Monday, June 24, 2013

Spoiled Dog Omelette Treats

This is Shadow!
Like most people my age, I've hit hard times in this economic quagmire we live in. In other words, the Super Chef is SUPER BROKE! Now that I live with my mother again, only organic produce and products enter this domicile. Since my mother graciously lets us (my cats and dog) stay with her, I can't help but think, "Why shouldn't my dog be eating organic, too?"

Then I really started looking at what was is in these dog treats. You see, nothing is "too good" for my "spoily" boy! He's my dog, I raised him - ya know? So I want to give him something that isn't killing him. A lot of these treats contained meat and bone meal, which is pulverized animal bones and meat scraps that aren't fit for human consumption let alone a beloved best friend. There were also many ingredients with names far too long to remember or pronounce paired with a string of numbers to classify the chemical compound. WHOA. This is too many ingredients for a dog biscuit.

See the wonky one?
After the last batch of cheap dog treats, as I mentioned before I am lacking in funds, in which I found a jagged shard of bone, I realized it was time to take matters into my own hands. Also, I concluded that baking my own dog treats was the most viable, and fun, option!

I  scoured the internet looking for suitable recipes, tweaked one to suit my doggie's appetite, and came up with this! Since I used a hard boiled egg and cheese, and my boy is so spoiled, I decided to call them Spoiled Dog Omelette Treat!

You will need:
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (wheat flour or oatmeal can be substituted for flour)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp beef or chicken stock (bouillon granules or broth can be substituted for stock)
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 hard boiled egg (chopped)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese
Preheat the oven to 350.

Take a small pot of water and heat it on low-medium heat and add the beef or chicken stock. Stir it every so often until it breaks up in the water.

Mix the flour, raw egg, diluted beef or chicken stock, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and chopped hard boiled egg in a large mixing bowl with a big wooden spoon. Once it starts getting difficult to stir, dig in! Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. If the dough is too dry add a little bit of water, but not too much or the dough will turn to paste.

Form the dough into a ball and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle some flour onto the parchment paper and rub some onto your rolling pin. This will keep the dough from sticking when you're trying to roll it out. Roll out the dough until it's about 1/2 inch thick.

COOKIE CUTTER TIME! This is the fun part, getting creative with the cookie cutters! Dog's don't care what shape their food is, but it's fun for us. I choose a tiny star cookie cutter my mother had. There are lots of different kind of cutters to choose from though, including bone shapes! So cute!

Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil and place the biscuit pieces on the sheet. Top each biscuit with a little bit of the remaining cheese. Throw it in the oven for 30 minutes. Before you think you're done, check the biscuits through with a toothpick.

Of course, you don't want to burn your hungry, hairy friend so wait about 5-10 minutes for these cheesy, eggy wonders to cool. Make sure they've completely cooled down before putting them away. Store them in an air-tight container when your pup isn't chowing down on some Spoiled Dog Omelette Treats!

BEWARE: Not all dogs can digest eggs as well as my boy. Try giving your dog a small piece first and wait a day if your not sure how he'll respond.

Love,

Liz