Chicken Broth Recipe

When I was little, I remember my grandmother making homemade chicken soup. She'd be in the kitchen forever with the only pot big enough to hold an entire chicken. She made it seem so simple, but it tasted so good. Now that I'm all grown up, I decided to pull out my own big pot and make some broth. I hate copying other people's ideas, so I pulled out my cookbooks for inspiration. I spent a long time researching recipes, and they all called for chicken bones (which freak me out) and they required you to "skim the scum off the top" at various points in the process. I'm sorry, but I don't think the word "scum" has any place in a tasty recipe. Back to cans for me.


I finally decided that this was one of those basic kitchen things I just needed to do. Back to the books I went, and I found this out: the scum comes from the bones. No bones, no scum! Hello chicken broth AND tasty chicken I can shred for salad, BBQ sandwiches, or whatever! So, I finally tossed some stuff together, and it made 16 cups. What the heck was I going to do with 16 cups of broth? I split it up in freezer bags - two cups each - and somehow, we used it all up in two weeks! I made some more today and wanted to share it with you.

Note: I do not put salt in mine, but you can add it to suit your tastes.

Chicken Broth
Makes 16 cups

What I use:

• 1 lb. raw boneless chicken (breasts, thighs, whatever)
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 small onion
• 8 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. salt (optional)

How I do it:

1. Place the chicken in the bottom of a large pot.

2. Clean the carrots and celery. Cut off the ends; discard. Cut the carrots and celery into 3-inch pieces. Add them to the pot.

3. Peel and chop the onion into large chunks. Add to the pot.

4. Add the garlic cloves and Italian seasoning.

5. Pour one gallon of water over everything.

6. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for an hour and a half.

7. Strain the broth through a fine metal sieve or with some cheesecloth and a colander.

Note: You can also do this with bones instead of meat; increase simmer time to 3 hours.

Use the broth to make soup, cook rice, make sauces, etc. Cool and freeze extras in freezer-
safe bags or containers. You can also use it to make things like my Cheesy Chunky Veggie Soup or Tangerine Chicken and Veggies over Jasmine Rice.

Shred the chicken for chicken salad, BBQ sandwiches, or any recipe that calls for cooked chicken.

You can also freeze it in 1/4 cup portions for when you only need a little for your recipe.
I have a gallon size freezer bag full of these, and they pop right out of the silicone muffin pan.