Green power smoothie (to share with your dog!)

Love your dogs? Then share this kale, spinach, peanut butter and banana green power smoothie with them for breakfast.

Yesssssss! I'm so excited to share this smoothie post with you because I assume that you, like me, are a crazy dog person. In a good way. Meaning you love dogs. So much so that you may have been known to cook for them.

Chicken jerky, sweet potato chips, doggie meatloaf -- all part of my cook-for-dogs-repertoire. But now I've got a doggie breakfast specialty as well, to round out Smoothie Week: a kale and spinach peanut butter smoothie that is not only for them, it's also for you!

This easy-to-make smoothie is loaded with healthy ingredients that are good for you but also good (and perfectly safe) for your favorite poochie. And the slightly larger portion size accommodates you both: pour a little bit (start with 1/4 cup for a medium-sized dog) into a bowl for your pal and save the rest for yourself.

Happy Valentine's Day

Every day is Valentine's Day when you have a heart on your head...

Fruit and cereal bars: a recipe

Fruit and cereal bars

Here we are, talking about breakfast again.

I have no problems with dinner. Lots of options there, lots of ways to keep it fresh and lively (thanks to this blog, I'm rarely repeating a meal).

But breakfast?

Lordy, I don't know how my dogs do it, eating the same damned thing, day after day after day.

As I've mentioned before, I like recipes that I can make in advance, are portable and last for days.

Enter the fruit and cereal bar.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday: The Ninjino

It has nothing to do with food, cooking, gardening or reading, but this week The Ninjette got a cute little brother ... which I guess makes him The Ninjino. Look for his mug in many future posts!

Chicken jerky: a recipe

Easy DIY homemade chicken jerky, made in a dehydrator -- loved by people and dogs alike.

I already know that this won't be one of my more popular posts, but hey, I'm in charge here and I love jerky.

At least, I love homemade jerky. Do not call Slim Jims or that other crap that they sell at gas stations or the packy "jerky" -- bleeeeccckkk.

Jerky is nothing more than dried meat and spices, so if you like meat and have never tried it because you thought jerky = Slim Jim, I urge you to reconsider.

Jerky is a great snack to have on hand when you want something a little salty, and the portability makes it ideal for hikes, lunch boxes, road trips, etc.

Not to mention that jerky is an incredibly high-value dog treat -- the Ninjette will pretty much do any kind of trick you ask and never take her eyes from mine when I'm holding even the tiniest bit of this jerky.

I make my jerky in a dehydrator, but you could make this by drying the meat on cookie sheets in a low (200 degree) oven as well. The beauty of the dehydrator is that it uses very little electricity, so it's a more efficient way of making jerky than leaving your oven on all day.

Additionally, you can make a lot more than jerky with your dehydrator: veggie chips, dried fruit, sundried tomatoes and fruit roll-ups/leathers, just to name a few.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

The ninjette: pretty yet suspicious ...

(Thanks to Gulliver's Doggie Daycare for the great photo!)

Smoked salmon terrine: a recipe

I'm not a born entertainer.

No, I don't mean a Sammy Davis Jr., tap-dancing, singing entertainer (although I personally think I would make an excellent backup singer, despite the fact that I can't sing). I mean a host-people-in-my-house entertainer.

Some people are really good at it, appearing very relaxed and non-plussed about cooking more and for more people than usual.

Guess what? I'm not one of those people.

I obsess too much about ensuring that everything is perfect for my guests and often over-extend myself when it comes to preparing dishes. Martha Stewart I am not -- but that's not a bad thing because she drives me batty. But I'm getting better at it. The best trick? Recipes that can be made (fully or partially) ahead of time.

Cookies, for you and your little dog, too: two recipes

I've been on a cookie-baking jag lately, since I found some slightly-less-bad-for-you cookie recipes that don't taste like a cardboard box top.

Most of the cookies I've made have been dog-safe, so I haven't minded slipping one to the Ninjette every once in a while, but the last batch I made were cherry-chocolate chip (see recipe below) -- a veritable dog-killer. So I baked her some of her own.

Yes, I'm one of those crazy people that cooks for the dog. But my doggie meatloaf is to die for, I've been told.