I have been amazed at how much I like the recipe that I posted for Homemade Vegetable Stock in a Jar. It is tasty, easy to use, and healthy (in moderation, there is after all a lot of salt in it). I used to make traditional stock all the time, which requires a bit of foresight, and now I rarely do. The only time that I still make stock from scratch now is when I need a lighter broth. While this soup base tastes great, it can overpower simpler soups such as egg drop soup.
This stock-in-a-jar has kept in my cupboard just fine so far. Which is great because I have so much of it around, that I can’t picture running out for a long long time. I used to keep store-bought bullion in the pantry, just in case I forgot to make homemade stock, but this tastes so much better and is significantly cheaper than the varieties found at the store. The good brands that are all natural cost about $2.50 for six little cubes, and the boxes of ready-made stock cost $3.00 a box. All told, I spent about $10.00 on the ingredients for this recipe, and it has made untold numbers of soups and stews so far, with quite a few jars still sitting on the shelves.
Make it from scratch:
I just wanted to let you know that I am so inspired by your site. Where do you live again?
I read all the time and look forward to your posts!
Crystal in Kentucky
Nice to “meet” you. I found your blog while surfing this morning. I’ll be back to look around more! I, too, make most of my convenience foods from scratch. I have an entire section for homemade mixes and sauces on my food blog.
Crystal – Thanks! I’m glad that you are inspired and look forward to my posts!
I’m in Alexandria, VA with my hubby and two adorable cats.
Momma- It is great to “meet” you too. I check out your blogs, and am looking forward to trying a couple of your recipes.
I make my veggie base this morning, so far is smells AMAZING. I can’t wait to get it in jars in the morning.
If I like this recipe as much as I think I will, I’ll be using it as a great Christmas present for some family and friends – a cute label and ribbon and it’ll be perfect! (And wonderfully colorful!)
AHHH! It just occurred to me that I think I totally screwed up.
I asked my husband to figure out 1 lb of salt for me, he measured out 16 oz and I didn’t think anything of it (too early, not enough sleep)…. Any idea how far off I might have been?
Meg – I suppose that the best way would be to weigh 2 cups of salt and see what the difference is. I’m not sure if you added too much or too little. Unfortunately, I don’t have a scale, so I’m not sure. I did it by measuring out a pound of sea salt at the local organic store with a bulk section. Good luck!