Homesteading 101 - Fur Baby Food

With all the headlines today about the mystery chemicals lurking in our food and our pets' food (seriously, who invited them?), I thought I'd share my super simple homemade dog food recipe. It's so easy, you'll wonder why you ever stood in the checkout line with those cans of mystery meat. Big shoutout to my friend Karen F for the inspiration—she's been whipping up her own canine cuisine for ages. I finally joined the party last year when my 10-year-old Aussie, Max (you can spot his adorable mug on the website), started moving like a rusty robot. Since switching to homemade chow, he's bounced back and is as spry as a 77-year-old pup can be!

Back in my day (as us old folks say), you never heard about all these childhood diseases and cancers. I swear, our current list of illnesses are directly related to what we cram into our mouths, and I know the same goes for our pets. I had two dogs on the farm who lived to a ripe old age of 17, thanks to a diet of leftovers and table scraps. But unfortunately, they both eventually got breast cancer and passed away. I never thought about tumors or old age issues in my dogs until then, but their longevity and eventual demise from cancer is what kicked off my mission to feed the other dogs better.

When I embarked on my beef-raising adventure, I had a big brain moment one week about all the waste from processing before the meat hit the freezer. So, I thought, why toss those meaty scraps when I could turn them into doggy delicacies? I found a butcher willing to grind the organ meats and scraps into a canine culinary delight. In my quest to be the dog whisperer and the ethical sourcing superhero, I decided to channel my inner pioneer and use every last part from our beef supply. Waste not, want not, right? I was already deep in a tallow-cooking frenzy, so why not transform those extra bits of fat and scraps, along with all the organ meats into gourmet pet cuisine? It's like serving a five-star meal to the pups and kitties, packed with all the goodies and none of those sneaky GMOs, hormones, or antibiotics that seem to be the secret ingredients in today's meat market madness.

Now, my dogs and cats expect gourmet meals! One day, not too long ago, I put out a can of store-bought dog food (I found it lurking in the pantry) because all my homemade stuff was frozen, and they just rolled their eyes and walked away. I could’ve sworn one of them muttered, “That must be for the stray dog down the street because we’re not eating that junk!"

My fur babies have their internal clocks set to 8am sharp every morning. That's animal chow time at my place, and if I don't whip up some homemade dog cuisine, I better have some delightful dining-out leftovers or that lasagna relic nobody's touching anymore! Even the cows start giving you the side-eye and tapping imaginary wristwatches if it’s past 8am. They hear the kibble clinking into the dog bowls on the back porch, and suddenly it’s a stampede for range cubes. My animals are living their best lives at the farm, so much so that my vet calls it their personal heaven on earth!

This recipe isn't carved in stone tablets, folks. It's more like a friendly nudge on what to do with those fridge-dwellers—like that ancient meat in the freezer you can't bear to toss. It's still good, just not exactly five-star fresh, and your pets will think it's a gourmet feast! Or, if your backyard isn't bursting with cows or clucking chickens, fear not! You can snag those "nearing their retirement" meats from the store and transform them into gourmet pet cuisine. Sure, it's not as top-notch as your homegrown livestock, but hey, it's leaps and bounds tastier and better for them than the mystery mush in those canned pet foods!

So, I've got this super-duper not-so-top-secret dog food recipe, and it's somewhere on my facebook.com/djperrytallow page, but let's remix it here. I'm not exactly the "write it down" type—more like the "throw it in and pray it works" kind of gal! But here goes: as I said earlier, it's basically a meat extravaganza I snag from the butcher. We're talking organ meats and a delightful mash-up of scraps that he grinds together and packages like hamburger meat. It's all labeled in the freezer so we don't accidentally taco-it-up on Tuesday. I mix that with regular ground beef and occasionally toss in some chicken, fish, or pork—because, let's be real, your dog or cat won't be the food critic here! Just remember to sprinkle in some bone meal, which you can snag on Amazon (or wherever you shop), unless you're going the kibble route. My pups & kitties munch on kibble whenever they fancy, and I treat them to the homemade gourmet once a day. The kibble's got the bone meal covered, so if you forget to add that to the wet mix and you're feeding kibble as well, no worries!

