For the Love of Pooch

Carrot-Apple Dog Treats

2013-03-31T00:45:00.000-05:00

Hoppy Easter!

Target's seasonal section always drags me in when I do my grocery shopping. I usually try to stick to grocery stores so I stay focused on the food. Venturing into Target is just asking to buy things you all of the sudden "need" but is not on your grocery list such as a first aid kit, a razor, papermate pens, easter grass, and bunny shaped pans. They are so cute, how could I resist making treats that looked like Bugs Bunny?..... eh, what's up doc?

INGREDIENTS:

1 C. of white whole wheat flour
1 C. of grated carrots
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1/4 C. apple sauce
1/4 C. olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

Wilton Wabbit Silicon Bunny Pan

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, carrots, baking powder, egg, apple sauce, and olive oil together. Dough should have consistency of play doh.

3. Scoop about 1 tbsp of dough and squish into the Wilton Rabbit Silicon Bunny Pan.
4. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container once on counter after thoroughly cooled for up to 1 week . Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Be vewy vewy quiet... I'm hunting wabbits!

Mochi's Favorite Dog Toys

2013-03-24T18:33:00.000-05:00

Mochi loves her toys. She will bring them to bed, cuddle with them, and cry for hours when they are stuck under the couch. There's a learning curve associated with finding Mochi the right toy though. Funny how dogs can have preferences. She couldn't care less for rubber toys. She loves her soft toys. Especially ones that are plushy and squeak. Unfortunately, I had to learn to get her toys without too much stuffing because she will rip their heads off in T-1 minute. I had just gotten her this all natural, organic toy that cost 3 times as much as her other toys and I kid you not, within 1 minute she tore it's head off and it's stuffing was scattered around my apartment.

Did I do that?

So now, I pick toys that are fluffy or soft yet low in stuffing. See her top toys below!

1) She absolutely loves monkeys. I had gone through 3 monkeys (decapitated, stuffing everywhere) until I found these sweet things at PetCo. It's a monkey with minimal stuffing. The brown one has lasted months so I went and bought her a pink one as well. She loves both of these monkeys.

It's not listed on their website, but I got these from PetCo in their 2/$5 section.

2. Tennis ball. She loves her mini tennis ball because she will make it squeak forever. She's taught herself the art of self-fetch. She'll roll or throw this ball and go fetch it for herself. These come in many sizes and the x-small is perfect for her. (plus! No head to rip off or stuffing to scatter)

Air KONG Squeaker Tennis Ball
at PetCo.

3. This cute little bear is also a fave. It's small and mochi-sized. She can fit the whole bear in her mouth. It also has minimal stuffing and a loud squeaker (love at first squeak for her). It also comes with a replacement squeaker as well!

KONG X-tra Small Plush Toy
at petsmart

What are your pup's favorite toys?

Simple Chicken Nuggets for dogs

2013-03-19T22:54:00.004-05:00

Brown Chicken Brown Cow

What's the sexiest animals on the farm?

Brown chicken brown cow - ow ow!

I had left over chicken from dinner today and decided to give my pooch a little happy meal. I threw 3 ingredients together, tossed it in the oven, and diced the chicken into small pieces. Happiest day of her life. It reminded me of my happy meal days.... oh like 2 weeks ago. Yeah, I still get happy meals - shhhhhh.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 chicken breast
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried or chopped parsley

Would you like fries with that?

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Wash chicken and pat dry.
3. Toss in olive oil and parsley.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
5. Cut into smaller chunks.
6. Serve with toy (optional).

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container in the fridge after thoroughly cooled for up to 3 days .
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

McMochi's Pot O' Gold

2013-03-15T00:13:00.002-05:00

They're magically delicious!

You've followed the rainbow to McMochi's Pot O' Gold.... these homemade greenies. Don't know how she followed the rainbow since dogs are color blind and all but she's a gangsta and we don't question gangstas.

Since dogs can only see limited colors, I believe their red or green color blind it doesn't make much different what color their treats are. So I try to stay away from artificial food coloring as possible. I pureed boiled spinach to achieve a natural green color and used white whole wheat instead of regular whole wheat to not interfere with the coloring. Voila! Magically delicious all-natural green treats just in time for St. Patty's.

INGREDIENTS:

3 C. of white whole wheat flour (use white to let the green color come through)
3 tbsp. of olive oil
1 egg
2 tbsp. of soy milk
1/4 C. water from boiled spinach
1 C. of spinach puree (1 bag of spinach)

DIRECTIONS:

Spinach puree

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add 1 bag of spinach and boil for about 5 minutes.
3. Scoop out 1/4 cup of boiled spinach water and set aside.
4. Drain spinach. Put into food processor and puree.
5. Mix flour, olive oil, egg, soy milk, water from boiled spinach, and spinach puree together. Dough should have consistency of play doh.

