Hello everyone!
We hope you all enjoyed the recipes in the last article. Did you taste them before you gave them to your four legged kids? I taste almost everything I make for my kids. The only complaint I normally have is that it needs more salt!
This article is for Sky’s birthday. We will feature Sky’s birthday menu.
Sky will be six years old August 6th. She has had beautiful years and many more ahead!
The story of how Sky and I came together is a beautiful one. I was pregnant to have a child. My due date was October 10th 2002. I lost the baby when I was three months along. Seven months went by. On October 10th 2002, my first husband and I where in Phoenix Arizona. I had forgotten all about my due date for the child I lost. My husband, at that time, was a truck driver. I had wanted a small dog to be my companion on the road and when I was home alone. I started searching the paper for small dogs. I called one number but the puppies there where not quite ready to leave home. I called another and these where long haired, not what I was looking for. I called one more number. The lady that answered the phone told me what they had, how much, and that they where ready to go to new homes. I then told her that I would like to see them and she gave me directions.
We borrowed a pick-up from a friend to go to look at the puppies. It was early in the evening. It was around eight o-clock when I picked out Sky. She was actually my second choice; the one that I liked the best was a boy. I wanted a girl. We headed back to return the pick-up with my new little girl!
I spent the next day picking out a name for her. I also needed to get her AKC papers filled out. We where on our way to Los Angeles and then back to Phoenix. The Sky on the way to L.A. was beautiful and my new baby was just staring at the sky, she did so for over a hour. The name came to me, Mary’s Thundering Sky Shadow. “Sky” was a light grey, with a very thundering way of doing things!
It was about a month later when we went home for a some time off the road. That was when I went to mark the day that I got Sky. To my surprise, it was already marked. I picked up Sky and just hugged her. I did have my little girl, maybe not the way that anyone thought I would, but I had her!
Sky has had a exciting life. She has been across the country more than 20 times! She has even been able to stop and see the sites!
One of Sky’s favorite things to do while on the road was to feed wild birds. We would have shredded wheat to through out to them. Sky would sit quietly and watch them eat. When we would be some place that she remembered feed birds at she would ask for the shredded wheat and to go out!
Sky has helped raise three litters of kittens. She has had her own companion. He was a rabbit named “Hoppers”.
After about a year and a half Sky and I went our own way. My spirit was lost for awhile and Sky remained my beloved kid and my best friend. Sky went everywhere with me and we started finding our way together. That was when I met Jason (now my husband for 3 years). Sky hated Jason; she would find any excuse to try to bite and to growl. I normally would take this as a sign. I thought to myself about this situation. Sky liked every other man in my life and sooner or later they turned out to be a real butt head! Sky did not like Jason so I went against her and spent any extra time with him. After about two weeks, Sky jumped into his arms. We both about died of shock! She is just as close to Jason as she is to me now.
Sky now ends up needing to stay home a lot of times. She still does many things. She has never had any puppies of her own. We are planning to adopt one. Until then she seems to be content with her brothers and sister Shadow, Jade, and Lil’ Bit.
Sky, my baby girl and best friend for life.
We all love to eat and a lot of us love to cook. We enjoy seeing our friends and loved ones eat our beautiful meals.
In my household my pets are very much a part of my family. They play different games and comfort me when I am sad, sick, or in pain. The look deep in their eye's make up for the 10,000 words they never speak.
When a food product or general product is recalled I might buy for myself, I panic. When pet food is recalled, I have heart failure! In my small town, and even in neighboring cities, dog and cat food take at most one aisle, in most cases. We are limited on products for our pets. With gas prices going up we are all trying to save money. Buying a 50Ib. bag of dog food for a 65Ib. dog can add up the bucks. We try to buy a dog food that is "safe', "healthy", and "veterinary recommended". I choke when I look at the price! It costs me $25.00 to fill my car from empty to full right now. At the price they want for dog food, I can fill my car, go and get a dish of ice cream , and then return home and put the change in a change jar!
