The garden may be finished for the year but that doesn't mean we have to be through canning....this is SIMPLE!

Simple Homemade Chicken or Vegetable Stock Recipe – Can or Freeze

Homemade chicken stock cooling and ready for storage in the canning pantry

SNOW???? In October???  Yes, it is hard to believe that Jim and I were out in the garden this past weekend picking our last green and sweet bell peppers and 3 days later it is was snowing on the morning drive to work!  I guess it isn’t that surprising – we do live in Ohio. Like the old saying goes, if you don’t like the weather here, stick around a day or two, it will change.

The stock simmering in the pot

This week’s cold weather got me in the mood to make old-fashioned comfort food. Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes, rustic chicken noodle soup, potato soup….you get the point.  As the temperature decreases, the need for stock increases. That doesn’t mean go to the grocery and open a box or can and pour it in.  I am talking about pure homemade broth made from the leftovers in your kitchen.  It is one of the easiest canning recipes that you can make!

Save those vegetable scraps in your freezer until you are ready to make the stock.

This week was a perfect time to pull out those lonely celery stalks, scraps of onions and carrots, and even the garlic scapes that have been taking up room in the kitchen freezer for the last month.  Use as many vegetables as you want to make a vegetable stalk, or if you have leftover chicken bones, throw those in for traditional chicken broth. Although you can freeze stock – today I wanted to use my pressure cooker one more time – a sort of send off to the canning season - and also save valuable room in our freezer!  Can’t wait to bring it back out in the spring!!!!

Homemade Chicken ( or Vegetable) Stock Recipe

Makes approximately 4 quarts

Ingredients:

Vegetable scraps – celery, onion, carrots, etc…
Chicken bones/parts (omit if making vegetable stock)
Salt
Pepper
Parsley

**amounts not specified because it depends on what you have on hand, and how your like your stock.  Ours never turns out the same but it is always delicious and flavorful!

Instructions:

Making stock is a great time to use up all of those leftover veggy scraps!

1. Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and cover with water

***Option – Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cover with water

2. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 4 hours

***Option – Place crock pot on low and let heat through overnight (10-12 hours)

Straining the chicken stock

3. Strain liquid in another large pot and bring back to a boil.

4. Place liquid in heated and sterilized canning jars – add a heated lid and ring and place in pressure canner.

5. Follow your instructions for your pressure canner and process quart jars for 25 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure (altitudes less than 1,000 feet), and pint jars for 20 minutes.

***Option – if you don’t have a pressure canner don’t worry – you can still freeze your broth — Just place cooled broth in a freezer safe container.  Check out how we froze ours here.

Enjoy!