Cheesy Blushed Chicken

Happy Saturday!  We got a little more snow.  I don't care how much "little" it is, I don''t want anymore!  I want about 70 degrees and sunny.  Oh my gosh, THAT is what I want!

I hope this finds you all doing well.  Everyone eating well?  I hope so and I hope this recipe will have you eating even better in the very near future!

My husband has decided in the last few years, he doesn't love red sauce anymore.  Once in awhile, but not on the regular.  I, on the other hand, could eat it daily.  He loves a good blush sauce so I decided to go this direction and holy moly was it a hit!  He has asked for it twice in one week.  All that means is next time I make a double batch for lots of leftovers AND a freezer meal too!  This recipe will get you dinner on the table in about 20-30 minutes.  You can buy chicken cutlets (thin cuts) or just cut regular boneless skinless breasts in half width wise so you get 2 thin cutlets from each piece.  My recipe will call for 3-4 boneless chicken breasts, that is a full thickness as I cut my own.

Let's get to the recipe shall we??  I made a video on this recipe as well so I will link it.  Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE on my YouTube Channel!

You will need:

3-4 bonless skinless chicken breasts cut into 5-8 cutlets
Olive oil
slat and pepper
23 oz jar of pasta sauce or 3-4 cups of your own homemade
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh Basil or Parsley

In a high sided skillet drizzle soe olive oil and turn on heat.  When the skillet has heated up place your well salt and peppered chicken in and brown each side.  No need to cook all the way through at this point.  Brown up all sides of all pieces and remove from the pan.

Pour in your marinara, heavy cream, and grated parm.  Stir to combine.  Place chicken back into your sauce and cover.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes until chicken is completely cooked through.

Serve over a pasta or your choice or rice and don't forget to sprinkle with basil or parsley!

Enjoy this easy, DELISH meal on a weeknight or to enterain your friends!

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Hello friends!  Happy almost summer!  Who has vacations planned?  Who loves working in their yard?  Who is a sun worshiper?

I admittedly don't LOVE summer.  I  love Spring, but heat, sweat, and sunburns, nah, not so fun for me!  No worries my house will feel like winter because that is how we like it and everyone who comes over will need a blanket or sweatshirt!  Makes me giggle.

If you watch my YouTube videos, you know that I am wearing my glasses for right now so I am not doing as much recipe writing and testing as usual.  I am waiting for a rescheduled appt, to get my new contacts, they are special orders and take almost 3 weeks to arrive.  UGH.  SO, my husband came bee-bopping in from work last weekend and wanted to make mini chicken pot pies.  I suggested we film it and it ended being an all day venture that was so worth it, but my husband....is a ham when I turn that camera on!

As far as the videos, they will be split into three parts.
1.  The Filling
2.  The Pie Crust
3.  The Pot Pies

So many of you have commented through the years that you have such a hard time with pie crust. I will show you how easy mine is and how perfect and flaky it is!  No secrets, you don't have to make it will standing on your hands.  The planets don't have to be in perfect alignment either.  You will see!

So let's get started on this filling of my hubby's.  If you love the Marie Callender Pot Pies, these are going to be your jam,only BETTER!

Please feel free, in fact I encourage you to add more veggies.  Perhaps 1 cup of green beans, a couple small potatoes cubed up if you want.  My husband is apparently since birth, allergic to all vegetables.  (insert sarcastic eye roll here).  Broccoli would be good as well as celery.  How did a veggie lover marry a veggie hater?  This may be our final straw. LOL

This will make about 12 mini pies.  You can double the pie crust or do what we did.  Divide the remaining filling into 2 freezer bags.  One of them we turned into a cheesy sauce, added egg noodles, and butter bread crumbs on top and that was a dinner for 2 nights with a salad.  The last bag, we thinned down, added extra veggies and made a fantastic creamy chicken and veggie soup!

You will need 1 recipe of my pie dough which is in this blog post:
 Basic Pie Crust

Here we go!
2 T butter
1.5 lbs of chicken cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste  (you will be adding bouillon cubes later so let up on the salt now!)

In a large skillet, melt butter and add in chicken.  Season to taste and cook until fully done.  Drain chicken, and set aside for later.

In a large pot....

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
6-8 cups of milk
4 bouillon cubes (I use only Knorr)
1-2 cups frozen mixed veggies of you choice
Optional: 1 large potato cut into a small dice. Onion finely minced, Celery, Green Beans.
My husband has a grudge against veggies so we just used frozen peas and carrots!

