George Michael Eats: Homemade Dog Food

Before we get into today's post, I have a quick announcement. I submitted my coconut pie recipe to Food52 and it is a contest finalist. If you want to vote for me (or for the other finalist, whose chicken soup looks delicious) please do! Voting ends in two days so don't procrastinate!

George Michael is a moderately picky eater. He loves food and freaks out over cucumber and lettuce (he was probably a rabbit in a past life) but he hates mushrooms and gets bored of his dog food after a while.

We had him on different varieties of Purina (healthy weight, healthy fiesta) which he'd eagerly gobble up when the package was fresh but as the food got stale, he'd get more particular. Recently though, we got him some Trader Joe's dog food and he's been really into it. The downside is that the packages are small so one weekend, we ran out of food.

Because I consider GM to be my son and I love spoiling him, I decided to make him some homemade dog food. If you're squeamish, you might want to click out of this post because it's not exactly the most appetizing set of photos. However, if you too want to spoil your dog with a few homemade meals, then read on!

Ingredients [yields 4 to 6 servings for a medium-sized dog]:
2 chicken breasts
2 cups water
¼ cup orzo
¼ cup rolled oats
¼ cup cooked rice
½ cup carrots, chopped
½ apple, diced
2 tablespoons coconut oil

I started by boiling the chicken in a couple cups of water. It took about 10 minutes to cook the pieces through. Then, I took the chicken out to cool and then went it with a pair of scissors and hacked them to bits.

I cooked some orzo in the leftover chicken cooking water (not caring whether it was cooked perfectly al dente because hello, GM does not care at all) and then added in some oats off the stove to soak up the rest of the liquid.

I also chopped up some carrots and apple. If I'd had cucumber, I would've added some of that too.

I also added in a little leftover rice and then chucked in a spoonful of coconut oil and mixed everything together.

My sister was complaining that this looked disgusting (which it does) and that it smelled terrible (which it did) but GM was getting really excited. I mean, it looked and smelled like dog food so it was totally appropriate but Mich wasn't keen on this being prepared in the kitchen alongside our own dinner.

This dog food can be kept in an airtight container for up to a week. Usually at this point, I describe the taste of what I've made but I cannot do that. However, I can say that this is definitely a treat meal and not something I would feed my dog every single day. There are some healthy bits and bobs mixed in, including the coconut oil which helps GM with his dry skin, but all of the carbs and sugar from the apples is a bit decadent.

Look at how eager he is!

The best thing about this homemade food was its softness. GM tends to get a little overexcited with his eating and with dry food, sometimes he scarfs it down and chokes.

My spoiled little baby loved this stuff. I'll probably make it again on his birthday.

Here's the recipe page: