Vegetable Chicken Stock And Soup

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

So many people asked me about stock that I decided to "try" and give
instruction. ( I hope this works!!! ;-) ) This is an easy recipe as
long as you prepare for it about 1 1/2 weeks ahead. Yes.. I know that
sounds strange but read on.  For the week prior to making stock, every
time you use a vegetable,  raw or cooked, put the leftovers in a
plastic bag and put in freezer.  This includes things such as carrot
tops and peelings, potato  peelings, onion skins and ends, that
broccoli that will not get  eaten, the leftover carrots that you had
for dinner last night,  leaves of lettuce that are brown that you know
you won't eat, those  extra mushrooms that nobody will eat - any and
all vegetable  trimmings. Put them in a gallon sized plastic bag and
save. I have  saved whole tomatoes that were not good enough for a
salad - you name  it.. if its a vegetable, it gets saved.  Next thing I
do is each time I make chicken and trim it up (getting  rid of skin,
fat or bones) I put that in a separate bag and stick in  the freezer.
On the day you make stock, take all your vegetables out of the
freezer, throw in the huge pot, cover with water, add seasonings (if
you like). I use oregano, thyme, basil, bay leaves and anything else
that suits me to throw in. Throw in some garlic and 1 or 2 large
chunked onions. Mix well, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling,
reduce to simmer. Continue as below. (OR if you want just vegetable
stock, just continue to cook as is for about 2-3 hours, strain, and
freeze or add some beans, a few fresh vegetables and you have a yummy
veggie soup)  Now, while that is getting to a boil, take your chicken,
removing  innards (if any) and put chicken in a large pot and cover
with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until done. Juices should run
clear, or just  chop it open and look to see (Its about 45 minutes at
full boil  depending on size). When chicken is done, remove chicken,
reserving  water it was cooked in. Allow chicken to cool (break it
apart a bit  and throw in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes!). Once
its cooled  enough to pull the meat off (should still be warm, but not
hot) pull  off all meat possible, setting to the side. Throw skin and
any part  you don't want to eat into the vegetable pot. Once the bones
are  cleaned of meat, put the bones into the vegetable pot and those
innards you saved and also the chicken pieces you had saved and
frozen, and simmer away for about 2 hours.  Meanwhile, take that water
the chicken was cooked in and put it in the  refrigerator (or freezer)
and leave there until fat has risen to the  top. Skim off fat. Return
to pot, add fresh vegetables - carrots,  celery, potatoes, a tomato,
garlic, basil or anything else you might  like. When vegetables are
almost done, add the chicken you had  reserved and heat thru. And Eat!!
(I boil up some flat noodles or I  serve the chicken soup over mashed
potatoes)  Now, when stock is done, (I usually ignore it for about 2 -
3 hours  only stirring and adding water if necessary) Remove from heat,
and  run thru a strainer. To remove EVERYTHING, spices, pieces of tiny
chicken, the little pieces of broccoli, put a thin cotton towel or
cheesecloth into your strainer and run the stock thru again. It  should
be free of any pieces. Put into containers and refrigerate  overnight.
The next day, skim off fat and then there are 1 of 2  things you can
do:  Freeze in small portions (2 cup containers). Return to pot and
reduce  in half - this will be a rich bouillon. Freeze in ice cube
trays.  This can also be done with ham, beef, venison... any type of
meat you  can eat can be made into stock.  I hope I made this sound
easy, because it really is. If you have any  questions, please contact
me at Rowaan@earthlink.net  Recipe by: Michelle Piniella
(Rowaan@earthlink.net)  Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #875 by Rowaan
<rowaan@earthlink.net>  on Oct 29, 1997

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 134
Calories From Fat: 45
Total Fat: 4.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 2566.6mg
Potassium: 721.3mg
Carbohydrates: 3.2g
Fiber: 0g
Sugar: 2.4g
Protein: 16.9g