Penny Pinching Chicken Stock

For a last-minute meal around here, we love to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store every now and then. It seems like it just goes so far, and it is ready to go right when we get home. Yum. I use chicken stock for so very many recipes that I thought I'd try to make my own with the chicken bones that are left over. Here's how.

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

Chicken bones/skin of one small chicken

1 onion

4 stalks of celery

3 carrots (or a handful of baby carrots)

4 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

seasoned salt

pepper

(+ any other spices you like)

Directions:

In a large pot, add chicken bones, then fill with water. Roughly chop the onion, celery (hearts, leaves, and all), and carrots, and add to the pot. Peel and smash the garlic, and add it along with the bay leaves and salt and pepper. Simmer for at least an hour. Do a quick taste test, and add seasoning as needed. Strain all of the veggies, bay leaves, and chicken out of the liquid, and discard. Let it cool, then store in Ziploc bags in the freezer. Here's a hint - lay the bags flat stacked one on top of the other to save space. Once frozen, they'll be much easier to move around and cram into that very little open space in your freezer (or maybe that's just mine!).

Stay tuned for my homemade chicken noodle soup recipe using this stock and a handful of my baby's favorite babyfood recipes!