3. Roll the dough into a 1/4-inch-thick roll. Use bone or floral cookie cutters.

4. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

STORAGE:

Beefy Sweet Potato Animal Crackers

2012-09-12T23:36:00.003-05:00

Animal Cwackas in my soup

I have these Wilton Mini Noah's Ark cookie cutters that I absolutely love. What's not to love about mini things?

You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals so let's do it like they do it on discovery channel. [Insert disc scratch] It just got pg-13 in here. These animal crackers are doggy style so you can already expect it to get hot in here. Cue Nelly but dogs don't have clothes to take off (generally) and are always strutting in their birthday suit anyway.

INGREDIENTS:

3 C. of whole wheat flour (regular or white)
3 tbsp. of olive oil
1 egg
1 jar of beef and gravy baby food
1 jar of sweet potato baby food
1/4 C. skim milk
1/4 C. water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, egg, olive oil, baby food, skim milk, and water together. Dough should be stiff.

3. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Using mini animal cookie cutters, cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container once on counter after thoroughly cooled for up to 2 weeks . Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Summer {puppy} Lovin'

2012-05-21T00:44:00.002-05:00

Hello!

"oh. Hi"

For the Love of Pooch is back just in time for summer. Mochi and I moved back to Texas in February. It took time to get adjusted and back into the groove of things. When things finally settled, my parent's oven was out of commission. Now a new oven is in place and the treats are ready to be made again!

Houston summers are hot, hot, heat. It's already averaging the 90s in May. Look for many frozen treats coming soon! Uh oh, hot, hot, heat... time to break out in song!

How appropriate.... we owe YOU an IOU for being MIA for almost 6 months!

In the meantime, friend us on facebook, follow us on twitter and keep a lookout for fun new {and healthy!} recipes for pup!

Hibernating

2012-01-11T14:22:00.002-06:00

Hi blog readers!

For the Love of Pooch is officially on hibernation.

Mochi is a Texan at heart and had a hard time dealing with the winter in Minnesota. All the snow made her shiver. Even with a hoodie, a parka, and dog boots she would shiver every time we went on a potty break. She would come in and shiver some more and looked so miserable. It broke my heart to see her skinny butt suffer.

On my recent trip back to Texas, I brought Mochi with me and she's now staying at home with lots of other doggies to play with in the nice, warm weather. The treat making will resume upon Mochi's return once it warms up in Minnesota.

Until then.... feel free to email me if you have any questions about this blog, dog treats, baking, food, or whatever! Anything goes. Ericachung88@gmail.com.

Gingerbread Dog Cookies (By Mochi)

2011-12-19T22:35:00.001-06:00

Hi all, Mochi here. They say that dog is man's best friend. Did you know that (wo)man is dog's best friend too? I wanted to share with you how much I love my human. I've been with my human for 1 and a half years now. I've learn so much about them but there is still so much to learn.

My human's name is Erica. Or that's what all the other humans call her. Here's a quick lesson to all the other pups around here. Humans can get confusing because they don't have tails. They seem to show their state of mind on their face. It can get hard for a 1 foot tall pup like me. Faces are so high up! There are so many combinations.

For example...

This face is the same as our tail wags. It generally means Erica is happy with me and I'm pretty sure I will get a treat soon.

This face is the same as when we have our tails down. It means she's not in the happiest of moods, needs me to sit on her lap, and give her lots of kisses.

This face is the worse. This is the equivalent of us showing our teeth! I can barely stand looking at it. This is a very very bad sign. I tend to see this face when I dig through the trash or throw up on the furniture or rip up something I thought was mine. Honest mistake. But intentions don't count in the human world. They see a big pile of trash and they don't think about how that trash was tempting our noses and we just had to find out what it was. It's not their fault that they have an inferior sense of smell and do not know how enticing scents can be.Maybe I found a tasty treat in the mean time and maybe that treat ended up causing me to throw up on the furniture.... but it started innocent. Humans just see the end result and that face means a time out in my kennel.

I like to keep my human happy with lots of hugs and kisses. Right when she walks through the door, I immediately put my paws on her shoulders and give her lots of kisses (and secretly hope she doesn't find my pee stashed in the corner - I swear, still innocent).

Ta-da! That's all you need to do to have a happy human who will make you tasty treats like the one below!

INGREDIENTS:

(~36 1.5'' cookies)

1 C. garbanzo & fava flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 C. skim milk
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp unsweeted & unsalted peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.

2. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, ground ginger) into a mixing bowl

3. Add honey, skim milk, and peanut butter. Mix well and knead into dough ball.

4. Roll dough onto floured surface to about 1/4" thick.
5. Cut with desired cookie cutters.
6. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

STORAGE:

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Pigs-in-a-blanket for Dogs

2011-12-05T21:32:00.005-06:00

"This little piggy went to market. This little piggy went to town. This little piggy had roast beef,This little piggy had none. And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home - into Mochi's belly."

Pigs-in-a-blanket is one of my favorite appetizers/breakfast. It's so easy to make with Pillsbury crescent rolls and some cheddar mini sausages. Of course, I would never feed the things I eat to Mochi. I saw these graduates meat sticks when I was in the baby food aisle and the ingredients are better than those found in sausages that we eat. I looked up a pigs-in-a-blanket from scratch recipe to make my own dough. I omitted ingredients that aren't good for dogs (salt, sugar, butter) to make this healthy treat.

INGREDIENTS:

(7-8 pigs-in-a-blanket)

1 C. whole wheat flour (regular or white)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 C. grated cheddar cheese
1/3 C. water
2.5 oz jar of Gerber Graduates Lil' Sticks Meat (7 pieces)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil.

2. Sift the dry ingredients (flour through baking powder) into a mixing bowl

3. Add honey, olive oil, cheddar cheese, and water. Mix well and knead into dough ball.

4. Roll dough onto a rectangle surface (I used my 9 x 7 cutting board). Trim sides to get a rectangle.

5. Slice into fours then diagonally to make 8 triangles.

6. One at a time, roll up the sausages in the triangles. Place pointy side down on greased cookie sheet.

8. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes, until golden brown.

STORAGE:

After cooled, place in airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold. Shorter shelf life because of meat stick.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Hearty Turkey Dinner Biscuit

2011-11-24T11:06:00.004-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Hope you are all gobbling till you're wobbling. Don't forget about pooch for Thanksgiving! Here's a nice, tasty, dog biscuit that is wholesome, healthy, and is perfect for Thanksgiving.

Mochi is thankful for all her furry friends, toys that she has decapitated over the years, and lots of love from Erica (especially love in the form of food and cuddles).

INGREDIENTS:

(~50 1.5'' bones)

2 C. of whole wheat flour (regular or white)
1 C of oatmeal
1 jar of sweet potato baby food
1 jar of green bean baby food
1/2 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 C. cooked brown rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Put ground turkey, sweet potato baby food, and green bean baby food into a blender. Add a bit of water to get the blender going if you have too.

3. Pour turkey puree into a large bowl. Add oatmeal, brown rice, and flour. Dough will be sticky.

4a. Easy option: using a spoon, spoon out quarter sized dough and put on cookie sheet.

4b. Harder option: knead and roll dough. Use a doggy bone cutter to cut shapes out.

Or if you are me, do half hard and when you get lazy do the other half easy.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

STORAGE:

For longer shelf life: Store in freezer for up to 8 months. Take out enough for 2-3 days at a time.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Looks like Mochi's got a case of food coma!

Turkey Jerky & Green Beans

2011-11-22T18:35:00.001-06:00

Adapted from petplace.com

Out of shear laziness, I decided to make some turkey jerky while dehydrating green beans as a snack at the same time. Green beans are super easy, just wash, cut, and place on a cookie sheet right into the dehydrator or oven. In my case, an oven.

The turkey is a bit more work. I used some ground turkey, blended it with oil, and parsley and poured into a baking pan. These two simple foods are fantastic for your dog's health. Green beans are a good source of plant fibre, vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese. It's a great weight management treat. Turkey is always a great source of lean protein.

Mochi was initially confused by the green beans. She spat it out and sniffed it. When I thought she was going to walk away from it, she picked it back up and started crunching on it. She loved em! I gave it a quick taste test too, not gonna lie, pretty tasty! Who would of thought green beans could taste so good on its own?

Looks like these treats are winner winner turkey dinner! Can one substitute one poultry for another?

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb of lean ground turkey
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp olive oil
2 C. green beans, washed, trimmed, and cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 225 degrees.

Turkey: (total bake time: 4 hours)

2. Puree turkey, parsley, and olive oil together in a blender.
3. Pour into a baking pan.
4. Bake in oven for 2 hours with door slightly open to let out moisture.
5. Flip over, use pizza cutter or knife to cut into individual pieces and bake for another 2 hours.
Tip: (learned this the hard way) use foil or parchment paper to ease clean up.

Green beans: (total bake time: 3 hours)
2. Place on cookie sheet.
3. Bake in oven alongside turkey jerky.
4. Flip every hour.
5. Green beans are done when crispy (approx 3 hours)

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container in refrigerator after thoroughly cooled for up to 1 week.Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

For longer shelf life: Store in freezer for up to 8 months.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

First Snow!

