Tasty Tuesday: Tuna Treats for Trick Training
Posted: February 3, 2015 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, BONE Appetit, Bubba Rose Biscuit Company, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats, Tuna Snackers 25 Comments
Wow. That title sure is a tongue twister. Just trying to say it was a trick. And speaking of tricks . . . a little more than a week ago, I wrote a post called “Six by Six?” I confessed that I do not know any tricks, revealed my human mommy’s silly plan for me learn six tricks by my sixth birthday (which is next month), and asked for your input on what tricks I should learn. I loved your comments, and I was very surprised to learn that most of my four-legged friends don’t do any tricks either. I thought for sure that my mommy would give up on this ridiculous trick idea after she saw that, but no such luck. It appears that we are forging ahead with the trick lessons.
Naturally, we had to find a tasty treat recipe for these trick lessons. You didn’t honestly think I’d fall for this crazy plan without the promise of treats, did you? So Mommy turned to The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook from the Bubba Rose Biscuit Company and zeroed in on a recipe for Tuna Snackers, billed as “high-protein, low-fat, allergy-friendly, and filled with beneficial omegas.” This trick-learning thing could require a lot of treats, so it was important to find something that is low-fat. Mommy liked the limited ingredients and simple preparation.
I was pretty excited about the tuna and more than pleased to clean the little cans before they went into the recycling bin. I supervised while Mommy combined 1-1/2 cups of oat flour, 1-1/2 cups of brown rice flour, 1/4 cup of oat bran, 6 ounces of albacore tuna in water, 1 egg, and enough water to form a dough ball (a little more than 1/2 cup added slowly).
The recipe says to roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness and then cut into shapes. Since we’ll be using these tuna treats for trick training, Mommy simply used a knife to cut the rolled out dough into little squares.
Then the treat squares went onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and into an oven preheated to 350 F to bake for 22 minutes. Friends, for the life of me I will never ever understand this whole baking step. This just seems like such a total waste of time to me. I am more than happy to eat my treats before they go into the oven, but Mommy absolutely insists on baking them. Whatever.
Would you just look at all the Tuna Snackers this recipe made. We’ve put some in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer. I’m pretty sure that one batch will get me through mastering all six tricks. And about those tricks . . . I’ve settled on my six: bow, shake, high five, sit up, speak, and–first up–spin . . . or maybe in keeping with the Tasty Tuesday T theme we should call that twirl!
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Tasty Tuesday: A King Cake Fit for a Dog
Posted: January 13, 2015 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Carnival, Dog Treats, Dog-Friendly King Cake, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, King Cake, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, NOLA, Pet Photography, Pets, South Louisiana, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee 34 Comments
We’re pretty lucky where I live. Just as soon as the Christmas season ends, we start celebrating Mardi Gras. Technically, Mardi Gras is just one day–the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, February 17 this year–but we like to celebrate every minute leading up to and including that day. (It can all seem a bit confusing. Click here if you’d like more information.) One of the best parts of Mardi Gras is the King Cake, but human King Cakes aren’t good for dogs. Bummer! So my human mommy searched the internet for a dog-friendly recipe and found one at DogChannel.com. Yea! Today we made our first ever Dog-Friendly King Cake. Yum! Here are the ingredients and instructions:
Ingredients:
2/3 cup bananas, mashed
1/2 butter, softened
3/4 cup water
3 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon dried ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
**1/2 cup chopped pecans, chopped (**Mommy wasn’t sure about adding the pecans, so she turned to the internet and found a number of sites that said dogs shouldn’t eat pecans. We didn’t add the pecans to our batter.)
Nonfat plain yogurt mixed with honey and food coloring (in the traditional Mardi Gras colors–purple, gold, and green) for the frosting
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside. Beat together the bananas and butter in a medium bowl until creamy. Beat in water and then eggs one at a time. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine. (**At this point the recipe says to add the pecans; but based on Mommy’s research, we skipped this step.) Pour the batter into a prepared Bundt pan and bake for 35 minutes.