Melt the butter in your pot, add in flour and cook for one minute while stirring.  Add in your milk, start with 6 cups, it may be all you need, you want a thick consistency.  After about 5 minutes, add in your chicken bouillon cubes.  Stir until they are dissolved.  Add in chicken, and veggies and stir.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before making the pot pies.  You want this to chill and become fairly firm, it helps the small pies not overflow, and give it a fabulous hearty texture.

Using cookie cutters or the top of a glass, find 2 that are just a bit different in shape.  The smaller for the bottom of your muffin tin, and the larger for the top!  Spray your muffin tin with nonstick spray or brush with butter and get all of them lined with pie dough.  Using a cookie scoop, fill each one and then place a top on.  Try to get the top to stick to the top of the bottom crust to seal it!  Use an egg wash (1 egg+splash of water) to brush the tops.

Bake at 350, for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown!

ENJOY!

Long John Silvers Copycat Batter Dipped Chicken

Hey all!  Long time no see  Admittedly I have been working on filming recipes from old blogs for my YouTube channel and it has been awhile since I have posted a new recipe.  I am back with a GOOOOOD one!  I would love to have you SUBSCRIBE to my channel linked here.

I have been making a copycat of Long John Silvers Chicken for years.  I make it a couple of times a year, so not tons of opportunity to perfect it as much as I wanted.  Well, I decided to the other night, and boy, did I hit it.  At least in OUR opinion I did!  Part of the key to getting that crunch is letting it cool on a cooling rack, and not sitting on paper towels, although it won't make a ton of difference, one side just won't be as crispy.

When I sliced my chicken (I did it the short way because I used my fryer) I cut it in about 
1/2 thick slices.  After my first batch, I went thinner.  You don't want to have to worry about if the chicken is done all the way through before your batter is to dark.  So I recommend below to go for 1/4 inch thick pieces.  These are absolutely addictive and PLEASE do this with some cod, or shrimp too!

If you normally bread when you fry something, I challenge you to batter!  One thing I went easy on was salt, you can always salt it when it comes out of the fryer, but I like everyone to choose their own level of salt and there will be some in your seasoned salt.   Make sure your garlic and onion are POWDERS not salts!


Here we go!

3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp all purpose season salt (pick your favorite)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt (optional, you can also salt them after you take them out of the fryer)
1 cup water

3 large chicken breasts thawed and cut into1/4 inch strips.  My fryer is small so I did it the short way instead of the long way.  If you are using a large pot, do it the long way.  Tomato.  Tomahto.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl big enough to hold it and the chicken.  After slicing the chicken add it to the batter and using a fork just get all the chicken covered.

Heat your oil to 350 degrees F.  Drop about 4 pieces in at a time, don't let it stick to the bottom, and let fry until golden brown.  You MAY want to check for doneness by pulling one piece out when you think they are done and cutting it in half to gauge the rest of your batches.  Mine took 5-7 minutes per batch.  As long as you don't cut your chicken to thick, they should be done as soon as the batter coating is a nice deep golden brown!

Place on to a paper towel lined cookie sheet with a cooling rack on top.  That will allow all sides to crisp even more as it cools.

Dare I say you even get the the crispy bits of batter that are so generously placed in your container of chicken or fish?  Which reminds me, do this with fish too!  Get some cod fillets and go for it! Or shrimp, YES shrimp too!

Enjoy my friends!

Grandma Gert's Creamy Chicken Rice

OK, so not MY Grandma Gert, but my cousin's Grandma Gert!

Growing up without grandparents.  Or rather, growing up with grandparents on the other side of the country and the other set of grandparents deceased, it seemed we were always picking up other "grandma and grandpa" figures in our lives.  My mom's parents had passed before many of us were born and my dad's father the same.  His parents lived back in Philly and I do recall speaking to my grandmother once, though I couldn't understand her, (she spoke Italian) I remember telling her Hello, and that I loved her. I felt like the only kid on the planet with no grandparents!

This recipe comes from one such woman.  She was my Aunt Virginia's mother.  A week or so ago on social media, my cousin Deidre had posted a photo to her sister and said she was making "Grandma Gert's Chicken and Rice".  They all were excited and it looked fabulous so I asked her for the recipe.  She sent it right to me ad I decided to make it that next night.

I am going to give you the recipe straight from Gert!   This lasted about 3 days for us.  I served it with a big salad because it is so rich.  Don't skimp on anything!  This will feed an army!

I hope you give this a try!  If you do, post a photo, tag me on social media, let me hear what you think!

Until next time....

If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy...

