Homemade Flavorful Stock/Broth Recipe

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

That saying is so true when it comes to making any type of broth or stock. What you might have considered garbage scraps can actually save you some money and time!

Whenever I am preparing my meals, I like to save all of my vegetable scraps, bits, ends, and pieces, instead of throwing them out. My scraps usually consist of the following:

• Onion skins and ends
• Garlic skins and ends
• Mushroom stems
• Carrot ends and peels
• Spinach bits
• Cabbage ends
• Zucchini ends
• Celery ends and leaves
• Tomato ends
• Pepper cores with seeds and ends
• Corn ends and husks
• Potato ends and peels

I usually collect them in a plastic or freeze wrap and keep them in my fridge until I have enough to make my broth. I love doing this because it saves me a trip to the grocery store, and I also get to season it to my liking while using vegetables that I enjoy. It’s not time consuming either, because I am able to do this while cooking my meals, since I personally use my crockpot.

This is also a great way to use all parts and pieces of your produce and create less waste! You get more bang for your buck! You can also add the acceptable scraps to your compost pile or bin, if you have one, so there is truly little to no waste when you make your own broth. You can even do the same with your meats and proteins to make your own homemade chicken or beef stock/broth, by saving the bones, carcasses and scraps and getting all the flavor out the same way. Check out my written recipe below and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil of choice
• All collected vegetable scraps
• Water
• Seasonings to taste (you can omit if you are making stock only)

DO NOT USE ANYTHING THAT IS MOLDY OR SPOILED!

Directions

1. I place all my bits into my crockpot, add water, and let it reach a boil (approx 2-4 hours later). You can use a pot on the stove as well for a quicker option!
2. Once that’s done, I grab a strainer and pour all of my broth into a mason jar and store it until it’s time to use! I also reuse old sauce jars that have the pop tops, so that the heat seals them closed, and they last much longer in the fridge.
3. You can add whatever seasonings to your liking for your broth, or leave it unseasoned (vegetable stock) for a variety of other meals!