DOGGONE DELICIOUS DOSAGE OF LIQUID LOVE (Or, for our French four-legged friends) SPECIALITE DU POTAGE DE MAISON DU JOUR

When their tummies start growling and/or our furry friends need to be on a lighter diet for a few days, here's a recipe that, thankfully, has worked for our beloved pets:

* Whole chicken or whole chicken parts (giblets removed!)
* 1 pound of carrots (or baby carrots...More expensive)
* 2 stalks of celery and a handful of celery leaves
* cup of fresh parsley
* a few cut-up sweet potatoes (optional)

There's no need to 'skin' any of the veggies ... just remove very bottoms of carrots and celery, and scrub everything well. Then chop or slice the carrots, celery or sweet popato. After washing chicken, place it in a soup pot. Cover chicken with water (plus an additional 3-4 inches H20)

Put on high heat until it reaches a rolling boil. At this time, there should be some fat, and dark-colored matter accumulating on top of the water. Skim it off and throw it away. When that's done, turn down heat to medium, add ALL the vegetables, and cook for about one hour (or until the chicken is completely done). We usually put the parsley and celery leaves in a small piece of cheesecloth so we don't have to strain it out of the broth. (We're lazy!) Depending on your stove, you may have to lower the heat even more, so the soup doesn't boil-over.

After soup is done, Allow to cool slightly. Remove chicken or chicken parts and allow to cool down completely. Remove chicken meat from bones and skin. (Please be especially careful while de-boning the legs.) Dispose of everything but chicken meat.

Since we have multiple dogs (and kitties), we like to make a double or triple batch. Simply adjust the recipe accordingly, but my FAVORITE tip is the following: After the chicken has been removed and the broth has cooled, put the liquid AND the VEGGIES into ice cube trays. When the broth is frozen solid, dump the 'chicken cubes into a sturdy zip lock bag. Take out as many as you need for the happy pets' meals, and allow to defrost. The frozen chicken broth will last for several months in your freezer. You can freeze the de-boned chicken in plastic bags as well. (It makes great bait or special rewards and treats. I usually have a bag of chicken in my pocket whenever I'm working or playing with my dogs!) ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!