Chicken Stock, organic and homemade

My friend Emily encouraged me to start making my own chicken stock. She kept telling me it wasn't difficult, which I found to be so true! Here is the recipe I made along with her tips. You do have to have a whole day at home though while the stock simmers on your stove top. Although another friend told me today she puts hers in the crock pot. I will have to try that next!

Here is the recipe of what I did. I made potato kale soup with some of the stock and it was delicious. That recipe will post on Monday.

Prep and Cook Time 10 hours

Makes about 12 cups of broth

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of free range, organic chicken bones and giblets ( I used the bones from a whole chicken along with giblets.) Mine were roasted in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes prior to putting in the pot. This is optional.
• 1 large onion, any type
• 3 carrots, organic
• 3 celery stalks, organic
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 3 sprigs of fresh parsley
• 4 cloves of whole garlic
• 10 cups of  COLD water
• 2 Tablespoons of organic extra virgin coconut oil
• Feel free to add other left over veggies you might have like leeks, shallots, ginger, potatos and so forth. It will only make the stock richer. I now save up my end of tomatos, ends of carrots and so forth. I put them in a bag in the freezer and save up for my next pot of stock! Also feel free to toss in other left over herbs such as thyme, rosemary and basil.

Place all veggies, spices, chicken parts and water in the pot on the stove top. Turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 8 hours ( do not bring to a boil. Bring to a slow simmer over a less then 45 minute period). Check water level through out the day. Add up to two more cups to keep it from boiling off. Skim off any "gunk" that rises to the surface. Do not stir the pot. Just let it sit!

 When it is done simmering strain off the liquid and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning scoop of the fat and solids that float to the top then restrain through a cheesecloth ( my friend strains hers through a paper towel.). Freeze broth for later use or use in a soup today! I got 12 cups out of my last batch. I froze them in two cup portions.

Grass Fed Beef Stock Recipe

In an effort to save more money I have decided to make my own beef and chicken stock. After having tasted the first two meals using these stocks I have decided to share the process. Homemade stock is so good! Other than the time it takes to make (meaning you need to be home for about 8-10 hours) it is easy to throw together. Today I will share the beef stock recipe, tomorrow the chicken stock. The idea for this was inspired by a dear friend who very kindly asked if I had made my own yet. Thank you! The best part of this all is how affordable, frugal this is to make. Granted I had bought a quarter of a cow so I already have my beef bones. Original recipe found at allrecipes.com 

Prep time is 10 hours. Makes 10 cups of broth.

Ingredients:
6 Pounds of grass fed beef or organic beef bones
1 large onion any color or type
3 large carrots, organic
4 stalks of celery, organic
1 large organic tomato
1 large, cubed potato do not peel
10 whole black peppercorns
Large bunch of fresh organic parsley
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of salt
4 teaspoons of dried thyme
6 whole cloves of garlic ( you don't have to peel)
10-12 cups of water
 Directions:
 Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place bones, chopped carrots, celery and onion in a shallow roasting pan. Place in oven and cook for 30 min to an hour depending on the size of your bones. They are done when they are browned on both sides. My bones had a lot of meat on them as you can see. I did not turn my bones as suggested in the original recipe.

Next in a large saucepan on the stove top place your now roasted beef bones and veggies, do not discard what is left in your roasting pan place 1/2 cup of water in it and rinse into large stock pot on your stove top. ( The original recipe had said to drain off the fat, grass fed beef left me with hardly any fat worthy of mention, so I did not drain it, I used it for a more flavorful stock). Now add the remaining ingredients from the list into the stockpot. Water, tomatoes, potatoes, spices. Place lid on stock pot and turn to low heat. Let simmer on stove top for 8 hours. (longer adds more depth to the stock. You might need to add 1 or 2 cups of water half way through). After 8 hours let cool for 30 minutes, remove the meat and vegetables from stock, then place the liquid in refrigerator overnight.

The next morning remove the fat that has solidified on the top of the stock. Then place a cheesecloth over a large bowl. ( Either secure the cheesecloth somehow or use your husband or a friend to help you here.) Secure cheesecloth. Then pour the stock through the cheesecloth. You now have your stock! Enjoy in the entree of your choice.

Recommended Reading List for Going Organic

I didn't just one day decide to "go organic" it was a gradual process of changed thinking. It started with me getting pregnant and "remembering" things I had heard about makeup and the "bad" things in it. Knowing that skin is a large organ and likes to suck in everything you put on it, the first thing I did was run to the store and replace my whole makeup line and bathroom line-up. Now I wouldn't have the money to do that. Then I did. So if I was doing it now I would replace each item one by one as I ran out. Even the conversion to organic only food was a slow progression. I had quite a bit of non-organic items in my pantry that I did not have the money to just throw out...so we ate them and replaced them the next time around with organic. Changed thinking is a process. My journey was helped through books, online research and just talking to friends. I thought I would share with you today some books and websites that helped me on my journey to living organically, frugally and more simply.