When we poured the batter into the Bundt pan, it seemed a little pitiful. Mommy crossed her fingers (and I crossed my toes) and we both hoped that it would rise a bit while baking. It did.
Before popping the cake into the oven, we added a small homemade dog treat. Human King Cakes traditionally are baked with a little plastic baby inside. Whoever gets the baby in his or her piece of cake is expected to purchase the next King Cake or throw the next party. Mommy and I thought it would be fun to put a dog-friendly spin on that tradition.
While the cake baked, I helped with cleanup. This is absolutely and positively my very favorite part of Tasty Tuesday!
After the King Cake cooked and cooled, Mommy mixed the icing. The recipe didn’t have specifics on amounts, so Mommy used about two tablespoons of yogurt, 2 teaspoons of honey, and a few drops of food coloring for each color. It seemed to work. As you can see, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get a piece of King Cake after my dinner tonight. Mommy says we’re going to let the cake rest in the refrigerator overnight. Then tomorrow we’ll deliver pieces of King Cake to my canine friends. I can’t wait to see who gets the baby hidden dog treat . . . I also can’t wait to get my very own piece of Dog-Friendly King Cake. Happy Mardi Gras!
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Tasty Tuesday: A New Man in My Life
Posted: December 16, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Dog Treats, Dogs, DogTreatKitchen.com, Gingerbread, Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Men, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats 29 Comments
There’s a new man in my life. He’s a gingerbread man, and boy is he tasty. I met the little gingerbread man last night when my human mommy and I started our holiday baking . . . for my canine friends, of course.
Mommy found the recipe for the gingerbread men at DogTreatKitchen.com. I totally approve of the ingredients:
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup canola oil
While I supervised, Mommy preheated the oven to 325 F. She whisked together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl. Then she used a sturdy spoon to combine the molasses, water, and canola oil in a smaller bowl before pouring the molasses mixture into the flour mixture and combining the two with a sturdy spoon.
Next it was time to roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness, cut the dough into little gingerbread man shapes, and place the gingerbread men on cookie sheets to bake. (The recipe says to spray the cookie sheets lightly with nonstick spray, but Mommy used parchment paper. Mommy also had to add a little extra water to form the dough before rolling out.)
And into the oven those little gingerbread men went for 20 minutes . . .
. . . which gave me just enough time for a quick nap.
After baking, we let the little gingerbread men cool off before popping them into the freezer. We still have a bit more baking to do before we make treat gift bags for all my neighborhood friends.
Mmmmmm . . . I think my friends are going to love the little gingerbread man just as much as I do.
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Why Did the Golden Retriever Cross the Road?
Posted: November 11, 2014 Filed under: Dogs I Like, Things I Like | Tags: Backyard Chickens, Blog Hop, Chickens, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Treats 16 Comments
Why did the Golden Retriever cross the road?
To visit the chickens, of course. I’m a pretty lucky dog. I live in the middle of the city, and yet I have a miniature pony that lives right around the corner and a couple of chickens who recently came to roost (haha, get it?) across the street. That’s Number 3 on the left and Wannabe on the right. You might be wondering why Number 3 is named Number 3. Well, at one time there were three chickens, and Number 3 was number three in the pecking order (I made another chicken joke there). Then it turned out that one of the chickens was a rooster, so he went to live in the country.
So recently I got to visit my chicken neighbors for the first time. I was pretty interested, as you might have gathered from the tension in my collar . . . and you can’t even see the tension in my human mommy’s hand as she maintained the death grip on my leash. I’m not quite sure why my humans were so surprised by my perhaps-overly-excited attraction to the chickens. Afterall, I am a bird dog.
Mommy quickly determined that it might be a good idea for me to get away from the hen-house, otherwise this blog post might have become a very different take on Tasty Tuesday. I took one last look as my human daddy dragged me away. I have a pretty good idea that I won’t ever be allowed to visit the chickens again.
