DIY - Irresistible Dog Bone Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok, now first let me start by saying one thing.  These are DOG TREATS not human treats.  Though they can be used for and are acceptable for human consumption, they are intended to be used for DOG TREATS.  I promise though, that dogs will go crazy over the taste and I believe they would learn to stand on their heads given the chance to have one.

Having said that, let's get started.

As the ring leader of my family, it is a proven fact time and time again, that there is nothing you can't do, especially if you put your mind to it.  Dog Treats are of no exception.

Having the equipment and necessary ingredients on hand we were able to whip out these little treats in no time one blustery, breezy, cabin fever crazed afternoon.

Here's the ingredients you'll need.

Um, ok... My original recipe calls for something well... completely different.  haha.  So, since I didn't have that on hand, I went to task quickly altering the recipe to accommodate what I did have in the pantry.  Here's the altered recipe and directions. (I'll place the full recipe and directions at the end of this post.)

That's right!

 Bisquick, Peanut Butter and Whole Milk.

Mix it all together in a bowl.  Your wanting a bread dough consistency.

Turn it out on a floured surface and finish by kneading it like you would bread.

Finish the kneading process by hand pressing it to about what you see here.

I use an Italian Marble Rolling Pin.  It's quite heavy and makes short order of

rolling out the dough.  Roll it out until it is about 1/4" thick.

Next have a cute, cabin fever crazed little boy cut out the dog cookies,

using (of course) dog bone cookie cutters.

I didn't get a picture of him putting them in the pan, as I felt that it was just going to be a boring picture of

them in the pan.  So note here, that you need to grease the pan before you put them in the oven.

I cooked them at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.  And tada...

Irresistible Dog Bone Peanut Butter Cookies!

Aren't those just awesome?!

And they smell like peanut butter cookies too!

Thanks for hanging in there to the very end of this post.  Here's the revamped recipe I came up with.

IRRESISTIBLE DOG BONE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

2 cups Bisquick

1 cup Peanut Butter (creamy or crunchy - either is fine)

3/4 cup Whole Milk

Flour (I used Bisquick to flour the surface as well. It worked fine)

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl.  Mix until it reaches a doughy consistency. (The consistency of bread or biscuit dough). Turn out on floured surface and knead the dough for not more than 5 turns.  Hand press to about 1" all around.  Roll out the dough to approximately a 1/4" thickness, then use cookie cutters of your choice to make the treat shapes you desire.  Place on greased cookie sheet and place in 400 degree oven for 8 minutes.  If you prefer a longer cook time, decrease the temperature accordingly.

(makes 2 dozen)

Enjoy this quick doggie treat that makes dogs go crazier than bacon could ever imagine!

DIY - Pine Cone Peanut Butter Bird Treats

Alright, I've slacked a bit.  I was on a roll and some how managed to distract myself with other things.  We've been up to many things, so it's time to get back to the business at hand.  So here goes.


I believe in recycling.  There is no need to throw something away, when it can be used for something else.  Or revamped to use for another purpose.  A re-purposing if you will.


Here is a neat way to recycle pine cones, that would otherwise go to waste.  We turned our PERFECT pine cones into PERFECT bird treats.


Now my Mom, is a lover of the little feathered friends.  Brings her great delight to watch them come in to feed on the treats she strews out for them every morning.  Waylon, my son, decided to turn that delight into a wonderful present for his Nana.  With the help of his Mom (me) and the donation of pine cones from his Papa (my Dad) we were able to make some Pine Cone Peanut Butter Bird Treats.


It had been many years since my Grandmother showed me the recipe to make these little delights, so for the most part I winged it (pardon the pun).  I could remember the ingredients, but the quantity escaped me.  So throwing caution to the wind, we dug in and started off on the right foot by gathering the ingredients:  suet, peanut butter, bird seed, pine cones and some string for hanging.


We needed some suet.  It just so happens that I cooked up some bacon to serve with breakfast and saved the grease.  (See, I did have SOME forethought of the project! lol)  And as luck would have it, I bought the wrong peanut butter at the store.  We don't care for crunchy peanut butter, so another good save!! .... we donated it to feeding the birdies.  I had some wild berry bird seed on hand (what a coincidence) and it is considered one of the best for bringing in the finches, blue birds and cardinals.  (Which are ALL Nana's favs! Another good save. hehe)


Now, we needed to scavenge some string.  Well, I do seem to have an unlimited supply of hay twine.  So we took one strand and broke it down into several more and tied them around the top of the pine cones.


Now, I didn't think of taking pictures until Way had already gotten a couple of them done.  But as you can see from the pictures, it's kind of messy with the suet peanut butter.  But we had alot of fun putting it all together and then packaging them with love for Nana!


See the recipe at the bottom of this post.

The suet peanut butter is a bit saucy, but to get it in the little crevices of the pine cone it was

necessary to make it that way.

As you can see here, it kind of drips off the pine cone.   We attached the string first,

making it easier to dip, then double dip in the bird seed.  I used a muffin tin to rest them in,then placed them in the freezer for about 15 - 20 minutes to set the suet mixture.

I don't have a final picture, but as you can see from the one sitting in the muffin tin

that is what they look like.

Nana loved the Pine Cone Peanut Butter Bird Treats and is ready for us to make some more! :D

I think I will adjust the amount of suet I use next time and see if I can make it a bit less "soupy" and try

more of the packing method to see if it works out better for us.

