"Thanksgiving Veggie Platter" Treats

Blogging Friends.... Well I have been awake since 1AM. {Do not ask why!!} So, after spending quality time with Rose on my bedroom floor during ungodly hours, I stood up at 4:00, smiled, made me some chocolate/chocolate/chocolate milk {With a TON of Hershey's syrup mixed in!! It is a chocolate addict's secret "recipe"!!} and I turned on this desktop computer. I am now sleep-deprived. Yet I'm high on chocolate. Caffeine. Caffeine makes me happy....

  

I finally did it!! I have wanted to bake this dog biscuit recipe for Thanksgiving throughout the course of probably two years. But I never did it. Why? Because my family hosts Thanksgiving at our house. And we have all of this "deep cleaning", baking, plus cooking which is required before Turkey Day. So. I always thought that baking Rose treats would seem an unnecessary hindrance. And she gets to enjoy a little turkey.... But then, with this ongoing difficult place which I currently find myself in, I needed something to do. And then I was recovering from a minor mood swing-infused pity party yesterday. I rebound!! I am resilient!! So, I needed something fun to do that would distract my crazy mixed-up thoughts/feelings/emotions. It worked!! So I finally baked this recipe!! Hey!! This is my second posted recipe in one month!! Cool!! I was a bit nervous as to whether or not Rose would even like this recipe. How so? While baking Rose treats, I always give her samples of the ingredients. One was celery, which she appeared to be interested in. So I tossed my little girl a chopped piece. She played with the vegetable, pouncing on it like some feline with his mouse. But it was never eaten!! No. I throw it away!! The recipe also calls for unsalted sunflower seeds. So, I sprinkled a pinch into Rose's bowl. And she snubbed them!! Little does Rose know. That these treats will contain both celery and sunflower seeds!! Little does Rose know!! I needn't have worried, though. I thought they were tasteless and bland. But Rose?

 

Rose would rate this recipe: Four 'paws' way, way up!!

 

Veggiebite

THE HEALTHIEST CHOICE FOR YOUR "FOUR-LEGGED" MATE.
3  1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup diced celery {You know how with nearly every recipe I bake, rules are broken? Well.... Does it count when rules are broken by accident? I did not know how to "dice" the celery. So I chopped it, instead!!}
1/8 cup diced red bell peppers (optional) {I baked this recipe without the red bell peppers!!}
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup unsalted sunflower kernels
1  1/4 cup water {Because these treats were so bland in taste, I highly recommend substituting water for beef or chicken broth!!}
3 tablespoons olive oil {Rachel Ray would give me a high-five!! We have extra virgin olive oil, which, I used!! E.V.O.O., baby!!}

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix water and oil. Add flour, oatmeal, vegetables, and sunflower kernels. Knead dough for 2-3 minutes {I just mashed it in the bowl!! My dough was crumbly. So I added water. As per usual, I poured too much into my dough. So I added white flour.} and roll to 1/4-inch thick. {I never follow that rule!!} Cut dough into bone shapes {Or, in my case, carrot!! Get the correlation? "Thanksgiving veggie platter" treats? A carrot-shaped cookie cutter? Cute, right?} and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 2  1/2 dozen. {We baked 26!!}

Bake bones on the middle oven rack. If your dough is sticky, apply a light layer of flour to your hands, the rolling surface and rolling pin. Because of variations in oven temperatures, monitor the cooking time for your batch of "Doggy Bones". Bake bones until the bottoms of the biscuits become medium brown, and adjust remaining baking times accordingly. If bones do not become "bone hard", bake bones for an additional five minutes or leave them in the oven as it cools. Store "Doggy Bones" in an airtight container. For extended supply, double your batch and freeze them!