But my mommy stuck around to learn more about Wannabe and Number 3. They’ll be one year old in February. They laid their first eggs when they were around eight or nine months old, and they’ll lay eggs for the first five to eight years of their lives. That’s a lot of eggs. Number 3 is what’s called an olive egger because she lays eggs that are olive-green, and Wannabe is a pale blue Easter egger. They eat chicken feed, but they also get kitchen scraps from their humans (hey, I want to be a chicken) . . . pretty much everything except chicken. Their human mother says it just doesn’t feel right to feed the chickens chicken. Makes sense to me. Their favorite human food is cooked spaghetti.
They need all those spaghetti carbs because during the day they are free to roam around their big backyard. In the evening, they settle into this beautiful chicken coop. Eat your hearts out, pups. This thing is way nicer than any dog house I’ve ever seen.
They perch in this area to sleep . . .
. . . and this is where they lay their eggs. Look closely and you’ll notice a couple of golf balls. At first, Wannabe and Number 3 were laying eggs all over their coop. Then their humans read that if you place golf balls where you want your chickens to lay, that’s where they’ll lay. It worked!
And look at the lovely eggs that my chicken neighbors shared with me. Mommy used a couple to make human treats, but you just knew she had to save one of those special eggs to make some yummy dog treats. She turned to The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook and found a recipe for Pumpkin Drops.
These heavenly pumpkin spice cookies are made with oat flour, brown rice flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, unsweetened applesauce, canned pumpkin, a little water, and one very special egg. Simply drop about a teaspoon-sized ball onto a cookie sheet, flatten the ball if you’d like, and bake.
These treats are super simple because they don’t require any rolling or cutting out, and the recipe makes plenty of cookies to share with your friends.
I volunteered for taste-testing duty. Yep, they passed the test with flying colors.
I think I’m going to share some Pumpkin Drops with my new friends Wannabe and Number 3 . . . but I might have to get Mommy to make the delivery.
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Tasty Tuesday Book Report: Bubba Rose’s Biscuit Recipes
Posted: October 7, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Book Report, Books, Bubba Rose Biscuit Company, Cookbook, Dog Treat Cookbook, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Photography, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats 21 Comments
The other day when my human mommy stopped into our local Whole Foods grocery store, this little book caught her eye. (Leave it to Mommy to be distracted by a dog biscuit cookbook while shopping for human food . . . just one of the many reasons I love her so much.) The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook from the humans at Bubba Rose Biscuit Company (www.bubbarose.com) features more than 100 recipes divided into six chapters:
- Foget-Me-Nots: A special treat for your favorite four legger for each month of the year
- Sandwich Board: The daily specials — all the classics
- Silver Platter: For dogs who live in the lap of luxury
- Cookie Jar: A little something for the sweet tooth
- 5th Ave. Decadence: For those with richer tastes
- Because You Have Unique Tastes: Special treats that meet your needs
The book opens with an introduction that includes a pantry list, time-saving tips for stocking the pantry and fridge, substitution suggestions, helpful cooking tools to have on hand, and storage tips. All recipes are free from wheat, corn, and soy (which the authors say are the most common sources of food allergies in dogs), and many include an interesting nutritional sidebar.
Mommy naturally flipped immediately to the recipe for the month of October–Pumpkin Bites, made with oat flour, brown rice flour, pumpkin (canned or fresh), molasses (regular or blackstrap, cinnamon, ground ginger, honey, an egg, and enough water to form a dough ball.
I slipped into my fun fall apron and watched as Mommy combined all the yummy ingredients. I must have dozed off while she rolled out and cut the dough into festive little pumpkin and bone shapes, because the next thing I knew . . .
. . . the treats were out of the oven and filling the house with the most wonderful autumnal scent. When my human daddy came home, he said the house smelled like pumpkin pie baking. Silly Daddy. He should know that any time the house smells that good it’s because Mommy’s making something special for my friends and me.
We packaged the Pumpkin Bites and started delivering joy all around our neighborhood. We even brought some of the treats to our friends in Texas. I can assure you that the reviews have been outstanding, and I am definitely looking forward to tasting my way through The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook.
