Use holiday or weeknight meal leftovers to make the perfect Chicken/Turkey/or Vegetable stock AND preserve it for months after the holidays using the Prepworks ProKeeper freezer pods.
Chicken stock lives in two categories in my house. It's either 1) I don't have it all, or 2) I have about a cup and half of leftover stock that slowly dies in my fridge for a few weeks until I finally throw it away, never having found an immediate use for it.
Not anymore, friends!
Freezer pods are a genius way to preserve small quantities of stocks, sauces and purees for later use - my fridge and freezer are a whole new level of organized.
My favorite is the Prepworks ProKeeper - they come in a variety of sizes: from 2 tablespoon-cubes to 2-cup portions that are easy to stack - and have a flexible silicone lid. They're great for freezing cubes of yogurt or fruit puree for smoothies - and large quantities of leftover soup or chili for later. Whatever you need to store, these freezer pods have got your back.
And in a double effort to use leftover food waste - we've taken the leftovers from a weeknight chicken pot pie to make a flavorful stock to be stored in the freezer for the next time the fam needs it. Homemade chicken noodle soup? We'll have it covered. A dash of stock to make a pan gravy? Done.
The beauty of chicken stock is that it takes almost no effort to get a fantastic result - which does not happen in life very often. Roughly chopped vegetables, the chicken carcass from a rotisserie chicken, smashed garlic cloves (you don't even have to chop them!), bay leaves, some peppercorns. That's it you guys. Then let it simmer for a few hours while you do other (more fun) things.
Homemade Stock
Made with Turkey, Chicken or Just Veggies
Yield: 2 Quarts | Prep Time: 5-10 minutes active prep, 4 hours to simmer
INGREDIENTS
4-5 stalks Celery, roughly chopped
3-4 Carrots, roughly chopped
1 Onion, chopped into eighths
5 cloves Garlic, smashed
2 Bay Leaves
2 tablespoons whole Peppercorns (or to taste)
Salt, to taste
Optional Ingredients
Carcass from leftover cooked Chicken or Turkey
1 bunch Thyme or Rosemary
1 Lemon, sliced into quarters
Chile Flakes
DIRECTIONS
1. Fill a stockpot with 2-3 quarts of water. Throw in celery, carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and any optional ingredients.
2. Cover partially with the lid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Lower heat to medium-low and continue to cook at a simmer for 3-4 hours. Skim any foam or scum from the stock with a fine mesh strainer during cooking.
4. Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer and season with salt to taste. Will keep 3 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer.