Homemade Crock Pot Vegetable Stock
Vegetable stock is a great item to have on hand in the kitchen for flavoring many different dishes. It is great to use in soups, stews, sauces, and gravies or use it to cook rice, quinoa or beans. It is also a nice way to add flavor to steamed vegetables. Instead of steaming broccoli in water, try steaming it in vegetable broth. It gives an added flavor to a quick vegetable side dish. Another useful trick is to use vegetable broth in soups that have been thawed from the freezer if they have become too thick after being frozen.
The down side to buying vegetable stock in a carton or a can is that it is expensive for what it is. Vegetable broth is mostly water and only uses a small amount of vegetables to make so I find it hard to spend $2.99 on a carton of veggie broth. It is very easy to make at home, it takes only a few ingredients, and if made in a crock pot it takes very little effort. It’s great to make a large pot of vegetable stock and freeze it in individual mason jars for use at a later time. When you are cooking a last minute meal it will be great to have a jar of stock in the freezer to add flavor to your dish. Here is how to make it:
Homemade Organic Vegetable Broth
Dairy-free, Gluten-Free, Soy-free, Vegetarian
Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: Low 8-12 hours
- 16 cups Water (filtered)
- 4 Organic carrots (peeled, cut into 2 inch chunks)
- 4 stalks Organic celery ( cut into 2 inch chunks)
- 1 strip Kombu seaweed (for added minerals)
- 2 Organic onions (cut into quarters)
- 4 whole cloves Organic garlic (peeled)
- 1 sprig Thyme
- ΒΌ bunch Organic parsley
Mix all ingredients in the crock and turn on Low for 8 to 12 hours. Once finished cooking, turn off the pot and let cool. Strain out vegetables and store in mason jars. If freezing, let site in the refrigerator for a few hours to make sure it is completely cool to avoid cracking the jar in the freezer.
Do you use vegetable broth in your cooking? What is your favorite use for vegetable broth?
The Author:
Learn more about Natural Parenting on my blog theholisticmama.com
Photo. Maggie-Smith
