Name: Homemade Dog Food with Beef
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 18 cups
Ingredients: 2 pounds ground beef; 6 cups water, or more as needed; 4 cups uncooked brown rice; 1 pound assorted beef bones (shin, shank, short ribs, or marrow bones); 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary; 1 (15 ounce) can sliced carrots, drained; 1 (13.5 ounce) can spinach, drained; 6 eggs; 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.

Place 6 cups water and brown rice into a stockpot. Add browned beef, bones, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low or low and let simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until rice is mushy, about 45 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep mixture a little thicker than a porridge-like consistency.

Meanwhile, place carrots, spinach, and eggs with their shells into an electric blender. Blend until completely pureed and no eggshells are intact.

Mix pumpkin and blended egg mixture in a bowl until combined. Remove meat mixture from heat and pour egg mixture into the pot to cook the eggs in hot contents, about 5 minutes. Let cool thoroughly before feeding to your dog, about 30 minutes.

Tips

Cook's Notes:

I feed my 60 pound dog 2 1/2 to 3 cups of food a day minus the bones. I will add about one bone a day to his food bowl. Feed less or more according to the dog weight and activity level.

You can also substitute other vegetables such as peas, celery, and sweet potatoes or add fruit such as apples, bananas, and blueberries. You can also use frozen or fresh vegetables, just be sure to puree them with a blender. I just find canned vegetables are easiest to store and use. My dog also loves a tablespoon or so of nonfat yogurt added to the top.

You can also mix in oatmeal or barley, but no wheat, soy, or corn. You can use any cut of beef, chicken, fish, or lamb, but be sure to cut them into bite-size pieces before boiling. You can get bones from a butcher, but be sure not to use chicken bones.

Susan J

08/23/2020

I had some freezer burned ground beef and was looking for dog food recipe to use it. This was perfect. I used shredded fresh carrots I had, a couple of apples, a can of green beans that he loves and everything else according to the recipe. I gave him a taste when it was done and he gives it 4 paws!