Fall Means Homemade Chicken Stock
As a kid summer was my favorite! I remember anticipating June with joy every year. School would be letting out, my birthday was around the corner (July 21st), basketball camp, swimming pools, etc. Summer used to be everything, however now that I’m an adult with responsibilities and kids summers tend to suck every last ounce of energy that I have. It doesn’t help that just about every major event in my family happens in the July (with the exception of my sons birthday); there is my husbands birthday, my birthday, my daughters birthday, our wedding anniversary, my parents wedding anniversary, my dads birthday, etc. I find myself looking forward to the end of summer more than the beginning of summer these days.
With that said, Autumn is a welcomed relief from the craziness. Time sort of slows down in the fall, the days get shorter and order seems to be restored. Also, fall fashion and soups make me feel cozy inside. One of my favorite things to do in the beginning of Fall is to make homemade chicken stock. It is so easy and so good and it comes in handy for mostly all of my fall and winter soups. I make a big pot and separate it into 1 cup and 2 cup portions in Ziplock freezer bags. Try it out and you’ll always have soup on hand in the fall and winter months.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2 bone in chicken breast
4 stalks celery (quartered)
2-4 carrots (quartered)
1 large onion (quartered)
4 cloves garlic
Thyme leaves
Sage leaves
Parsley
Dill
½ cup dry white wine
Salt (to taste)
Fresh ground black pepper
Pro-Tip: I usually save the chicken carcass (bones) when I make chicken stock to be used in the next batch of stock that I make. You can preserve the bones from the chicken carcass by placing in a freezer safe container and freezing until your next use. Using the leftover bones will increase the flavor if your stock.
Directions:
Fill a large (9-quart) pot up with water.
Add all ingredients over medium heat, cook for two hours.
Let the stock cool, then remove chicken and large vegetables from the pot.
Strain the stock into a large bowl to remove unwanted herbs/vegetable pieces.
Pro-tip: Chop up the chicken used to make the stock and separate into freezer bags to be used in soups throughout the fall and winter.
If you enjoyed what you read, or gleaned some insight/value, please share.
