Foodie Friday- This One's Dedicated to All the Kitties!

This is for the cats. It's a little time consuming to make, but any cat will tell you that they're worth the extra trouble.

Homemade Organic Spinach and Chicken Cat Treats

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound steamed organic boneless and skinless chicken thighs
1 cup fresh organic spinach leaves
1 cup organic quick-cooking oats
1 organic brown egg
1 tablespoon organic catnip
1/4 cup flour

PREPARATION

1. Preheat your oven to 350˚F. Steam the boneless and skinless chicken thighs until cooked through. You can swap for boneless and skinless organic chicken breasts, salmon, or tuna with cat-loving results too. Let the chicken cool for 20 minutes before the next step.

2. Place the chicken, oats, spinach leaves, egg, and catnip in a blender or food processor, and pulse on low until the mixture blends together. It should still be a bit chunky but also smooth, similar to the texture of wet sand.

3. Pop the mixture into a bowl and add the flour. You can also add a dash of salt or sugar to mix up the flavor. Use your hands to knead the dough until it's no longer sticky, then place on a flour-dusted work surface.

4. Use a rolling pin to create a rectangle of dough around 1/2 inch thick. With the help of a pizza cutter or small cookie cutter, create small shapes for the finished treats.

5. Place the kitty treats on a parchment-lined sheet tray, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool until room temperature, and then toss to your cat.

TIP
If your cat isn't a fan of chicken, then swap with organic salmon or tuna.


My notes- This is probably the only thing I will ever use chicken thighs for. I got lucky and scored free ones when I explained to the meat counter guy at Whole Food$ what I needed them for. He asked me to let him know how they came out because he has a cat of his own. (I took some of the treats and a copy of the recipe back to him for his cat) I might try them with breast meat just to see how it comes out and because I usually have that on hand. Also, if you're worried about the cost of organic foods, you can do this with conventional items. I doubt the cat/s will notice the difference.

Nightshade loved these, BTW. So did the feral cat colony. I'm not sure how long they're supposed to last, but I'd think they're ok for a week or two as long as you store them in a tightly sealed container.