MaryLee's Healthy Food and Easy Cooking - Stocks

Hello,

In my last post I said I would talk about stocks.

There are very good stocks you can purchase now from grocery stores which are good to use however, I prefer to make my own. But when in a jam I will use the stock cubes but these are very salty.

When I make my stock I freeze it in freezer bags or containers. Portion size is 1 – 2 cups each, then I can pull them out when needed. I also put in ice cube trays for easier use. Once frozen just put into freezer bag and pull out the necessary number of cube needed. Simple!

An easy trick for stock is when cooking potatoes or vegetables drain liquid into a bowl and use it for stock. Potato water can be a little cloudy so if you want a clear stock, then keep only the vegetable water.

These are great for soups, sauces, stews, and casseroles.

Here is how I make my stock.

Vegetable stock

2 carrot cut in half
2 celery sticks cut in half
1 onion cut in half
2 clove garlic cut in half
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
Ground pepper

Put in saucepan, add water almost to the top of the pan, and gently boil for 1 hour. If you boil it to rapidly the liquid will reduce very quickly, which you do not want. Remove the vegetables keep only the stock

Chicken/Turkey Stock

1 chicken or turkey carcass
1 onion cut in half
1 celery stick cut in half
1 clove garlic cut in half
1 bay leaf
Ground pepper

Place carcass into sauce pan add the vegetables and pepper cover with water and simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours. Do not let the liquid reduce down to much. Keep only the liquid.

Use beef or lamb bones instead of chicken but before freezing let cool and skim off the fat that will rise to the top of the liquid.