My Dog Stinks and the Fido, Friends and Food Truck Festival

We have 3 dogs. A big bully mix, a medium jack russell/lab mix and a small chihuahua. I love them, but they smell. We bathe them regularly, but they spend a majority of the day outdoors- which means they roll in dirt, grass and who knows what! And even when they're clean... they still smell like dogs.

Well, here is a perfect product for that solution! "My Dog Stinks" Odor Eliminator. This isn't a perfume to mask your dog's smell. It's not an air freshener. It ATTACKS and ELIMINATES the odor upon contact! In fact, if you smell the product from the bottle, it has no odor at all!

We use it directly on our dogs when they need a little freshening, but the huge difference for us is their bedding! We have a large bed in the living room that it works great on and at night time, they are crated in the office. When you walk into the office, the first smell you notice is "dog". Even if they aren't in there. Since using this product, I'm happy to report that our office no longer smells like a kennel!

Check them out at www.mydogstinks.com or on Facebook

They will also have a booth at a great family event called the Fido, Friends and Food Truck Festival!

Fido, Friends and Food Truck Festival

Ontario Convention Center

www.iepetshow.com

Date: Saturday, May 19, 2012

Hours: 11am-6pm

Admission: $5 (12 and under are free)

Parking: FREE

Notes:  Well socialized dogs, provided they are kept on a maximum 6' leash, are permitted at the Fido, Friends and Food Truck Festival. See website for more details.

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

Hubby loves Cinnamon Rolls- especially from Cinnabon. And me? Well, I've always been intimidated to make them. But, when I saw this recipe, I thought it looked fairly simple and I'd give it a go. The results? Hubby walked in from work, straight to the kitchen, picked up a fork and ate them straight from the pan. I made a half batch (12 rolls) and intended on sharing them with friends. But, to be honest, there's none left!

The original recipe is from Love From The Oven. She has amazingly creative baking ideas for every occasion! I halved the recipe because there's only 3 of us and changed the frosting a bit because Hubby loves cream cheese frosting. The recipe below is for a full batch and will make 24 rolls.

CAKE MIX CINNAMON ROLLS
Servings: 24 rolls
Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours (includes time for dough to rise)

INGREDIENTS
1 box white or yellow cake mix
2 packages dry yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
5 cups flour

FILLING
2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
cinnamon

FROSTING
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1 Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved
2 Combine cake mix, flour and salt in large bowl
3 Add warm water/yeast mixture and vanilla to cake mix/flour mixture. Mix well. This may require kneading with your hands to completely combine ingredients.
4 Cover tightly. Let rise for one hour. Punch down and let rise for another 30-60 minutes.
5 On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle shape, approx. 1/4" thick.
6 Once dough is rolled out, brush with softened butter.
7 Sprinkle with brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon- use as little or as much as you like.
8 Starting at end opposite from you, roll the dough towards you until all of the dough is in one long piece.
9 Slice the dough into 24 equal size pieces
10 Place rolls in two 9x13 greased pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
11 Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown
12 Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
13 Prepare frosting. cream the butter and cream cheese together and gradually add powdered sugar. If you like your frosting to melt into your rolls, frost them after 10-15 minuts of cooling. If you like your frosting to sit on top of your rolls, wait to frost them until completely cooled.

Easy Taco Casserole

I'm a big fan of trying out new recipes on Pinterest. It's been a process of trial and error. I've found some recipes that I've fallen in love with and some ended up in the trashcan and we ate pizza that night. This is one of the good ones- and perfect for busy nights. It's quick, easy and delicious!

The original recipe can be found on Plain Chicken.

EASY TACO CASSEROLE
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 can Ranch Style Beans (undrained)
1 10-12 ounce bag tortilla chips, crushed ( I didn't use the entire bag)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes (undrained)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 package taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
sour cream and salsa for serving

DIRECTIONS
1 Preheat oven to 325. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion and drain.
2 Stir in tomatoes, beans, soup and taco seasoning. Simmer over medium-low heat until everything is well combined and heated through.
3 In a 9x13 casserole dish, put down a layer of crushed tortilla chips, followed by a layer of the meat/bean mixture and a layer of shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.
4 Let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. Top with sour cream and/or salsa, as desired.

Stuffed French Toast

This is Hubby's absolute favorite breakfast. He'd eat it every day of the week if I would make it for him.

STUFFED FRENCH TOAST
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients
8 slices of bread of your choice (Cinnamon Swirl makes it extra yummy)
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
powdered sugar (for dusting the tops of the sandwiches)
1 lb. strawberries (sliced and mixed with a Tbsp. of sugar)
1 tub of Cool Whip for topping

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces softened cream cheese
3 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS
1 Mix cream cheese filling ingredients in a small bowl. You can add more powdered sugar if needed. It should be spreading consistency.
2 Spread out the slices of the bread and spread some of the cream cheese filling on each slice. Put two slices together to make a "sandwich"
3 In another bowl, mix the eggs, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Dip the sandwiches in this mixture and fry in a pan or griddle over medium heat until browned on each side.
4 Dust the sandwiches with a little powdered sugar, top with strawberries and whipped cream.

(Note: The photo of the Mickey shaped breakfast is regular french toast with strawberries and whipped cream on the side. Special order from the 5 year old.)