Books:
Healthy Child, Healthy World . I bought this book through Amazon on a whim. I was perusing the amazon website one night after work and thought. I am going to end up with at least a week off before baby comes I should order some books to read. This was one of them. It has a lot of very helpful information in it on why certain toxins in our environment are bad for our health and our little ones. It doesn't go into a lot of detail which I found nice. I was not overwhelmed with a wealth of information all at once. It gave me the basics and then resources for further study. I highly recommend this book. Not just if you have children but also for the single person out there. The information in it applies to everyone's lives. A similar book with out a baby focus is "Green Goes with Everything". I also found this book very helpful especially when paired with the first book. The Makers Diet I checked out from the library. I could have skipped the first half where he tried to sell me on his diet. When I actually got to what he recommended I agreed with him on a lot of his points. I recommend checking it out for a different from mainstream view on what is and is not good for you, in regards to food.
Living Well on a Shoestring is a book about frugal living. Not specifically organic but it has some great ideas. Things I had never thought of. Like cooking and freezing dried beans! I checked mine out from the library the first time and have re-checked it out 5 times!

Magazines:
I personally love reading and looking at magazines. They are short, simple and to the point. Mother Earth News has been a great resource for organic gardening ideas, meals, cleaning ideas and so much more. I love getting it in the mail every month. Another magazine that is fun, crafty and really shows me a fun way to save money is Mary Janes Farm. It has a lot of pretty pictures and creative ideas for how to make new things from old things. Whole Living put out by Martha Stewart has also been a good resource. I don't always agree with everything any of these magazines say but who does. They are still fun and informative. The Herb Companion
and Clean Eating have been to magazines that have encouraged me to eat whole foods with creative ways to cook them.



Websites:
Environmental Working Group. I use this website the most for finding up to date information on food, plastics, and toiletries.
The Soft Landing is actually an online store. I haven't purchased anything through them but I read their blog which often links you to good information. The other day I read about what canned food does not contain BPA through them. Click on their blog link to read.
Passionate Homemaking is a young Christian girl who is passionate about living her life to please God. She writes alot about healthy living and eating.

This is the short list. I just wanted to give you someplace to start. Begin with one resource and go from there. It is simpler that way. (or you could be like me when I was pregnant and had piles of books everywhere in the house, wait...I still do that!)

Baked Beans from Scratch

Lately I have had a craving for baked beans. Specifically baked beans on toast (gluten free for me, sprouted for the accountant). With all the press about BPA I didn't want to just go out and buy some "organic" ones in a can. Because they might be organic but not BPA free. So I decided to make them from scratch. The original recipe is found at all recipes . I doubled the sauce from the original because I found the first batch too dry, not sweet enough. I also omitted the brown sugar because I didn't have any and instead used more molasses. Here is my edited version of the recipe.

Serves 6-8 people. Not including bean soaking time. Prep and Cook Time takes 6 hours.

Ingredients:

2 cups of dry organic navy beans

1 pound of organic bacon

1 medium organic onion

9 Tablespoons of organic blackstrap molasses

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of Himalayan salt

1 cup of organic ketchup

1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard seed powder

2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup of organic sugar

Soak the dried beans in water overnight (the water should cover the beans). The next morning cook the beans on the stove top on medium to low heat for 1.2 to 2 hours until beans are tender to touch. Drain the beans and save the liquid. (I forgot to do this the first time)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a separate pot on the stove top place the bacon. Cook until done. Remove bacon from pan but do not discard the cooking fat. Place the now cooked beans in the pot with the bacon fat. Then layer the bacon and chopped onion on top. (This picture has a red onion because I ran out of yellow. Red works just fine)

Next in a saucepan place molasses, sugar, spices, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup. Bring to a boil then pour over your layered bean pot. Use reserved water to bring the liquid up to just covering the beans.

Cover pot and place in oven, Cook for four hours. Set the timer for one hour, and every hour thereafter to check to make sure beans are not dry. If liquid level drips add more of the reserved bean liquid (or if you threw that away plain water). 

Olivia being a monkey.

Yum! Homemade is WAY better than out of a can...just a lot of work!

Good Article About Phthalates and what they are.

If you have never heard or perhaps have heard a little about phthalates and wondered what all the hype was about here is a good article to read. Original link found on the environmental working group page.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69H1PM20101018

Monday night Meal Idea: Homemade Organic Split Pea Soup with Ham

With the weather turning cold soup is sounding very very appealing. Last night I decided to use the ham I had been given and turn it into split pea soup. The result was delicious if I do say so myself! This is an incredibly easy soup to make. I made it on the stovetop but it can be made in your slow cooker too.

Serves 4-6. Prep and cook time 60 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups of organic chicken broth ( I used the last container I had from Costco. Next time it will be my homemade broth!)

2 cups of green split peas, organic (purchased for 1.19 per pound at the local co-op)

2-3 cups of cooked ham ( I was given my ham)

1 organic yellow onion, diced (Klesick Family Farm)

3 organic carrots, cut small ( Klesick Family Farm)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp of black pepper

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp of margarom

2 tablespoons of extra virgin cold pressed organic coconut oil (nutiva, purchased through amazon.com)

2 cups of water

Place pot on stovetop. Put coconut oil, broth, water, ham, split peas, onions, carrots and spices in the pot on the stovetop. Simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes. Serve warm! Very Very simple soup to make!!

"Mommy I love your spoons! They are more fun than my toys!"