Here's the Peanut Butter Suet recipe:

Ingredients: (Makes 12)

1 cup Suet (I used bacon grease, warmed)

2 cups Crunchy Peanut Butter

1 lb. Wild Berry and Nuts Bird Seed

String

Directions:

Now (as I said before) I'm into re-purposing as much as possible, so I used some twine from the hay that we get for the horses.  But any type of string will work, or wire if you prefer.  Be creative with it, as it doesn't have to be perfect, just look perfectly unique when your finished.

I separated the twine to make into more manageable pieces of strings.  And as it turned out it made 12 strings for 12 pine cones.  Now lace the string thru the top edges of the pine cone.  It doesn't make any difference which end you use, but I opted to use the flat edge, so I suppose for all intense purposes that would be the bottom.  After bringing the string together, I tied a knot in the middle.  Leaving enough string to make a loop at the end to hang it from the branch.

Next I took the suet that had been warmed and added the peanut butter to it. (I want to add here that I warmed it so that it would make a soupy mixture so that it would get into the crevices of the pine cone easier.  However in retrospect I might not warm the suet so much next time).

I set the bowl of suet peanut butter next to the bowl of bird seed.  Dip the pine cones in the peanut butter mixture and rotate a few times.  We used a spatula to make sure the peanuts got into the crevices too.  Then transfer it to the bird seed.  We used a double dip method and it worked well.

Place each pine cone in the muffin tin, then place in the freezer for 15 - 20 minutes until the suet is set.

Once the suet is completely set, we packaged ours and Way presented them to his Nana. :D

After Nana hung them up, she started getting in the blue birds that are her very very favorite next to cardinals.  And now enjoys watching her blue feathered friends thru the big picture windows with Papa. 

Simple, easy, made with love and perfectly unique!  Now that's what I call a great gift idea.

DIY Gifts - Cookies

There is nothing better than homemade (DIY) anything.  The time it takes and the love you put into it for a loved one or just the gift of giving brings out the best in me.  And something I've tried to instill in both my boys.  Ok, one of them isn't so much a boy anymore (as I am ever reminded when I look into his sons eyes!)  But, it's my bubble and all is right with the world when I think of all the traditions I have been able to share with both my "boys" through the years.

For Christmas we had many DIY gift-giving projects going.  My youngest son is still at home and so we once again broke out the DIY tubs to see what crafty thing we could come up with this time.  DIY around here is a daily/weekly/monthly affair, but I must say a gift takes a bit more thought.  The youngest is now 8 yrs old and can be quite creative and resourceful when he wants to be.

First we made a list of the people we wanted to make something homemade for.  Beside each name, we listed that persons favorite things, then started our DIY quest for just the right gift for each one.

Now to keep our brains from going into DIY overload with the hussle-bussle of the season we kept it as simple as possible.  There were a couple that looked simple that seemed to take the longest.  And as the deadline of Christmas Eve approached I was positive of it!  But in the end it was more than worth the extra time and care it took to complete the projects.

I know it's after Christmas, so why bother posting them now?  Well it wouldn't have been much of a surprise if they had already seen what they were getting... now would it.

I'll be posting all our DIY gift projects one by one.  I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed making them.


Peanut Butter Kisses

First we mixed all the ingredients, then Way rolled each one in sugar.

Now Way is making those cool checkerboards on them.

Then I forgot to take a picture of them coming out of the oven

and him adding a chocolate kiss to each one.

Ok, Ok... my bad.

But, I did remember to take a picture of the finish!

Don't those look delicious?!! Yumm.

Giving Thanks

There is not a single day that passes that I am not thankful for my family.  Without them, I would not be the person I am nor have the wonderful life that I live.  It is filled with many happy memories, warm smiling faces and as many hugs as one could ask for. 

However, on this special day, it is above all else the reason why every family gathers together.  To give thanks.......... and eat LOTS of turkey!

We made it a family affair to make the cookies, the pumpkin pies and the appetizers the day/night before.  Here's a couple of photos of that.

Peanut Butter Kisses.  Here's the recipe for that.

I'm a collector of antiques (USABLE antiques), others would call it the collector of fine junk.  But no matter what you call it, if it's USABLE and it's OLD you'll find it here, sometimes in triplicate. haha

This time of the year is one of my most favorite, as now is the time I bring out all the heirlooms.  The fine china from one great grandmother on one side of the family, the table cloth my great grandmother on the otherside made just for me.  And even some lead crystal from my grandmother on another.  
Here's a picture of that..

I scaled the setting down quite a bit from prior years, not all the family could make it, but just as they are in our thoughts and prayers daily, today they were there too.

Ok, BRING ON THE TURKEY! It's time to eat..

I am one of those people, that longs for the left overs of the holidays. 

Mmmm, makes my mouth water to think of all the leftovers I will have the opportunity too make sandwiches out of.  One of my fav's is the Bobby.  It's a hoagie smathered with mayo, topped with shredded turkey, cranberry sauce and of course stuffing.  Cram it all together and you have a "Bobby".

Here's to a Thanksgiving filled with many happy memories of the past, that brings you all together.  And the new memories you'll be making, to talk about next year! 

HAPPY THANKGIVING!