How To Make Vegetable Stock -- The easiest and only recipe you'll ever need. Make it in your crockpot for practically free!
I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCKKKKK!
Have you caught on that I live my emotions through gifs yet?
Okay, well now you do.
This past week has been a teensy bit CRAZZYY with moving both all of my stuff to Gram's, and all of MJ's stuff to her new digs that sitting down to a blog post, or even snapping a bite of my food before I collapsed into bed was just unimaginable.
Now that the dust has settled and wine has been had, I am snuggling back up into the blogosphere. You can't get rid of me that easy now. 😉
And it's just in time for this month's Recipe Redux!
Seriously though, when did that happen? Yesterday was Thanksgiving, yes? Aw, who am I kidding. Let's look at this month's theme!
Spring cleaning
Go through your pantry, cupboards, freezer, or fridge; what ‘treasures’ have you found? Pick an ingredient/spice/condiment that’s been hanging out for a while and give it the attention it needs. Share a healthy recipe made using your new-found pantry prize.
Now when you take a look at my recipe, you'll know this stuff has been kickin' around for some time.
But this is by far the EASIEST way to make vegetable stock. And it's practically free. FREE I tell ya!
The next time you go to peel an onion, throw away the ends of zucchini, or toss the tops of green peppers into the compost. FREEZE!
...them in a zip top bag until it's full and make some homemade veggie stock!
In case you're wondering what swampy farm water looks like..
If your grocery store is anything like mine, they'll have 1500 different brands, types, and sizes of both chicken and beef broth, and one measly 15 ounce can of MSG-laden veggie broth. No bueno.
Since I know you're eating all your veggies, there's really no excuse to not make your own stock this way. No crockpot? Just simmer it on low on the stove for a couple hours. Don't think you'd get away that easy!
So now between the moving and lack of current freezer space, my growing collection of veggie nubbins, doubloons, and knick knacks finally met their faithful end.
Crockpot Vegetable Stock
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 8-10 cups vegetable scraps
- 10 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large crockpot.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Strain off vegetables using a mesh strainer.
- Use or freeze stock as you would store bought varieties.
- Category: Soups, Stocks
My condolences to these lackluster photos, but hectic schedules and dreary rainy days don't exactly leave the best natural lighting options.
The sky is really the limit to what veggies you could put in here. My collection included:
-carrot skins/ends
-tops of bell peppers
-onion & garlic skins
-ends of zucchini & butternut squash
-sweet potato skins
-ends of celery
Now what to do with all this lovely broth?
Easy Vegan Garlicky Pea Soup - Healthy Happy Life
Copycat Amy's Lentil Soup - Produce On Parade
Or whatever your little heart desires! No head on down & see what all the other redux-ers are cookin' up with their scrappy dappy do's!
..Clearly I've had coffee already.
[Tweet "The easiest (and cheapest) way to make homemade vegetable stock #thereciperedux"]
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Make it a great day!
Have you ever made your own stock/broth?
What do you have kicking around your cupboards or freezer?
Serena
I've heard about doing this. Glad to see in your pics that it actually works! What a great idea to keep scraps in freezer.
Mom
I had fun adding to your collection of good stuff for a rainy day!
Nice tip Em.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
This is perfect! SUCH a good idea! I need to make my own stock now!
Marisa @ Uproot from Oregon
Love this reminder - all those little bits and pieces can be put to work! Thanks for the soup ideas too 🙂
Deanna Segrave-Daly
OK - this is AWESOME inspiration to finally make my own stock. I mean I have those veggie scraps in my compost bowl at least 2 - 3times a week and how much harder would it be to throw them in some water with a little seasoning? Pinning now....
Emily Cooper
Thanks so much Deanna! My frugal heart swoons. 😉