The 21-day Vegan Kickstart begins on September 5th. It’s time to start stocking up on items for your vegan recipes. Vegetable broth is a staple in a vegan kitchen. But one small can can cost 50 cents or more, and that can put a strain on the average Western New York family grocery budget.
Stop buying canned vegetable broth, make your own from scraps and peelings. Why pay fifty cents or more for a can of vegetable broth when you can get it free? Save all your vegetable scraps, peelings and odds and ends, and you can make 6 to 8 quarts of vegetable broth. All it will cost you is a little bit of time and effort and the cost of running your crock pot or slow cooker for 12+ hours once or twice a month.
This Examiner saves carrot peelings, pieces from celery trimming, onion skins, garlic skins and ends, bell pepper scraps, ends from trimming cabbage or Brussels’ sprouts, trimmings from tomatoes. The only thing I don’t save is lettuce or cucumber trimmings. I even save the skins from potatoes.
Put all the peelings in a bag and save them in the freezer, and keep adding to the big bag (use a gallon zip locking bag). When you have a couple of full gallon zip locking bags, take them out and dump them in your crock pot or slow cooker (we recommend a 6 quart). Fill with water, cover and set on Glashutte Senator Replica Watches LOW for a least 12 hours, but overnight is best. Add a little bit of salt if you desire. I usually don’t, I add salt to the recipe when I cook it.
When it is done simmering, allow to cool completely. I take a huge bowl and put a colander in it (or on it). I slowly and carefully dump out the completely cooled contents of the crock pot into the colander. Stop if you have to and discard all the scraps in the colander, pour out the stock into another Fake Porsche Design Boxster Watch container if it fills up, then repeat until you have strained out all the scraps and broth.
Package up the broth into freezer quart zip locking bags, 2 cups per bag. Label, date freeze flat on the bottom shelf of the freezer. When you freeze them flat they will stack better in the freezer.
Another frugal idea: freeze some of the broth in an ice cube tray. Pop out the cubes and put in a freezer bag, labeled and dated. Use these when a recipe calls for 1 to 2 Tbsp. of stock or broth.
No crock pot or slow cooker? That’s okay, just load everything up in the biggest stockpot you have (we recommend at least 6-quart), bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer at least 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Whether you buy organic vegetables, grow your own or buy whatever is on sale, having vegetable broth on hand for your vegan and meatless recipes will be easier and cheaper when you make it yourself. You can even still compost the vegetable scraps after they have been cooked down.
Follow the Buffalo Frugal Living Examiner’s frugal adventures on Examiner
Don’t miss another recipe, frugal find, household tip or freebie! Follow Rachael on Facebook and Twitter
Follow Rachael’s blog for more recipes, frugal finds, household tips and freebies
Rachael Monaco also writes Rachael’s Food Buzz for Niagara Buzz, and is a Community Blogger for WGRZ TV 2 Your Town
Make your own vegetable broth
The 21-day Vegan Kickstart begins on September 5th. It’s time to start stocking up on items for your Fake Hamilton Watches vegan recipes. Vegetable broth is a staple in a vegan kitchen. But one small can can cost 50 cents or more, and that can put a strain on the average Western New York family grocery budget.
Stop buying canned vegetable broth, make your own from scraps and peelings. Why pay fifty cents or more for a can of vegetable broth when you can get it free? Save all your vegetable scraps, peelings and odds and ends, and you can make 6 to 8 quarts of vegetable broth. All it will cost you is a little bit of time and effort and the cost of running your crock pot or slow cooker for 12+ hours once or twice a month.
This Examiner saves carrot peelings, pieces from celery trimming, onion skins, garlic skins and ends, bell pepper scraps, ends from trimming cabbage or Brussels’ sprouts, trimmings from tomatoes. The only thing I don’t save is lettuce or cucumber trimmings. I even save the skins from potatoes.
Put all the peelings in a bag and save them in the freezer, and keep adding to the big bag (use a gallon zip locking bag). When you have a couple of full gallon zip locking bags, take them out and dump them in your crock pot or slow cooker (we recommend a 6 quart). Fill with water, cover and set on LOW for a least 12 hours, but overnight is best. Add a little bit of salt if you desire. I usually don’t, I add salt to the recipe when I cook it.
When it is done simmering, allow to cool completely. I take a huge bowl and put a colander in it (or on it). I slowly and carefully dump out the completely cooled contents of the crock pot into the colander. Stop if you have to and discard all the scraps in the colander, pour out the stock into another container if it fills up, then repeat until you have strained out all the scraps and broth.
Package up the broth into freezer quart zip locking bags, 2 cups per bag. Label, date freeze flat on the bottom shelf of the freezer. When you freeze them flat they will stack better in the freezer.
Another frugal idea: freeze some of the broth in an ice cube tray. Pop out the cubes and put in a freezer bag, labeled and dated. Use these when a recipe calls for 1 to 2 Tbsp. of stock or broth.
No crock pot or slow cooker? That’s okay, just load everything up in the biggest stockpot you have (we recommend at least 6-quart), bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer at least 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Whether you buy organic vegetables, grow your own or buy whatever is on sale, having vegetable broth on hand for your vegan and meatless recipes will be easier and cheaper when you make it yourself. You can even still compost the vegetable scraps after they have been cooked down.
Follow the Buffalo Frugal Living Examiner’s frugal adventures on Examiner
Don’t miss another recipe, frugal find, household tip or freebie! Follow Rachael on Facebook and Twitter
Follow Rachael’s blog for more recipes, frugal finds, household tips and freebies
Rachael Monaco also writes Rachael’s Food Buzz for Niagara Buzz, and is a Community Blogger for WGRZ TV 2 Your Town