This is a delicious and nutritious supplement to your dog’s regular meals that he will enthusiastically eat.
| Prep Time: | 45 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 1/2 cup servings |
Ingredients
- 2 chicken leg quarters
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 pound ground beef
- ⅔ cup rolled oats
- 1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 2 cups frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
- 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans – rinsed, drained and mashed
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- ½ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Place the chicken leg quarters in a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 40 minutes. Remove the legs and allow to cool. Strain and return the cooking liquid to the pot. Once the legs have cooled. Remove and discard the skin and bones; chop the meat, and set aside.
- Stir the brown rice into the reserved chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid, and add the rice to the bowl with the chicken.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly and no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Pour off any excess grease, and place the beef into the bowl. Stir in the oats, spinach, broccoli, kidney beans, carrots, cottage cheese, and olive oil. Store the dog food in resealable containers in the freezer. Thaw the daily portions overnight in the refrigerator.
- Dogs love the flavor of garlic, but too much will make them anemic. Use it sparingly or not at all.
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup pumpkin in place of the carrots
- cooked, cracked wheat in place of either the rice or oats
- black beans or chickpeas, mashed, or lentils in place of the red kidney beans
- steamed and finely chopped celery or cauliflower
- steamed peas
- shredded cheese
- mild, cooked fish
- scrambled eggs
- fish oil in place of olive oil
Reviews
As others have said, this is a great base. I have been making my babies their food for a few years now. I only make their food on the stove if I am low on time, otherwise, I throw it all in a crock pot and cook until meat is done and rice is no longer crunchy. I make a large batch and use 4-5 leg quarters and have them at the top of the crockpot to make sure I do not lose any bones into the food. I also add some egg or liver. There are so many combinations of ingredients and I try and change it up by what’s on sale at the store. (Always look up what foods are safe). Personal experience tip: peas, quinoa, and white potatoes give (My)dogs the WORST gas.
This is the 3rd time I use the recipe. Each time, I change the vegetables and have added sweet potato. Kardi (my very picky dog) loves it! We finally found something that she doesn’t get tired of eating. This usually last 2 week’s, we leave enough for a week and freeze the rest! Thank you for sharing with us!!
I didn’t have all the ingredients, so I improvised a little with adding ground turkey instead of beef and using frozen peas instead of beans . My dog loved it!
Made this with fresh beef in the other quantities mentioned but in the Instapot. I left out the chicken because I didn’t have any…. 1.25 lbs beef, 1 1/2 cups brown rice (leftover already cooked), oats as in the recipe, 1 chopped zucchini, carrot chopped but not shredded (no time), 5 oz fresh spinach, 10 oz frozen cauliflower (partially steamed), frozen peas in lieu of kidney beans, garlic powder instead of raw garlic. All other ingredients as is. Sauteed beef, added thawed or fresh veggies, 2 1/2 cups water, a wee bit of garlic powder, oil, and cottage cheese and slow cooked for 2 hours. A keeper! Fuzzy approved!
My little old lady loves it and my wife thinks her eyes have even cleared a bit. been using this recipe or with a few substitutions for a few months now. the only concern I have is her teeth. We give her a couple of crunchy bones each day so hopefully that’ll do the trick. We don’t add the oil but once a day we put a couple tablespoons of salmon oil in. loves it.
Since I have started making my dogs on food, he no longer has the itchy or smelly skin. This recipe is the best I have found thus far. I only added in powdered egg shell
I have used the base several times. Keep messing with ingredients. Use more rolled oats and no rice. Plenty of veggies. I like cannellini beean or pinto beans or green beans. Cooked chicken and use the broth for the extra moisture you need for beans and oats. Also I almost puree mine for my small dogs. Also use cooked eggs in every batch. Diane
Buy a pressure cooker and you’ll reduce your chicken cooking time by 50-70%. You can find them at resale shops cheap.
Dogs loved it. They are members of the clean plate club. Also got hearts, gizzards and chicken liver and cooked in the rice steamer as the rice cooked. Then I buzzed them in the blender as a weekly supplement treat in addition to the food. Dogs need organ foods occasionally but it may be too rich to include daily. I measured the food out in to individual plastic bags in portion size and froze all but what I need in the next few days. A double of the dog food recipe gave me 24 cups. Taste great.
spinach is not good for dogs…hard to digest as well as causing other health problems…the AMC suggests that you check with your vet before introducing it to your dogs diet…its hard on their kidneys…brown rice is hard for them to digest as well…and lets just get into the whole garlic thing…garlic is toxic to dogs and cats….people should do their research before giving their pets these recipes because the people who are making these are not Veterinarians…it could do more harm than good…i would talk to your vet about what foods are harmful before choosing any new recipes
I would not add the garlic. It is in the same class as onion for dogs, it is toxic!
My pooch loved it pretty easy to make. However; if you have a small dog I recommend cutting the ingredients in 1/2 (my dog is only 7lbs). This recipe made enough for 2wks for her, we feed her twice a day. I set aside a small portion and added the cottage cheese and feed her. Didn’t know how her stomach would react to the cheese.
Ummmmm…. anyone else wondering why there is garlic, a known toxin to dogs, in this recipe? Maybe before you make up a recipe check with someone that has a degree in animal nutrition. I don’t know maybe you veterinarian!
Both my little guys love this recipe. Very curious on how to cook this in a pressure cooker! Any advice?
I made this and I ate it! My dogs loved it. I have have read some articles that warn about spinach but not the garlic – use your own discretion. I had been feeding Purina One Turkey and Venison to my dogs. I, myself, did not eat it. It had wheat in it, and my older dog developed digestive issues. The dry kibble also had a shelf life of 14 months on the last bag I bought. Somehow, that just didn’t sound like a good thing.
Just a comment; dogs should not be given garlic. In addition, brown rice is difficult for dogs to digest and white rice should be used.
It is advised to use only white rice in dog food. No brown rice!
This recipe saved my sanity! My 9 year old daschund was always an extremely picky eater. After several digestive issues – pancreatitis brig the most recent, he lost all o great in food. We were one day away from the veterinarian needing to insert an esophageal tube when I was sent this recipe. He loved It! Gobbled down every bite! I hadn’t seen him eat like this since he was a puppy . His brother loved it too. This is his food from now on. I’d give it 10 stars if I could!
I added boiled eggs, including shell, which I ground in the food processer. I also added pumpkin and applesauce. I have a spaniel mix that has horrible skin problems. He’s been eating this for 3 weeks and his skin issues are also cleared, hair regrown and very sleek. My 2 dogs used to pick at their food, now its gone in minutes. I also give them sardines packed in water without salt to help with the oils their bodies need.
Garlic and onions are toxic to dogs. Garlic does NOT belong in a dogfood recipe.
My dog has been getting fussy with canned food so I tried this and he loves it! Instead of carrots I boiled and mashed a sweet potato. Making a second batch today.