Side Note: My Mom is a great cook, and she can spell too. She reads this blog (because she is a good mom) and cringes at ever typo. I try and I use spell check, but sometimes when the kids need help I must admit that I don’t always proofread my blog posts as many times as I should. I am sure you understand, but I will try to do better in the future. Sorry Mom.
Home Made Chicken Stock—This is so easy and economical, but the best part is it is amazingly good. The same principle applies to any kind of meat your have. All you need are a few good bones and you can make a great stock.
1 chicken carcass ( I make chicken stock any time I buy a rotisserty chicken, or roast my own chicken. It is a little bonus after you have eaten a delicious meal)
Water-Enough to cover the chicken
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
3 stalks celery, including some leaves, roughly chopped
1. Place chicken in a large soup pot, Dutch oven, or crock pot. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1-3 hours. If using the crock pot 4-6 hours.
2. Add onion and celery during last hour of cooking.
3. Remove chicken and vegetables. Strain stock. Skim fat off the surface.
Home Made Veggie Stock-From vegetables you would normally compost.
I am sure I took photos of this last time I made it but I can't find them so you will have to imagine.
Enough veggies to fill a 1 gallon Zip Lock Bag. This includes the cuttings, stems, leaves, outer skin, stalks and any other parts of fresh vegetables that you might otherwise discard. Think onion peels, the ends of celery, carols, the stalks of parsley, etc. DO NOT fish out veggies from the compost bin because they have already started to compost and are not safe to eat. I keep a bag in the freezer and add these usually discarded parts of veggies to the bag. When the bag is filled you are ready to make stock. You do need a lot of onion to make good veggie stock, so if there is not a lot of onion in your Zip Lock bag then add a new quartered onion to the veg.
Heat a deep pot over a medium high flame. Add a 1/4 cup olive oil. Add veggie scraps. Sauté for about 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes. If there aren't enough onion skins amidst your scraps, add a new onion, roughly chopped.
Strain. Store in quart containers or, for smaller portions, fill an ice cube tray full of stock. Freeze.