I started doing research regarding making my own pet food. I started out by finding out what they should not have and then moved on to what they need. Dogs should not have chocolate, macadamia nuts, garlic, onions, grapes, or raisins.. You can use your search engine to find explanations and a full list of items they shouldn't have. Dogs should have 75% carbohydrates and 25% fats, or more simply 75% grains and 25% meats. When you cook for you dog don't add salt. They get all the sodium they need from the ingredients naturally.
I buy meat that is on sale or marked down for quick sale. Keep it in the freezer until you are ready to use it. I buy meat for myself and the dogs the same way. I trim it for me and leave it as is for them. I buy the same grains for myself and my dogs, so, I buy in bulk. Check around and find the best prices. You can call the stores to ask prices instead of using the gas to go from store to store. A lot of stores have their weekly sale ad's online, so go to you local stores web pages and look at their sales.
Again, don't trim the fat off your dogs meat unless your vet recommends it. I don't give my dog any bones. This is just me, many people give some bones to their dogs. Make sure you check what kinds of bones are safe for them to have before you give them one.
Just like us, some dogs don't like some things. My chihuahua does not care for liver. I have had to find different ways to cook it so it is palatable to her. She likes it cooked with paprika and olive oil the best. She is so far the only dog I have ever seen that does not like liver. I come up with most of my recipes myself and the ones I find here and there I just use as guide lines for my own creations.
I am my own chef for everyone in my household. The dogs seem to know when I am cooking for the humans and when I am cooking for them. They get very excited, wait in anticipation and drool. The dogs stay a little more patient!
I try to cook enough food for 5 days. I package the food into individual serving sizes for each dog and freeze it. In the mornings I lay it out to defrost. You always want their food at room temperature or warmer (just not HOT!!) when you feed them.
I also make a dog oil supplement. I use 2 teaspoons for each of my dogs. This helps with their skin and coat.
Bone Appetite!
Sky's Pooch-alada Pie
Nutritional information:
Calories: 152.7, Fat: 5.4g., Carbohydrates: 16.1g., Protein: 11g.
1 Ib. Beef Flank Steak
1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
3 cups water
1 1/2 mixed vegetables, frozen
1 cup frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
2 tbs. paprika
9 corn tortillas
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 cup shredded cheese
Directions:
Heat oven to 375*. Lightly grease 13"x9" pan. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil in a medium size sauce pan. Stir in rice and return to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover. Simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let steam.
Cut Flank steak into small chunks and brown in a medium size frying pan. Remove from heat, DO NOT drain off grease.
Tear 3 corn tortillas into pieces and spread on bottom of greased pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the rice over tortillas. Sprinkle 1/2 of the meat over the rice. Sprinkle veggies over the meat. Sprinkle paprika, evenly, over the veggies. Tear 4 corn tortillas into small pieces and spread over paprika.
Mix tomato paste and 1/2 cup water to form a sauce, set aside.
Sprinkle remaining rice over tortillas. Sprinkle remaining meat over rice and drizzle meat juices over the top. Tear remaining tortillas into small pieces and spread over meat. Drizzle tomato mixture evenly over tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Bake at 375* for 30 minutes.
Cool to room temperature before serving and refrigerate or freeze leftovers promptly.
Makes approximately 15 one cup servings.
Dog Oil Supplement
Nutritional Information:
Calories: 81.3, Fat: 9.1g., Carbohydrates: 0g., Protein: 0g.
1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup cod liver oil 1/4 cup flax seed oil
1/4 cup sunflower oil 1/4 cup safflower oil
Directions:
Place oils in brown bottle (any dark bottle will do) and shake well.
Store in refrigerator.
Add 2 tsp. to dogs food each day. Can also be added to regular dog food.
Makes 36 servings.
