Crock Pot Veggie Stock

Originally posted to Full of Veggies on 10/9/06
Crock Pot Veggie Stock

2 medium onions, quartered
2 large carrots, cut into 1 in chunks (or a bunch of baby carrots)
2 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 garlic cloves, unpeeled & crushed
1 small bunch Italian flat leaf parsley
2-3 bay leafs
½ tsp. black peppercorns or more if you like
8 – 10 C. water
Any other dried herbs you feel like adding (I like basil and rosemary)

1. Place all ingredients in your crock pot. Cover and cook on low overnight (8 - 10 hours or more).

2. Allow stock to cool a bit, and strain through a fine-meshed sieve into a pot or bowl, pressing the veggies against the sieve to release all the juices. Store in tightly covered containers for 3-5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer. I like to freeze 2 cup portions so I know how much to take out when making a recipe.

I’ll be honest; I really don’t measure anything when I make this. I just toss everything in the crock pot and add water and let it go. I think this time I added 12 cups of water because that’s what looked right to me. I have a fairly big crock pot so I can get a lot of broth out of one batch. I got about 6 portions out of this batch.