Free Homemade Dog Food Recipes

The current crisis in our pet food supply has many of us looking for homemade dog food recipes for our beloved pets. I have been cooking for our dog for many years and find that he likes mostly the same foods that we do. Each animal has his own preferences, just like we do. For instance, our Oscar will not eat tomatoes, but Bonnie loves them. Use these recipes as a starting place for homemade dog food recipes. Then, as you discover your pets preferences you can customize them more. One caution: you should not serve onion or chocolate to dogs as they contain substances that can be toxic to dogs.

Some veterinarians prefer raw meat for our pets. I prefer to cook the meat because of concerns over E Coli and other bacterial contamination. If you wish to use raw meat, do not use ground meat. The grinding process increases the possibility of contamination by providing more surface area for the bacteria to grow.

\"recipe Chicken\"

Canine Meat and Grain Menu

Free Homemade Dog Food Recipes

2 cups cooked brown rice
2/3 cup Lean beef
2 teaspoons lard -- or veggie oil
1/2 cup vegetables -- no onion*

Mix all together. You can serve the beef raw if you use chunks of beef. Do not serve ground beef raw, the grinding process increases the chances of bacterial contamination. Use any vegetables you like. You will find over time that your dog will leave any vegetables he does not like. Mix the above. Serve slightly warm, but not hot.

Chow Chow Chicken

You must remove the meat from the bones in this recipe. Chicken bones can easily splinter and cause choking problems in dogs.

2 chicken thighs -- or white meat
1 stalk celery -- sliced thick
3 carrot -- peeled and halved
2 small potatoes -- peeled and cubed
2 cups rice -- uncooked

Place chicken pieces in large pot. Cover with cold water (5 -6 cups). Add carrots, celery, and potatoes to water. Add salt to taste if you want. Cover and simmer on low heat about 2 hours until the chicken becomes tender. Add the rice, cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes until the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove soup from heat. Pull the chicken meat off the bone ( it will practically fall off), discard bones. Return shredded pieces to pot. Stir well. Let cool. Store in the refrigerator or freeze.

Meaty Dog Biscuits

Use beef, chicken or lamb strained baby food for these biscuits.

2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 to 10 tablespoons water
2 jars baby food meat, strained

Mix all ingredients together and knead for 3 min. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Use a dog bone shaped cookie cutter, and place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 min.

Makes approximately 2 dozen doggie biscuits

Bacon Bites for Dogs

6 slices cooked bacon -- crumbled
4 eggs -- well beaten
1/8 cup bacon grease
1 cup water
1/2 cup powdered milk -- non-fat
2 cup graham flour
2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup cornmeal

Mix ingredients with a strong spoon; drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies on baking sheet in the oven overnight to dry out.

Ace's Favorite Cheesy Dog Biscuits

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 pound margarine -- corn oil
1 clove garlic -- crushed
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup Milk -- or as needed

Grate the cheese into a bowl and let stand until it reaches room temperature. Cream the cheese with the softened margarine, garlic, salt and flour. Add enough milk to form into a ball.

Chill for 1/2 hour. Roll onto floured board. Cut into shapes and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until slightly brown, and firm.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen, depending on size.

I hope that these free dog food recipes will inspire you to cook safe and healthy food for your pet.

Free Homemade Dog Food Recipes

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Diane Watkins is a traditional southern style cook. She enjoys cooking, teaching, and writing about good food and family. For more information on southern cooking and recipes visit her website at Easy Southern Cooking [http://easysoutherncooking.com]

Making a Safer Homemade Chicken Coop

Raising chicken entails the responsibility of providing them a safer home chicken coop to live in. This should provide them with better shelter suitable for laying eggs and allowing them to live happily and safely free from predators. 

You need to make a plan on how to provide a safer home to your chicken. You must ensure to build a chicken coop that will protect your chicken from becoming a prey to various predators such as bears, skunks, rodents, raccoons, and dogs. Providing a secure and safe shelter for the chicken will ensure  you have them for a longer time. You must always consider the threat of predators lurking around thus providing a safer home to the chicken must be a priority.

\"Chicken Wire Fence\"

The type of chicken coop to build and its safety features will involve consideration on the type of the possible predators within your area. Potential predators may be the type that can dig underneath the fence in order to reach the home of your chicken. Common are large dogs, rodents, foxes, and coyotes.  

Making a Safer Homemade Chicken Coop

Building a fence around  your chicken coop is the best solution to provide your chicken a safe home. Always consider the type of predator you anticipate to strike. With bigger predators, you will need to construct a fence of sturdy material that will be hard for them to penetrate. 