Email MaryMartha Miller with YourFavorite Pet Recipe boneappetitepets@gmail.com 
This page was last modified on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 05:21:49 PM
BIRTHDAY CAKE
Well as you know I decorated grandma's cake as a route 66 sign. I made the cake last night to take to our church today. I had BIG problems! I started with a sour cream chocolate cake. Everything was going fine, until the timer went off to take the cake out. I opened the oven for the first time and the cake had sunk in the middle. I could have cried! I took a good look at it after I pulled it out and decided that I could still make it look good. I let it cool for about five minutes and then went to turn it onto my cake board. Well, when I went to do that it sank even more in that five minutes. It was now about 1/4 inch in the middle! I thought about running into town to buy ether a cake mix or an already made one! I thought and I thought, and then decided to save the money and make another cake.
I looked through our books, (literally about 100 of them) to find a recipe. I was out of this and that, vanilla being the one thing I didn't have that every recipe was calling for. I looked online and let me tell you what, the Internet provides info when you need something! Everyone now days uses box cake mixes! Even big time chef's (Emeril, Paula Dean, Sandra Lee, just to name a few)! LOL! I went back to my favorite cook book, a Pillsbury Baking book, to see if I could come up with something. Now mind you this is 2:00am Sunday (today). I looked at the basic yellow cake recipe, and yes they want vanilla, and decided to go with this recipe. Now came the thinking part. What to use in place of vanilla? Maple, yuk! Peppermint, nah would be right. Cinnamon, that would be kind of weird. Almond, ok a little bit IF I had to! Then I remembered the lemons I bought the other day. Ok, lemon, I thought. So I used the zest of one lemon in place of the vanilla.
I got the NEW cake made, and put in the oven. It baked for about 30 minutes. I sat and was hoping and praying that it would come out right. If it didn't, first thing this morning, I would have been going into town to buy a white frosted cake. So, I could decorate it before church! My New cake was BEAUTIFUL! I think it was the most perfect cake I have ever made! i pulled it out of the oven at 3:30am. I had the frosting all done by 6:30am. The route 66 sign didn't come out as good as I was hoping for, but not to bad for my first cake done like this. Now, also keep in mind that I have been very busy this week and have had little sleep all week. I didn't sleep at all last night. Through my eye's I decorated three cakes at once! I also had the shakes from no sleep.
| Hello everyone! I just want to start off with my apologies, for not having a new article up in sometime now. Everything has been fine here with "The Zoo Crew". My doctors have put me on medication to help me sleep at night and our also trying a new medication to help my nerve problems, which also makes me very tired. I have missed telling you all about the going-on's around here, and I hope you have missed reading about them! I have started to work a little with other dogs again. I have missed that, as it has been years since I have done this type of work. I will tell you more about this as the story gets a bit more interesting, so do look for that developing a bit more. The "Zoo Crew" has had some exciting stories over the last month. To start you off with a good one Sky (my chihuahua and eldest) as been doing some taste testing for me. About two weeks before Thanksgiving I needed to make a pumpkin pie. I was using fresh pumpkin and wanted to make sure it would come out right. I made the pie, which was very good, after us humans devoured half of it I let it sit to cool. Within a half an hour my grandma went into the kitchen only to find something odd. Well I am sure you have a few guesses by now. Grandma sat down at the table to take her medication when she noticed one slice of pie upside down on the table. Thinking this was strange she looked closer. As she looked she couldn't find anything else wrong. The foil was on the pie plate and there wasn't anything else out of place or messed up. At that moment she decided to look at the pie itself. She lifted the foil to find that there was no pie! She called for me to come into the kitchen to tell me about this and to ask if I had done something else with it. I told her that I didn't do anything with the pie and we started to look for evidence to the culprit of this crime! I then walked into the living room only to find that my six pound Chihuahua was now more like 10+ pounds! Sky has now worked herself into the fitting of her nickname that was given to her, by Grandma, years ago. It was just a cute play on words with her name then, but now it is the truth, "Sky Pie"! Oh yes, and just in case you didn't figure it out, Sky LOVES my pumpkin pie! Sky's Favorite Pie
