Stock

It's been a LONG time. I thought to erase this blog, but I guess I'll keep it around for a while longer.

The next time you make something with bones in it, save the bones to make soup stock. Here's an example.

Make a whole chicken (we usually cook chickens in the crock pot). Save the skin, fat and bones. Put them all in the crock pot along with whatever juices are left in the pot after cooking it (and making gravy if that's what you like to do with the drippings!). Throw in a few carrots, onions and celery. There's no need to peel anything, just chop it into large chunks. Season if you wish (I will put in a little salt, pepper, garlic, and maybe some herbs). Cover with water - almost to the top of the pot. Put the lid on and let it simmer all night on low. In the morning, turn it off. If you are not in a hurry, let it sit there till it cools before straining into a bowl. If you are in a hurry, strain out the liquid into a bowl; throw the rest of the stuff away. Let it sit in the bowl till it has cooled enough to put in the fridge. Whether you strain right away or not, leave the bowl in the fridge over night - a layer of fat will rise to the top. The next morning, scoop this layer of fat off and pour the rest of the stock into freezer containers. (if you store in mason jars, leave about 1" head space and DO NOT put the lids on till it's frozen)
*some people leave the fat - if that is what you'd like to do, then you do not need to let it sit in the fridge over night ... just put into freezer containers after it cools down.

Now you have a yummy, cheap, home-made stock to use in your next soup. You could also use it for gravy, mashed potatoes, or whatever else you would need to us stock for.

Enjoy!