For a fence made of bird netting or chicken wire, it is important to embed the materials about 8 inches to 12 inches beneath the ground just around the perimeter you want to protect. This will provide protection for the chicken against predators that may likely dig in order to get to their prey. This is most significant to keep rodents away that have the tendency to burrow through the grounds once attracted with the droppings and chicken feed. 

You can add a strand of barbed wire or an electric wire around the perimeter you want to protect just a few inches above the ground from the outside of the fence when you are using a woven wire farm fencing. This is an effective deterrent to the possible predators of your chicken. 

Take note of buying the standard chicken wire that can have holes just enough in size to keep your chicken in but can be quite big to allow raccoons to reach through it. Always choose the right wire mesh for your chicken coop. Recommended size will be one half inch square.

Chickens are happy to live in a comfortable home chicken coop where there is enough ventilation and warm enough to protect them from cold weather. Frequent cleaning of the chicken coop is another way of providing the chicken a safer and bacteria free home chicken coop.

Daily cleaning of the coop is highly recommended to discourage bugs and bacteria to linger that can possibly bring ailments to the chicken. Keeping a dropping tray under the coop is helpful for easy disposal and cleaning of chicken droppings.

Always ensure to provide a safe home chicken coop to your chicken to keep them protected, safe, healthy, and happy.

Making a Safer Homemade Chicken Coop

Did you find those tips on Homemade Chicken Coop useful? You can learn a lot more about Building A Chicken Coop On Your Own Here at http://www.buildingachickencoops.com

Home-Made Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Why should anyone bother to make their own Chicken Nuggets, when they can buy them conveniently ready made? Even ready cooked as a fast food take-away. Well, chicken is usually a meat that most kids will eat and for some reason a coating of breadcrumbs makes it even more appealing. If you are concerned with what goes into processed and ready packaged food in the way of preservatives and additives though, you might like to produce your own chicken nuggets for those occasions when your children demand comfort food. These home-made chicken nuggets taste much nicer than bought ones and you know exactly what's in them - that there are no unwanted preservatives, that it really is chicken, if you have a source of affordable organic chicken you can use that and they will also be really fresh.

The preparation time isn't that long, about ten minutes, but the chicken nuggets cook crispier if they have a little drying time in the fridge before frying (yes I did say frying, let's live dangerously on one dietary front!) so the first stage can be done up to two hours before cooking, when you have ten minutes to spare. After that the cooking time is very quick. The quality of the breadcrumbs does make a difference. Fresh, slightly dry, crumbs are definitely better than those powdery packets of 'golden' crumbs that you can buy. On the occasions when I'm being a zealous and organised mother, I whizz up stale (but not mouldy) white bread in the food processor and keep a freezer bag full in the freezer. Hopefully that will last until the next bout of housewifeliness hits me. If you don't have a ready prepared stash of crumbs, whizz up a white roll from the freezer to make crumbs and spread them on a plate to dry slightly.

Chicken

Chicken Nuggets Recipe

450g/1lb Chicken breast fillets

30g/1oz plain flour

¼ teaspoon Chicken spice mix (optional or substitute your favourite spice)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 egg

3-4 handfuls of breadcrumbs

These quantities are a rough guide, increase or reduce them according to how much chicken you want to cook.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Get four bowls or plates. The first for the sieved flour with mixed in a pinch of chicken spice, salt and pepper. The second for the egg, beaten with a pinch of salt and half a tablespoon water or vegetable oil. The third for the breadcrumbs. The last is to put the finished nuggets on.

Dip each piece of chicken, first in the flour mix so it is coated, shake off any excess. Next into the egg and lastly roll it in the breadcrumbs before laying it on the plate to dry. As you work through all the pieces your fingers will get a thick coating on too, resembling chicken nuggets themselves. When all the chicken pieces are coated put the plate uncovered in the fridge to dry and crisp up a bit. This can be for as little as ten minutes but an hour or two is better.
To cook, heat up approx 3 tablespoons sunflower / vegetable oil in a wide frying pan. When hot add as many nuggets as will fit without crowding. Turn when golden on one side. When all sides are cooked remove onto kitchen paper to drain off some oil. As soon as they are all cooked serve while hot.

You could do the same thing with strips of fish to make your own fish fingers and gain the supermom of the year award! Having said that you do need to have something ready-made as a standby in the freezer for those days when cooking supper is too much and bought fish fingers have that slot in our house.

