What do you do with your veggie scraps? By scraps I mean onion and carrot ends, celery ends etc... veggies you would use in a stock. How about your chicken and beef bones... do you toss them? If so STOP- right now!! This is actually a tip I learned from my mother in law- save all your veggie scraps and bones and make your own chicken or beef stock!!! I know it sounds like lots of work, but it is very simple and MUCH better for you than store bought or powder stock! And you're not "wasting" good veggies! Besides- if all your ingredients are already frozen, the only work is putting everything into a pot and cooking it down!
Get all your ingredients out of the freezer (no need to defrost them!), put them in a large stock pot, cover them with water, season with salt and pepper (you can also add some fresh/dried herbs here if you'd like!), add a little apple cider vinegar (about 2-3 TBS per pot) and simmer it for 8-12 hours!! Let it cool completely (I usually cover and let it sit over night), strain off veggies and bones and pour into freezer safe containers (I use plastic sparkling water bottles and freeze it in 4 cup portions) label (make sure to label how much is in your container!) and freeze! It really is THAT simple!! And it tastes AMAZING!!!
So- next time you're chopping veggies, instead of tossing the parts you don't eat- throw them in a sandwich bag in the freezer and save them for homemade stock! Do the same with your chicken carcasses and beef bones... the veggies, water and apple cider vinegar is just the base for any kind of stock you want! You can even make a plain veggie stock if you'd like (omit the vinegar)!
Enjoy! :)
