Easy Homemade Chicken Broth

Bone Broth: my simple method to making and conserving homemade chicken broth

Good evening mommies!

The following is a basic bone broth recipe that is essential to so many of my dishes. I feel silly even calling it a recipe because it is so simple. Its more of a method I use to make broth in the most conservative and convenient way possible. If you're like me, and hate to throw any food away, you will appreciate this method. I must have been an Indian in my past life because I get such a kick from using every little scrap from any food I eat. I use this recipe mainly for chicken broth but you can make other kinds of broth if you prefer. 

What you will need:

• freezer safe containers (I like 2 cup size that are crack resistant and microwave safe)
• freezer safe ziplock bags
• a large crock pot
• water
• ice cube tray (optional)
• bones and/or carcass (whatever type of broth you want to make)

Preparation

Anytime you are cooking chicken (or any meat with bones) conserve the bones, cartilage, skin, or whatever other uneaten parts you may have. Place in a ziplock bag and store in your freezer until you are ready to make broth. If you only have a little, you might want to add to the bag until you acquire enough to fill your crockpot. You can even save the carcass from a store bought roasted chicken or even from your thanksgiving turkey! 

Instructions

When you are ready to make broth just throw all of the contents from your ziplock bag into your crockpot and fill the rest with water, being careful not to overfill. Set the heat to low and let cook for at least 8 hours. I usually throw mine in before bed and then turn it off in the morning. The longer it cooks, the more flavor you will get out of the bones. Ive even heard of people reusing bones but Ive never tried it. One batch of broth from a carcass is enough for me! 

Let your broth cool and then pour into your freezer containers. I like to to make note of the container size so I know about how much broth they hold. You can pre-measure the broth and then label your containers but its much easier to just do 2-3 cup sizes. They are also much quicker to defrost. You can also pour some broth into ice cube trays for recipes that only require a small amount of broth. Once frozen solid just transfer the cubes to a ziplock bag. They come in very handy!

To defrost you can set your microwave to a defrost setting and run for about 15minutes. The times will vary so experiment with your microwave. I usually defrost for 18 min and then hit it at regular power for another minute. You can also defrost the broth stovetop after popping it out of the container, I just find the microwave to be the quickest and easiest way. 

Well there you go! Now you can always have a freezer stocked with homemade chicken broth at your convenience. Soooo much better than spending money on store bought broth that contains who knows what topped with loads of sodium. 

Vera

Chicken Pot Pie Filling over Rosemary Cornbread

Chicken Pot Pie Filling over Rosemary Cornbread

Hello again mommies!

Here is my first mommy-friendly recipe submission. I am super pumped about this because I LOVE to cook. My recipes are very loose because I rarely measure (unless baking) so keep that in mind. I encourage any feedback or questions you may have. Happy cooking! 

What you will need:

• 6-8 bone in chicken thighs
• one onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 cups frozen veggies (carrots, peas, and corn)
• 3 cups or more of homemade chicken broth (recipe to follow)
• ½ cup flour
• salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic salt, 2-3 bay leaves, dried or fresh rosemary
• white wine
• olive oil
• 3-4 tbsp butter
• one package of jiffy cornbread (one egg, ⅓ cup milk)
• large Pot with a lid (preferably cast iron enamel) and a wooden spoon or spatula

Heat up oil in pot. While oil is heating, salt and pepper both sides of the chicken generously.  Using tongs, add chicken to pot (3 or 4 at a time to maintain temp). Leave for 5 minutes on each side on high heat until browned. Remove to a dish and repeat with the rest of the chicken. Once all chicken is browned and removed from pot, add chopped onion to the same oil and cook until translucent (2-4 min)at medium heat. Add garlic and 1 tbsp turmeric and ½ tsp nutmeg at the very end for a minute or less. Add a cup of white wine to deglaze the pot. With the spoon, scrape loose all the brown bits into the wine. Return the chicken and add 2-3 cups of broth, bay leaves, and garlic salt. Lower the heat to simmer and let cook until the chicken is nearly falling off the bone (at least one hour), stirring occasionally. The liquid should almost cover the thighs completely, if not add more broth.

At this time start the cornbread. Follow the box instructions and then add the rosemary before pouring the batter into the pan.

Once chicken is cooked and the liquid is somewhat reduced, remove chicken to a large platter to cool. Add veggies to the broth and allow to cook about 2 minutes at low heat. Add butter and flour to the broth to thicken. Adjust so that you achieve a gravy-like consistency and then remove from heat. Make sure to add flour slowly while stirring constantly to avoid lumps. At this point season to desired taste with garlic salt and whatever other spices you like. I also add a tiny bit of brown sugar (optional)

When chicken is cool enough to touch, remove all the good meat. Shred or chop to desired size add add to the gravy. Freeze all bones, skin, etc. in a plastic ziplock bag to make broth later (read blog on bone broth for recipe).

Serve the chicken pot pie filling over a piece of cornbread in a bowl. Mmmm, the best comfort food!

Vera

DIY: Elf Hats

Happy Holidays Mommies! 

So as the obsessed repurposer (I'm officially making this a word!) that I am, I refused to buy props for our XMAS photo shoot. I needed to avoid walking through Target looking for elf hats and checking out with $100 worth of crap I saw on the way! Sound familiar? So I decided to work with what I have at home. 

To start with, I raided my husbands closet for beanies. I found a burgundy and an olive green beanie. He won't even notice they're missing. Then I started to hunt for any fabric item that might resemble an Elf ear. This is when I came across a stash of boobie pads in my bra drawer. Thank goodness for my hoarder tendencies. Most people throw away those obnoxious pads that come in bikinis, not me! I grabbed two ball ornaments for hat tips and some felt and pom poms for embellishments. The rest is history. 

You will need:

a beanie
2 boobie pads (you can use beige felt circles too)
plastic ball ornament (or what ever else you have for the hat tip)
2 red pom-poms for holly berries
green felt for holly leaves

Note: The pom-poms and felt I purchased at the dollar store. I am a big fan of dollar store craft supplies. You just have to know what to buy.

Instructions:

First you need to fold the pads so that they resemble ears. Then fold the beanie brim over and tuck the ear in place. Sew through the brim and ear until it is firmly in place. Repeat on other side.

Next take your ornament and sew it to the tip of the hat. Pinch the sides of the beanie around the base of the ornament hook and sew them close together. This way you only see the ornament and the hook part is folded up in the top of the hat.

At this point you can decorate your elf hat. Cut two holly leaves out of the green felt and tuck them into the brim. Place the pom-poms on the outside of the prim, over the holly leaf bases. Sew through the pom-poms, brim, and leaves. Once they are secure, your Elf hat is done. Voila! The resourceful mommy strikes again.

Vera