2011-11-20T19:26:00.002-06:00

The first snow in Minnesota was yesterday. It snowed all day so Mochi and I mainly stayed in. When I took her out to potty, her first reaction was "what the eff???" She was unsure what to do with snow and was shivering when we came in. We revisited snow today while it was sunny and she had a blast running around. She even got a bit of snow on her chin and looked like Mochi Clause.

Mochi Clause

Paw prints in the snow

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Dog Treats

2011-11-17T22:46:00.000-06:00

pump(kin) it louder

Lots of canned pumpkin has been floating around my apartment since Fall started. What I like about pumpkins is their versatility. In the month of October, with a knife and a few strokes of triangular shapes, you can get an eerie, dark jack-o-lantern. But once November hits, pumpkins turn a whole new leaf and become the staple in wholesome, family-oriented, thankful-having, holiday of Thanksgiving. They are now made into delicious forms of pie, cookies, cakes, and part of appetizers and entrées. They are the symbol of fall harvest and Thanksgiving. So in honor of this fall chameleon, I made another dog treat with pumpkin.

Pumpkins are fantastic for our furry friends. They are high in water and fiber to aid in digestive health. It helps absorb excess water in case of diarrhea and relieve constipation. It's often recommended as a remedy to an upset stomach. You can feed dogs canned pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, and cooked fresh pumpkin. When you purchase canned, make sure it's 100% pumpkin not the pumpkin pie filling. So pump pump pump(kin) it up!

INGREDIENTS:

(~)

2 1/2 C. of whole wheat flour (regular or white)
2 egg
2 tbsp unsalted & unsweetened peanut butter
1/2 C. canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 C. water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, egg, peanut butter, pumpkin, and water together. Dough should be stiff.

3. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Using a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter (mini or regular) Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

4. Bake for 35 minutes.

STORAGE:

Pumpkin & Peanut Butter Brain Pupcakes

2011-10-31T00:32:00.003-05:00

I...want...BRAINNNSSS!

These pupcakes were so fun to make. I bought these Wilton 12-piece cupcake decorating set. You can make all sorts of fun designs. In the spirit of Halloween, I made the pumpkin icing look like brains.

Happy Halloween everyone! I hope y'all have a fun and safe time. This concludes our Howl-o-ween edition for 2011.

Some dogs like to dress up but not mine. Mochi acts like wearing a costume is a death sentence. Drama queen much?

INGREDIENTS:

(~6 pupcakes)

1 C. of whole wheat flour (regular or white)
1 egg
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
1/2 C. skim milk
1/4 C. unsweeted & unsalted peanut butter
1/8 C. pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 C. water

Frosting:

1/4 C. pumpkin
1 oz low fat cream cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix flour, egg, olive oil, honey, skim milk, peanut butter, pumpkin, and water together. Batter should be thick.

3. Pour into cupcake tins about 2/3 full.

4. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Let cool.

5. Mix 1/4 C. of pumpkin with 1 oz of cream cheese. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Using a Wilton #12 tip, pipe the left and right hemispheres of the brain then pipe the middle.

Cut into small pieces for your dog to avoid choking. Feed this treat sparingly as a very special treat. The honey and cream cheese gives this treat a higher sugar and fat content.

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container for 5 days.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Treats from the Grave

2011-10-23T01:17:00.000-05:00

It's all grave-y baby.

I was grocery shopping at Target and spent about a good 30 minutes strolling their Halloween aisle for ideas. I ran across a tin coffin filled with candy. Perfect - candy treats for me and a wicked cookie cutter for dog treats.

Cemeteries are so eerie to me. In the Chinese culture, we have a shrine for our ancestors. My mom always told me that children could not go to the shrine, she said that the deceased would want to take a child with them to the afterlife. Of course this spooked the bajeebies out of me. From then on, I would hold my breath every time I passed a cemetery so that the deceased wouldn't know a breathing child was close by and take me. It all made sense in my small brain. Ironically, there is a cemetery right along the major highway next to my neighborhood so I was holding my breath pretty often. There is a cemetery right next to the Minneapolis airport. Whenever I pass that cemetery, I still find myself holding my breath out of habit.

These yummy (not by personal experience of course) dog treats are made with baby.... food. The whole wheat and flax seed makes for a wholesome looking treat with grains you can see. On the other hand, it also looks cementy like an actual tombstone.

How creepy is this? I was rolling the dough and started taking the shape of a skull. I used the coffin tin to punch out the eyes and a knife to make the nose and mouth. Creeeeepy!

INGREDIENTS:
(~20 coffins)

1 1/2 C. of whole wheat flour (or white whole wheat)
1/2 tbsp flaxseed (good source of omega-3 fatty acids, good for skin and coat.)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 jar of baby food (read ingredients to make sure there is NO onion powder)
1/4 C. water
Few drops of chefmaster food coloring (in black)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix together flour and flax seed.

3. Add olive oil, jar of baby food, water*, and few drops of black food coloring to the dry ingredients.
*I usually put 1/4 C. of water in the jar of baby food and swish it around.

Step 7

Step 9

4. Mix well and knead dough. Add more water if dough is dry, add more water if the dough is too sticky.
5. Roll dough on floured surface.

6. Roll of 1/8" thickness.
7. Use Tin Coffin from Target to cut shapes.
8. Place coffins on ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Use a mechanical pencil (take out lead and give the tip a wash) to indent "RIP" into the coffin.
10. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

STORAGE:

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Chicken Eyeballs

2011-10-20T23:27:00.000-05:00

Can you see what I see? I can eat what you see.

I made myself some chicken meatballs and decided that I should turn this into a dinner for two - meatballs for her and meatballs for me. Just cause it's halloween I added cheese and carrots to them to look like "eyeballs". The carrots dry out easily so I would recommend waiting until serving to add the garnishes. Being the awesome multi-tasker that I am (sarcasm - I'm mostly just lazy) I had two bowls out and made both recipes at the same time. I used my meatball recipe as a basic but opted out of everything that was bad for dogs which at the end left it to 5 ingredients. That's what happens when humans have an inferior sense of taste and smell - we need all these other flavors. Dogs can get the same enjoyment out of simple ingredients and, um, dirt and sticks but we won't go there.

INGREDIENTS:

(~20 eyeballs)

1/4 C. of white whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb lean ground chicken
1 tsp parsley
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
5 slices of thinly sliced white cheese (cheddar, provolone, go for reduced fat)
20 carrot chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 450 degrees.

2. Combine ground chicken, egg, olive oil, parsley, and parmesan cheese in a medium bowl. Mix well.

3. Add flour a little at a time to firm up the meatballs (in case they are droopy).

4. Form into golf size balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil

6. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool.

7. Using the medium round cut-out, cut slices of cheese. Place circle onto center of meatball.
8. Using the smallest round cut-out, cut out the center of the eyeball and cut out about a 1/4'' chunk out of the middle.
9. Continue with the smallest round cut-out and cut carrot chip into small circles.
10. Place carrot circles into the center of the eyeball in the space that is cut out.

11. Place them over your eyes and pose for a picture. (optional)

12. Tease your poor dog. (also optional)

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container once in fridge after thoroughly cooled for up to 1 week due to meat in the treat . Waiting until cooled is an important step; condensation can build and the moisture will cause treats to mold.

Store in freezer for up to 1 month.
Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Carrot Bwitch Fingers

2011-10-12T00:19:00.004-05:00

I remember in the 1st grade, a little playmate I had, named Rachel, would tell me so-and-so to use the "b-word". Me being an innocent 6-year-old Asian girl who's first language was not English had no idea what the could be. Biscuit? Barbie? Whatever the B-word was, it wasn't allowed, but it was ok to say "the b-word". In my 6-year-old brain, I thought "ok, maybe any letter before word was a bad word. I made up a story to Rachel and told her I heard little Jenny call little Jessica an "e-word". E was my favorite letter of course (for Erica, duh). She looked at me with a confused face and said she's never heard of it. I quickly fix my mistake and said I meant "b-word" and here comes the *GASP*.

Fast forward.

In 6th grade, it was a cool thing for 11 year-old-boys to use the actual curse word and then girls would giggle or gasp. I made quick friends with two girls named Amanda and Farrah in the 6th grade. We were standing in line one day for lunch and this conversation ensued:

*Amanda says something jerkish*

Farrah: *gasp* You are a witch with a b!

Amanda: I'm a bwitch?

So in honor of my relationship with English curse words, I give you Carrot Bwitch Fingers. I put carrots in a blender and mixed it with the dough to give it an orangy color (and it also amuses me when Mochi has bright orange poop). I used chopped up bell peppers as the fingernails.

INGREDIENTS:
(~18 fingers)

1 1/4 C. of white whole wheat flour
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 C. shredded carrots
1/3 C. skim milk
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Blend carrots and milk until smooth.

3. Mix flour, olive oil, egg, and add carrot mixture.

4. Mix well and knead dough.

6. Take tablespoon sized pieces and roll into a finger shape.

7. Place fingers on ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Use a knife to put indentions on the fingers.
9. Place a piece of chopped bell pepper into the top of the finger. Use a scissor to trim to a desired shape.
10. Bake for 20 minutes.