Home-Made Chicken Nuggets Recipe

Kit Heathcock - worked and traveled in Italy for many years, is passionate about food and loves being a full time mother. Co-creator of A Flower Gallery home of original flower pictures, Food and Family and Great Books Reviewed

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

A pizza is the sum of its parts; namely, the pizza crust, the pizza toppings and the pizza sauce. Make each one as wonderful as you can make it and you'll be assured of turning out the best homemade pizza possible. Try out the following secrets when you make your homemade pizza.

Pizza Crust Secrets

\"bbq Chicken\"

Bake your pizza crust separately: It would be best if you can bake your pizza crust first before you add on the toppings and sauce. There's one good reason for doing this. If you bake the lot at one and the same time, you may end up with a pizza that has overcooked toppings, burnt cheese and an undercooked, flat crust. Of course, you should not bake your crust fully the first time so that you won't end up with a pizza that has a burnt crust after your final baking stage.

Mixing pizza dough ingredients: Begin by putting in a bowl at least one-tenth of the warm water specified in your homemade pizza recipe. Add yeast gradually to the water, stir and let it stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, put the remaining warm water, stir in the sugar and salt (if your recipe calls for these ingredients) and the other dry ingredients except the flour, add the water and yeast mixture, stir the lot then immediately add the rest of the ingredients.

Kneading the pizza mixture: Kneading will let air mix with your pizza dough mixture. You should knead the pizza dough only until it reaches the proper consistency: the dough doesn't stick to the container and individual portions can be stretched without breaking. Over-kneading will result in brittle pizza dough. While kneading the dough, use flour to prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands and the bowl, but use as little flour as possible.

Let your pizza dough rise before using it: After kneading your pizza dough, you must give it enough time to rise to your desired thickness. Generally, the longer the fermentation time you allow your pizza, the better the taste of the pizza crust. However, be careful not to use too much yeast if you are going to let the dough rise for hours (say you prepared the dough in the morning and let it relax for the rest of the day in preparation for baking by day end).

If speed is of the essence: If you need the pizza dough as quickly as possible, you can let it rise faster by adding more yeast to the mixture or by increasing the temperature of the dough. To do the latter, you can heat your oven for a few minutes, turn it off, cool the oven off a bit by leaving the oven door open for a few seconds, put the dough in a covered bowl, put the bowl in the oven and close the door. Let the mixture stay in the warm oven for at least 30 minutes, take it out, softly press the dough down then repeat the "rising" exercise for another 30 minutes. Another technique that you can apply for a faster fermentation period is to use warm water. The higher the water temperature, the faster yeast action will be. Just a note of caution, however, the pizza dough which has been allowed to ferment longer using minimum amount of yeast generally results into a better-tasting pizza crust so it's best that you mix and knead your dough hours before you actually need it.

Frozen homemade pizza dough preparation: If you have prepared pizza dough the night before and left it in the refrigerator for next day's baking, take it out in the morning and let it rise for at least several hours before you use it. Again, the less the yeast used, the longer the rising period required.

To make a thin pizza crust: If you are aiming for a thin crust pizza, you will want to use less dough per pan. You can also just stretch your pizza dough more on the pan. Doing this will naturally reduce the crust thickness.

To get a thick pizza crust: For a thicker crust, you need to use a pizza pan with a smaller circumference, use more pizza dough per pan or stretch out the dough less. The result would be increased crust thickness.

To get a crispy pizza crust: For a crispy pizza crust, it would be best if you reduce the amount of water. Drier pizza dough usually means a crispier pizza crust. Stiffer pizza dough also means crispier crust so it would be best to use flour with high gluten content if you want a crispy crust.

For a soft and gooey crust: To get a soft and chewy crust, you need to add more water to your dough mixture or use less flour. More moist pizza dough means softer pizza crust. To achieve better results, use flour with low gluten content. You may make gluten-free pizza dough by using gluten-free flour

If you live in a high-altitude location: Be mindful of the effect of high altitude on pizza dough. A higher altitude means less air pressure so the dough will rise faster, and it means a faster rate of evaporation so the dough will dry out faster. Thus, if you are in a high-altitude location, it is generally advisable to use more water and less yeast in your pizza dough mixture than you would normally use if you were in a low-altitude location.

Pizza Toppings

Simply speaking, the pizza toppings you should use depend on the type of pizza that you want. Fresh mozzarella cheese is necessary if you want to make a New York pizza. New York style pizza is typically minimalist; that is to say, they use as few toppings as possible. On the other hand, a Chicago deep dish pizza is usually loaded with meaty toppings: pepperoni, beef sausage, pork sausage, ground beef, bacon, ham, etc. You will also see bell peppers, mushrooms, and different kinds of cheese on a typical Chicago pizza. Tomatoes, cheese, anchovies, garlic, and herbs like basil and oregano, on the other hand, are typical of Italian pizza. California pizza, on the other hand, is characterized by seasonal vegetable toppings, fruit toppings, chicken pizza toppings, smoked salmon toppings, and other unusual toppings.

