Chicken Stock

Are you trying to be more frugal in your spending while, at the same time, trying to feed your family more healthy foods?  Welcome to my world!  This chicken stock has become a staple in our home.

CHICKEN STOCK
Carcass of one chicken (I use what is left from a roasted chicken)
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
8-10 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3 chicken feet (creates a gelatinous quality while giving you many more nutrients)

Place the chicken carcass in a crock pot. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with water.
Cook on low for 48 hours. Strain.

At this point, the stock is ready to use. Since there will be a lot of stock, I can it for later use. Here are the instructions for canning:

CANNING CHICKEN STOCK

Strain the stock and let cool until the fat solidifies and can be removed. I place mine in the refrigerator overnight. Strain again through a fine cheesecloth.

Pour/ladle warm stock into sterilized jars (I use pints), leaving 1 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Place into a pressure canner. Process pints for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes at 10# of pressure.

What do you do with the bones, skin, vegetables, etc. that are left? 

CAT FOOD
With your hands, thoroughly mash all the remaining ingredients and place into a container. Since the stock cooked for so long, the bones will crush easily. Our cats love this!

As you can see, not one bit of a whole chicken has gone to waste! Waste not...want not!