Strange Dear

You know something is good when even the dog can't resist it. I love Thatdog to bits, but he is a very unusual dog. First, he hardly ever barks. We love this. In fact, if it wasn't for a visit with his bark-happy Aunt, he'd probably never have picked it up. Second, he's not a chowhound...for the most part. You can leave you food at his head height and unless you give him the go ahead, he'll completely ignore it. Now, he does like to cuddle up REALLY close to you while you eat it, and check your mouth after for crumbs - but once I gave him a plate of pancakes and he looked at me like "what am I supposed to do with this?"

All this changed last week. I wanted to make Thatboy and I a breakfast on the run. Something we could easily take with us in the car on the way to work, surfing, or the beach. I wanted something high in protein, low in calories, and loaded with good stuff. So I took an oatmeal cookie recipe and manipulated it to create some breakfast bars - or some insanely oversized cookies.

So I left these out to cool on the counter. Normally things are safe on the counter - Thatdog has no interest in counter surfing. But this time things were different. DH and I went out and when we came back, the rack of bars was on the floor. Or rather, I should say the rack was on the floor. The bars were gone. Do you see the size of these bars???? 6 of them. He ate 6 of them!!!!! Luckily these are made of pretty healthy ingredients. Save the raisins, they could very well be dog treats. Which is what Thatdog tried to explain to Thatboy as Thatboy tried to eat one of the remaining bars. What? You've eaten 6 and you're still hungry? That must be the true complement.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 individual pkg apple sauce
• 1/2 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine oats, flour, and baking soda.
2. In separate bowl, beat together butter and peanut butter.
3. Add sugar, egg, vanilla and applesauce. Beat until combined.
   
4. Beat in flour, just until blended.
5. Stir in raisins.
6. Place parchment paper on cookie sheet. Place large scoops of dough on parchment paper. (I got 16 scoops)
7. Bake 20 minutes. Remove to wire rack and cool completely. Try to keep them away from your dog.

Serves 16.
Each serving has:

Calories		241.1
Total Fat		12.8 g
	Saturated Fat	5.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.1 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	4.9 g
Cholesterol		28.8 mg
Sodium		181.0 mg
Potassium		201.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate		28.0 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.0 g
	Sugars	0.7 g
Protein		5.6 g