STORAGE:

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Puppy Training Tips

2011-10-08T17:12:00.000-05:00

Time to put those delicious homemade treats to good use! I love watching this video. Mochi is only 5 months old and had started an impressing repertoire of tricks. Luckily, Mochi is a quick learner and eager to get her treat so she learned her tricks fairly quickly. I had a pomeranian and maltese in the past that took multiple sessions to learn a new trick.

Puppy Training Tips:

1. Limit distractions. Make sure there is as little competing stimuli as possible, meaning clean up any toys and train in a smaller area with few objects and other people.

2. Positive Reinforcement only. Puppies need a lot of positive reinforcement and conditioning. Take baby steps and reward graciously when the puppy is doing what you want. Puppies get discouraged with punishment.

3. Patience. Puppies are babies, don't speak English and can easily be distracted. Be patient with the puppy, he/she will learn what you want with time.

4. Practice. Keep teaching the same trick over and over in 15 minute intervals (puppies have a short attention span!). Once the puppy gets the trick down, reinforce it by doing it at least 6 more times.

5. Show off. Once the puppy has gotten his/her new trick down, perform in front of others! Get the puppy use to doing the trick in a variety of situations.

Dirt Peanut Butter Cups - Worms, Mud, and Dirt oh my!

2011-10-06T00:17:00.004-05:00

Diggin' this dog treat?

I remember in Mrs. Hall's class in the 5th grade, we would watch scary movies, write scary stories, and share them in the dark with a flash light. Mrs. Hall would also bring in these oreo dirt pudding cups for Halloween. It was my favorite part of class - chocolately, crunchy, and gummi - a kid's dream come true.

So for this Halloween, I wanted to make my pup's dream come true by turning my favorite childhood Halloween dessert into a dog treat version. I spent some time thinking about what I would use for oreos or chocolate pudding instead since those are big no-nos for dogs. I wanted to put them into cupcake liners but was afraid Mochi would eat the paper.

Borrowing ideas from my last two recipes (bat crisps, mini pies) I used a mini cupcake tin and lined it with a similar pie crust recipe. I filled the cooked pie cups with unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter to replace pudding. I then crushed the bat crisps to look like oreos. Lastly, in place of gummi worms, I used chicken sausage. I went all the way to whole foods to find sausage with the least crap in it. I swear Mochi eats better than I do.

INGREDIENTS:

(~20 mini cups)

Pie cups:

1 C. of whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 C. skim milk

1 C. unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter
2 chicken sausages sliced lengthwise into 1/4'' thick strips, cut in half
1/2 C. of crushed black bean bat crisps

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix together flour, olive oil, and skim milk. Knead dough.

3. Roll to 1/8'' thickness.

4. Using a 2" circle cookie cutter, cut into circle shapes.

5. Flatten circle to stretch dough out slightly.
6. Put into mini cupcake pan.

7. Poke holes at bottom of the pie cup with fork to avoid bubbles and air rising in the pie cups.
8. Bake for 18 minutes.

9. Bring a small pot of water to boil.
10. Add chicken sausage strips and reduce to medium heat.
11. Let simmer until strips curl. Drain.

12. Let pie cups completely cool then fill with 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter.
13. Top with crushed bat crisps and chicken sausage strips.

How spooky... 13 steps. Coincidence? Yeah, probs.

STORAGE:

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week due to meat in the treat.

Tip: Write date on container to keep track of expiration date.

Black Bean Bat Crisps (Gluten Free)

2011-10-02T00:49:00.006-05:00

First recipe of howl-o-ween are these black bean bat crisps. To follow up my question on whether or dogs can eat black beans.... looks like they can! I chose black beans since it's already a dark purply color. I was hoping it would be enough to make the treats black but it wasn't. I added a few drops of chefmaster food coloring to give it a black tint. When these treats came out of the oven, I couldn't help but lift them in the air, make pretend that they are flying, and going "dun-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BATMAN!"

Mochi wasn't too amused that I was playing with her food. She was staring at me with her big googly eyes waiting to test the treat. Being the good mama I'm is, I played airplane with her. You know, when you pretend the spoon is an airplane and you make all these vroom noises as you feed your kid. So here is the little black bean bat treat flying through ready for landing and right as it almost touches Mochi's mouth it accelerates back into the sky. SIKE!!!! [insert evil villan laugh here] It ain't howl-o-ween for nothin'!

When Mochi finally got a bite of the bat, she gobbled it in one bite. Can't tell if she loves it or is happy she finally got her treat.