1 single 9" pie crust uncooked 1 tbs. cinnamon 3 eggs 2 tsp. ginger 2 cups fresh pumpkin * see note to type of pumpkin. 1/2 tsp. cloves 3/4 cup sugar 1 2/3 cups evaporated milk 1/2 tsp. salt *Note: I used my jack-o-lantern pumpkin. I peeled it, then steamed it until tender. After it was steamed, I used a potato masher to mash it up, some small chunks are fine and add a neat texture to the pies. Then I placed the pumpkin in a strainer to drain off the liquid. I saved the liquid to use in soups and in my homemade dog food. Most 9" pumpkin pies ask for 2 cups pumpkin, so, I measured the pumpkin into 2 cup measurements and froze it. This recipe will be a little like a custard pie. Just a little bit different from the traditional pumpkin pie. *Note: Use a deep dish pie pan. Glass also produces a much nicer crust for the pie. Pumpkin pies always slash around when placing in the oven, with a deep dish you prevent the spills and you don't have an almost over filling pie. Heat oven to 425*F. Prepare pastry. In mixing a small bowl beat egg(s) slightly. In a medium sauce pan, mix the pumpkin, salt, and remaining spices over medium heat just until warm. Remove from heat; then add the milk, mix well, then stir in the eggs just until mixed. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 425*. Reduce oven temperature to 350*F. Bake for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature for serving. We put up our Christmas tree which is Shadow's (my youngest boy, a Lab/Shepherd mix) most favorite time of year. This year we did something very different, we got an artificial tree! Shadow had never seen one of these. We moved everything in the house around for a change in the look of the house before putting up the tree. By the time all of this was done, and before the tree was taken out of the box, Shadow had gone to lay down in the bedroom. It was hard work watching us! We had refilled the dogs' water dish and then put the tree up. I put the decorations on the tree and got some presents put under it. After all that was done I went to tell Shadow that he had fresh water and to come out. He yawned and got out of bed. Shadow got his drink and then stood back and looked at the tree. He watched the lights for a moment then went to sniff at the tree. As he walked up to it, he must not have been watching where his nose was. He was looking up and a branch was looking at his nose! He had walked right into a branch, and the branch had gone just inside his nose. Shadow jumped back as he thought the tree had got him! He snapped at the tree then thought about it for a second. After that second he sniffed the tree again, turned to me with a confused look and wagged his tail. He sat back down and admired the tree for a few more minutes; then returned to bed. It was when he looked at me with that look on his face when I realized that this dog of mine had never seen an artificial tree. I got a tree that wasn't the one I really wanted. The one I wanted was quite a bit more then I wanted to spend. I will probably donate this tree before Christmas next year. If I decide to go the artificial way again next year I will get the tree that I want without looking at the price! Shadow is hoping for his favorite kind of tree next year so I may grant his wish. In his mind this tree smells bad, bites, and is just too queer! If you want to bake some holiday cookies for your zoo here are some great tips for your own creations! I make most of my human cookies the same way I do the cookies for the zoo. I cut the sugar. The most I will cut the recipe is to half the sugar, for example: If the recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, I will cut it to 1/2 cup at most, sometimes I will only cut it to 2/3 cup. I usually use a basic chocolate chip recipe and just leave out the chocolate chips or I will use a peanut butter cookie recipe. I get all kinds of flavor extracts and add a teaspoon into a recipe. My Zoo Crew loves all flavors, and so far I have not made anything, as strange as some of the mixtures might be, that we humans don't like. This is always the gift that my Zoo Crew loves the most and it truly comes from my heart. I love the time in the kitchen and I love most of my creations! I do hate the part where you have to......wash the dishes, I dread that part! Merry Christmas and warm wishes to everyone over the New Year! We will have our Zoo Crew holiday pictures with our first 2009 article. Bone Appetite
Sky’s birthday menu includes: Jalapeno Poppers with a side of Rice Bones. For dessert we have Simply Carob Mini-Cakes!
