Home Made Dog Food

More folks are making their own chow rather than feed their pets off-the-shelf dog food. While not everyone has the time to whip up home-made dog food, the rewards can be great for those who do. In this section, we'll be bringing you tasty recipes submitted by our readers, as well as links to great canine gourmet sites!

If you have a recipe you'd like to contribute, Click Here!

Announcing The Winner In Our Barkin' Bakeoff Contest!

Odie	Spin	Sasha	Ethel
"Oh boy, a food contest!"	"Do I get some, too?"	"Mmmmmm"	"When do we eat?"

Tasty Recipes

Cheesy Garlic Crunchies
Submitted by Alyson Riggan

• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup softened margarine
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 clove minced garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Cream margarine and cheese. Add milk, garlic and flour. Knead and roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut with cookie cutters (Alyson uses smaller bite size cookie cutters with this recipe). Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are brown.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie sez, yummy cheese!"
	"I always bite the heads off, first!"
	"A toothy treat..."
	"MY FAVORITE!!!"

Jenni's Favorite Peanut Butter Treats
Submitted by Alyson Riggan

• 2 tbs. canola oil
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups white flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oil, peanut butter, and water. Add flour one cup at a time, then knead into firm dough. Roll dough to 1/4" thickness and cut with cookie cutters. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Store in a airtight container.

Kitchen notes: Alyson's Jenni girl always knew she was making her favorite treats, would watch and wait until Alyson would take then out of the oven, then whine and squeal until they were cool enough to eat.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie sez, yummy peanut butter!"
	"Could I have some milk?"
	"I am the Cookie Monster!"
	"MY FAVORITE!!!"

Peanut Butter Fat Balls
Submitted by Kathy Allred

• 2 cups dry dog food
• Two 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 lb. browned ground beef (save some of the grease)

Blend dog food (crushed fine) and add remaining ingredients. Mix until you have a doughy mixture (add more dog meal as needed if consistency is too thin). On waxed paper spread some meal and roll out mixture into log shape. Refrigerate until firm and slice as needed.

Kitchen notes: Kathy suggests you feed your dog a slice or two several times during the day. The treats are very high in calories and will put weight on them fairly quick.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie sez, yummy cheese AND peanut butter!"
	"Don't feed these to Ethel. She is already fat!"
	"I have to go lie down now..."
	"MY FAVORITE!!!"

Puppy Ciopinni
Submitted by Jean Isanchenko

• Three (15 oz.) tins of sardines in tomato sauce
• One 6 oz. tin of tuna in spring water or one 7.5 oz. tin of pacific salmon in spring water
• 2 tbs. table salt
• 1 750g bags of brown rice
• 1 450g bag of pearl barley
• 5 to 7 fresh garlic cloves (put through a garlic press or chop finely)
• 3 tbs. non-hydrogenated margarine such as Becel brand
• One 650ml jar (2-1/2 cups) of homestyle pasta sauce with no preservatives (Jean uses Italpasta)
• 4 cups diced carrots, and yellow and green beans
• 8 cups water (spring, distilled or filtered)

Put sardines, tuna or salmon (do not drain off any spring water), non-hydrogenated margarine, salt and garlic in large pot. Break up sardines and tuna or salmon with a fork. Add pasta sauce, carrots, and yellow and green beans. Add water.

Bring to a boil on medium heat (if you are afraid that it might boil over, leave a large metal spoon in pot; this will prevent it from boiling over).

When the mixture reaches a boil, add 4 cups of the brown rice and pearl barley mix. Lower temperature to low, just so the mixture simmers, and cover with a lid. Cook for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Make sure there is a bit of liquid in the mixture when it is finished cooking.

Kitchen notes:

• Jean has tasted the food and found that 2 tablespoons of table salt is not too much (the brown rice/barley soak up the salt).
• She uses non-hydrogenated margarine because the rice/barley mixture will not stick to the pot and is reportedly better than hydrogenated margarine.
• Mix two bags of uncooked brown rice with one bag of uncooked pearl barley. Shake or stir to mix up. Add 4 cups to the mixture in the pot.
• You can also use 2-15 oz. cans of diced/stewed tomatoes. The Italpasta Homestyle Pasta Sauce contains the following ingredients: fresh diced Italian plum tomatoes, starch, onion, and salt. This pasta sauce comes in a bottle and contains no preservatives. It looks and tastes similar to diced tomatoes.
• An added bonus: Garlic is a natural flea repellent.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie don't like fish much. Ethel, u kan eat mine."
	"Atsa some a spicy tuna!"
	"Chomp, chomp, mmmufh, snarf, slurp, Hey, where's the clams!"
	"MY FAVORITE!!!"

Gobble Gobble Chow Chow
Submitted by Debra Webster

• 1 whole turkey
• 1 tbs. salt
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• 10 cups of water
• 5 cups of brown rice
• 1 package (16 oz) green beans
• 1 package (16 oz) peas and carrots mix

Rinse turkey, pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Cook according to directions (i.e., a 16-pound turkey cooks for 4 hours in a 325-degree oven).

While turkey cooks, boil water and add rice, cover and cook until most liquid is absorbed (approximately 40 minutes). Turn off heat, add frozen vegetables, cover again and set aside. Bone turkey when cooked and cooled. Pour drippings over rice and vegetable mixture, and add turkey meat.

Warm slightly in microwave prior to serving on cold days. Keeps refrigerated for up to five days. Depending on how many dogs you have, set aside enough for a few days and then feed the rest.

Kitchen notes: Merely let the vegetables fully defrost on the hot rice mixture since raw vegetables are better than cooked for your pup.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie likes it warm dup."
	"You know I hate peas and carrots!"
	"Gobble, gobble, gobble!"
	"MY FAVORITE!!!"

Odie's Goulash

• 3 pounds ground turkey (high fat content okay)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 6 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 pound frozen mixed peas and carrots
• 1 pound frozen green beans
• 1 pound frozen brocolli flowerets
• 6 eggs scrambled
• plain lowfat yogurt to taste

Instructions:

Brown the turkey with the garlic powder in a very large pan. At the end of its cooking cycle, place all frozen vegetables in pan with meat and stir. Place lid on pan, turn heat down very low and keep on stove until vegetables fully defrost and become warm (but not cooked). Stir thoroughly.

Scramble eggs and mince in separate pan. Stir into meat and vegetable mixture. Season with a tablespoon or two of yogurt prior to serving. Feeds four dogs for about three days.

Judges' Remarks
	"Odie sez, turkey again!?!"
	"Eggies! Luv 'em. I'll eat Odie's, too."
	"More, please..."
	"I think I'm gonna be sick..."

If you have a recipe you'd like to contribute, Click Here!

Links to Other Dog Nutrition Sites

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