Chicken soup (aka chicken broth or chicken stock) has long been known as “Jewish Penicillin” for it’s healing benefits. Recently, bone broth has become very trendy for the same reasons. People are drinking it to lose weight, improve their skin and nourish their joints.

Bone broth (both chicken and beef) is a staple in our household. We save our bones and vegetable scraps to make (and then freeze) a big batch so that we always have it on hand.

We use bone broth as the basis for soups and stews but also in place of water for cooking vegetables and preparing rice. And, I sip it from a mug when I feel a cold or stomach bug coming on.

Whether you’re using it for the health benefits, or just the versatility and taste, bone broth is easy and inexpensive to make at home. Compared to $7  or more for quality commercially available bone broth (like Kettle and Fire) it’s much more economical to make your own.

Great bone broth starts in your freezer

Bone broth can be made from just about any leftover bones you have. Any time we roast or purchase chicken on the bone, we save the leftover bones in a bag in the freezer to stretch our grocery dollars.

To stretch my dollars even further, I recycle my vegetable scraps. I keep a large zip-top bag in my freezer for the bits and ends of vegetables I chop each week – ends of onions and carrots, bits of fresh herbs and wimpy-looking celery, leeks, turnips and mushroom stems. I don’t use peppers or cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower or kale because these give the broth an off-taste. Those vegetables are better added after cooking when you’re making a soup.

Use an Instant Pot (pressure cooker), Crock-Pot or Stovetop

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You can make bone broth on the stovetop, in a Crock-Pot or in an Instant Pot (pressure cooker) depending on your preference and how much time you have. I like the convenience of using my pressure cooker as it cuts cooking time down to just a couple of hours. However, on a cold winter day, I’ve been known to make broth on the stovetop because I love the smell and the cozy feeling that the simmering broth gives our whole house.

Once the broth is strained, I freeze it in mason jars as well as in an ice cube tray (for those times that I just need a little bit to deglaze a pan or perk up a sauce.) What’s your favorite way to use chicken stock?

Try it and let me know what you think. Be sure to tag #grownupdish or @grownup_dish on Instagram so I can share your posts.

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