Chicken Veggie Stock

I’m enjoying seeing what people are coming up with for their leftovers! Remember to get your entry in by tomorrow (Tues) midnight EST if you want to join in the first Leftover Tuesdays event.

I’ll post my own official Leftover Tuesdays item tomorrow. But my main LOT ingredient is leftover roasted chicken, so in addition to tomorrow night’s dish, I decided to make a chicken vegetable stock.

I roasted the chicken the previous night with carrots, an onion, potatoes and turnips, so I also had some leftover roasted veggies. Here’s my procedure:

1. Remove and discard most of the skin. Set aside most of the remaining meat from the chicken and about ½ the leftover veggies for tomorrow’s dish.
2. Place the remaining chicken bones with what is left on them, and the other ½ of the veggies, into a large pan. Fill the pan with water until the chicken is just covered, about 8 cups. Bring to a simmer.
3. As the pot begins to simmer, toss in other veggies you have around that you don’t need. I put in 3 diced cloves of garlic, 1 diced carrot, and ½ a large broccoli stalk. I also added a bay leaf, a bit of salt and white pepper, and 2 tbsp of parsley for flavor.
4. Let the pot gently simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for at least 90 minutes.
5. When the stock is done, set a colander on top of a large freezable container. Pour the contents of the pan through the colander so that the stock makes its way into the container. Sometimes I salvage some of the meat and veggies that look good in the strainer for a thicker stock. I didn’t do too much of that as I was anxious to also finish the chili I need to finish before the football game kicked off.Let the stock cool before putting cover on and placing it in the freezer—assuming you’re freezing it for later. Of course, if you have more immediate use for it that’s great.