Turkey and Brown Rice Dog Food

Today, being a bit incapacitated due to a weird fall in my living room last night (I tripped over my pup, Oliver!) I decided to find some way to be productive in spite of my hobbley knee and achy body.

I cleaned out part of the freezer in my side-by-side 'fridge. There were 3 packages of turkey parts and pieces. All freezer burned, so they ended up in the garbage. . .for about 10 minutes. Then I decided they'd make great dog food and also bone broth for Oliver. (Remember no onion or garlic for animals - ever!! It's toxic to them! Simple is best, you can always add some raw, finely-chopped animal-safe vegetables as you fix their food each day.)

I roasted everything at 375° for about an hour until the turkey legs were cooked and nicely browned. Smells a little like Thanksgiving here!

When everything cooled a bit I separated the edible parts from the skin, bone and cartilage, with the latter staying in the roasting pan. I added 2-3 quarts of water and simmered that for a couple hours. Then strained and chilled it.

Tomorrow I'll scrape off the fat, into another container, to give him in small amounts, mixed with his food. The rest will be heated and poured into Mason jars, sealed and put in the 'fridge for use within the next couple weeks to heat and add to his food.

The edible parts - turkey meat, gizzards, hearts and livers - were chopped up while making a recipe of brown rice - 1c rice + 2c water. These were combined and almost filled my 4 quart bright yellow vintage Pyrex mixing bowl.

I'll put all this into containers that hold 3 days worth of food to mix with his dry food each morning and freeze them. It'll be nice to continue with the freezer clean out once this food is gone. I know Oliver will love it!..Lin

Cooking For Oliver 🐶

My Sweet Boy, Oliver, has some shoulder joint arthritis that causes him pain. Our Vet put him on prescription dry food that's supposed to help with that. I didn't notice much, if any, improvement. So, at over $6.00 a pound. . .I switched him back.

I've cooked for my dogs in the past and it seems it might be a good idea to try that again. Even if it doesn't help with his limping, it'll be a great healthy way to supplement his dry food. He gets a cup of dry food in the morning. In the evening I'll give him 3/4c to 1c of this mixed with a little bit of the dry. This recipe today breaks down to $1.40 a pound.

The 4 quart pot I used was too small, so, in a 5 quart pot, lightly sauté the rice, olive oil and the meat until the meat starts to brown and the rice is snapping.

1# ground meat - turkey, beef or chicken

1/3c single source extra virgin olive oil

2c brown rice

Add 4c of fresh cold water and simmer, covered, 15 minutes before adding the following vegetables to the pot.

8oz. frozen California Blend vegetables

- - well chopped

8oz. frozen peas

8oz. green cabbage

1 chopped sweet potato

2 additional cups of water

Simmer this another 5 minutes then stir in 1 finely chopped Romaine lettuce. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. 

You can put this in portion-size small bags and freeze until needed. Thaw on the counter an hour before feeding time. Add the dry food and a little hot water. Stir then stand back and watch them gobble it up. . .Lin

Chicken Rice Soup with Kale and Beans

1c golden rose brown rice
8oz. chicken thigh meat

Put rice in a strainer, rinse then stir it a little and put it on some wadded up paper towel to absorb the water. When that's drying, cut any fat off the chicken and chop the meat into bite size pieces. Put chicken and rice in a 6 quart pot with:

2-3T single source EVOO

3/4c chopped purple onion

fresh ground black pepper

Sauté over medium heat, stirring to prevent sticking and burning. When the rice and meat are browning, chop, slice or dice, then add the vegetables shown:

4 stalks celery

2-3 carrots

1 med. onion

1/2 green pepper

half bunch of dark green kale leaves

2 huge elephant garlic cloves

3 bay leaves
3T± chicken Better Than Bouillon

Sauté and stir everything, measure out 6c of water, adding about a cup now, along with the bay leaves and soup base. Cover and simmer on low, for a half hour, stirring occasionally and adding the water, a little at a time.

10oz. frozen -or- 1 can black eyed peas

1 can black beans - drained-rinsed

28oz. can diced tomatoes and juice

Add the peas, beans and tomatoes, bring back to a simmer for another 10 minutes before serving. 

This paired nicely with the Sweet Potato Biscuits. . .Lin