Chowhound Chicken Soup – a birthday present

It was Stitch’s birthday last Monday – and we did not really have a present for him.  He is already spoiled rotten by his mom and dad, so what to give him?  He has been having more frequent tummy aches lately.  With his vet’s help we have been able to diagnose him with hyperacidity a long time ago – which means smaller meals (he gets breakfast, lunch and dinner) and a few snacks in between, too.  We also (my hubby, mostly) have to get up very early in the morning (like 3 AM) everyday to feed him a few cookies (and lately we have to let him out to pee, too!) then go back to sleep for a few more hours.

Look at that face

  But look at the little rascal!  Who can resist that mug? Feeling guilty for not making an effort to find him something to open (he loves to tear open presents), we decided to make his tummy happy!

The recipe for this delightful dog-dish comes from Arden Moore’s cookbook Real Food for Dogs.  We’ve owned this book since Stitch started ‘complaining’ about belly aches and have cooked many recipes from it.  Anyway here it is:  Chowhound Chicken Soup. We did make a few changes depending on availability of certain ingredients…

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
• 4 cups of water
• 3 medium carrots – diced
• 2 celery  stalks – chopped
• 2 potatoes – peeled & cubed
• 1 1/2 cups of wild rice – uncooked
• 1 garlic clove – chopped
• 1 tbsp of canola oil

Heat the canola oil in a medium sized pot.  Add the ground chicken to the pan and cook the meat until it is no longer pink.  Throw the garlic in and brown the chicken. Add the water.  Then mix in the carrots, potatoes and celery and cover.  Let it come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for an hour and a half – stirring occasionally.  Add the wild rice and continue simmering over low heat for another 30 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Let cool a bit, stir before serving.  You may store leftovers in containers and even freeze.  And according to Arden Moore your pooch ” will howl for more”!