Homemade Dog Treats and Joy of Cooking Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yesterday afternoon, at my husband's request, I was baking one of his new-found favorites (now so much a favorite that I have baked these cookies twice a week for the last two weeks straight), chocolate chip cookies from the 1943, war-time recipe found in Joy of Cooking. Whenever I cook or bake, my dogs are my constant kitchen companions, begging for food--but I like to say they're helping. As I put the last batch of cookie dough in the oven, it occurred to me that I could probably just as easily make homemade cookies for them, too, so I got on-line and Googled "healthy, homemade dog treats." Of course a plethora of recipes resulted, and I opted for one from cesarsway.com. Below are the recipes for both the people cookies, and the puppy cookies. These are my modifications, but for the original chocolate chip cookie recipe, look in the 75th edition of Joy of Cooking, published in 2006. For the original dog treat recipe (and several other dog-friendly recipes), click here.

On the left are the people cookies yielded by the Joy of Cooking chocolate chip cookie recipe. On the right are the dog cookies yielded by the recipe posted on Cesarsway.com.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (for People)

What You'll Need
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup Reese's Pieces candies

What You'll Do
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Whisk together flour and baking soda, and set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar until well blended.
4. Add egg, salt, and vanilla to butter/sugar mixture and beat in.
5. Add in the flour mixture and stir until smooth.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces candies.
7. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes.

What You'll Get
This recipe yields between 32 and 36 cookies.

Above are the finished cookies, featuring bittersweet chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces candies. They are so popular with my husband that I have baked them twice a week for the last two weeks in a row.

Cheesy Whole Wheat Cookies (for Puppies)

What You'll Need
2 1/2 cups whole wheat (unless your dog is sensitive to wheat, in which case you can use regular flour or oats)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

What You'll Do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Knead all ingredients together until dough forms a ball. (To keep the dough from getting too crumbly, you may have to add small amounts of water as you knead.)
3. Roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick.
4. Slice dough into the shape and size you desire (I just did rectangles).
5. Place dough pieces on lightly greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.

What You'll Get
The number yielded here really depends on what shape and size you decide to use, but the resulting cookies are very crunchy and my dogs seem to think they're delicious.

My dogs love these crunchy, easy-to-make, homemade dog cookies, comprised of whole wheat, salt, egg, water, and shredded cheese.

Dog-Walk Detour: Letting Go of Plans can be Rewarding

I am not the most flexible person in the world--I have probably mentioned that on this blog before. Committed, yes. Dedicated, yes. Self-disciplined, yes. Flexible, no. Not even a little bit. In fact, I am probably among the least flexible people you will ever meet. I like a plan--a concrete, set-in-stone kind of plan--for everything. But I'm working on it (sort of), and this past weekend, I practiced my flexibility while out walking my dogs.

I walk my dogs at least twice a day, every day, no matter what. As my uncle would say, "Them's the rules." Two walks a day. At least. Period. (There is little to no flexibility in the rigidity of this routine.) This past Monday, which was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and therefore a holiday from work, was no exception. So, after breakfast, my dogs and I set out. As I do for every walk we take, I already had a route planned in my head. On this particular morning, my plan was to walk a route my family and I refer to as Barn Road Loop. Though my dogs and I had been in the Northern Neck since Friday night and had already enjoyed four walks on the nature trails and through the neighborhood, we had yet to traverse Barn Road Loop. Today, I had decided, was the day.

We completed the first half of the predetermined loop, but when we got to the road that would take us to Barn Road, one of my dogs rebelled. He often does, having quite the mind of his own. (It just now occurs to me to wonder if perhaps, like me, he too sets out for our walks with his own predetermined route.) When I tried to coax him into turning left, he locked eyes with me, planted his feet in a posture reminiscent of a stubborn mule pulling against his lead, and held his ground.

Although I was reluctant to alter the route to which I had already mentally committed, I gave in. We weren't in a hurry, after all, and we could still walk Barn Road after this little detour.

No sooner did I stop pulling his leash in the direction in which I had intended to go, than my triumphantly tail-wagging dog led his canine partner and me down his own chosen path. 

When we got to where he was headed, I was so glad I had let him take the lead.

We were rewarded for our detour and for my reluctant flexibility with the absolute picture of peace. The morning was cloudy, but the clouds were starting to break, and their reflection shone like an impressionist painting in the water at our feet. There was no one else around. Not even a car in the parking lot of the nearby clubhouse. It was just me, my dogs, the sea birds, and the rippled reflection of the sky in the river. I grabbed my cell phone from my coat pocket and quickly snapped the photograph below. A sense of gratitude and serenity still washes over me every time I look it.

No sooner had I captured this serenity in the memory of my phone, than I was off to follow my dogs on whatever trail they had in mind now--which ended up being Barn Road Loop.

I let go of my plan as to the route my dogs and I would walk Monday morning and let them take the lead. When we got to where they decided we were going, I was rewarded with this beautiful, tranquil scene. This spot is located in Heathsville, Virginia, near where the Potomac River empties into the Chesapeake Bay.

Easy, Scrumptious, Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese. Whenever I order it at restaurants, it tastes delectable--flavorful, gooey, savory. But whenever I tried to replicate that deliciousness at home, it always came out bland and boring. I spent the better part of my marriage trying to find a recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese that my husband and I both liked. A few years ago, I finally did. I made it for the first time in a long time tonight (it's not a slow cooker recipe...!), and I figured I'd share it here. The original recipe, and nine other variations of it, can be found on page 236 and 237 of Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book, 15th Edition.