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Countdown to Kickoff: Tasty Tailgating Treats
Posted: August 26, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, LSU, LSU Football, LSU Tigers, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats 29 Comments
Who says college football tailgating is just for humans? Dogs enjoy a tasty treat before the game just as much as anyone, so my human mommy and I whipped up a little something for me to share with all of my canine friends before the big LSU Tigers season opener this Saturday.
To make these tasty tailgating treats, we turned to a couple of recipes that we’ve used before: Happy Hip Bones Treats from 3mbakery and cream cheese frosting from Wear.Wag.Repeat. (You can click here and here for links to the recipes.) I was in charge of quality control, and a I can assure you that the combination of oat flour, peanut butter, turmeric, ginger, and apple cider vinegar more than met my very high standards.
While I supervised watched, Mommy cut the rolled out dough into footballs, football helmets, and of course L-S-U. And then we popped the treats into the oven and waited for an eternity 30 minutes.
I let Mommy decorate the golden cookies with purple cream cheese frosting . . . perfect colors for an LSU tailgate. Now Mommy would have you believe that she planned for the treats to be gold, but it was just a happy coincidence thanks to the turmeric. She thinks that might be a sign of good things to come for our Tigers this Saturday. She thinks funny things like that when it comes to football.
But I won’t make too much fun of Mommy’s silly football superstitions because she made this extra special cookie just for me, HL. It was gone in one bite. Yummy!
We’ve packaged our canine tailgating treats and will deliver them over the next few days so that all of my doggy friends will have a little something to enjoy before the big game. Just a word of caution for my friends: Saving these tasty treats for Saturday may prove to be a bit of a test!
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Sinking My Teeth into Tasty Tuesday
Posted: August 12, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Canine Dental Health, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Jefferson Animal Hospital, Perio Support, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Veterinarian, VetriScience Laboratories 33 Comments
So last night my human mommy/blogging assistant had a slight goof. Somehow the pushed the giant PUBLISH button before I had finished telling my story. What do you have to do to get a decent assistant these days? Anyway, my apologies to anyone who received that unfinished version of my tale. Here’s the complete story. I hope you enjoy.
Last week I went to the V-E-T to have my teeth cleaned. This is me post-procedure. I probably don’t need to tell you that when it comes to anaesthesia I’m a little lightweight. I don’t remember much of the day, but I’ll tell you what I do recall: My human mommy forced me to rise and shine at what seemed to be an utterly ungodly hour of the morning. OK . . . so it was 6 a.m. . . . but I’m not a morning girl, so that was a bit of a jolt. I staggered into the kitchen only to discover that my food and water bowls were missing. Then I remembered that I was denied my usual go-to-bed treat the night before. Something was definitely fishy. And that’s when we got into my chariot (what you would call a car) and started driving. Before I knew what was happening, we were at the V-E-T clinic. Now I’ve told you before that I love, love, love my vet, so at this point I was pretty happy . . . hungry, but happy. Unfortunately, that’s basically the last moment I remember from that day. The next thing I knew, I was back at home and Mommy’s crazy camera was flashing in front of my dopey face while she giggled. Isn’t that just typical of our humans?
So at this point I know what you’re thinking: “Miss Harper Lee, that’s an interesting story and all, but what in the world does any of this have to do with Tasty Tuesday.” Well, I’ll tell you. There are two key connections between my teeth cleaning and Tasty Tuesday. First, it’s extremely important to maintain dental health so that I can chew on all of my tasty treats. (Just for the record, I had an excellent report.) And second, I got this fabulous new powder that goes on my food to help keep my teeth and gums healthy. . . and it tastes just like a treat! It’s called Perio Support and it’s made by the people at VetriScience Laboratories “to help maintain clean teeth and fresh breath. It is formulated to help control plaque formation and to support gum health.” (That’s a quote from their website. You can click here to read more.)
When I finally regained enough coherency that evening to eat dinner, Mommy sprinkled a bit of the Perio Support on my food. WOW! This stuff is fantastic. I’ve even seen Mommy sniffing it and saying something about it being good enough to put on chicken to grill for humans. Oh no you don’t, Mommy. It says right on the label that it’s only for canines and felines.
