Soup stock is used for many things, and it is always nice to have some on hand. You can make a large batch of soup stock and freeze it. Freeze the stock in heavy duty freezer bags or freezer-friendly plastic tubs. Vegetable stock can be made from whatever vegetables you wish. Do not use anything from the cabbage family, including broccoli and cauliflower, as these vegetables will overpower other flavors. Use onions, green onions, carrots and celery. You can also use sweet peppers.
Instructions
1. Process the vegetables in your food processor. You do not want to pulverize them, but a fine chop is perfect.
2. Add a couple of tablespoons oil to a stock pot. Add the vegetables and add spices to taste. Cook, constantly stirring for about 10 minutes. Add the water, cover and let the mixture boil for about an hour.
3. Strain the mixture into a bowl. Discard the vegetables, unless you wish to have the bits of vegetables in the stock.
4. When the mixture cools, pack up in your container of choice and freeze. If you'll be using the stock immediately, there is no reason to let it cool.
5. Make chicken stock by boiling chicken gizzards, bones and backs. If you are making chicken soup, a whole chicken (minus the gizzards) until the chicken falls off the bones. Strain the mixture. Set chicken aside if you are using good chicken meat. If you are just making a flavor stock, discard the gizzards and bones.
6. Use 1 part chicken stock instead of water in the above vegetable stock recipe. For chicken soup, you may leave the minced vegetables in the mix, or you may strain them out. Once your stock is made, add the chicken and chunks of vegetables and pasta or rice.
Tags: chicken soup, chicken stock, gizzards bones, stock made, Strain mixture