Tips, Tricks, and Tutorial Thursday - Turn Left Overs to Stock

For today's Tips, Tricks and Tutorial Thursday we are going to talk about Stocks. This is a great thing to have on hand and very simple to make. When we say "Turn Left Overs to Stock" we mean save some of your scraps for a stock.

Great things to save for stock are:

Celery Ends

Carrot Peels and Ends

Onion Skins and Ends

Excess Garlic Cloves

Chicken, Beef or Pork, Bones, or Skins

Mushroom Ends or Caps

Potato Peels

Chicken Skins

Meat Fats

Meat Bones

You can freeze these things also until you have enough to make a stock. Once you have all the things to throw in, just add them all to a pot, cover with water and let boil (30 minutes to an hour). It is just as easy as that.

If you are vegetarian or Vegan, you can use any and all vegetable scraps you have. For chicken, beef and pork broths you want to usually stick with the basic vegetables (listed above). This is especially true if you plan on using stock for gravies.

How to store homemade stock:

There are a few way to store your stock, you can fill Mason Jars with your stock and freeze for up to 6 months in the freeze (defrost in warm water in the sink). You can fill ice cube trays so you have small portions to use when needed. Or you can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for one work week (five days).