The New Year brought upon many resolutions for me. A lot of the things that I decided were important to our family are healthy, money saving promises. This entry is the beginning of a year long trial....
TREATS! For us? No...See...we have two golden retrievers who are family. We spoil them mostly with love, but a tasty treat now and then is a must! When the first fur baby was a puppy we would get him Purina Frosty Paws. These cups of "ice cream" are $4.99 for 4. I spent a lot of $$$ every other week restocking the freezer. When I first heard of homemade frosty paws it was a no brainer. It takes minutes to whip up a batch of 16 and I DO NOT spend NEARLY $20.00. If you have a pampered pup I highly recommend them.
Frosty Paws:
(1) LARGE container of full fat plain yogurt
(1) large jar of banana baby food (see below)
2 Tbsp of peanut butter
2 Tbsp of honey (optional)
1 package of bathroom size paper cups
Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Ladle mixture into the paper cups. I fill them about 1/2 way. (a box of these cups will last you a very long time) Once you have used up all of the mixture, I get anywhere from 14-16 depending on how equal I get them. Set them in the freezer until solid. Once they are solid I stack them and put them in a large freezer bag.
You can vary the ingredients to your dog's tastes. I made these yesterday and happened to have a couple of extra jars of baby food from the little one's last phase of solids...so the flavor of the month is apple/banana/peanut butter. I am sure your pup will love your creativity.
WARNING: Every time you open the freezer your friend may think it's time for a treat!! They love them!!
Okay....now onto my own cravings. I LOVE Chinese food. I think I could eat it everyday. Okay, maybe not EVERY day, but from noodles to rice to egg rolls to...you get the picture...I LOVE it! With the latest resolutions I decided to try my hand at making my own yumminess.
On the menu: Sweet and Sour Chicken, Fried Rice and Egg Rolls.
Let me tell you...it may have been the best Chinese I have ever had. I liked that, after indulging, my body felt light and my wallet felt heavy. Win, WIN!
Here are the recipes I used. I had some items on hand so I am going to have to guess at the amount, but I am pretty sure the total for all of this would be less than $25.00 (and I purchase organic ingredients so that cost is elevated for most)
http://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/baked-sweet-and-sour-chicken-with-fried-rice/
http://www.joyfulabode.com/2009/07/05/homemade-baked-egg-rolls/
A couple of changes for me were: fresh sautéed mushrooms for the egg rolls and I use frozen peas I had on hand for the rice so I did not use a combination of peas and carrots. I also left the egg rolls in a little longer just to ensure a crispy outer layer.
Here is a picture of the finished product...
Tonight is movie night for the family....on deck homemade tortilla chips, salsa, baked chili lime wings, baked traditional hot wings and cauliflower poppers.
Next month my plan is to tackle another resolution: I WILL NOT PURCHASE A SINGLE COMMERCIAL GREETING CARD! Stay tuned.....