And it’s way too yummy for me to share, even when I’m slightly groggy!
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Comfort Food . . . K9 Style
Posted: July 15, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: BONE Appetit, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats 44 Comments
We’re all familiar with human comfort foods . . . things like macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, chocolate cake. Would it surprise you to know that canines have comfort foods too? It’s time for you to get to know my favorite summertime comfort food.
Where I live, summers are hot . . . I mean really hot . . . and humid . . . I mean really humid. So naturally my favorite summertime comfort treat has to be frozen.
And naturally it has to include three of my all-time favorite ingredients: yogurt, peanut butter, and bananas. Yum!
My human mommy mashed a banana in a bowl. Then she added a heaping teaspoon of smooth peanut butter to the mashed banana. Luckily for me, that was the last of the peanut butter, so I got to lick the jar. Bonus!
Finally, she added two tablespoons of plain yogurt to the bowl and mixed everything with a spoon. I got to lick the spoon. Pretty clean, don’t you think? Mommy could have just put it back into the drawer, but for some reason she decided that it needed to go into the dishwasher. Whatever.
While I watched, Mommy spooned the yogurt-peanut butter-banana mixture into molds and then popped the molds into the freezer.
Meanwhile, I got to lick the bowl. Yes! As with the spoon I licked, I thought the bowl was clean enough to go right back into the cabinet. Mommy didn’t quite agree, so the bowl joined the spoon in the dishwasher.
And after just a few hours in the freezer, my treats were ready to eat. Now that’s a tasty treat that can comfort a canine even on the hottest of summer days!
Footnote: If you don’t have fancy little molds, don’t worry. You can put small spoonfuls of the yogurt-peanut butter-banana mixture on a cookie sheet to freeze. Trust a dog on this: We don’t care how it looks; we just want a taste. BONE appetit!
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Tasty Tuesday Twofer: Zucchini Treats for Dogs and Humans
Posted: May 27, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Blog Hop, Cooking Light, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Homemade Dog Treats, Pet Photography, Pets, Photography, Recipes, Tasty Tuesday, The Big Dogs, Thek9harperlee, Treats, Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcakes, Zucchini, Zucchini Mini Muffins, Zucchini Recipes 40 Comments
Last week my friend Miss Gaye (human mother to The Big Dogs) gave my human mommy a beautiful homegrown zucchini, and Mommy decided to make Zucchini Mini Muffins for humans. What? Mommy was actually taking time to prepare a special treat that wasn’t for me? I know. I was shocked too. But then the most wonderful thing happened: Mommy realized that she still had half of that beautiful zucchini left. Naturally, she began an Internet search for the perfect zucchini dog treat recipe. I knew she wouldn’t forget about me.
She settled on a Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcake recipe from Doggie Stylish. The ingredient list is very simple:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup grated zucchini
She combined all the ingredients except the zucchini, mixed well, and then added the zucchini, ensuring that it was evenly distributed in the batter. I was in charge of quality control, and I can tell you that my mommy did an excellent job of mixing.
She spooned the batter into a lined muffin tin, popped the muffin tin into the oven–which she had preheated to 375F–and baked the Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcakes for 25 to 30 minutes. Now I will tell you that I truly did not understand the whole baking step. I thought the batter was perfectly fine before the pupcakes were baked . . .
. . . but then when I saw that the pupcakes more than doubled in size, I was pretty happy that I had waited for them to cook. And boy did those nice warm Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcakes ever taste yummy.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Miss Harper Lee, you promised a Tasty Tuesday twofer. Where’s that recipe for the human zucchini treats? Here it is, and it comes from Cooking Light magazine so it’s good for you. The ingredient list is a little longer than the pupcake recipe, but it’s still pretty simple:
- 6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1-1/3 cups)
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2/3 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini, or the half of the large zucchini that’s left over after you’ve made Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcakes)
- 3 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Weigh or lightly spoon flour in dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next five ingredients (through allspice) in a large bowl.
- Combine zucchini and next five ingredients (through egg) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
- Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture, stirring batter just until combined.
- Divide batter evenly among 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean.
