How to take family photos with your dog

Several people have asked us how we manage to get such great pictures of us with our dog without having someone behind the camera. So I thought I would share some of our trademark moves for getting great shots. 🙂

I should begin this by acknowledging that some of you have very well trained dogs who will sit and stay exactly where you tell them to until you give them a release command making photo-taking a piece of cake. This post is not as much for you, haha! Our dog will sit and stay as long as he is facing us (because that’s how we trained him). Which is great for nearly all circumstances… except when we are trying to take photos and want him to face away from us (and toward the camera). So here are some of our solutions:

1. The absolutely ideal situation for us would be to have an actual photographer (someone behind the camera) and a second person who could stand just outside the frame of the photo to keep Oreo’s attention. However, since that’s not always possible, we’ve begun to learn the ins and outs of using a tripod and remote for our little family photo sessions. I cannot recommend them highly enough. Timers are great on cameras if all your subjects are adults, but if you add children or pets – having a remote that can take photo-after-photo without having to run back and forth to the camera is such a time saver!

Our remote and tripod. The tripod is a 72″ Velbon 5000 which belonged to Christopher when he was a teen. It’s an amazing tripod! Great quality especially compared to some of the inexpensive ones we’ve bought and subsequently broken.

2. Wear clothes you are comfortable in, but also that you don’t mind getting a little fur on. Chances are good at least one of you will end up wrangling the dog at some point which will result in fur on a shirt/dress. It’s not likely to show up in photos (at least it never has for us), but you want to be sure you aren’t wearing something that needs to be dry cleaned.

For this particular photo session we chose machine-washable summery clothes that would go with Oreo’s seersucker bow tie.

3. Lots of treats. Oreo is highly food motivated so we try to reward him as much as possible with treats while taking photos. We want family photos to be a fun thing for him.

Notice the remote in one hand and the treat in another and Oreo very ready to do whatever it takes to get that treat!

4. Be prepared to take LOTS of pictures. During this particular photo shoot we took 137 photos and ended up with 6 great ones. One of us will get in position with the remote while the other gets the dog into position. Whoever has the remote begins snapping photos even before everyone is in position. So you end up with tons of photos, but that also means that the very moment when everyone is in place and smiling – you get the shot!

Christopher putting Oreo in a sit position while I pose and begin taking pictures so the second Christopher turns to the camera, we’ll get the shot! (ps. I love how Oreo is “smiling” in this one!)

5. Let the dog take a break or two to play. With Oreo we usually have his attention for about 10 minutes before he needs a break then he’s ready to go again. He always lets us know when he’s tired of photos as you can see here:

 “I just want to play!”

6. Be flexible. You may have a specific pose in mind that ends up not being as cute as you first thought. Just have fun with it. This is how we end up with some of my very favorite shots. For example, this shot just kind of happened:

So for those of you who have somewhat unruly pups, these are our favorite suggestions! Good luck with all your photo taking! 🙂

From our family to yours with love!

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Taco Soup and Homemade Seasonings

For all those recipes that call for a “ranch packet” or a “taco seasoning packet” and you cringe when you sprinkle in that packet of preservatives and sodium… fear not! You have another option! 🙂  A couple of years ago I came across a taco seasoning recipe from AllRecipes and have used it ever since. It seems like a lot of spices, but you more than likely already  have all of these spices in your kitchen!

Homemade Taco Seasoning: 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper. 

And since I have had such success with the homemade taco seasoning, I decided to give the homemade ranch mix from $5 Dinners a try. I’m glad I did! Again, it was just spices I already had in my cupboard and as always I love knowing exactly what goes into my food. 🙂 

Homemade Ranch Mix: 2 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tsp dried dill, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried basil, and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

And you know what delicious meal you can make with a taco seasoning packet and a ranch seasoning packet? Taco Soup! 🙂

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, minced
1 (16oz) package frozen corn kernals
2 (15oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 (14.5oz) can Italian style diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning (see above for our substitute!)
1 envelope ranch seasoning (again, see above for our substitute!)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown ground beef and minced onion together in large stock pot. Drain excess fat. Put meat mixture back into stock pot and add all other ingredients. Bring to boil then lower heat to let simmer for at least 15 minutes.
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Also, I just realized that I never showed you guys the two cutest Valentine’s cards I got this year! First up, from Paisley:

Is that not precious? Her little feet in the shape of a heart! I just love it!

And from one of my besties, Courtney, who has a soft spot for rescue dogs and understands my love for my pup…

It’s the PITs without you… Oh so cute! Speaking of sweet little pitbull pups…

He is loving all this sunshine lately. Basking in the glow! 🙂

Happy Tuesday, friends!

