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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:41 am
Have you ever thought of cooking for your pet? I do occasionally and I thought I’d share a quick and simple recipe you can try at home.
i will admit even if your pet doesn’t like it you might have lunch or dinner.
Things to know before cooking
Always check to see which spices and foods are okay for your dog or cat to eat. I know most pets can have carrots or peas. But when in doubt contact your veterinary office or check out this post from the ASPCA.
I know cats can’t have garlic or onion. Spices are also pretty limited. I usually just use a bit of salt. If you are going to use a broth when cooking try to find one that doesn’t have a lot of extra flavoring. Also, a low sodium broth is good as well.
If your pet is a picky eater
If you have a pet that is a picky eater like my cats can be you can always make this in a very small batch as a test to see if they will eat it.
What you’ll need
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- meat of your choice (chicken, beef, turkey. ground or whole)
- a pan or pot with a lid
- 1 or 2 potatos or other veggies
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Optional items:
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- broth, stock or water
- seasonings safe for your pet
- rice or grain
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You will also need a spatula, wooden spoon, or some other cooking utensils. Along with a bowl to place your finished food in. Also need something to put any excess fat in. You can use the cooking oil of your choice.
The cooking process
preparing the meat
a note before we begin
If you are using whole meat such as a roast or a type of stew meat. You may want to remove any excess pieces of fat before cooking it. You may also want to sear it as well depending on the cooking process you’d like.
I’ve seen that some recipes just have you poach the meat until it’s falling apart or easily shred. I will admit some of these recipes may result in bland or even possibly overcooked meat. Again this may be a trial-and-error process.
how I made it
I had some ground turkey that I thawed out. I placed it in a warming cast iron pan. Before placing it in the pan I added a light layer of oil.
Once the meat began to heat up I let it lightly brown on one side before turning it. You don’t want it to be crispy you just want it to be well-cooked.
Depending on the type of meat you are using you may need to drain off any excess fat that is released during cooking.
The turkey I used didn’t have any excess fat to remove. What I did do during the cooking process was I would cover the pan with a lid to let it steam a bit so it wasn’t dry. I also tried my best to break up the ground turkey into easy-to-bite pieces for the cats.
adding other ingredients
While I meat was cooking I was also making meatballs so I was making two meals at once. But that’s beside the point. I wasn’t sure how many potatoes I should add so I opted to just use one. I peeled it and diced it.
Before I added the potato I added a small amount of salt.
At this stage, you can also add your Broth or water along with any other veggies or grains. We’ve made this dish with rice before and I even added some overcooked (mushy) pasta. Ziggy loved that.
After adding the broth and potato I covered the pan with a lid and let it simmer.
I uncovered the pan and checked the doneness of the potato. It took a few minutes. I left the potato boiled but not so soft it was falling apart.
I did this because I know Ziggy and Zorro like to eat potatoes that they can chew. Zorro is Shadow, Ziggy, and the late Bowie’s brother.
As soon as the simmering came to a boil Shadow wandered over to the kitchen and was starting to rub up against my legs. Zorro was looking in from outside.
The finished meal
I added a decent amount of chicken stock but the potato seemed to absorb a bit of it. I didn’t want it to be too soupy because again my cats can be picky eaters. And sometimes they don’t want food if it has too much liquid. (Yet they eat can food with gravy with no issue).
When I was cooking the turkey I tried my best to break it up and not leave it in large chunks. Sometimes that’s not always possible but do your best. As you can see the potatoes are cooked through because they have a bit of color.
The broth that I added when cooking was enough to bathe the ground turkey but not so much that it was excessively soft or limp. There was also enough for me to spoon out and add to the dish.
Shadow and Zorro by this time were dancing around the kitchen. For those of you who’ve ever seen a cat dance around, they basically circle your feed or legs. Zorro just paces or sits in the middle of the kitchen.
Once their turkey was cool enough I fed the outside. Zorro and Shadow dashed off to the plate and ate happily. they drank the broth first. Zorro likes to take food out of his plate and eat it off to the side. He ate a piece of potato and his turkey.
They made quick work of their lunch treat.
Overall everyone loved their lunch treat that day. I will say at times the following day they may not like it as much. I don’t know why but I still have to figure out how to get them to eat it the second day. But I found that adding chicken stock or broth can help.
All you can do is try and see if your pets might like something like this. You can find a few recipes online.
Have you cooked for your pets?
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