Kitchen Experiment: Homemade Vegetable Stock

I'm all for kitchen experiments. I love them. There is nothing better than destroying your kitchen trying out something new. Aaron doesn't always feel this way as he's usually the one doing the dishes after my experiment, but I think they are amazing. This past week, I tried out a Facebook recipe for vegetable stock.

In the beginning of the year, I saw a Facebook video for homemade vegetable stock using veggie scraps. With as much cooking as I do with fresh veggies, I thought it would be worth a try. So I kept all my veggie scraps until I filled a one-gallon ziploc bag. The video says they are good for six months, but it only took me three!  Here's what you can use:

• Onions - Top, bottom and skins
• Celery - Top and bottom
• Carrots - Top, bottom and skins

I also threw in the bottom and inside skins of garlic. 

I didn't get a picture of my original bag, but this is my second one I'm starting!

Once that was ready, I dumped the frozen scraps in my oh so lovely Pioneer Woman dutch oven and covered them with water. 

I brought the mixture to a boil and then simmered for about 35 minutes. The video said at least 30 minutes and I think I had something else coming out the oven at 30, so it kept going until 35. 

I strained the mix through a mesh colander and then froze some into cubes and put the rest in a quart size mason jar. We have a ton of jars around, so I just grabbed one that was handy. If you freeze some, make sure to use silicone molds. They are so easy to just pop out!

Overall, I really like this idea. It's easy and makes use of all the veggies that we go through. I've used the stock already in a recipe and it turned out just like normal. It will be interesting to see how it goes with the frozen cubes.  Apparently you can do the same thing with chicken, but having just recently butchered my first (and only) chicken, I think it's safe to say that I'll stick with Rachel Ray for the chicken and beef stocks. Has anyone else tried this? Have you tried it with meat bones?!