Vegetable Stock

After prepping a good bit of vegetables, keep your vegetable scraps.  Vegetable stock is great for boiling pasta, adding to casseroles, or as a base for soups.  

Making stock is simple.  Get a big pot.  Throw all your veggie scraps into the pot.  Fill it with water.  The vegetables should be fully submerged.  Bring the water to a boil.  Let it cook at a gentle boil for a few hours.  Once it has turned a nice golden color, turn off the heat and let it cool.  Siphon out all the vegetable bits using a fine strainer.  

* If you are making stock from meat, let it sit over night in the refrigerator so that the excess fat floats to the top, then skim off the fat.

My suggestion for bagging stock (I learned it from my father-in-law):  Use ziploc freezer bags.  Measure out 1-2 cups of stock in each bag.  Seal it tight.  Line a cookie sheet with a paper towel.  This is to keep the bag from freezing to the cookie sheet and it helps in case of leaks.  Lay the bags of stock flat on the cookie sheet.   Once they are frozen, they can be stacked and easily stored.