Homemade Veggie Stock!

This post some could consider as boring because Veggie Stock?  Really?  That’s a real snooze fest… but I promise if you make this, your world will be changed and you will send me flowers because of it.  (No, for real, this is now a binding contract.  I like calla lilies.)  Plus it saves you money to make it homemade!!  Win-win!

I’ve made plenty of homemade stocks over the past 6 years.  From beef, to chicken, to shrimp, to my fave, VEGGIE!  Remember how I had that freezer bag full of veggie scraps?  Sounds gross, but I promise cooking this down into a stock is a total game changer!

This is such a quick and easy way to save a few cents and always have a stock on-hand!  CAVEAT:  YOUR HOUSE WILL STINK LIKE COOKING VEGGIES! Thought I should mention that before you hunt me down holding your sweater that smells like a pot of veggie soup….yes, this has happened…. Anna Honey- remember when I had you smelling my sweater?! 

Now that we are on the same page about the funk, here’s what you need:

• A bag of veggie scraps
• Water
• Roughly a teaspoon of salt

1. Empty your scraps into a big ol’ pot. Use a BIG pot.  I’ve made the mistake of using a smaller pot and I’m still scraping yuckiness off my stovetop. (Insert eye roll here…)
2. Add water a little less than even with the veggie scraps.  (The veggies will unfreeze when you add the water and start to float like they are in the picture.)
3. Add about a teaspoon of salt.  
4. Cook it down for about an hour.  The longer you cook it, the stronger the flavor.  I like a strong veggie flavor so 45 minutes to an hour is about perfect!  
5. Periodically mix it, push on the veggies to get that sweet nectar out, and watch the level.  It’s going to cook down pretty quickly!

   

6. When it’s pretty low and a strong color, strain it.
7. Freeze or use!

Use this stock for soups, casseroles, really anything that a broth or stock is used in!  My fave is to use it in place of water when I’m making rice in the rice cooker.  (I like to think I am a good cook, but I cannot make rice on the stove to save my life!  Crunchy rice anyone?! Sickening.)  

If you make this, let me know!  I want to know what else you use it in!

Tomorrow I have an AMAZING Shrimp Taco, the world’s easiest salsa, and roasted corn side dish blog ‘comin’ right up!’  Seriously…. I made this last night and I want to do it again already!  Woah!

Happy Cooking (and eating)!