapes.

Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on a rack then store in an air tight container.

You can also freeze some for later use. I recommend storing in the fridge in an air tight container.


*you can use 2 cups all purpose or 2 cups whole wheat... I like to use 1 of each

God Bless,



For more recipes, visit my blog at:
http://whatscookinginmykitchen.blogspot.com/

This salad is a delicious... I can't stop eating it!!! It's a great way to use up any leftover french bread or boule.

Panzanella Salad
(6 servings)

3 TBPS good olive oil (may need a little more)

1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

Kosher salt

1 hothouse cucumber (also called an english cucumber... it's the long one wrapped in plastic), unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 red bell pepper, large diced

1 yellow bell pepper, large diced

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds

about 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled (can use more if you like)

1/2 cup black olives, pitted (we like 'em so I used more)



For the vinaigrette:

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup good red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup good olive oil


Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

God Bless,

For more recipes, visit my blog at:

http://whatscookinginmykitchen.blogspot.com/

The herbs in this delicious side dish can be changed to compliment the seasonings in whatever meat dish you are serving.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

8 medium red potatoes, halved or quartered (leave the skins on for more nutrients)

3 TBSP melted butter or margarine

1 tsp each of salt and pepper

herbs of your choice (I used a couple of sprigs of rosemary and a couple garlic cloves in this recipe but thyme is also yummy)

olive oil to drizzle

Place potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with butter. If the butter doesn't cover them enough, you can drizzle a little olive oil on the potatoes as well. Sprinkle salt and pepper and herbs of your choice. (I just laid the sprig on top, but you can chop them up if you like.) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour turning the potatoes every 20 minutes.

Yields: 4 servings

God Bless,



For more recipes, visit my blog at:
http://whatscookinginmykitchen.blogspot.com/

Salmon is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids and high in Vitamin D. When I bake fresh Salmon filets, I usually make 3 or 4 extra so that I have left-overs for this recipe. If you don't want to use filets, you can use one can of salmon.

Garlic Salmon Linguine

1 package (16 ounces) linguine

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

3-4 cooked/baked salmon filets or 1 can (14-3/4 ounces) salmon, drained, bones and skin removed

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute garlic in oil until crisp-tender. Stir in the salmon, broth, parsley, salt and cayenne. Cook until heated through. Drain linguine; add to the salmon mixture and toss to coat.

Yield: 6 servings.

God Bless,



For more recipes, visit my blog at:
http://whatscookinginmykitchen.blogspot.com/

Well this recipe is originally called Speedy Little Devil Bars, but I'm changing it to Speedy Little Angel Bars because this cookie bar (if you like chocolate and peanut butter) is a little piece of heaven on earth! Mmmmm....

Speedy Little Angel Bars

1 stick of margarine, melted

1 devil's food cake mix (I used dark chocolate fudge or something like that...any chocolate cake will do)

1 cup peanut butter (I used chunky but you can use smooth if you prefer)

1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme

Combine melted margarine and dry cake mix. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture for top crust. Pat remaining crumb mixture into ungreased 9 x13 pan. Combine marshmallow cream and peanut butter. Top crust layer with combined peanut butter and marshmallow cream and spread evenly. Crumble remaining mixture over marshmallow/peanut butter mixture. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool (that's the hardest part of the recipe....waiting for them to cool!). Cut into 3 dozen bars.


God Bless,

This recipe came from an italian cookbook that my sister gave me. I had never cooked a roast like this before, but it turned out very delicious and it was quite easy to prepare. Definately a recipe that I will fix again!

Beef Roast with Parmesan and Cream

3 lb beef boneless rump roast
2 oz imported Parmesan cheese cut into 2 x ¼ x ¼ inch strips
2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 TBSP olive oil
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ cup dry red wine or beef broth
1 cup whipping (heavy) cream
½ cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese

Make small, deep cuts in all sides of beef with sharp knife. Insert 1 cheese strip completely in each cut.

Heat butter and oil in 4 quart dutch oven over medium high heatuntil butter is melted. Cook beef in butter mixture, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Add wine or broth. Cook uncovered until about 5 minutes oruntil liquid has evaporated.

Pour whipping cream over beef; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 2 hours or until beef is tender.

Place beef on warm platter; cover loosely with tent of aluminum foil to keep warm. Skim fat from juices in Dutch oven. Stir grated cheese into juices. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping particles from bottom of pan. Cut beef into thin slices. Serve with cream sauce.

1 Serving: Calories 295; Fat 19 g; Cholesterol 105 mg; sodium 420 mg; carbohydrate 1 g; protein 30 g

God bless,

These savory crackers can be assembled up to 4 days ahead then simply remove from the fridge, cut and bake. If you cut these on thick side, they turn out like a shortbread; thinner slices turn out more like crackers. *Be sure to grate your own parmesan cheese..don't buy the pre-grated kind. It will make a difference! This recipe yields about 30 crackers.

Parmesan & Thyme Crackers

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)*
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1 minute With the mixer on low speed, add the parmesan, thyme, salt, pepper and combine.

With the mixer still on low, add the flour and combine until the mixture is in crumbles bout 1 minute. If the dough is too dry, add 1 teaspoon water (My dough seemed a little too crumbly so I used a little more).

Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball, and roll into a 9 inch long. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the log into 3/8 inch thick rounds with a small sharp knife and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 22 minutes, until very light browned. Rotate the pan once during baking. Cool and serve at room temperature.

God Bless,

This yummy recipe came from King Arthur Flour's website. These buttery scones have a wonderful swirl of cinnamon through their center and they are a delicious compliment to a nice warm cup of coffee!

Cinnamon Smear Scones

Cinnamon Smear
1/2 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Topping
1 egg white, beaten slightly
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Dough
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup evaporated milk or half and half

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper.

Cinnamon Smear: Place the butterscotch chips, brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon cinnamon in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is rough and pasty looking (you can also do this in a blender). Set the mixture aside.

Topping: In a small bowl, whisk the egg white till it's lost its cohesion, but hasn't yet become frothy. In another bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Dough: Wipe out the work bowl of your processor with a paper towel, then place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Process to blend. Add the butter in chunks, and process to break or cut the butter in, forming a mealy, crumbly mixture. Place this mixture in a large mixing bowl. Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer (or your hands, a whisk, and pastry fork or pastry blender) to combine the dry ingredients and cut in the butter.

In a small bowl or cup, blend together the egg, vanilla and evaporated milk (or half and half). Add this to the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together. Turn the crumbly mass out onto a floured work surface and knead it gently, pressing the cinnamon smear mixture into the dough. It'll look marbleized; this is fine.

Roll or pat the dough into a 10 x 6-inch rectangle, about 1-inch thick, or 10-inch circle. Cut the dough into 12 to 14 squares or wedges. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, brush each with the egg white, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.

Bake the scones about 12 to 15 minutes, or until their bottoms are browned and the tops are lightly golden. Yield: 12 to 14 scones.

God bless,