Quick and Convenient

After several months following the budget friendly version of this recipe, I realized that steaming all my veggies in the microwave, in precut portioned steamable bags was the way to go to save time. You'll likely pay a bit more, but time is money. Also, the up front investment in the pressures cooker and freezer container makes this version so dang easy and clean up is a breeze!

Ingredients

Yield: 17-18 lbs. of food

10 lbs. meat (beef, turkey, or chicken)
1 lb. of organ meat (we like chicken hearts and they are usually close to a pound per package)
6 - 10oz. bags frozen sweet potatoes
1 lb. bag of lentils (or chickpeas)
2 (10-12 oz.) bags of frozen steamable spinach or kale
2 (10-12 oz.) bags of frozen sliced carrots
2 (10-12 oz.) bags of frozen steamable cut green beans
3 tbsp. Oil (olive or safflower)
Optional: blueberries, apples, omega 3 fish oil, parsley (I usually add these to their dog food when I serve)

Note: This is the version I use today, and I double it. That gives me approximately 35 pounds of fresh food and lasts about 17 days for my two large dogs.

Step 1: Meat/Organs

Cook your meat. I prefer using a very large pressure cooker (I actually have two of them) and I put ten pounds of meat in each with about a cup of water. Sometimes I will mix half turkey and half ground beef into each pot. Set your pressure cooker for 1 hour. If you don't have one, no problem, use a large stock pot or oven roaster and cook that way. For the organ meat, place them in a pot, cover with water and boil until cooked through.

Step 2: Potatoes & Veggies

Cook your potatoes, kale, beans, and carrots in the microwave according to the instructions on the bag ( I do two bags at a time and cook for 7 minutes). I typically do not cook my carrots, but rather let them thaw on the counter while everything else cooks so that they aren't stuck together when I mix all ingredients together.

Step 3: Lentils

While your veggies are cooking, sort through your lentils on a cookie sheet to make sure there are no sticks or other foreign objects. Rince with fresh water and place in a large pot. The lentils will double in size as the cook, so make sure the pot has enough room and several inches of water covering the top. Bring to boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until soft. Drain, rinse and set aside.

Step 4: Mix

This is a lot of food! I use two large pots and divide all the ingredients equally, minus the organs. Add the oil (about 1-2 tbsp. per pot) and mix everything together until evenly mixed.

Step 5: Measure & Pack

Scooping food into bags can be a hassle. To save time and money, I recommend Snapware Total Solution 3-cup containers (available in other sizes too). The 3-cup size holds 1 pound of food perfectly.

Here's a simple method:

Place an empty container (without the lid) on your kitchen scale and turn it on to zero the scale.
Add 2-3 chicken hearts (or other organs)
Fill the container with food until you reach your desired weight.

This makes portioning food easy and efficient!

The Best Tools for the Job!

These making measuring and storing food a breeze. I've purchased 50 of them since I make triple batches at a time.

Hands down these are the best 10.5 qt. pots by Faberware. A must for cooking and mixing large amounts of food.

This is trusty little scale I use. I have had it for over three years now with no problems.

A pressure cooker is the easiest way to cook large amounts of meet without having to tend to it. I recommend a 10 quart or larger to do the job.