Just started home cooking...I NEED HELP!
 

Lol..well I need all you experts to share your shortcuts and time savers. I'm using a recipe from balanceIt and I just bought three recipes from petdiets.com.

I'm sure I will get a routine down and it won't take as long as it's taking me now. I made two weeks supply today and it took 2 1/2 hrs and that's with precooking and freezing the rice in weekly portion sizes.

My husband said he wished I would cook for him like I am for Jada and Bogie :p

Hi
 

I buy frozen chicken thighs thaw remove skin and and use my pressure cooker
2 kg of chicken 2 cups of water I use position 1 for 16 minutes. I strain off the broth and use the broth to boil veggies ( carrots, celery, red peppers, cabbage and green beans ) that I used the food processor to cut very small. Boil for 4 min. I cook 1 cup of rice in the rice maker. Meanwhile the chicken has now cooled and I remove the meat from the bone cut the meat into small pieces. After the veggies have cooked I drain the broth off to use in my own cooking. I mix the rice, veggies and chicken. This will take about 45 min. in total time and will provide my 2 lovelies for 1 week to 10 days. I separate the portions and freeze taking it out the night before for the next days food. I also just started using organic coconut oil 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per dog, warm and drizzled on top. They both love it

Once you get the hang of your recipe the process will be quicker. You'll find your own tips and tricks. For me having 4-6 weeks of food prepped, bagged in individual meals and frozen for later use works best. I prep in stages. For example, on Sunday, I cooked a huge package of boneless chicken thighs and a huge pot of frozen peas. While that was going, I threw one large yellow bell pepper, 4 carrots, 1 zucchini, and a large broccoli crown into my food processor to make my veggie mixture. I use the mini zip lock bags for individual meals, label them with a sharpie and double bag them in zip lock freezer bags so they stay pretty fresh. I also have frozen meals containing corn or canola oil (but add fish oils fresh and supplements fresh). I weigh and bag with a certain method too. For example, Teddy gets 82.5 g of peas. I zero out two snack bags on my scale, then I weigh two bags worth of peas at a time. I keep refilling the bags with peas until I have 28 bags (2 weeks of food). Then I go back and I place three pea-filled bags on the scale, zero it out, and add my chicken to each bag. Then I add my veggie mix. I know from experience that the amount of veggies I need amount to a tablespoon for one dog and a tablespoon and a half for another so I use those spoons and just use level spoons into my bag. For oils (canola/corn), I pour it into a pyrex and then dip the spoon in because to pour 1/4 tsp or 1/2 tsp for each bag would drive me crazy. The only other thing that works for me is that W&T are on the same exact ingredients. They are three pounds apart and have different amounts and supplements but it helps that boy eat chicken thigh and peas with veggies. B eats canned white diced new potatoes and chicken breast with only fish oil added and supplements. I buy the cans on sale and it isn't that bad if I stock up.

Hope this helps.

Thanks it does help. I know the more I do it the easier it will get. It is work the extra effort. They love the home cooked food and I know what is going into their little bodies.

I am now homecooking for three of my pups. I guess I do it the hard way but it works for me. I cook the starches the day before and the tilapia the day of. I use canned chicken breast.

It definitely gets easier as time goes on. I can eyeball weights now!

Good luck with it! :)

I live for the day I can eyeball the weights lol that's the most time consuming to me. I don't like pre cooking meat either. I don't want to freeze and thaw and refreeze again. Right now I'm using a turkey recipe from balanceit and I have ordered three recipes from petdiets.com. So far turkey is agreeing with my itchy girl Jada :thumbup:oh and I've noticed less poops too :thumbup::thumbup:

There's nothing wrong with freezing cooked meats. I don't get any freezer burn. I take a few baggies out of my freezer and stick then in the cheese draw to thaw. Staying a few days ahead is key so you don't have to micro to defrost.

Turkey was my choice years ago - it's just very lean so I like using chicken thighs. It's a personal preference for me to not add oils and just use fattier cuts of meat. If you want to cook in bulk you probably could get a turkey breast and crock pot it. You could have it cook itself then just chop it up and bag it.

I never eye ball weights. I'm a bit compulsive so I weigh each item.

Awesome on the poops! I've noticed it depends on ingredients for my crowd.

I home cooked with PetDiet and balance it for Cali for about 5 months then was rather chagrined to see she preferred the Fromm kibbles with Stella and chew for a little topper. Guess that says volumes for my cooking :eek:

I use the crock pot for my sweet potatoes and bake my chicken. Once that is done, it don't take long to mix and separate it. You will get faster!!