Chicken Broth

When cooking anything that's savory and boiled, it tastes better if you cook with chicken broth rather than water. I go through a lot of chicken broth because I use it in place of water for rice, boiled or steamed vegetables, and homemade stuffings. Also, you can substitute chicken broth for other liquids that you don't have like cooking wines (use a chicken broth with a half teaspoon of vinegar added) . I was buying chicken broth by the case three or four times a year!

Then, I learned how to make chicken broth from Ina Garten on the Barefoot Contessa. It's so easy, and I like having free chicken broth when I need it. It takes 5 minutes to set up, then you just cook it all day (or night) in the crock pot and then you need some ice cube trays to freeze the broth in.

Start with a chicken "carcass", the bones and stuff from a chicken you've had for dinner. You can use a carcass from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store too. Put the whole thing in the crock pot and cover with water. Throw in two onions, quartered. Add three or so garlic cloves that are peeled and split (I just peel them then bang them with a knife to split the surface open). You can add some celery stalks if you have them. Add a teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of poultry seasoning if you have it, maybe more salt to taste if you prefer.

Boil all night in the crock pot. The next morning, remove the bones, vegetables, and everything from the broth, with a slotted spoon or seive. Ladle the broth into ice cube trays, set the trays on a cookie sheet, and freeze. When they're frozen through, pop the cubes out and store in freezer bags in the freezer. One cube is roughly 1/4 cup...but you can also nuke a few cubes in the microwave and measure if you need a more exact amount.

Yes...it's sort of a pain to do, but worth it to me!

It's also nice to have ice cube trays lying around in case you open a bottle of cooking wine and don't use the whole thing...pour into the trays and freeze to use later for sauces and recipes. Also, fresh herbs can be frozen the same way if you have some leftover and you know you're not going to use them. Cut or tear them into large pieces, place in ice cube trays, cover with water and freeze...use them later in cooked recipes.