We also save all the "ends" of fresh produce for stock-making. DH cooks more than I do and he keeps a gallon-size freezer bag filled with the veggie parts we don't eat (they are fresh when he puts them in there) for me to use.
I just made chicken bone broth (stock) yesterday:
chicken carcass (from rotisserie chicken; picked mostly clean for a few meals already)
cover with water (in this case, the chicken carcass was frozen, so I just filled the pot halfway, having the fresh water run over the carcass)
half a large lemon squeezed over the carcass (friend gave us a bunch of lemons from her tree; organic homegrown = extra tasty; any acid will do...I usually use vinegar)
I let that sit for awhile in the large pot, then I heated it to a soft boil (more than a simmer; not a full rolling boil). I turned the heat down and kept it simmering for a few hours. Throughout the day, I pushed the bones apart as they heated up so everything was submerged eventually.
I had to leave for awhile, so I closed the valve on our stainless steel lid and turned off the burner (gas). It stayed hot/warm.
When I got back, I brought it up to a soft boil again.
Then, I added several handfuls of frozen (once fresh in our hands) veggie "ends" (broccoli stalk, carrot ends, red bell pepper top, potato peelings, and some others) and got it back to a simmer until about 9 pm.
(P.S. If/when
I want to "hide" veggies from the family, I add them to the bone broth during the cooking time at some point after the "ends" get added. DH doesn't even realize alllll the veggies he has eaten! DD is less picky, but even she has no idea!
)
I turned off the heat and let it cool a bit, then I strained in through a colander.
(If you want a clear soup, you'll need to skim the "scum" off the stock after bringing the carcass to its original soft boil/simmer period, before adding veggie parts, AND use a finer strainer at the end. We don't care about clear soups, so I don't.)
I fill a six-muffin silicone cupcake "pan" first (on a half-sheet cookie sheet) and freeze. DH uses one "muffin" for each batch of brown/wild rice he cooks. Once I start making more bone broth than we can use fresh, I also use these for soup starters. (I always do this first every time I make bone broth of any kind.)
Then, I filled a glass food container for tonight's soup.
Lastly, I poured the remainder into a mug and shared it with DH.
I had forgotten to add any seasonings, but it still tasted yummy!
We're pretty sure it is a combination of the rotisserie carcass (still had some skin/fat/meat) and the amazing lemon.
(I usually add whole peppercorns and fresh herbs from our plants and/or neighbors/friends' plants when making bone broth, but save other seasonings for the soup-making process.)
From here, I am going to use the glass container full of stock to make a chicken & rice veggie soup for dinner. I haven't started it yet, but here's the plan (I've done this many times):
In my big pot, sautee butter with fresh garlic and fresh chopped onion. (DH already chopped it for me when he was cooking breakfast this morning.
) Right away the soup and house smells GREAT! No one will be home today when I start it, but when they are...this brings everyone to the kitchen and I put them to work.
Then I pour some of the stock in (how much depends on how dark/concentrated it is; lighter = more; darker = less) and bring to a soft boil. I taste it at this point and almost always add fresh water. I make my bone broth strong to reduce freezer/storage space.
I simmer this while I chop and gather other ingredients.
I start adding the dense/fibrous raw veggies first (carrots, celery, potatoes, yams, etc). We freeze some veggies before cooking, after cutting, specifically for soups and those go in now, too, if they are dense or fibrous. If I am using precooked and frozen bits of meat (chicken tonight), then I get that out and evaluate cooking time based on size of pieces (larger = more cooking time; smaller = less cooking time). If I want a thicker soup and we have leftover white rice of any kind (not that often), I add it early on since it adds texture/thickness as it breaks down from the heat and liquid. (I use leftover brown/wild rice for the "rice" part of my soups and add it much later. If I don't have leftover rice, I generally don't make a rice soup. But, you could always add dry rice at the appropriate point for cooking IN the soup.)
I start adding seasonings to taste now. No matter what kind of soup I am making, I always add fresh ground pepper and sea salt (lots of salt). From there, it is creativity and whim on the seasonings. I use fresh herbs and dried herbs and make up new combinations all the time.
I let the soup simmer for at least a little while at this point, even if I make it close to dinnertime.
Then, I add any leftover cooked veggies and/or cooked brown rice and/or uncooked pasta and/or leftover cooked meat from the fridge and/or quick-cooking veggies.
After it reaches a simmer, I taste it and adjust seasonings as needed. I always try salt first and it usually works like a charm.
Making bone broth or stock is super easy and requires very little effort, IMO, and it makes an excellent base for other foods and is nutritious. I recommend starting there first and getting that down. As long as it doesn't taste BAD, you can use the broth for rice or pasta or soups later (anything that is savory and calls for water). Making soup takes more effort and practice, IMO. It isn't difficult, but practice does improve the taste factor immensely. I make soups mostly to use up leftovers and my family is always happy to eat the soup since it is different than however we originally ate the food.
I do make fast soups in our Vitamix for lunch, too, and those require very little skill or time. I just follow the Vitamix recipe and they turn out good. They are mostly super smooth, so I add leftover cooked veggies to my bowl before pouring the freshly made hot soup in. DD & DH like super smooth foods, so they get theirs without chunky veggies when I make them in the Vitamix.
Enjoy!
ETA: I thought I would add that I pop the bone broth "muffins" out of the silicone "pan" once frozen solid and store them in a glass container or freezer bag in the freezer (depends on what is available and how much room we have). The first time I tried this, I used a regular muffin pan and WHAT A MESS!
Mine doesn't flex much and those puppies refused to budge until I set the pan in some water to loosen them. By that time, the water and the partially thawed broth "muffins" made a soup of their own and froze rather awkwardly. I ADORE my silicone "pan" for freezing liquids!
Items pop out easily once frozen and the "pan" cleans up in a cinch.
