Homemade Veggie Stock

I don't meal prep every meal for the week at the beginning of the week but I usually have a pretty good idea in my head for what I'm going to make for most meals. I make a rough grocery list and try to make it to the store every Monday. Sometimes I'll have to run to our local market down the road to get random things, but I rarely have to go to the store more than once a week. Anyway, my point here is that this week I had the plan to roast a whole chicken on Wednesday, then throw the bones in the crockpot to make stock for the soup I wanted to make for Thursday night. I went to the store Monday and planned to go to the new butcher down the road to get chicken on Wednesday. Sadly the butcher hasn't started to carry chickens yet and being my stubborn self, I didn't want to go back to the grocery just to get a chicken. So, my solution...make vegetable stock. It's super easy, quick, and packed with nutrients and I already had everything I needed to make it!

I'm all about anything that helps me create as little waste as possible so I usually save my veggie scraps and keep them in the freezer. The ends of onions, potato peelings, mushroom stems, carrot shavings/ends, etc. For a couple weeks I stick the scraps into a ziplock then when the bag is full I pull it out and add it to my stock. I will say, try to think about the vegetables you're adding. Whatever you put in the pot will add to the flavor of the stock, so I try to avoid really distinct flavored veg such as beets.

Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for a few days or divide it up into ziplock bags and lay them flat to freeze. They freeze nice and compact and you can pull it out and thaw whenever that soup craving hits! If substituing vegetable stock for chicken you might need a little extra seasoning since chicken stock tends to have a little more "umf" because of the fat and collagen, but it's a great healthy vegetarian option!

Ingredients

Amount will vary depending on how much water you add/how long it cooks and reduces. I use my large 6 quart dutch oven and usually get enough broth from one large and one small batch of soup.

Tip- These ingredients and amounts don't have to be followed exactly. This is just an idea of what/ how much to add. If you have your bag of scraps, look at what you have and add more of what's lacking or if you have a vegetable you think will add to the flavor, throw it in the pot! Do always add the apple cider vin, ginger, and turmeric. These ingredients really add to the nutritional value of any stock.

1 onion (skins on)

5 cloves of garlic (skins on)

3 carrots (washed but not peeled)

3 celery stalks

A handful of baby dutch potatoes

1 large leek

1/4-1/2 purple cabbage

3 or 4 mushrooms

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 large nob of fresh ginger

1 knob of fresh turmeric (or 1 TBSP powder)

Handful of thyme (Rosemary too if you have it)

Handful of parsley

Pink sea salt

Lemon pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

A little cayenne pepper

Remember- This is a base for all kinds of different soups. You want it to have flavor but don't add too many different spices because it could throw off your soup recipe. An example of a spice I wouldn't add to this would be smoked paprika. It's too strong of a flavor.

Directions

1. Throw it all in a stock pot (I use my 6-quart lodge dutch oven) and fill with water until veggies are covered.

2. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 1.5-2 hrs.

3. Halfway through taste and add more seasoning keeping in mind that you will be seasoning the soup you make using this so don't over do it.

4. Before draining, squish the veggies a little bit, especially the garlic. I find doing this infuses more flavor into the broth.

5. Once cooled strain and pull out any vegetables you want to use later. I usually pull out the mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes and add them to soup.

6. Store in the fridge for a couple days or freeze for later use!

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