INGREDIENTS:
(~60 2" bats)

2 C. of garbanzo and fava flour
1 tbsp flaxseed (good source of omega-3 fatty acids, good for skin and coat.)
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 C. no salt added black beans
1/4 C. water
Few drops of chefmaster food coloring (in black)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Mix together flour and flax seed.

3. Mash black beans.

4. Add olive oil, black beans, water, and few drops of black food coloring to the dry ingredients.

5. Mix well and knead dough.
6. Roll dough on floured surface. Be sure to frequently flour the rolling pin as the dough can be sticky.

7. Roll of 1/8" thickness.
8. Use a mini bat cookie cutter.
9. Place bats on ungreased cookie sheet.
10. Bake for 15 minutes.

STORAGE:

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Dog-tober: Howl-o-ween Edition

2011-10-01T00:18:00.011-05:00

Happy first day of Dog-tober!

For the entire month, it is Howl-o-ween at For the Love of Pooch! The treats made this month will be featuring Halloween themes. As always, the recipes put the health of your pooch before cuteness. Dogs don't really care what the treats look like so on one hand, if your treats come out looking like crap, pooch will still love you and eat them. If they come out looking cute, start taking pictures because it's mostly for your entertainment. It all goes down the same way to your pup. Therefore, be mindful before adding all sorts of artificial ingredients to make them aesthetically pleasing.

Howl-o-ween 2011:

Apple & Banana Mini Pie

2011-09-28T21:42:00.011-05:00

Aypples and Ban-nay-nays

Fall is the season for apple picking. I went apple picking 2 weeks ago and brought home 10 lbs of apples.... for myself. What is a girl and a pup gonna do with 10 lbs of apples? I made a Caramel Apple Pie for myself and a Apple & Banana Mini Pie for Mochi. Give these dog treats sparingly... I fed mochi a whole mini pie yesterday and let's just say the poopy bag was a tad heavy today.

Mochi's verdict: She likes to oat oat oat o-ppals and ban-no-nos.

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1 1/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 C. skim milk
2 tbsp olive oil

Filling:

1 banana
1 apple, chopped into small pieces
1 egg
1/2 tbsp skim milk

DirectionS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix whole wheat pastry flour and parmesan cheese.

3. Add egg, milk, and oil. Stir.

4. Knead the dough.

5. Roll out dough to less than 1/4''.

6. Use a 5'' circle cookie cutter or glass to cut circles. (~10 circles, 5 for bottoms 5 for tops or 10 topless pies)

Ee-pples and Ban-nee-nees

7. Press into muffin tins. Prick bottom of pie crust with a fork.

8. Bake pie crusts for 10 minutes.

9. Take out of oven and let the pie crusts cool.

10. Next on to the filling: put banana, apple, egg, and milk into a food processor or blender.

11. Put the filling in after pie crust cools.

12. Add designs to pie crust tops (mini apple cookie cutter, lattice, etc.)

13. Lay pie crusts on top. Trim edges and press dough to adhere to crust side walls.

14. Bake for 25 minutes.

Voila! Home made apple & banana pie dog treats!

Storage:

Due to the fruit filling, store in an airtight container for no more than 2 days at room temperate, in a refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Peanut Butter Puppy Love Crisps (Gluten Free)

2011-09-25T23:37:00.018-05:00

On September 13, Living Social had this awesome deal for Whole Foods.... $10 for $20. Of course, halfway through the day it sold out half of the 1 million limit mark. Living Social says that the Whole Foods deal sold 115,000 per hour. Austin-based Whole Foods was a memorable part of my college life... many good times and hours were wasted roaming the huge grocery store. There is one right across the street from my apartment and I had completely forgotten about it.

Thanks to Living Social, I wasted another hour last week looking at all the neat products and eating all the sample cheese I could eat. I'm not a huge organic or natural foods person but I appreciate the healthfulness of Whole Foods. The food selection, packaged, cooked, or baked is awesome. But I mainly enjoy the free cheese. So, this shopping trip was dedicated to Mochi. I got a gluten free grabanzo & fava flour and unsweetened & unsalted organic peanut butter, an organic sweet potato, and black beans (still gotta google if dogs can eat black beans..)

This treat is dedicated to all of Mochi's homies out there who have sensitivities to gluten and wheat. This recipe is gluten free goodness. I wanted to add a crispy treat to the recipe list so I rolled these super thin. They came out golden brown, toasty, and crispy. The smell of peanut still lingers in the kitchen.

Mochi's verdict: Puppy love at first bite.

INGREDIENTS:

(~ 52 2.25'' hearts)

1 C. garbanzo & fava flour
1/4 C. water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 C. unsweetened & unsalted peanut butter

Don't break my heart,
my achy breaky heart

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together.