Chicken and Rice Casserole
Cheesy Chicken Gnocchi
Mexican Rice

Hasselback Caprese Chicken

Welcome back!  Time is flying, fall is falling and the garden produce is beginning to get to tired and worn out and cold to make anything more!  Bummer!  I picked the last of my basil, the last of my tomatoes, and decided to close the season with a bang!  This is a dish I have seen around here and there, but I wanted to make it my own way.  I wanted to add some seasonings, and better yet, I wanted to lay them on a bed of creamy, silky, alfredo-like sauce!

This came together in about 15-20 minutes, and another 45 in the oven.  I served it with a side of spaghetti that was lightly buttered, added some parsley, and a drizzle of this awesome sauce!

I gave you kind of an approximation of ingredients.  I wrote it for 4 servings, but for the tomato and basil and cheese it will depend on how thick you cut your slices, AND how many slits you put in the chicken.  See what I am sayin'?

Let's get started!

Cream Sauce:
2 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup chicken stock (up to 3/4 depending on how thick or thin you want your sauce)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt your butter in a medium saucepan.  Add in your flour and whisk to combine for 1-2 minutes.  Add in milk and chicken stock.  Whisk until slightly thickened and then add in cheese.  Again, whisk until cheese is melted and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Now, pour this mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.  Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F!

Now for the chicken prep you will need:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2=3 large tomatoes
2-8oz balls of mozzarella cheese
20 leaves of fresh basil
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Slice your cheese and tomatoes into half moons.  Now take your chicken and slice across it.  Don't go all the way through, just about 3/4 of the way.  Do that to tall of the chicken breasts.  Using your Italian seasoning, and garlic salt, season them up all over.

 You can stuff these however you like.  Where you cut, you will stuff with tomato or mozz cheese. I used a basil leaf in each one, alternating mozz and tomato slices.  When you finish one, carefully place it in the 9x13 pan of cream sauce.  Do this until all chicken is done.

Lightly salt and pepper when all done and place into the oven.  You will need to start checking for doneness at about 35 minutes.  I used large breasts (teehee) and mine took upwards of 45-50 minutes.  Use your thermometers!

Enjoy this with a side of pasta, a salad, some nice crusty bread, the possibilities are endless and delicious!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Tis the season for sniffles, allergies and colds!  WOOHOOO!

Actually I am not excited for sickness, for me or anyone of you, but IF it happens, I have the soup for you! 

This happy accident (long ago) soup is delicious.  I am a soup fanatic, and personally can NOT have to many soup recipes on hand.  Soup is always my first choice, year round actually.  I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do!  Shouldn't be to hard to remember the recipe, eh?!

1 T. olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 small bell pepper chopped
1 cup fresh green beans chopped (use canned if needed)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1 T. minced garlic
1  14.5  oz. diced tomatoes (add juice, more flavor!)
1 T. dehydrated onion (feel free to grate 1T fresh into the pot)
1 T. dried parsley
1 T. Italian Seasoning
5 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

In a large pot, add in olive oil and ground chicken.  Cook chicken until it is halfway done and then add in carrots, celery, bell pepper, green beans, frozen peas and corn.

Stir until completely combined, then add in garlic and let cook for a couple of minutes stirring constantly.  Now add in the tomatoes, onion, parsley, Italian seasoning, and chicken stock.  I use low sodium chicken stock so I add in 1 tsp salt to start, you may need more, I did.  Also add in pepper.  Cover and simmer on medium for 20 minutes.

I think this soup is perfect for those sniffly days!  Add in some red pepper flakes, or a little hot sauce and feel the nose run, and run, and run!  It is perfect for healthy eaters and full of vitamin goodness!  I make this soup and keep it in the fridge, and eat on it for lunches or a snack.  Why not?!

ENJOY!

Egg Roll Stuffed Chicken

Sounds delicious doesn't it?  It is!  There is a hot topic for me involved in this recipe.  It is the whole dark meat vs. white meat, thing.

Let's just talk chicken for a minute.  By the way, I wish I had chickens, although I am scared of them if one bit me, I could just eat it.  How bad can that turn out?  Not really, the reality is I would name them try to dress them, and hug them VERY much against their will.  They would be in family photos and it would be way over the top.  That is how I am with animals.  I would never be able to live with myself knowing that my chicken son "Chuck" was on the dinner table.  I just couldn't.  Wait, this isn't the chicken conversation I wanted to have.