Potato Soup and a Piano Playing Dog

So apparently I’ve been in a soup making mood lately. All this cold weather has me craving warm and hearty dinners. 🙂 Chicken & Rice soup, Beef Stew, and last night… Potato Soup! This is actually my mom’s potato soup recipe that I grew up eating. I tweaked it just slightly by switching out the milk with unsweetened almond milk so it would be more friendly for my tummy. And you know what… you really couldn’t tell. None of my girls or Christopher even noticed! Granted, they had theirs loaded with tons of cheese and bacon so that might have masked the almond milk, haha! It’s not technically “dairy free” since it does have some butter in it, but actual butter doesn’t bother my tummy as much as other dairy. You could probably use earth balance “butter” if you wanted this to be totally dairy free. 🙂 Anyway, enough talking… more recipe!

Potato Soup

Ingredients:
6 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or of course you could use regular milk as well)

Optional: salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, cheese, bacon, and sour cream

Directions:

1. Cook potatoes in water and broth with ½ tsp salt (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and mash a few of the potatoes until preferred consistency, but leave most of potatoes in chunks.

2. In small saucepan melt butter. Whisk in flour flour to form roux. Add milk and cook until slightly thickened, whisking often. Add milk mixture to potatoes.

3. Serve with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, cheese, bacon, and sour cream.
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On a completely unrelated note… last night we were getting ready for bed when we heard a key play on our piano. Confused, I walked into the room we keep the piano in and this is what I saw:

Guilty face, much?

Happy Friday, friends!

 

Pizza Pasta and One Hour Rolls!!

Thanks for all the sweet words on my last post! I am SO excited about my new job and am so thankful for what a blessing it is! 🙂

This week for Thursday night dinner with my girls I made an old favorite of ours. Pizza Pasta. Pasta + Cheese + Pepperoni = Win. 😉

Pizza Pasta

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
½ onion, diced
12 oz spiral pasta, cooked and drained
¼ lb sliced pepperoni
1 (24 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion. Drain off fat. Add sauce and cooked pasta.

2. Transfer to greased 13×9 casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Arrange pepperoni on top.

3. Cover with alumunim foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly.

Recipe from my mom, Pam M.

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I also made Jenny’s One Hour Rolls. AH-MAZING! And so simple. They taste like Sister Schubert rolls. So very yummy. My girls demolished these! I will absolutely, most definitely be making them again! For step-by-step directions, check out Jenny’s original post here.

Jenny’s One Hour Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 tbsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3 1/3 cup flour

Directions:

1. In a KitchenAid mixer bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, oil, and yeast. Let stand for 15 minutes until yeast mixture is bubbly.

2. Stir in salt and beaten egg to yeast mixture.

3. Gradually add flour. Dough will be kind of sticky, but add enough flour until it’s manageable. Let dough rest in the KitchenAid bowl for 10 minutes.

4. Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and form dough into balls. Place balls so they don’t touch on a cookie sheet (18″ x 26″ pan). Let rise for 20 minutes.

5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

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In other news, tonight is pizza & movie night! Oreo was helping me make the pizza dough earlier (aka he got in the way right when a huge POOF of flour rained down on him)…

Hehe… poor pup has a few extra spots. 😉

White Chicken Enchiladas (and my precious pup!)

<scroll down for White Chicken Enchilada Recipe>

Last week was great, but also exhausting. Sunday afternoon I made some time for a nap! And since my husband apparently thinks I look precious when I sleep, he snapped this shot:

This is Oreo’s “Why-Are-You-Disturbing-My-Slumber” look. 😉

Speaking of Oreo… I made him a collar out of hemp! He is so hipster!

He’s my fav. 🙂

In other news, you guys have seen that pin on Pinterest for the best white chicken enchiladas, right? In case you haven’t, here’s a direct link to the recipe on Joyful Momma’s Kitchen. 🙂 We made them and you guys, they are pretty much amazing.

White Chicken Enchiladas 

1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
10 soft taco shells
2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9×13 pan.

2. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent then toss shredded chicken into the pan with the onion for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 cup cheese and mix together. Remove from heat.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.

4. While sauce is cooking, evenly distribute chicken mixture into tortillas, roll them up, and place in pan.

5. Stir in sour cream and chilies into soup mixture.  Do not bring to boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

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You guys, it is fabulous. Just sayin’. 🙂

Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

In my last post I mentioned that I made a new batch of treats for Oreo. I made one of the biscuits into a heart-shape which was his Valentine’s treat, but the others were all in bone-shape. I got this recipe from Marilyn at Simmer Till Done after spotting it on Pinterest and just had to whip up a batch for Oreo.

Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp dry milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, salt, and dried parsley. Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.

2. Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough.

3. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to dog.

Makes approximately 30 biscuits.

* Brown rice flour gives the biscuits crunch and promotes better dog digestion. Many dogs have touchy stomachs or allergies, and do not, like many people I know, tolerate wheat.

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Oreo’s verdict on Cleo’s biscuits?

He loved them!

 Waiting ever so patiently for his delicious treat!