As I greet many of my clients at their doors, one of the first things said to me is "hope you are ok with dogs"...My favorite things to reply is YES and not to worry as we have 4 of them at the House of Payne :)  That usually puts the client at ease about their one or two that greet me at the door.  Yes, we have 4 wee beasties - all rescued, all small and all spoiled rotten.  Prior to this group we had two Jack Russell Terriers that were our kids before kids.  Around the holidays I like to make their favorite homemade treats to have in their stockings (yes our dogs have stockings along with all of ours = spoiled as mentioned before)...I've been making these since I got the recipe in 1998!! These are fun to make with the kids as its easy and low mess.  Hope your furry friends enjoy these!

"Chiken Inna Biskit"

2 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. yellow cornmeal
2 T. veg oil
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 eggs
1/4 c. milk

Heat oven to 350.  Mix 2 eggs and milk and set aside.  In second bowl beat 3rd egg and set aside. Mix flour and cornmeal, stir in oil, broth and egg/milk mixture.  Knead until dough is firm. Let sit 15-20 mins.  Can roll on floured surface and cut out like cookies or cheat like me and spoon into balls and flatten with fork.  Brush with beaten egg and bake 25-30 mins until brown. Remove and cool.  

Bringing it all out of storage is not.  Many trips up an down stairs, heavy boxes, few hands to help are usually the case BUT not when you call me in to help!  That's what part of my work this week has been - helping clients bring out Christmas decor and for one client - then we re-organized the basement storage area.  It'll be SO much easier putting everything away in January.  Mind you that can be made easier too - if you book a session with me to help you put it all away :)  I like doing the stairs and working hard with clients - saves me a trip to the gym and then I really earn my glass of wine at night!  Cheers!

Whew...well there went November in a flash as expected and I know I've been behind in posting on the blog but I've been busy just like you!  I've been helping all kinds of great clients get ready for the holidays.  I tend to post more often on my Facebook page so make sure to LIKE and follow me over there.  There is a link on the home page of the website.

OK so it IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas - how about making the house SMELL great too?  I love this "recipe" given to me by my sister some years back.  It is a great item to bag up and gift with an ingredient/instruction gift tag for neighbors, hostess gifts, teachers - anyone really :)

Christmas Scent:

3 Cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
1/4 c. whole cloves
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
4 c. water

Combine all in saucepan and bring to boil,  Reduce heat and simmer, as long as you like, adding water as needed to keep mix from drying up.  Can be stored lightly covered in refrigerator for several days.