The conversation I wanted to have involved, white, dark, bone in, boneless, skin on, skinless, etc.....  Everyone has a very distinct preference it seems.  I used to prefer just white boneless meat until boneless thighs came along, and since I grew up and started cooking, I realize you can't beat the flavor of a piece of bone in chicken.  Regardless of what you prefer, please trust me when I tell you that just because it is white mean does NOT mean it has to be dry!  I hear so often, "Oh I don't like white meat, it is to dry".  That would mean it was overcooked.  Why is it that some people will overcook the CRAP out of anything they can get in an oven or on a grill?  Thermometers are our friends!  The point is, this recipe does call for boneless chicken.  I used thighs as we love them but you choose what you would like.  Either way it will be healthy, and tasty, and served on a bed of rice (fried rice) you will have people thinking you are a culinary legend!

Here is what you will need
7-9 boneless skinless thighs or breasts.  (Pounded thin or butterfly the breasts to easier rolling)
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1, 1lb bag of shredded coleslaw mix with carrots
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried ginger
3 T soy sauce
1/4 tsp. white pepper (regular pepper will also do)
 2 T. additional vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  If you are using chicken breasts, either butterfly them open or pound them thinner for easier rolling.  I used thighs and this made 8-9 but using breasts, go with 7 or so.  Set aside.

In a large high sided skillet or wok, heat up your 1 tsp of vegetable oil.  Add in the cabbage mix, and garlic and saute for 3 minutes.  Add in the rest of the ingredients, ginger and soy sauce.

Stir to combine and continue stirring until the cabbage is soft and reduced by half.  Turn off heat and let it cool completely.

Place a large spoonful of mixture into the center of each piece of chicken and roll it up.  Use toothpicks if you need them to stay together better.

Place seam side down on a baking sheet.  Do with with all of the chicken.  Now, use a paper towel and wipe out your pan, place your 2 tablespoons of oil and let it get hot again.  Place 2 or 3 pieces of chicken at a time, seam side down in the oil and let them brown for approximately 3 minutes on each side.

Just get some good color on them and then place back onto the baking sheet.  When you are done, bake them for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Serve on some rice for a tasty dinner!!!  Check out the recipe suggestions below for other options to go with this meal!

ENJOY!

If you like this recipe, you might like....
Egg Drop Soup
Chicken Spring Rolls
Wonton Soup

Cheesy Chicken Gnocchi

 So....as my husband and I sit in a popular Italian chain restaurant, eating soup and bread sticks like tomorrow may never come, he says to me, "OMG, you need to make this soup into a casserole or a real "dish".  And that my friends is how this happy accident began.

.....Fast forward 2 days, he keeps asking me to make this.  Admittedly I have 2 packages of gnocchi in the cupboard.  I have everything else I need to create his own personal heaven.  I decide that today is THE day.  I turned on my fave music, put on some lipstick and off I went.  End result? Complete FAIL!   However, that is now how this story ends.  While it was a complete fail as far as a copycat, sort of, not really version of the soup, it turned out to be a pan of cheesy, chickeny, gnocchi-ee goodness and I do not for one second feel bad that it "didn't turn out".  I feel so "unbad" I am sharing it with you!

This will feed a crowd, and I can't imagine anyone not liking it.  If you groove on making your own gnocchi, get on with your bad self, I purchased mine.  If you make it, make sure to tag me on Instagram or Twitter!!  Snapchat me!!


2 pkg. gnocchi (mine were 17.5 oz. each)
4 T. butter
2 large chicken breasts, cut into small cubes or pieces
1 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
1 T. dried parsley
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt your butter.  and add your chicken and carrots.  Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked all the way through.  Add in flour and stir well, let it cook for about 1 minute.  Add in chicken stock, while still on medium high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly, when it has begun to thicken add in heavy cream, parsley, and all of your grated cheeses.

Stir to combine,remove from heat and let sit.

Bring another large pot of water to boil.  Follow the direction on your package of gnocchi.  If you are making them homemade, you are a better person than me, so you will know how to cook them!  When the water boils, chuck them in and the second they float they are done.  Make sure to get these out right away.  They will be going in the oven for a very short time and you don't need them overcooking.

So as I was saying, when they are done, use a slotted spoon or spider and scoop them out, let them drain and toss them in the pot with the sauce!  Get them all in, gently stir to combine and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish or pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn to broil and let it get golden brown on top!  That cheese and butter get a little crusty and it is heaven!!

Enjoy friends!

Lasagna Cordon Bleu

 Happy Spring!  It finally feels like spring!  I shouldn't speak up so fast, it could be snowing tomorrow, but right now....awesome!

This is a recipe my husband has been wanting me to work up for awhile now.  This is the first recipe I have made since losing my mom.  I think she brought me good luck, it was amazing.  He told me what he was thinking, I wrote down a tentative recipe, and nailed it.  I am going to make it again this week, because, well, it was THAT awesome.  Have you ever put food in your mouth that made you close your eyes and just soak it in?  This is that food.  I swear.

