Today, this 17th day in April, 2011, is Gracie Mae's 3rd Birthday; therefore, this entire post is devoted to her.
Little Miss Mae is celebrating her third year of life. I still remember her
first day with us.
Look how much she has grown! Wasn't she just a darling little peanut!?
For her birthday, we typically go for a nice long walk, or to the park, and then we go to the pet store and let her pick out a couple new toys of her choice...And, yes, she really does chose them.
We always have a little photo shoot, to document her growth, and her day. And this year, we added something new into the mix--I made her yummy homemade doggie treats (and yes, Paul & I both tried them.)
Homemade Pooch Treats
These were super-duper simple, and Gracie can't get enough. Plus, they are healthier (and cheaper) than her normal Milkbones that tend to make her constipated and change her poop weird colors.
I did a little research before making these--a lot of recipes I came across had garlic in them, apparently fleas hate the smell of garlic, so garlicky food keeps them away. Unfortunately, garlic is bad for dogs. Like onions, garlic can cause anemia in dogs--which can cause death. No, thank you!
A lot of the recipes also had animal flavors in them, like chicken or beef bouillon. I opted not to add these because of the typical sodium content, but feel free to if you'd like.
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of rolled oats..
...and 1/3 cup softened butter.
Then pour in 1 cup of hot water (just like you're making oatmeal!)
Mix it together a bit, and let that sit for 10 minutes.
Measure 1/4 a cup of cornmeal,
and grate 2 carrots.
Put the carrot shreds into a piece of paper towel and gently squeeze the juice out.
Next, chop up 1/2 cup of parsley...
..and measure 1 cup of peanut butter.
Add this all to the bowl with the oatmeal.
Next, add 3 cups of flour.
I would have used whole wheat flour if I'd had it--but I didn't...So, I just used plain ol' all-purpose flour. If you have whole wheat flour, I recommend using it.
Add 1 egg and 1/4 cup of milk, then mix it all together.
It should look something like this.
You may be tempted to eat the dough at this point--it smells like peanut butter cookies. Don't let yourself be fooled--this is going to be dog food. Remember? But mmm, it smells so good.
Mmm, smell them?
Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface. The dough should be firm, not too sticky. If it's sticky, dust it with flour and knead it a bit until it becomes firm.
Form it into a ball.
I rolled the dough a bit and found it was too much, so I cut it in half.
Roll your dough to about 1/4" thickness.
Use a cookie cutter to cut it into whichever shape you desire.
Lay the cookies on a grease cookie sheet. Bake on 350˚F for 45 minutes--until hardened.
Let them cool, and share them with your favorite pooch!
