How to Make Yummy Dog-Friendly Grilled Ham and Cheese Pups

One of my favorite things for lunch is grilled ham and cheese so I decided to combine that with my love of dogs and make dog-friendly grilled ham and cheese pups. How cute is this little guy in his red bowtie, almost too cute to eat.  I am sure kids would love them, I know all the big kids at the cottage this past weekend did.  I served them with salad on Sunday.

I confess that I share a tiny nibble of my lunch with Kilo the Pug sometimes. He absolutely loves cheese and ham too, but he only gets a tiny taste in return for some tricks. He LOVED his taste of these dog-friendly Grilled Ham & Cheese Pups and gave them a definite PAWS UP.

Total Time: 12 minutes

Prep: 7 minutes (includes pre-heating oven)

Assembly: 3 minutes

Cooking: 2 minutes

Yield: 1 treat

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 1 half English muffin or a piece of sliced bread cut into a round circle (we tested multigrain and gluten-free – we used a glass to cut the shape)
•  two tablespoons of grated cheese- add enough to cover each piece of bread if making more than one (we used my favorite cheddar that we grated ourselves but packaged mozzarella mix works well too- just no spices, you could also use sliced cheese cut to the circle shape)
• 1 piece of ham cut in half for ears (you can substitute sliced turkey or cooked bacon)
• 1 small piece of ham for the tongue
• 3 pieces of kibble for dogs or blueberries or pieces of vegetable for kids (and big kids)
• 1-2 pepper slices

Directions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven then set to broil
2. Place round bread or muffin on a baking dish (line with tin foil if you do not want to clean off melted cheese)
3. Cut a circle slice of ham in half for the dog’s ears
4. Spread cheese over the round piece of bread or muffin
5. Add the ham to create the dog face.

Cooking

1. “Grill” oven option for 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling
2. Remove from oven and put onto a plate
3. Stick three blueberries or pieces of kibble into the melted cheese for eyes and nose (we picked blueberries at the cottage and used last weekend)
   
4. Add an upside down shaped ham slice for the muzzle (we did not grill it as it lost it’s shape in testing)
5. Cute and add a small piece of pepper slice or tomato for the tongue- you can also use for eyes and nose if you like that flavour.
6. Cut out a collar shape with the pepper slice and place on the plate below the dog’s face
7. Enjoy!

Do you think these are cute or do you have a favorite dog-friendly or kid-friendly recipe to share? Let us know in comments and please share our Dog Licks series on Pinterest and other social media.