Homemade dog treats (x2)

Earlier in the week I made some fantastic Banana Crumble Muffins but I still had lots of of bananas left sooooo I decided to make treats for the dog instead of more muffins to stuff my own face with.
These were definitely a hit with the pup. Easy recipe. Made lots of treats. Since these do have fresh ingredients you have to freeze the unused portions until you are going to feed them to the dog.

Banana Treats (adapted from www.dogaware.com)
2 eggs
1/4 c. sunflower oil
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. milk
2 or 2 1/2 mashed bananas
3 c. oats
1 1/4 flour



Blend first 5 ingredients together well. Add flour and oatmeal gradually. Spread mixture on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake f0r 25 minutes at 325 degrees.
After baked and cooled I used a pizza cutter to slice these up into little snacks.


I also made some Peanut Butter Treats since they are also super-simple and are a big hit with any dog (what dog doesn't love peanut butter?).

Peanut Butter Treats (adapted from www.dogaware.com)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 T. sunflower oil
1 cup water
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
Combine peanut butter, oil and water. Add flour one cup at a time. Knead dough in to ball. Roll out 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutter to cut in to small shapes. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.Full belly and exhausted:

Sunday Sweet Potato Stew

Made two different versions of this today-one in the slow cooker and one on the stove. This happened mainly because I soaked too many lentils and I didn't want to waste them.
So first the slow cooker version adapted from Eat Better America:
3 cups pieces (1 inch) peeled dark-orange sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
3/4 cup dried lentils, sorted, rinsed
2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) vegetable broth
2 cups frozen cut green beans (from 1-lb bag), thawed
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1. In 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix sweet potatoes, carrots, onion and lentils.
2. In 8-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth. Pour mixture into slow cooker; stir.
3. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 hours.
4. Increase heat setting to High. Stir in green beans. Cover; cook about 15 minutes or until green beans are crisp-tender.
5. Serve topped with yogurt.

For the stovetop version:
2 large sweet potatoes cubed.
3 cups soaked lentils
6 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. curry
salt and pepper to taste

Put all in large pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about an hour-until some of the broth has boiled away and you have a nice thick stew. Serve with a slice of dark rye bread. Easy and was really tasty.

I also managed to clean my garage gutters (gross) and do the whole winter-to-summer wardrobe conversion, pack away all my winter blankets and get outside for a couple hours since it was so nice out today!
For dinner I made a white pizza and sat in the backyard to eat with a glass of my new favorite summer wine, Dr. Frank's Dry Rose. Ahh...perfect.

Laundry, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and To Kill a Mockingbird

The pup went to the groomers and while he was there I brought all my winter blankets. comforters and duvet covers to the laundromat. There was WAY to much stuff to torment a home washing machine with. Nothing like a non air-conditioned laundromat on a humid, 90 degree day but I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird again while there so it made the experience tolerable. I know I loved it before and clearly I should have re-read it sooner because I had forgotten how fantastic it is. I'm trying to start up a book club again and this will be our first book (in honor of the 50th anniversary of it's original publication)!
And what would a Saturday be without a little experimental baking. This time it was to try and make my all-time favorite thing in the world-chocolate chip cookies-slightly healthier. How? Well, I didn't use any eggs, I substituted all the sugar with Splenda and I only used whole-wheat flour. They're not the chocolate chip cookie most people would probably like but I think they actually turned out pretty well. Here's the recipe if you're feeling a little daring:
Sort-of Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Splenda brown sugar
1 cup I Can't Believe It's No Butter with Olive Oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. greek yogurt
1 2/3 c. Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Morsels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, Splenda, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add yogurt and then gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in 1 cup morsels. Drop rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets. Top each with a few more morsels. Bake for 10 minutes.