Dog Biscuits

Taking a finger walk through my overstuffed recipe box brings back lots of good memories. Today I spotted this recipe for "Dog Biscuits" that my sister gave me about 25 years ago.  I made the biscuits for our dog, then people started asking for them, and then I sold them at a few craft shows.  The hardest part was rolling out the dough and cutting the biscuits with a bone shaped cookie cutter.  Wow, that was a lot of work for a few bucks.  Once the kiddo's came along, our poor puppy didn't get any more home baked biscuits :(  If you are feeling adventurous, these make great gifts for your canine friends. 

Dog Biscuits

Mix and let sit 5 minutes:
1/4 cup warm water
8 chicken boullion cubes
1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
Add:
1 1/2 cup tomato juice

In a seperate container mix:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups wheat germ
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic seasoning

Add the yeast mixture then knead until combined and makes a smooth ball.  Roll dough on floured surface and cut with a cookie cutter.  On greased cookie sheet, bake at 300 degrees F. for 1 hour, turn oven off, then let sit in oven for 4 hours.

Thick Crust Pizza Dough to Mix in a Bread Machine

My most reliable, go to pizza dough recipe started as my basic bread dough.  This dough is so versatile I also make crazy delicious bread sticks that we call crazy bread with it. Wow, no complaining from this family when pizza and crazy bread are in the oven.

Thick Pizza Crust

In measuring cup mix the following:
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoon active yeast for a bread machine
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Measure dry ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Add dry ingredients to bread machine, then add the yeast mixture.  Set the bread machine on dough cycle. That's it!

 Remove from bread machine, roll or hand toss, add favorite ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

mmmmm....yummy!

Baked Meatballs

I used to struggle with meatballs because they would fall apart while pan frying, or become overly burnt on the outside, yuk.  About two years ago I finally discovered a fantastic meatball recipe to use with a scrumptious Sunday Gravy, but they are extremely time consuming, and are very fatty.  Baking your meatballs is a quick and easy way to reduce fat and also your time in the kitchen.  I found this recipe on Pinterest, so decided to give it a try. If you don't mind a slightly flat bottom on your meatball, this recipe is easy and great.  Here is my version:

Baked Meatballs
1lb lean hamburger
2 eggs, beaten with 1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 small onion, minced
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (I use the squeeze bottle to save time)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 
1 teaspoon basil

Mix all ingredients with hands. Form into golf ball sized meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce or build a meatball sub, yummy!

Crockpot Fajitas

Eureka! Thought I lost this yummie recipe, but found it in a suitcase while cleaning up today.  Yes, I would take this recipe with me if I was deserted on an island with my husband, it's that good and easy too.

My husband printed this recipe off in 2004 from a news website, so credit goes to the two names listed on the original recipe, "Prairie" and "Hispanicmama", each contributing their own variation.  Easy, tender and oh so delicious! Here is my version:

Crockpot Fajitas
Into a crockpot/slow cooker, stack in this order:
1 beef rump or shoulder roast
1 envelope low salt taco seasoning
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can of chopped green chiles
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 onion
1 can Rotel chopped tomatoes and green chiles

Stack in order above.  DO NOT MIX.  Cover and cook on high for the first hour, then low for 8-9 hours (depends on the size of your roast).  DO NOT OPEN LID.  DO NOT STIR.  Do not even look at it until it's done.  When done, remove all but the liquid from the crockpot and put into a large casserole dish.  Drain off excess liquid.  With large forks, shred the roast and serve with flour tortillas and eat like fajitas.  Garnish with cheese, sour cream, etc.

This recipe makes A LOT of food, so plan on left overs, or serve it to a crowd.

How to Clean a Wood Burning Stove

Yikes!  Our Jotul wood burning fireplace was looking pretty sad, but I didn't want to take it apart and paint it.  We use our stove primarily to heat our home, and occasionally we cook with it.  Since our stove is cast iron I was thinking I could care for it like a cast iron skillet, and season the stove to clean it.  With a little bit of elbow grease, it is looking fantastic again.  It was such an amazing transformation, I am sharing it with you.  Dear hubby thinks I should do the stovepipe next, lol.

Stuff I used:
steel wool (I grabbed some from my husbands gun cleaning stuff)
spray olive oil
vacuum cleaner
cloth
Bar Keepers Friend (I use this to clean my stainless steel sink too, best stuff ever)

With steel wool, I fine sanded the rusty parts of our stove, mainly the top and a few spots on the side then vacuumed it to remove the dust and fine particles.  I opened up the front doors and cleaned the glass.  I usually use a special stove glass cleaner, but was out, so I tried Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polish (Google Affiliate Ad).  It worked perfectly and cleaned the black soot off of the glass easily.  Then I sprayed the stove with olive oil and gently rubbed it around.  I was amazed that my cloth was black and how the olive oil cleaned the stove.  Wow!

We had a small fire and the olive oil smelled so good my husband asked what I was cooking, lol.  The oil will burn off completely after a few fires, and the stove will have a matt finish. 

Do not overheat your stove after applying olive oil, it could smoke up your house.

Baked Corn

A classic recipe for potlucks or holidays from a dear friend, Ruthie.

1 can whole kernel corn
1 can cream style corn
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1 stick margarine
1 cup sour cream
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix

Mix all ingredients well. Spread in greased dish and bake 350 degrees F for approximately 45 minutes.

Vinegar Pie Crust

I could never make a very good pie crust, no matter how hard I tried.  Techniques such as crossing knives, pastry blenders and ice cold water, just didn't work for me.  I gave up on pie crust until a dear sweet lady shared her recipe with me.  I am eternally grateful not only for her pie making skills and advice, but most importantly, her love the Lord with all your heart kindness.  I smile everytime I look at this pair of recipe's because she shared her "Vinegar Pie Crust" recipe with me, and included a bonus recipe for my dear hubby, "Coconut Cream Pie", his favorite.

Marylou Dixon passed away recently but she shared more than a recipe with me.  Thank you Marylou for your discipleship, thoughtfulness, laughter and friendship, I will never forget you.