So if you find yourself with a beautiful large zucchini, head into the kitchen to make Whole Wheat Zucchini Pupcakes for your puppy dog friends and Zucchini Mini Muffins for your human friends. It’s a tasty twofer that will make everyone happy.
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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Making Mardi Gras Merrier with Marsh Dog!
Posted: March 4, 2014 Filed under: Things I Like | Tags: Baton Rouge, Blog Hop, Dog Treats, Dogs, Golden Retriever, Harper Lee, Healthy Dog Treats, Mardi Gras, Marsh Dog, Nutria, South Louisiana, Tasty Tuesday, Thek9harperlee, Treats, Wetlands 42 Comments
Let me be the first–or, at the very least, the first dog–to wish you a Happy Mardi Gras! Today marks the end of almost two full months of carnival revelry, during which humans have indulged in king cakes, parades, beads and balls (the kind where they dance, not the kind that dogs chase and catch). All of that comes to an end at midnight tonight, but not before one more full day of fun, fun, fun.
And I cannot think of a merrier way to celebrate Mardi Gras than by enjoying a little taste of Marsh Dog Wild Nutria Bark. If you’re not familiar with nutria (and really, unless you’re from South Louisiana, why would you be?), let me describe this very unpleasant little pest. Picture a large rat. Now picture a beaver. Now try to imagine a cross between the two. Told you they were unpleasant. But even worse than their appearance is the destruction that nutria inflict on Louisiana’s wetlands, which offer a natural defense against tropical storms and provide habitats for a multitude of animals. I wrote about Marsh Dog a little over a year ago when I first tried their Wild Nutria Biscuits. Let me just refresh your memory:
Veni Harlan and her brother, Hansel Harlan, received a grant last year from a group that funds creative ideas to help reduce the nutria population. I’d say making dog treats from nutria was a pretty creative idea! The treats are made from nutria that are trapped along the Louisiana coast. A federally funded program managed by the state pays the trappers $5 per nutria, and then the trappers can sell the nutria to people like the Harlans. It’s a win-win-win-win. The nutria are removed from the coast, which helps to save the wetlands. The trappers support themselves with the nutria that they trap and sell. The Harlan’s make treats. And lucky dogs like me get to eat those treats!
A few weeks ago, my humans met Miss Veni at the LSU Vet School open house and she gave them a package of Wild Nutria Bark just for me. Wild Nutria Bark is made from nutria meat . . . that’s it . . . just dry roasted nutria meat and nothing else. No grains, no artificial flavors, no fillers, no preservatives, no added hormones, no colorings.
And nutria meat is good for lucky dogs like me. Just look at this information from the Marsh Dog website:
-
Nutria has less fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey
- Nutria are vegetarian and consume a wide variety of plants, including rice and sugarcane. This is the
reason nutria are a serious problem, but it’s also why the quality of meat is so excellent. - Nutria contain no artificial hormones. (There are six different kinds of steroid hormones that are currently approved by FDA for use in sheep and cattle—the two primary proteins used in dog food. They are stradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate.)
- Nutria meat is naturally a bright red color. (Processed meats often contain sodium nitrite used both as a preservative and to color products red so they appear fresh. A diet high in sodium nitrites may lead to a health condition that inhibits red blood cells from transporting oxygen throughout the body.)
- Dogs love the fresh, wild taste of nutria.
I can definitely vouch for that last point. These treats are super, super good. I’ve never met Miss Veni, but I think I love her. She and her brother are making healthy, yummy treats for dogs; they’re helping the wetlands of South Louisiana; and they’re doing it all right here in my hometown of Baton Rouge. Please take a little time to check out the Marsh Dog website by clicking here. You’ll find the names and locations of retailers throughout Louisiana and information about how to order Marsh Dog products if you live outside of our state, plus you’ll learn a whole lot about Veni and Hansel, the wetlands, and more than you ever wanted to know about nutria.
Today, I’m participating in the Tasty Tuesday blog hop, hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can click on the link below for more yummy recipes and tasty treats.
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thek9harperlee 