Author: Carlton

Carlton Cooks is a rescue dog. While at the shelter he spent time watching various cooking shows. Once adopted, he honed his kitchen skills while creating meals for his new family. Now on his blog this canine chef shares kitchen secrets and recipes that kids and their grownups can do together!
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Breakfast Burritos

Can you spot the potato in the photo? See the answer below.

BREAKFAST BURRITOS

Good cooks know the word: Shred

When shredding, you push food across the large holes of a box grater which cuts the food into long strips. Each hole on the grater acts as a sharp blade. Always place the box grater on a flat surface. While one person holds the grater in place, the other can shred the food.

INGREDIENTS:

1 baking potato cooked

3 Tablespoons cooking oil such as canola oil

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon of milk

1 Pinch of salt

2 ozs shredded Cheddar cheese (about ½ cup)

2 nine-inch flour tortillas

TOOLS:

1 box grater

1 medium frying pan

1 spatula or turner

1 medium mixing bowl

1 whisk

Dry measuring cups

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

Chopped green chile

Diced red or green bell pepper

Bacon

Ham

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash your paws.
  2. Read your recipe.
  3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
  4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
  5. Wash and scrub the baking potato. Microwave the potato using the baked potato setting or for 3-5 minutes and let cool. This can be done the night before and is also a great way to use leftover baked potatoes from dinner!
  6. Using the whisk, beat the eggs, milk and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
  7. Shred the cooled bake potato on the large holes of a box grater.
  8. Heat the oil over medium heat and have an adult test the temperature by adding a bit of potato to the oil. When the oil sizzles on the potato piece, it is time for your adult to add the remaining shredded potatoes in an even layer to the pan. Cook the potatoes for two minutes and have your adult turn them over. Cook again for two minutes and turn. Repeat this process for 6-8 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crispy.
  9. Add the beaten eggs and cheese to the potatoes in the pan. If you would like to add optional ingredients add them now.
  10. Over medium heat, lift and then fold the egg mixture over repeatedly until mixture is thick and eggs are cooked. Place half of the egg mixture onto each tortilla and fold into a burrito shape. Serve immediately. Makes two burritos.

Optional ingredients: Where I live we add roasted and chopped green chile to our egg mixture before we scramble them. Some people like to add chopped red peppers, tomato, ham or bacon to their burrito. The choice is yours!Photo Answer– The potato is hiding behind the eggs.

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Autumn Spice

Autumn is another name for fall. Hundreds of years ago people used to call the season fall of the leaf, but that was a lot to say, so over time the name of the season was shortened to fall.

October is National Cookie Month. Try my Autumn Spice cookies. I bet you’ll really fall for them!

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Autumn Spice Cookies!

AUTUMN SPICE COOKIES

Good cooks know the word: Cream

When you mix butter and sugar together you are creaming them. The sugar helps push air into the butter, filling it with tiny air bubbles. Those bubbles will later make the sugar and butter in the dough melt more slowly in the oven, and as the bubbles fill with steam, they make the dough rise. You can cream butter and sugar by hand with a fork, with a hand-mixer, or a stand mixer.

Let’s get started.

INGREDIENTS:

Can you spot the mistake in the photo? See the answer below.

2 cups flour plus 2 Tablespoons more

1 teaspoon cloves

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

¾ cup of butter

¼ cup of molasses

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

TOOLS:

1 large mixing bowl

1 medium mixing bowl

1 small bowl with 3 tablespoons of sugar, set aside

1 fork

Measuring spoons

Dry measuring cups

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash your paws.
  2. Read your recipe.
  3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
  4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
  5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  6. In the medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. These are your dry ingredients.
  7. In the large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla. These are your wet ingredients.
  8. Gradually mix the dry flour mixture into the wet butter mixture to create the dough.
  9. Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls, and then roll those balls into the 3 tablespoons of sugar set aside in the small bowl.
  10. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes. makes about 3 dozen cookies.Photo Answer– Two nutmegs and no cloves!

 

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Snacks from the Wild West

Caviar is an expensive snack that some people like to serve on little squares of toast. Real caviar is made from salt-cured fish eggs.

Sometimes people make a dip called Cowboy Caviar that is made with corn and beans instead of fish eggs. They might use the name Cowboy Caviar because cowboys on cattle drives were known to eat both canned and dried beans.

I like to call my recipe Cowboy Chips and Dip. This recipe is also good on a tortilla or mixed with lettuce as a salad.

So come on, Pardner, let’s make some Cowboy Chips and Dip!

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Cowboy Chips and Dip

COWBOY CHIPS AND DIP

 

Good cooks know the word: Wash

Wash all fruits, vegetables and herbs before using them.