For great economy: Use pizza toppings that you already have on hand. Bacon, ham and sausages left over from breakfast, for instance, will make great toppings. Innovate depending on what ingredients you have. Naturally, cooked toppings will require less time in the oven so be sure to take this into account when baking your pizza.

Fresh toppings: It is recommended that you use fresh ingredients for your pizza toppings. Use fresh mozzarella cheese, if possible.

Finger crush herbs: To release the flavor of dried herbs, it is best to finger crush them before you add them to your pizza.

Drain and dry toppings: To avoid getting a soggy pizza, especially if you are using lots of canned and moist ingredients, you should drain your toppings of excess moisture before you arrange them on your pizza base.

Pizza Sauce

Your pizza sauce will give your pizza its distinctive flavor. In the web, you can find a lot of easy pizza sauce recipes to follow. You can even try making your own trademark pizza sauce.

Easy pizza sauce recipe: There should be canned, pre-mixed pizza sauces available in your local supermarket. On the other hand, you can use spaghetti sauce as your pizza sauce. Another easy alternative would be to sauté some onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add tomato sauce (chunky tomato sauce is fine or tomato paste/puree diluted with some water), add salt (and crushed pepper if preferred), let the sauce simmer then add basil and oregano. You can even add some balsamic vinegar if you wish. You can also add some cooked ground meat to your sauce if you prefer.

Thicker sauce is better: Use thick pizza sauce on your pizza. Too watery pizza sauce means a soggy pizza. If you are using canned pizza sauce, evaluate the thickness. If too thin, let the sauce simmer before using it on your pizza.

Pizza sauce on top: When cooking your pizza, it is advisable to put the sauce on top. This will prevent your cheese and other ingredients from burning.

Secrets to Great Homemade Pizza

Sean Lannin
http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/

Recipes For Kids - Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Kids can be very fussy eaters. Most of them will tell you exactly what they like and what they do not like (or at least what they do not like the look of!) Most kids enjoy treats like hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, and sweet foods but it can be difficult to find a balance between healthy eating and good flavor.

There are lots of recipes, which can be baked rather than deep fried though, and your kids will not be able to tell the difference. Look at fried chicken for example. If you make an oven fried chicken recipe, this involves coating the chicken in your favorite crust and baking it rather than frying it. This trims off fat and calories and makes the dish healthier without sacrificing any flavor. Food like that is ideal for kids or adults.

\"chicken Recipe\"

Why Chicken Nuggets are So Well Loved

Nearly all kids adore chicken nuggets this is not only because of their crispy coating. Their bite-sized dimensions make them ideal for dipping. Serve chicken nuggets with mayonnaise, ketchup or barbecue sauce for a mouthwatering dinner.

Chicken nuggets can be teamed with many different side dishes. If you are cooking for children, what about serving French fries or mashed potatoes with the chicken nuggets? Baked beans are also popular with them. Serve some broccoli, carrots, or peas on the side for nutrition. Chicken is a healthy lean meat and baking nuggets instead of frying them in oil keeps them relatively healthy.

Of course, serving deep fried food now and then does not do anybody any harm but once in a while it is nice to make something healthy and nutritious for your kids, which is where recipes like baked chicken nuggets can be useful. Your child will love the nuggets and you will love the fact that they are eating something, which is good for them.

How to Make Baked Chicken Nuggets

This healthy alternative to deep fried nuggets is simple to make. You just need to dip chicken breast pieces in butter and then in seasoned breadcrumbs and bake the chicken nuggets. Serve them with French fries (or oven fries!) and baked beans for a delicious meal, which your kids will love.

You will need:

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 1/2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup parmesan (optional)

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Mix the breadcrumbs, salt, and cheese together. Dip the chicken in the melted butter and then in the breadcrumb mixture, patting the crumbs on well so they stick.

Arrange the chicken nuggets on a cookie sheet and bake them for about eighteen minutes or until they are golden brown. Let them cool down for five minutes, then serve them with a dipping sauce and your preferred side dishes.

Recipes For Kids - Homemade Chicken Nuggets

There is a chicken recipe for any occasion, whether you want to enjoy some comfort food, make something nutritious, or create a spicy chicken dish. Everyone has their favorite way of making fried chicken and whether you prefer nuggets, southern fried chicken or another chicken recipe, there is a perfect fried chicken recipe for you.

SouthernFriedChickenRecipe.com When it has to be Real Fried Chicken.