Jalapeno Poppers
Per popper: Calories: 509, Carbs: 2.5g, Protein: 29g.
6 Jalapenos
1 Ib. Bacon (thin or medium sliced)
6 String Cheese’s
Tooth-picks
Prepare your grill or broiler pan.
Remove tops and vein of jalapenos. Stuff the jalapeno pepper with the string cheese. You may need to cut a little off to make it the same width as the jalapeno. If you cut some of the cheese off the top, use that to fill in empty spots.
After you stuff the peppers with cheese open you package of bacon, and get some tooth-picks ready and handy. You will need about four tooth-picks per jalapeno.
Wrap two slices of bacon over and around the pepper. Use the tooth-picks to hold the bacon in place. Make sure you cover the top with the bacon so that the cheese does not run out while cooking.
After you have wrapped all the peppers, cook them on the grill or under the broiler until bacon is done and crispy. This will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes. You will need to turn them and make sure they don’t burn.
Let them cool. If you plan on enjoying these you can eat them hot. They are good cold too!
Any left over cheese can be given as a treat.
NOTE: When choosing jalapeno peppers try to get large and straight ones. Try to find picture
Rice Bones
Nutrition facts for six servings: Calories: 91, Carbs: 19g: Protein: 3g.
2 cups Brown rice, uncooked
1 cup frozen peas
Cook the rice as directed.
As soon as rice is done, stir in the frozen peas. Let stand for five minutes before you shape and serve.
Place the amount to be served on a plate and shape into a bone.
Let cool to room temperature before serving.
Simply Carob Mini-Cakes
Yield 12 servings. Calories: 380, Carbs: 48g, Protein: 5g.
2 cups All-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
¼ cup Carob powder
1 cup milk
Heat oven to 350* F. Prepare muffin pan with papers (12 muffin papers).
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and carob powder.
In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, beating well after each addition. Spoon into muffin cups.
Bake at 350*F. for 27 to 35 minutes or until tooth-pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan. Cool completely.
I used commercial cream cheese frosting for a few of the muffins and decorated with colored sugar.
Well I hope everyone has had fun with "Sky's Poochalada Pie". I hope you enjoy the new recipes that I have for you.
Sky is my oldest kid ( she has yet to learn that she is a dog), and has had a great deal of fun trying mom's new recipes! Sky is a Chihuahua and about a month ago she weighed 9 1/2 pounds! Along with being over weight, her coat had a wire feeling about it, she didn't have much energy, and her breath was horrible! After eating home made food she has more energy, her coat is soft and shiny, her breath is still bad but it is better, and is down to 7 pounds! Some friends, Sky, and myself have been walking just about every day. We walk at least 1 mile, but most days we walk four and a half miles. Sky has turned into a new dog, she is almost like a puppy again! My other two kids, Shadow a Lab/Shepherd mix and Lil' Bit a shih tzu, also have more energy and their coats are also a lot nicer. Over all they are doing so much better off of regular dog food.
I have had a great deal of luck in the supermarkets here lately. They have had all kinds of sales. My freezers are stocked full! I am happy to say that I will not have to buy meat for a while! The stores have been getting in nice looking fruit and have been running sales for that. My kids love fresh fruit. Banana's, strawberries, orange's, kiwi, and watermelon just to name a few.
NOTE: I have used strawberries for the recipes with this article. I have heard that strawberries are not good for dogs. I have not been able to confirm this, nor have I had any problems with my dogs. If you have any concerns contact your veterinarian to get information from them.
I cook for my kids about every four to five days. Although they get allot of stews, I add different vegetables to change the charisma of the dish. I also add herbs and spices to their food. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Do check with your vet on the safety of using herbs and spices in your pets' foods. Some things may be safe for food use for us and not particularly safe or even toxic to them. Some examples are: grapes, raisins, grapeseed oil, macadamia nuts, chocolate, and onions.) My dogs love hot and spicy food. Sky loves hot foods, but sometimes she has trouble breathing when she gets a hold of something really hot. In her case she gets a little milk to take the burn out and that food removed from her. Try different things with your kids and see what they like and what they can handle.
Sky is not fond of liver, in fact, she normally picks the liver out of her bowl! With my "Very Berry Liver Stew" she asks for more and licks out the other bowls! The flavor of the berries and Garam Masala are great together. I know, this dish sounds horrible, but, I did taste it and it isn't half bad. It isn't one I would make for myself but the kids love it! The "Berry Peanut Butter Cookies" are a nice treat. Shadow and Lil' Bit are not over weight and can use some extra calories, Sky has to take it easy on the treats. I carry some cookies with me when we go on walks. They taste great and Sky shares with us all!
"Very Berry Liver Stew"
Calories: 221.6, Total Fat: 10g., Cholesterol: 77mg., total Carbs.: 26g., Fiber: 5.2g., Protein: 7.6g.
5 cups water 2 tsp garam masala
1 cup barley 1 Ib. Liver
1 cup rice 1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup oatmeal 1 cup blueberries, fresh
1 tbs. olive oil
In large pot, bring five cups water to boil. Add barley, return to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, add rice, return to boil, cover and reduce heat; simmer for an additional 25 minutes.
While rice and barley are simmering; In large skillet add olive oil and 1 tsp Garam Masala. Heat over medium flame until hot; add liver and remaining 1 tsp Garam Masala over liver. Cook for 1 minute then turn over and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat to cutting board. Cut liver into small pieces and set aside.
Add berries to pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup oatmeal, liver, and stir well. Remove from heat. Leave lid on pot.
Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Package remaining stew in serving size baggies.
Yield: Approx. 15 1-cup servings.
"Berry Peanut Butter Cookies"
Calories: 44.9, Total Fat: 1.8g., Cholesterol: 4.8mg., total Carbs.: 6.8g., Fiber: 0.2g., Protein: 0.8g.
1/2 cup sugar 1 egg
1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup pureed strawberries or 1 cup diced
1/2 cup butter, softened 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup peanut butter 2 tsp baking soda
2 tbs milk 1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla 1/8 cup sugar
Heat oven to 375* F.
In large bowl, beat sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
Add peanut butter, milk vanilla, egg, and strawberries; blend well. Stir in flour (you may need to add just a little more flour if the dough is to sticky to shape into balls, just remember to add a little at a time and mix well after each addition), baking soda, and salt; mix well.
NOTE: For something different, you can use1/2 cup of jam.
Use a 1-tsp measuring spoon to scoop dough and shape dough into small balls (for larger cookies use a tablespoon). Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped in 1/8 cup sugar.
Bake at 375* for about 9 minutes or 10 minutes for a harder cookie.
Immediately remove from cookie sheets.
Cool completely.
Yield: 96 small cookies (48 large cookies).
Reddog, in her gate watch mode. Red waits at this gate when its time for me to finish working for the day and devote my attentions to my personal crew. I have seen her sitting here even in a violent thunderstorm because it was the appointed hour. Red also will not tolerate any other dog taking this position, as it is HER gate and HER spot. She's odd, once I tell her I am working late, she goes off to a more comfortable location to wait for "late" to arrive.
  Meet Shadow, one of MaryMartha Miller's "Zoo Crew". He's the largest, and of very uncertain parentage, although it looks like there was a rottweiler and a labrador somewhere in his family tree. He's also the "baby" of the family as the youngest member of the family. His appetite and nutritional needs are far larger than those of his little sister, Sky. Shadow is also proudly neutered, eliminating the chance of a paternity suit as well as reducing problems such as tendency to wander, aggression, and domination tendencies. |