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can black beans

1 15 oz. can corn

1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans

2 green onions sliced (green part only)

1 medium tomato, diced (about cup)

½ of one red bell pepper, diced (about cup)

4 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (add more or less depending on taste)

FOR THE DRESSING:

4 Tablespoons olive oil

5 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 large clove garlic minced

1 Tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

TOOLS:

Colander

Can opener

1 medium sized mixing bowl

1 small mixing bowl

Cutting board

Chef’s knife

Wooden spoon for stirring

Whisk

Measuring spoons

Measuring cups

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash your paws.
  2. Read your recipe.
  3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
  4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
  5. Using a colander, drain and rinse canned beans and corn and add to a medium sized mixing bowl.
  6. Wash green onions, tomato, red pepper and cilantro in cold water before cutting them.
  7. Slice the green parts of the green onions and add to the mixing bowl
  8. Have the adult who is helping you slice the tomato and red pepper into flat slices for you to cut and dice. Dice the tomato and red pepper and add to the mixing bowl.
  9. Chop the cilantro and add to the bowl.

Make the dressing by whisking the oil, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper together in a small mixing bowl. (If you look closely, you may see a reflection of a dog in this photo.)

  1. Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and stir to combine.

Serve with chips.

Serves 6

This dip can also be used to create a tortilla dinner. Place one half cup of Cowboy Dip into a tortilla. Add shredded lettuce and cheese. Add sliced avocados or grilled meat if you’d like.

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Let’s Make Salsa!

SUMMER SALSA!

I like to grow vegetables in my garden, and I really like to dig them up! Do you grow vegetables in your garden? If not you can visit a local farmer’s market or find vegetables like these in your local grocery store. Let’s make Summer Salsa!

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Summer Salsa!

SUMMERRR SALSA!

Good cooks know the word: Dice

To cut food into small cubes of equal size. The word mince means to cut food into the smallest dice possible.

 

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of diced tomatoes (about 3 tomatoes)

¼ cup finely diced onion (about ½ of one onion)

¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro

1 clove of garlic finely minced or pushed through a garlic press

2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon salt

 

TOOLS:

1 cutting board

1 chef’s knife

One mixing bowl

1 wooden spoon for stirring

Measuring spoons

Dry measuring cups

Hand juicer

Garlic press if desired

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash your paws.
  2. Read your recipe.
  3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
  4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
  5. Wash all fruits and vegetables with cold water.
  6. Have an adult make slices of tomato and onion for you to dice.
  7. Dice the tomato and add to the bowl
  8. Dice the onion and add to the bowl.
  9. Chop the cilantro leaves.(If you have a sibling who can’t use a knife, you can let them tear the leaves into tiny pieces instead.)
  10. Cut the lime in half around its center. Use a hand juicer to squeeze the juice from the lime. Measure the juice and add to the bowl.
  11. Mince or put garlic in a garlic press and add to the bowl.
  12. Add the salt to the bowl.
  13. Stir ingredients together and serve Summer Salsa with tortilla chips for dipping.

Serves 6.

Note: After tasting the salsa you can add more lime juice or salt if you’d like.

Did you know? A head of garlic is made up of many cloves of garlic.

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And the winning chef is…Me!

I won!

I entered my recipe for Orange You Glad I Made This Salad? into The Pure Bread Baking and Cooking Contest. Most of the other recipes tasted like kibble and were paws-itivley awful. I don’t make dog food. I cook food for humans. And you know what? I won the contest! Now let me share some of my recipes with you! But first, I like to sing a little song before I cook. And it goes something like this:

I am Carl and I like to cook, just give me some tools and a recipe book!

Home-cooked meals are such a treat, easy to make and fun to eat!

 

 

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ORANGE YOU GLAD I MADE THIS SALAD?

ORANGE YOU GLAD I MADE THIS SALAD?

Good cooks know the word: Hull which is a word that can be used as both a noun and a verb. The green leafy top of a strawberry is called the hull (noun). You also hull (verb) strawberries when you remove the green and leafy top. Have an adult use a paring knife to cut the hull from the strawberry. Or, if you want to have fun, use a drinking straw to hull the berry yourself. Take the straw and push it up from the bottom of the berry until the hull is pushed out. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 (11-ounce) cans of mandarin oranges drained and patted dry (or 6 fresh mandarin oranges peeled and divided into sections)

6 strawberries, hulled and cut into sixths

2 Tablespoons shredded coconut

¼ teaspoon almond extract

TOOLS:

1 cutting board

1 paring knife

1 drinking straw

1 small mixing bowl

1 wooden spoon for stirring

Measuring spoons

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash your paws.
  2. Read your recipe.
  3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
  4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
  5. Place drained orange sections into a mixing bowl.
  6. Hull each strawberry. Cut each berry into sixths. First, cut them in half the long way. The strawberry half will look heart-shaped. Next, cut each half berry into three slices. Add the strawberry slices to the mixing bowl.
  7. Add the shredded coconut and almond extract to the bowl.
  8. Stir gently to mix the coconut and almond extract with the fruit, and serve.

Serves 6

 

 

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