Let Them Eat Veggie Stock

Eating fresh food not only opens up a world of new meals to make, but I also find myself wasting less of the food by trying to use every last bite I can get out of an ingredient. I get that cooking may not be on everyone’s ‘passion’ list but some things really are more simple to make from scratch than making boxed macaroni and ‘cheese’. (Gag. Excuse me.)

I use veggie stock a lot in my meals for many reasons. Yes, I have plenty of boxed stock on hand but I also make my own quite a bit. Because I already use the basics on a regular basis (onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, and friends) I wind up with little end pieces here and there that aren’t used in the main meal itself but seem like a waste to throw away.

For those little bits, I keep a bag in the freezer where I throw pieces in over time. When the bag fills up, it’s stock time!

Let’s cover the steps needed in this horribly daunting task:

Throw bits into a bag, located in freezer.

Because I assume you were going to throw these into a trash bag or some container *anyway*, I’m not even going to count this as a step.  

1. Remove bag from freezer, dump in pot
2. Cover with water to tops of veggies
3. Simmer for one hour. Possibly go get your nails done in the meantime
4. Let cool and strain liquid into appropriate container

 

Add salt, bay leaves, thyme or whatever else you want if you’d like it seasoned differently. It’s all optional (though I do at the very least recommend the salt).

Use in: rice, sautéed veggies, thinning out pesto for pasta, etc.

“But you still wind up with the chunks of veggies, except cooked!”

If you’re a hot kitchen mess like me, then you throw all the leftover cooked bits into your homemade marinara sauce as your ‘secret ingredient’. Best marinara sauce EVER.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnddddd……you’rewelcomeverymuch.

UPDATE: If you have bought your veggies from a grocery store, ***MAKE SURE*** to remove ALL stickers applied BEFORE cooking. Sometimes one sneaks by the best of us :(