Easy, inexpensive dog food.

So, my mother in law casually mentioned making dog food with ground turkey and frozen veggies one day and started a quest for me. For the last 18+ mos I've adjusted the recipe and, with help from my mom, perfected a sort of assembly line for making the food and feeding the dog. Our current method is 6 lbs ground turkey, one can sliced carrots, one can shredded beets and one can potatoes (sliced, diced, mashed lol), two eggs, 4-6 cloves garlic, minced and occasionally I throw in cooked brown rice, chopped pasta, bread crumbs, etc. I do not always use a grain and vary depending on what is available as leftovers or in the pantry. Dogs don't need the grain and the root veggies are good for the vitamins and fiber. I mash all the ingredients together in a big bowl, press it into a 9x13 pan, place this on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 40-60 mins until the internal temp reaches 140• Fahrenheit. Allow to cool, slice into individual portions. My dog is 7 lbs so I get about 20-25 meals from this recipe. Wrap in wax, plastic, parchment or foil and freeze. I pull out two portions each night for the next day's meals and microwave for a few seconds to take the chill off. My Husband has a cute habit of adding cheese, sour cream, or even part of our meal - gravy, potatoes etc. Kibbles is a lucky dog and he treats us well in return. We love you Kibbles!!!!

Super easy, flaky biscuits from scratch!

So, I decided to stop using bisquick a while back which has made for some difficult dinner choices. Tonight, it was chicken & dumplings giving me pause. My chicken and dumplings are amazing... my Husband remembers me making them back when we dated! I've tried making the noodle kind (like his mom) but we all miss that fluffy biscuit floating in our bowl. So, changing the recipe is not easy. I found this amazing recipe for drop biscuits and decided to give it a try - boy was I in for a surprise! We loved it & wound up using the leftover dough to make biscuits for the next morning. I've adapted the recipe to work for our family since there are six of us and I will be tripling the recipe from now on. Below is the doubled recipe with my adjustments :)

4.5 c all-purpose flour

1.5 t sea salt

2 t sugar

8 t baking powder

2/3 c butter

2 c milk

Preheat oven to 450

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix well.

Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutter, knife or your hands (making sure it doesn't melt the butter) until the buttery pieces are the size of peas.

Add cold milk and use a wooden spoon or plastic dough scraper to toss the ingredients together until just together before lifting out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. 

Gently knead until it's mostly combined (we're not looking for a smooth dough here) and press (or roll) into a rectangle about an half inch thick. Now, here's where you can get creative... Use biscuit cutters to make round ones, use a pizza cutter to roll through the dough and make square ones, or cut anyway you like and place in a pan with melted butter or coconut oil and then you have a crispy bottom biscuit! Any which way you make these they are AMAZING!

Bake at 450 for 8-10 mins until golden brown and gorgeous.

Thank you to http://blog.kitchenmage.com/2008/01/simple-flaky-bi.html for the original recipe. 

Roasted chicken soup

One of my friends recently moved and while cleaning out her basement she found a Litton Simmer Pot and she gave it to me! A couple months earlier I had  put out a plea for stone bakeware to all my friends & family (and Facebook haha) and she remembered me! She also handed over a square baking dish and an original round cake - all pampered chef - hardly used and one original! So, I'm feeling like I've hit the jackpot except that I'm not really sure what to do with this pot. I grab my phone and google "litton simmer pot" and discovered that this lidded pot was the key to roasting chickens! My freezer happened to have 5 whole chickens - organic and local - just begging to be roasted. It's super important to follow the instructions so your pot doesn't crack so be sure to soak it and only place it in a cold oven (never preheat)! My favorite way to season the chicken is with onion, garlic, salt & pepper. I like to rough-chop the onion and garlic and stuff the chicken with them, adding a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme. I will sometimes add cubed potatoes around the chicken (they're super tender and tasty) but this time I mashed my potatoes and roasted a few Brussels sprouts and carrots. The chicken cooks for about an hour which gives me time to prep these veggie sides- chop the potatoes, add to a pot of water and boil until tender. While that's cooking, cut the ends of your Brussels sprouts and then I like to slice them again in half. Mince about 6 cloves of garlic and place in oil (I use primarily olive and coconut) to allow the flavors to mingle. I like to place the sliced sprouts in a bowl and pour the garlic oil over the top, use my hand to stir and saturate, pour onto a stone bake dish and spread so that they are not overlapping, then sprinkle with Celtic sea salt and crushed pepper. Bake in a 425 degree oven until just browned and tender. I sometimes add baby carrots to this dish which is also super yum! Potatoes should be ready to drain and mash - I like to add whipping cream, Greek yogurt, sour cream, butter (whatever you have) and a bit of crushed pepper and salt. I prefer some lumps, so I hand mash instead of whipping. Voila! Dinner is made!

Now, a way to make this stretch into other meals........

As soon as we were finished with dinner I placed the chicken bones and the rest of the chicken into the crockpot, covered it with water and a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt, then turned it on low over night. For dinner prep I remove the large pieces of chicken and bones from the crockpot, pour the liquid thorough a strainer to grab all the little bones and pour the clean liquid back in the crockpot (adding if needed to make a bigger pot of soup). I like to let the chicken pieces cool while I chop the veggies and season the water - using any combination of the following: carrot, celery, sweet potato, white potato, squash, zucchini, peppers, chard (chard stalks are great sliced like celery) brown rice, barley, quinoa, pasta, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, onion, garlic, tomato (crushed, paste, sauce etc), Celtic sea salt, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, bay leaves, thyme, red pepper flakes, etc. I just like a good combination of veggies, spices, herbs, grains, beans/legumes, and time. I'll let the crock pot simmer and develop flavors while I separate the chicken from the bones and grissle and fat - discard these items and place chicken in the crock as well. Check the flavors about every hour and adjust with more seasoning, salt & garlic. This soup will last a few days in the fridge and is great for lunches with a hot grilled sandwich, or alone!