Broth is one of those things you purchase at the store and once you realize how easy it is to make yourself you wonder why you purchased it. We purchase a chicken roaster almost every week or have them stocked in the freezer to use so we can eat Chicken Sunday or Monday night…..boil the bones and leftover meat down for broth and then use the rest of the meat for chicken salad. Chicken broth has so many uses you can use it instead of water to cook your rice, potatoes, or risotto and it adds so much flavor! The real deal is vegetable broth because I keep a Tupperware container with veggie scraps all week and then boil those down to make a wonderful aromatic broth (I use things like pepper tops, carrot ends, onion peels, celery stalk ends….) of course you scrub all these items before you cook them down. The broth turns out fantastic and you are using items that would otherwise go in the compost bin. It makes a wonderful vegetable broth that you can add to just about any soup or stew. The other good thing about using your homemade broths is that we do not add sodium or extra salt or any chemicals or additives in. The other good thing and it makes it so much healthier is that we leave the natural fat in the chicken broth which read this link here on the value of using your own natural chicken broth at the Weston Price Foundation “Broth is Beautiful”. I love this article because I agree there is something very fulfilling and nourishing about a good homemade broth!
At this point in time I freeze our broth but recently I read a wonderful blog about canning our own broth so we may be trying that soon. Here are a couple of blogs that share how they can broth if you are interested in attempting to can some broth like I am:
New Life On a Homestead – Chicken Broth/Stock Canning Recipe
Homemade Alaska – Canning Homemade Chicken Stock I even commented on hers that I need to do this soon because I do I am running out of freezer space!
Broth is one of those things that really other than the cooking/freezing/and your time is really one of those FREE items that if you are not including in your routine its kind of one of those things where you are letting money just slip between your fingers….I used to do it too I didn’t think about adding it as part of my daily habit or incorporate it as being “Frugal” but its worth your while to spend the extra time. I have seen broth as low as $1.29 but once you start getting into the different name brand broths or the organic broths they start to get pricey on up to $4.99 a container and that starts adding up! Plus you don’t get near the amount that you can make at home so you really aren’t comparing apples with apples because of the quantity and the quality factor.
Before you leave you may want to check out some of my other articles on rising food prices not to discourage you as the consumer but to help you feel more empowered and prepared for what is coming with our economy situation in the US. All of my articles offer tips that will help you put together a strategy to navigate through this changing economy. When I watch the news I become discouraged about rising prices etc…when I visit other homesteading blogs I become inspired and realize that getting back to basics has many positive aspects usually all of which are healthier for you. Making homemade broth is healthier, eating less processed foods is healthier, hanging your clothes out to dry is better for all of us and the environment. I wish you the best on this journey!
Food Prices Are Climbing – What’s A Consumer To Do?
I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and I hope you enjoy your Sunday! Thanks so much for stopping by our Lil’ Suburban Homestead.
PS – My gratitude no. 3 is for my two beautiful children Julia and Noah who as a parent I am just so extremely proud and not for their outward accomplishments which they both have many but for the love that shines from both of them towards others. They are both so generous and giving to others and I am in awe sometimes of the young adults they have both become. I am truly blessed and thankful that they are both a part of my life.
Just last week I made my own chicken broth for the first time. Its wonderfully delicious!! I used half of it already. I still have a quart of it in the fridge. How long does it last in the fridge and what type of container do you use to freeze it? And, finally…as if that wasn’t enough for you to answer…How do you make the veggie broth?
Misty I just use any type of rubbermaid type container or the Ziploc containers to freeze my broth in I also purchase the ones just made for freezing by Ball as well. I would say stock would last 3 to 5 days in the fridge always do the smell test first…that is just my opinion…read this link from Chowhound because everyone thinks differently on this…http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/562321 I usually own’t eat meat that has been in the fridge longer than four or five days so I follow the same rule of thumb for stock. I have had stock keep in the freezer for a year but some of the safety websites will say 2 or 3 months. Misty to make my veggie broth I keep a plastic container in the fridge and as we eat salads I put the veggie scraps in the container….I might put left over herbs, pepper tops, celery ends, onion scraps, onion skins, celery pieces….etc…I probably would not use too much peppers or eggplant or certain veggies that get soggy or mushy. I then cook it for a couple of hours on the stove and strain through a mesh colander….and freeze…you can even add bay leaf and salt and pepper if you want or other seasonings while you cook it. You will love it! Have you tried your first batch of chicken broth? I bet its wonderful!
Hi,I’m hosting a weekly blog carnival specifically for soups, stocks and chowders, every Sunday. I would love it if you would come over and post this recipe.
http://easynaturalfood.com/2011/11/05/sunday-night-soup-night-1162011/
I hope to see you there!
Debbie
Thanks Debbie for stopping in and the invite! I will definitely hop on over to your carnival!
Hi Karen Lynn, thanks so much for sharing this recipe with Sunday Night Soup Night. I’ll be hosting weekly through fall and winter, so I’d love to see you again with your next soup/stock/chowder recipe!