This seems like a bit of a hassle but it really isn't, I just wanted to be as thorough as possible for any new cooks wanting to try it.

Did I mention it felt awesome to be back in the kitchen?  Thank you ALL for your private messages, emails, tweets, etc, they made my heart joyful, and thankful.  I am so blessed to call you all my friends.  Enjoy this lasagna, and if you make it, tweet me, post it on Facebook, tag me in your Instagram photos, all of it!

Did I mention to NOT skip the topping?  The crunchy, delicious, almost just want to eat it off the whole thing, crunchy top.  YES!!!!


2 large chicken breasts
1 lb thin sliced deli ham
1/2 box of lasagna noodles
16 ounces grated Swiss cheese
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
4 cups half and half
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup bread crumbs
4 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray or butter it and set aside.  In a medium pot, poach chicken breasts.  If you have leftover chicken or want to roast it, go for it, but I poached mine.  When they are done, remove from water and set aside to cool.  Take your deli meat and give it a slice, into strips.  No science here, I just cut mine all at the same time into smaller pieces, 3 or 4 cuts top to bottom and it was perfect.   When the chicken cools at some point during this process, just shred it. 

Cook your lasagna noodles.  Just follow package directions, you will only need about 9 noodles.  Make them all, and let your husband use the rest for buttered noodles.  (yes, I am a fabulous wife) Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking and to be able to handle them without visiting a burn unit.

Time for that cheese sauce!  In a large-ish pot, melt your butter, add flour and stir to let the flour cook for a minute or two.  Slowly whisk in your half and half.  When it begins to boil, add in HALF of your grated cheese.  Stir until melted and thickened.  Now, set that aside so we can assemble this bad boy.

Lay down 3 noodles to cover the bottom, now add 1/3 of your cheese sauce, half of your chicken and half of your ham.  Just cover it evenly.  Now take 1/3 of your remaining shredded Swiss and sprinkle that over it all, then back to the noodles.  Rinse and repeat.  When you put your next layer of noodles on (the last layer)  you should have a bit of your cheese sauce and shredded cheese left.  Now STOP.

In a small bowl melt your 4 tbsp. butter.  When it is melted and slightly cooled, add in bread crumbs and remaining shredded cheese.

To finish the top, pour and spread over the remaining cheese sauce, and then sprinkle buttered breadcrumb/cheese mixture on top.  Trust me on this one.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then 15 more minutes at 375.  Perfection.  Just, perfect perfection.  If you love Chicken Cordon Bleu, and you love pasta, this might be your most perfect culinary dream!

PS. Excuse these photos.  I used my phone, it is a long story but, back to regular photos next time!

ENJOY!

Taco Chicken Fingers

 Happy winter evening!  I want to discuss something with you......  happy accidents.  Yes, yes, they do happen from time to time.  Ironically 1 week after I made this recipe for the second time, I was in an UNhappy car accident with my daughter in law.  Four hours in the ER was not my idea of a good time.  I digress....

I was over at my son and daughter in laws house watching my littles when this accident happened.  The happy one, that is.  I was told there was chicken in the fridge that needed used, I found some chips and decided to make chicken fingers.  They were fabulous.  I used minimal ingredients, and they were awesome dipped in some queso.  My littles are all about dipping!  The next time I made this, I tossed in a packet of taco seasoning, just to see how it would taste.  Holy taco chicken batman.  Delish!  If you don't groove on the store bought packets feel free to use your own homemade.

This is so kid friendly, get them in the kitchen with you!  It is fun, good, and if you make it into nugget shaped pieces you could use it for an appetizer or just make nuggets for eating!

2 cups corn chips, crushed into crumbs (should have 2 cups after crushed)
1 packet taco seasoning
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or use tenderloins
1 stick of butter, melted (1/2 cup)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  In one bowl combine corn chip crumbs and taco seasoning, in the other melt 1 stick of butter.

Line baking sheet with foil.  Dip the chicken strips in the butter, and then coat in the crumbs.  Make sure to press crumbs into the chicken well!  Place on your baking sheet until all of the chicken is coated!

Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is completely done, and the outside is crispy!  Make sure not to over cook!

I served these with salsa for dipping.  OMGOSH, delicious!

ENJOY!

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.

This is not her regular food, this was some leftover chicken soup.  She even likes the broth! 

Enjoy feeding your dog babies food that is good, and good for them, made by the hands of those who love them most!

ENJOY!

AND

Sofia

PS.  Sofia is a "Chug" Chihuahua/Pug mix.  She is almost 8 months old.  She asked me to write this in pink, pink is her signature color.