What You'll Need
2 cups dried elbow macaroni (use whole wheat if you want to make it more nutritious)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium) (I actually leave this ingredient out and the resulting dish is still full of flavor)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded roasted chicken
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 box of stuffing mix

What You'll Do
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain. Set aside.
2. For cheese sauce, in medium saucepan cook onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour and pepper. Add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until bubbly. Add cheeses; stir until melted. Stir in pasta, chicken, and thyme. Transfer to ungreased, 2-quart casserole dish.
3. Top with stuffing mix.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. 

Fresh-from-the-oven Stuffing-Topped Macaroni and Cheese

Serving Suggestion
Serve with broccoli and applesauce.

This savory macaroni and cheese dish pairs well with broccoli.

Just Add Running

So, I finally got around to reading a little bit of the January 4 Sunday Richmond Times-Dispatch today, and in the Flair section, I came across this delightful little article by Tom Allen, which caught my eye with its title, "Sharing and caring abound on the trail." "Sharing" and "caring" sounded pretty good to me, but pair those words of love and supply and human goodness with the word "trail," and I have to read the article, the word "trail" evoking images of hikes with my dogs, views of the rolling mountains from Skyline Drive, and running races through the woods.

The article relates the experience Allen's sister had when she spent five months hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia, all the way to Maine. I was struck by how similar her hiking experience was to so many racing experiences I have had. Allen writes that "nearly all of them [the hikers] found the wilderness an excellent place to lower their normal defenses." I find the same thing happens when people run together. There's something about taking on the same physical challenge together that makes us want to tell our life stories to each other. I am confident I have divulged--and become privy to--more personal information while out for a run with someone than in any other circumstance. In another situation, I might not make it much beyond "Hello. How are you?" But tie a pair of running shoes on my feet and drop me on a trail or a sidewalk, and I'll tell you almost anything; we're instant best friends. Just add running. As Allen's sister explains, "'On the trail, people are willing to share their stories with one another." She herself "had conversations she wouldn't have had back home in upstate New York."

I have never heard the term "trail angel," but this article taught me that trail angels are people who look out for hikers by leaving "trail magic," such as food or supplies, along the trail for any hikers who happen by. In a race, these "trail angels" are the many volunteers and spectators who cheer on the runners, and supply them with water, sports drinks, wet wipes, and snacks. Last February, I participated in the Donna half-marathon in Jacksonville, Florida. That race can boast some of the most angelic spectators I have ever encountered. People who lived along the route had decorated their houses for the event as if it were Christmas. They had streamers and crepe paper and lights and live music. They provided homemade sausage biscuits, rolls, and cookies. They passed out wet wipes and Twizzlers and water. And surely they buoyed the spirits of every runner, giving us wings to finish our 13.1 miles.

In other races, I have seen equally selfless, encouraging demonstrations of human kindness and spirit. I have watched people without legs finish races in wheelchairs. I have seen runners sacrifice their times in a race to stop and help an ailing fellow runner. I have made some of my closest friends running in races or training for races. Allen's sister said she "came off the trail with a great belief in the goodness of people." I have felt the same way after many a race. On the trail, Allen's sister met people who had just returned home from war zones, people who were looking to meet their soul mates, people who were trying to heal from various traumas. Running, I have met a twenty-something going through a divorce, a young woman whose father's trusted employee had gotten her pregnant, a woman who couldn't decide if she wanted to have children or not. If we had met off the trail, outside of the race, we never would have become each others' confidants-- but just add running, and see what happens. Such camaraderie, compassion, effort, and determination are rarely seen anywhere else. But something about the trail--and the race run on it--exposes these timbers of the human spirit.

As I prepare to start training next week for the Petersburg Half Marathon, I admittedly look forward to my many solitary miles. Running for me is a kind of meditation. But I also look forward to hearing the footfalls of fellow runners pounding the pavement beside me, in front of me, behind me. As Allen's sister said of her fellow hikers, "We were all doing the same thing, and we all knew how hard it was.... We were all in the same struggle...." I know when I run my next race, I am running with thousands of friends. Every time I run a race, I am running with thousands of friends. They may not know me, but we have the love of running together in common, and if necessary--if I stumble in my race--they will have my back, and I will have theirs.

Best of 2014: Top Three Most-Viewed Posts

The end of a calendar year seems an appropriate time to reflect on ourselves and our lives--the lessons we have learned, the progress we have made. So, as we close out 2014 and welcome 2015, I figured I'd review this blog and find out what the top three most-viewed posts of 2014 were. Here they are. Check them out if you didn't get a chance during the past year. :-)

3. With 26 views, the third-place post is...

Nags Head Woods: The Secret of the Outer Banks

This post includes photographs and descriptions of the Nature Conservancy's Nags Head Woods in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. If you head to the beach this year and want a place to hike around and find a little solace, check out this post for information.

2. With 29 views, the second-place post is... 

The Joy of Doing Right: The Story of Ray the Dog

This bittersweet--though inspirational--post relates the life lessons I learned from a little dog named Ray, who I met at Richmond Animal League.

 1. With 39 views, the first-place post is...

As Easy as 1, 2, 3: Saucy Apricot Chicken

This post describes how to make a sweet and scrumptious chicken dinner in your slow cooker or crock pot.