Happy Monday! Well, Fall has arrived for us and nothing sounds better on a cool night than yummy soup. However, homemade soups often call for a lot of chicken broth. If you've ever priced the boxed or canned variety, it can add up quickly. I've been making my own for a while now and you just can't beat the savings...and the taste!
I especially like knowing exactly what is in my broth!
To start, I roast a chicken, seasoned with my fav spices, resting on a bed of cut onions in the slow-cooker for 8 hours on low. It makes a few dinners and smells divine!
After you've taken all the meat off and used it for meals or frozen it for future meals, leave the bones, onions, etc in the pot and fill to the top with water. Cook on low over night or 12 hours. (This picture doesn't show the pot full of water...fill it all the way, you'll get more broth!)
After it cooled slightly, fill up muffin tins and carefully transport them to your freezer. Sometime I strain the broth through my gravy fat separator. This looks just like a measuring cup, but has a strainer-like insert that catches the gunk and leaves pure broth. It can be found in any kitchen good store.
This is a messy job, but I promise it is really worth it!
When the muffin tins have frozen, take them out of the freezer and let them sit a minute or two. This makes it easier to get them out!
Sometimes I take a couple days to get all of the batches finished. Just pop the lid on your slow-cooker and put it in the fridge till your ready to freeze the next batch.
I put the little pucks in quart size freezer bags. One puck is about 1/4 cup of broth, so I try to put 2 or more cups per bag.
Aren't they cute? Now, I wasn't kidding when I said this was messy. Your counter will be covered in broth, but it cleans up easily and leaves you with about 20 cups of homemade chicken broth. Ready for soup, chicken pot pie, whatever you have planned! All for the price of one roasting chicken, a few spices, an onion, and some water.
Hope this helps you whip up some healthy and warm meals this Fall!
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