If you're whipping up a culinary masterpiece for your kitty companions, just remember - Cats are the Gordon Ramsay's of the animal kingdom. They'll purr like a well-tuned engine for chicken, fish, and shrimp, and they'll indulge in beef like it's their secret junk food stash. But try slipping in some fruits and veggies, and they'll probably end up as toys rather than treats. Cats are obligate carnivores, which is a fancy way of saying they need a menu that's heavy on the animal protein. Sure, you can toss them the occasional fruity or veggie treat, but don't expect them to swap their steak for a salad anytime soon. So, when you're mixing this recipe for your feline friends, keep the greens for those mere canines (as kitty would say).

This recipe makes enough to feed a small army—or at least fill 10 to 15 gallon freezer bags to the brim. If your freezer isn't the size of a walk-in closet or you're not running a daily buffet for a crowd like I am, feel free to scale it down!

• 1-2 lbs. of meat or table scraps ground in food processor – you can use beef, chicken, fish, shrimp or a combination of any of those depending on your pets preferences.  

• 1 lb. organ meat.  Organ meat is a must and you can buy it freeze dried off Amazon but not sure how dogs would like that. If you have to go the freeze dried option, it's better than nothing, but you should be able to source organ meat from your local butcher and they would probably grind it up and package it for you if you ask.

• 1 c bone meal

• 1 large bag of frozen veggies - or two medium bags of different varieties. I make sure there are carrots, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, peas,

• 1-2 bags of frozen fruits medium size – must have blueberries and bananas. I also add strawberries and peaches to give the food a taste of sweet and both those are good for the animals. You can google "what fruits are good for dogs" and it will give you the list of do and don'ts.

• 2 cooked large sweet potatoes

• 1 gallon cooked rice

• 2 cups oats

• 1 c flaxseed whole

• 1 c Bacon grease or tallow (I just use leftover bacon grease)  You can also use fat scraps from a local BBQ place if they’ll give them to you.  When I go eat BBQ, I always ask for the fat scraps. When I get them they go in the freezer and I use them on my next batch of homemade pet food.

• I also add 1 c supplement of Missing Link (Amazon) It has all the stuff they would get in nature and is so good for them. For Max, I add the Senior Dog blend. It's loaded with all natural ingredients that help your pets achieve a healthy balance from their food.

• A dozen scrambled eggs.

I chuck the veggies and fruits into the food processor because if they're too big and can be seen, my picky eaters will just play "pick them out" and leave them in the bowl. Then, I mash the meat, veggies, fruit, eggs and all the extra supplements together like I'm creating a five-star meatloaf masterpiece. I portion it out into freezer bags (or wrap it in freezer paper if you prefer), and voilà, you're set for a couple of months! I've got 5 canine gourmets, 4 feline critics, and this culinary concoction feeds them for about 30 days—though I double the recipe because, well, that's a lot of mouths to satisfy. You can also freeze into cubes and feed them as pup treats or as a meal for the tiny fur babies.

Cesar Milan's got a recipe on his site, and he's tossing in things like avocado—because why not? But just make sure you're not adding something from the "do not eat" list. Basically, if you can chow down on it, your pup probably can too. Ask Dr. Google if you're not sure. Oh, and did I mention Chuck Norris and Katherine Heigl are in on this too? Yep, there are quite a few celebs with their own doggy menus. Just swipe their ideas... that's my secret sauce 😉

Just a quick note from the middle of nowhere, USA: Amazon is my everything store. I'm not their spokesperson or anything, but when you're living out here, it's all about convenience.

1) They deliver right to my doorstep, saving me from epic road trips and gas guzzling adventures just to find a single item.

2) Plus, they have everything I need in one magical swoop. When my kids were little and asked where I got something, I'd say, "The Gittin Place." My oldest imagined a store bigger than Walmart with everything under the sun. Fast forward 30 years, and voilà—it's called Amazon. The Gittin Place, indeed!

3) Did I mention they deliver right to my doorstep?