3. Roll out dough on wax paper as thin as possible - no thicker than 1/8''.

* Dough will be very flimsy. I found it helpful to lift the wax paper then push the hearts out. Careful or you'll end up with a broken heart...literally.

4. Place hearts on ungreased baking sheet

5. Bake for 15 minutes or until crisps are a golden brown color.

Storage:

For longer shelf life: store in fridge for up to 2 months. Store in freezer for up to 8 months.

Tip: Write date on plastic bag to keep track of expiration date.

Squash Chicken Jerky

2011-09-20T22:10:00.014-05:00

Cheeeeken

Giving the chicken jerky a lil sumtin sumtin....The squash gives the jerky a dark color and it looks more "smoked" if you will. It also smelled amazing. I took it out of the oven and I almost wanted to eat it myself but I'm not even a fan of human jerky. Oh gosh, I did it again. When I was talking about chicken jerky for Mochi at work I told a coworker "making the chicken jerky for dogs is the same process as human jerky" Totally came out wrong.... I meant "making the chicken jerky for dogs is the same process making jerky for humans" Be careful of wording or you'll come off as Hannibal Lecter. Probs not the best reputation at work.

Regardless... Mochi loooooved these treats. She couldn't get her mind off of it even when I showed her the new toy from amazon that I got her - a 16 squeaker alligator. She usually loves anything that squeaks so I thought she would love this times 16 but no response. Her eyes were glued to the chicken. It's all about the jerky. You know what they say... bitches love them jerk(y)s. Get it? Mochi is a female dog. Oh nevermind.

INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken breast
1 jar of squash baby food
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse chicken and remove fat. Fat causes the jerky to spoil faster.

2. Slice chicken breast into thin 1/8'' to 1/4'' slices. Slice with the grain.

3. Combine squash baby food, olive oil, and unsalted chicken broth. Stir.

4. Place the chicken slices in the squash marinade and turn to evenly coat.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

7. Place chicken on wire racks, keep slices separated. Use baking sheets if you do not have wire racks and turn every hour.

8. Place chicken on racks in oven for 3 or more hours.*

* Due to difference in meat size and ovens baking time may vary. Your jerky treats should be firm and dry. If in doubt, it is safer to go a little more dry and firm than underdone.

Storage:

Store your chicken jerky treats in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 8 months. Write date on the plastic bag to ensure treats are eaten in a timely matter.

Breath Freshin' Chicken Jerky

2011-09-20T17:50:00.005-05:00

Ain't nobody dope as me your breath so fresh so clean

I started clipping coupons here and there (made an attempt at my own version of extreme couponing but find it's unrealistic). Of course, I came across coupons for dog treats from beggin' strips to rawhides and these Milo Kitchen's treats. I cut a few to give Mochi a new treat. Sneaky girl always seems to know when a grocery bag contains new treats or toys. Spoiled brat.

I use to feed the dogs I had previously beggin' strips but upon turning over that label, I realized it's nothing but fillers. Treats should add nutritional value to your pups. I mosey on over to the Milo's Kitchen treats... there is attractive packaging and it looks convincing enough that it's good for you pets health. There's a limited number of ingredients and that's usually a good sign. However, one red alert is that they do use garlic powder. Granted, a large amount of garlic powder is needed to make a dog sick but the same goes for chocolate and you don't see me dipping my dog's treats in chocolate. So I avoided those treats. The only ones that seemed suitable enough for me to buy was the Milo Kitchen's Chicken Jerky.

Mochi grabbed these jerky treats right out of the grocery bag and gobbled it in only a few bites. Seeing how much she loved them, I took a stab at making some home-made jerky. It is healthier since home-made jerky doesn't have preservatives and what not. I also added some parsley to keep her breath so fresh and so clean clean.

PR Intern verdict: She loved 'em just as much and now has fresher breath!

INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken breast
2/3 C. unsalted chicken broth
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 C. water
1/2 tbsp dried parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse chicken and remove fat. Fat causes the jerky to spoil faster.

2. Slice chicken breast into thin 1/8'' to 1/4'' slices. Slice with the grain.

3. Combine unsalted chicken broth, olive oil, water, and parsley. Stir.

4. Place the chicken slices in the broth marinade and turn to evenly coat.

5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

6. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

7. Place chicken on wire racks, keep slices separated. Use baking sheets if you do not have wire racks and turn every hour.

8. Place chicken on racks in oven for 3 or more hours.*

* Due to difference in meat size and ovens baking time may vary. Your jerky treats should be firm and dry. If in doubt, it is safer to go a little more dry and firm than underdone.

STORAGE:

Store your chicken jerky treats in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 8 months. Write date on the plastic bag to ensure treats are eaten in a timely matter.