Day 18 - chicken stock

It's been a pretty boring, rainy day so far, but rainy days are good for making chicken stock. Jamie once taste tested mine against canned chicken broth when he was on a clear liquid diet and said he would never go back to he canned stuff. Here's how I do it.

raw or cooked chicken bones from one or two chickens. (I used some of both. I just freeze them until I'm ready to make stock.)
one onion, quartered (leaving the skins on is supposed to give it a richer color)
a few carrots, whole or broken in half
a few celery stalks
parsley

Combine everything in a stock pot and fill it up with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 4 hours. You can also add salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, dried herbs, or even a bouquet garni, if you want to get fancy. Cool in the fridge overnight (or 2 days at the most), strain with a mesh colander lined with cheese cloth and then freeze in one cup portions. I use plastic cups, yogurt containers, glass storage containers, etc. Once it's frozen, you can store the portions in a freezer bag. You can also do it in a crock pot, but I haven't tried that method yet.