Stop Buying, Start Making: Homemade Vegetable & Chicken Broth

One great way to save money is to stop buying and start making a few household and cooking essentials. Did you know you can make vegetable and chicken broth out of what you were going to throw in the trash? Yes, you read that right. You know those pieces of meat and bone you throw in the trash? And the vegetable scraps you throw in the trash? With that and a couple of herbs, you can make vegetable and chicken broth. In my opinion, that’s like getting it for free. 

Keep two freezer bags in the freezer. One for chicken (or turkey, any poultry really) scraps and bones. The other is for vegetable ends or unused vegetables. I go through our vegetable drawer on a regular basis. Even though we do our best to eat all the produce, occasionally there is some that just doesn’t get eaten. Now it doesn’t go to waste. I wash it, coarsely chop it, and throw it in the freezer vegetable bag.

(I personally don’t make beef broth. We use it rarely, the “good” recipes recommend boiling 24 hrs., and I don’t want to take up precious freezer room. But if you use it more often, the same tips apply- save those scraps.)

A little extra tip: If you really, really want to stretch a dollar, here is what we do in my house. I buy a whole chicken (on sale, of course). Buying a whole chicken is the cheapest per pound anyway (versus buying legs, etc.) I roast it and the first two days, husband eats the legs and thighs, his favorite part. Then I chop off most of the rest of the meat and make chicken pot pie. (Click for my chicken pot pie recipe). But wait…we’re still not done. I throw the scraps, including all the bone (yep, the whole chicken) in a Ziploc in the freezer. And, of course, use them to make chicken stock.

I took step-by-step pictures so you could get an idea of the various steps: how big you can leave the vegetable chunks (nope, you don’t need to dice!) and how I strain the broth, etc.

I use scraps from the freezer. For the herbs, when I have extras, I freeze them in olive oil so I actually don’t have to buy those either. Like I said, this is practically free. Toss a thyme cube and parsley cube in a large pot. (For how I make thyme/parsley cubes, see “12 Ways Ice Cube Trays Can Save Time & Money.”) Add frozen vegetables, sauté for about 5 min., until they start cooking/browning. Add rest of ingredients (chicken scraps, bay leaf, water, salt, & pepper).

Simmer 4 to 5 hours. Strain. Cool. Skim off fat.
And yes, that layer of fat looks horrible. I know. But trust me, the final product tastes good!