The lovely people at Turtle Mat contacted me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I would like to be involved in celebrating the launch of their new range of pet bowls, of course I would! I was asked to create some recipes and treats suitable for us pooches and with Easter fast approaching, we thought we’d cook up something suitably appropriate for you all to try yourselves!

Of course, it required me to wear a suitable outfit so my Auntie Yvonne kindly whipped me up my very own Chef’s uniform, very apt don’t you think?

Obviously I wasn’t going to be able to do all this chopping and cooking myself, I would need a Sous Chef to assist me with my culinary skills, Alan was more than happy to oblige…

After lots of brainstorming and paw tapping, Alan & I decided on three Easter recipes we could create: fish for Good Friday, lamb for Easter Sunday and a special treat as us dogs can’t eat chocolate like you humans. Mum loves a good Easter egg to break up and not share with Dad, however chocolate is highly toxic to dogs so we thought a nice cheese biscuit would be yummy – one of our favourites that we’ve whipped up before for special occasions and shared with our friends (as long as there’s left overs).

Good Friday – Fish Pie

You will need:

• 2 x 120g sardines in oil
• 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced
• 50g frozen peas
• 1 carrot, peeled & thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 180’C. Lightly grease an ovenproof dish
2. Put the sardines & their oil into a bowl and mash
3. Lay half the potato slices in the bottom of the dish
4. Cover the potato slices with the mashed sardines, peas and sliced carrots
5. Top with the remaining sliced potato
6. Cover with foil & cook in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked through
7. Allow to cool, sprinkle with oregano & serve

** This will keep covered in the fridge for up to 3-4 days **

Easter Sunday – Lamb Stew

You will need:

• 500g lamb mince
• 100g chicken livers, chopped
• 100g brown rice
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled & cut into small cubes
• 50g frozen peas
• 100g green beans, chopped
• 1/2 head broccoli, chopped
• 2 apples, peeled, cored & cut into small cubes
• 50g spinach, chopped

1. Put the brown rice into a large saucepan with 700ml of cold water, bring to the boil on the hob, reduce heat & simmer for 10 minutes
2. Add the chopped liver to the pan & cook for a further 5 minutes (make sure there is plenty of water)
3. Add the lamb mince to the pan & cook for 5 minutes
4. Add the squash to the pan & cook for another 15 minutes
5. Add the peas, broccoli & apples & cook for a further 15 minutes (add more water if need be)
6. Add the spinach & cook for 5 minutes
7. Leave to cool & serve

** This will keep covered in the fridge for up to 4 days **

Easter Treats – Cheesey Biscuits

You will need:

• 225g grated cheese (room temperature) 
• 110g butter/margarine 
• 1 egg
• 1 glove of garlic, crushed 
• 180g wholewheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• A splash of milk

1. Preheat oven to 190’C
2. Cream/beat the cheese & butter together
3. Add egg, garlic & mix well
4. Add the flour, salt & mix until a dough forms
5. Add a small amount of milk & mix again. If the dough is wet & sticky – add more flour, if the dough is dry & cracks – add more milk
6. Chill the dough mixture in the fridge for 1 hour
7. Roll the dough out onto a floured surface
8. Use a cookie cutter shape of your choice & cut shapes (I used bone & paw print cutters)
9. Lay shapes on a baking tray
10. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes
11. Cool to room temperature on a cooling rack

** These will keep in an airtight container for 7-10 days **

We certainly weren’t going to cook up these yummy dishes without tasting them and letting you know the verdict, now that would be selfish wouldn’t it? The fish pie was a moist, light dish with a good ratio of vegetables to keep it healthy. We tried out the delicious smelling lamb stew in our new Turtle Mat  pet bowl and we felt very posh indeed!

The Turtle Mat Pet Bowl is a stylish carved wooden stand with two dishes inserted into it, perfect for Alan & I to eat together or for those of you to enjoy a romantic meal with a loved one, if you so desire…

These come in two sizes, 6.5 or 8 inches, and Mum reports they are easy to keep clean too, well we weren’t going to do all the cooking AND the washing up were we? If you fancy treating yourself to one of these snazzy bowls, you can find them HERE

We hope you enjoy cooking our recipes to make Easter a little bit special for your dog too, thank you to Turtle Mat for letting us help to celebrate the launch of their stylish new pet bowls!

Dach’s all for now – off to see if the biscuit tin is still open…

Jeffrey x

* this blog post was in collboration with Turtle Mat but all opinions expressed are my own