Taking Stock

So you baked a nice chicken for dinner or maybe you bought a roasted chicken at the market. DO NOT throw out that carcass! It's full of flavor and will make some delicious chicken stock which you can use when you need it and it will be so much better than canned.

My lunch today - made with chicken stock I prepared after baking a chicken for Sunday dinner. 

Making stock is simple. Throw the carcass in a pot about the size of the carcass. Throw in any other bones even if they look useless. There is flavor in them. Throw in skin, too. Basically throw in everything left on the plate. Heck, throw in bones left on any plate! Toss in an onion cut in half. No need to peel it. Add a few stalks of celery and a carrot or two. Almost cover the carcass with water. Add salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. 

Strain the broth into a bowl or container. Refrigerate or freeze if you will not use it in a day or two. If you want to make a chicken soup let the bones cool then pick them over for pieces of tender chicken. Add them to the stock. 

Chicken Noodle Soup 

Cook some egg noodles with some sliced carrots, some peas and any other veggie you might have in the fridge that would go well. Drain, add your stock. Got some fresh spinach? Chop it up and toss it in. Simmer it for 5 minutes. Taste for salt. 

You now have a steaming bowl of fresh, homemade chicken soup. YUM.

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