FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe: Chicken and Rice DOG Food

*adjustments have been made to this recipe based on more education and trial and error!

WOOF WOOF! That is "Hey Friends" in dog. Wow that was one corny start, wasn't it. Let me try again....

I, in a million years, never considered myself, oh what's the word......"whole food fanatical". I don't even know if that makes sense. Essentially I never thought I would be one of THOSE dog moms who made their dogs food. I mean, seriously? Then, one night, after we were blessed to become the parents of one "Sofia The Chug", my husband started doing some research on dog food. We have had dogs before, our beloved Kia and Toby, but we just weren't as fussy back then about their food. Toby died from cancer so we vowed the next dog we had, we would be more careful about the food it ate. Not saying at all that the food had anything to do with Toby's illness, but let's face it, have you looked at the ingredients of most dog foods lately?

That being said, after her teeth fell out, and her under bite developed, we knew small kibble food and soft food were going to be the easiest for her to eat. So we started reading labels. I mean, we became ridiculous in every store we went to, reading all the labels on the dog food. You know that food you pay 50+ dollars for? Yea, it might be no better than the 15 dollar food. My stomach turned when I researched what some of these ingredients were and could legally be.

We did finally find a brand we deemed acceptable, the first 6 ingredients are all real meat and vegetables and there are no ingredients that set off our OMG radar. I pay 1.59-1.69 for a 10oz container. Sofia eats one of these containers a day. She has some awesome dried dog food we keep filled at all times if she needs more to eat and her little teeny, tiny lamb treats are crunch so she gets that hard food she needs as well.

That being said, today I made a batch of food for her. If you ever have leftover green beans, or peas or carrots, from a family meal, keep them in a baggie in the freezer and use for this purpose! I am no expert but I can tell you some good ingredients for dogs, if you want to change something out or concoct your own food that your fur baby will love! I am sure there are many more but I am going to post only what I am certain of and pertains to food making! I was so excited that so many of you wanted to see a blog post on this. Don't mind my obvious "advantage taking" to show you tons of pictures of my baby girl!

Safe For Dogs:

Chicken

Salmon

Duck

Lamb

Oatmeal

Pumpkin

Green Beans

Eggs

Peas

Rice (more of a filler)

Rosemary

Oregano
Sea Salt (NOT table salt)

Thyme

This recipe is a simple chicken and rice with veggies that my sweet baby loves. I make my rice in my rice cooker, but feel free to do it the old fashioned way. I do not use minute rice for her food. Personal preference, unless someone knows facts that I am not aware of it is just that, personal preference. I do still buy some food, for if we run out or maybe she needs a change up. If we are traveling, etc. I reuse the containers her food comes in for my homemade food.

Let's get going! It won't take you long!

2-3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
2 carrots diced fine
1/4-1/3 cup peas ( I have since decided I will use green beans instead)
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. rosemary
Sm. sprinkle of sea salt
1 cup cooked rice (or less, this is just filler)

In a medium pot, add enough water to cover the chicken and veggies. Add all ingredients EXCEPT the rice, and simmer until the chicken is cooked all the way through and the veggies are tender.

The size you cut your vegetables in, will depend on the size of dog you are feeding. Let cool completely. Remove chicken and chop, or use your food processor and get it into small pieces. I just used a knife and chopped like a mad woman.

Add the chicken to a large bowl, strain the veggies, keeping the broth, add the veggies in with the chicken and then add the rice.

Stir to combine, and add about 1/4 cup of the broth into the mixture, let it sit for about 5 minutes, and add more if it sucks it all up, you want their food to be juicy to! When it is ready, fill clean containers, and store in the freezer.

Remove and defrost before feeding your dog. Sofia happens to like her food slightly warmed. (I know, I know, ridiculous) This will make about 5, 10 oz containers of food. My cost for 5 would be approx 8.00 if I purchased in the store. Using ingredients I had on hand, I sort of priced accordingly and I guessed these 5 containers to cost me about 2.00 to make at home. I know exactly what is going in her tummers, and feel good about what she is eating.