Treats for the Kids

Elliott: You know, Santa didn't put anything in our stockings this year.

Smoke: I noticed that too!

Dani: So whatcha' gonna do about that Granny? We have all been really good - well, for the most part - all year!

Me: Well, how 'bout I make you some of your favorite snacks?

Elliott, Smoke, Dani: WOO! HOO! Doggie treats!

This is such an easy recipe. 3 ingredients - wheat germ, jars of baby food meat and water. How much easier could it get?

Dump the 3 ingredients in a bowl and let the dogs lick the baby food jars clean.

It's one of our kids' favorite parts when I make a batch of these treats.

Dani always picks up her jar and quietly takes it to a private place.

She tries hard not to draw attention to herself so Elliott and Smoke don't realize she's gone. (See her little booty going around the corner?)

She's finds just the right place - anyplace will do as long as it's in another room away from Elliott and Smoke. She likes to enjoy this treat all by herself.

Um - um - um! Yummy! Her jar is soon licked clean as a whistle.

After the dough is all mixed up I use a medium sized cookie scoop to make little mounds of dough.



Once that's done I let the kids lick that bowl too - another favorite part of this whole process. Dani just has to get in there with the boys because the bowl is too big for her to take off with - and she has unsuccessfully attempted that before.

But she keeps her eyes open and while Elliott and Smoke were licking the numbers off the bowl she caught sight of Smoke's baby food jar and it still had a bit in it.

Sure enough, she kind of wandered over and again, very quietly, picked the jar up and moved to the other room to finish cleaning it up. Smoke was never the wiser.

I form all the mounds of dough into little patties. They kind of look like small hamburgers, don't they?

The pan is popped into a preheated 350 degree oven and the treats are baked for 20 minutes, then flipped over and baked for another 20 minutes or so. The baking time kind of depends on the size of the individual treats. You're just basically drying them out.

After cooling they are ready for the kids. Their most favorite part of all!

Elliott always listens for the oven door to open and the pan to be set on the counter to cool. Then he's right there longingly looking up at the counter. He can hardly wait for the treats to cool. And he stands guard until they are.

Before Mikey adopted us I made the treats about a third the size I do now and the little kids would each get a whole one of their own. Because Mikey needs bigger treats I started making them larger. AD just breaks them up for the little kids. And they don't mind at all.

There are no preservatives in the treats so they will go bad after only a few days - that is, if there are any left. Because we have 4 dogs we don't have that problem. But I'm sure they could be frozen and thawed as needed.

Doggie Treats

2 cups wheat germ
3 jars of baby food meat (your choice of flavor)
2 to 3 tablespoons water

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Use enough water so that the dough sticks together pretty well. Roll into balls and bake on a cookie sheet for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the treats you make.

NOTE: Our little kids have trouble with dry skin so I added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the mixture yesterday. The original recipe only calls for the 3 ingredients listed above. When I make the treats with only the water I do spray the cookie sheet. When I add olive oil I don't.