~Home Made Chicken Stock/Broth~

Why buy canned broth anymore when u can make your own stock and broth at home! Benifits of doing this? Besides your house smelling DIVINE! And everyone entering your home wanting to know what that amazing smell is you have simmering in the pot! Its also alot cheaper then buying canned broth from the store! You also will know exactly what goes into your broth/stock! You can put whatever you like into your pot! I dont make plain veggie stock i dont see the point in it :P but thats my opinion! Ive yet to venture into beef broth but one of my best friends had attemped it a couple of times and hasnt been to impressed with her results, me i will stick to yummy chicken stock! Why? cuz i use it in almost everything if i need to add liquid to a dish! I can not say that i have had one batch turn out the same because depending what veggies i have used over the past month or so is what gets tossed into a frezzer bag and saved for stock! But i can tell you that the darker my batch comes out the better it is! I know in these pictures you can see the "fat" on the top of the stock but thats beacuse i have not yet skimmed the top of my broth yet in all of these pictures! I love making my own broth and i cant thank my bestie Angie enough for showing me how! Since shes shown me i have made 5 batches of my own stock! (i know thats alot isnt it?!?!) I skim the top then i freeze the stock in small 2 cup containers and ice cube trays! I have to admit this last batch i made i will be freezing the whole lot in ice cube trays because you have no idea how much of a time save it is just to toss a couple of cubes into a sauce or a casserole dish! Anyway here is a guideline to follow if you like :) But like i said use what you like and i always taste it to make sure it has enough flavor to it but i only taste after its been boiling for a few hours :D

~Guideline For Tasty Stock~

Take a large pot of some sort that will hold your left over chicken bones (skin/carcasses etc)
I usually throw 2 chicken carcasses left over from a roasted chicken, bones and skin throw it in the pot.

now for veggies....

here is what went into my last batch;

onion ends

carrots

fresh parsely from my garden

roasted carrots

roasted butternut squash

summer squash tops and bottoms

zuchini tops and bottoms

butternut squash pulp

over ripe tomatoes

2 onions roughly cut up

throw all your veggies into your pot now added water to cover your veggies anc chicken bones!

Dont fill your pot all the way to the top leave some room for the yummies to boil!

Now you dont have to add anything else to this if you dont want BUT i do!

I add a handful of bayleaves dryed or fresh is doesnt matter!

I add garlic powder to taste and a lil onion powder as well!

Also you dont have to BUT adding 2 tablespoons of apple cider brings out the marow from the chicken bones!

This last time i added 1 teaspoon of seasalt

2 Tablespoon of dried sage

2 Tablespoon of dried oregano

2 Tablespoon of peppercorns (whole)

1 teaspoon of english curry powder

and a pinch of ground fennel powder

Bring your pot to a boil, i usually let mine boil for about hlf an hr then i turn it down to a simmer and stir it everyone once in a while, i boil the pot for about 24hrs then i strain the contents of the pot and taa daa!

P.S i will soon be posting a recipe for some extremely tasty fall chicken and veggie soup i made with some of the stock!