Broth – that glorious creation that is so easy to make, and can add so much flavor!

Around the holidays there’s a broth manufacturer that touts its product saying your holiday dishes will like it because there is no MSG in their broth.
I have news for that company – there isn’t any MSG in my homemade broth either!

I’m a big fan of making my own broth. Often I’ll cook a whole chicken with some herbs and vegetables just so I will have a rich broth to add to the chicken dishes or to freeze in containers for other uses. I use the chicken, but love the added benefit of that broth.

Ina Garten often talks about making her own broth on her show, “Barefoot Contessa” and she uses a big stock pot and simmers it for hours. I don’t have time to do that, so I use my handy dandy Crockpot for just that!

At one of our local restaurants, they serve such large portions; I often have chicken and vegetables left over. I ask for a to go box, come home, add water and whatever else I have available, and make a small Crockpot of broth. I let it cool, strain it, and put it in freezable containers and mark what it is. Then I wag it out to the freezer so it’s ready and waiting when I need some broth.

When I’m making broth, I often add some vegetables that are sort of past their prime – I hate to throw any food away. But I really like having that broth peeking out among the other items in the freezer, ready for a casserole, soup, or even to cook some fresh green beans in.

It's really pretty economical when you think about it -- if you are already going to need cooked chicken, adding some extra stuff to make a rich broth is actually saving you money and you can control what goes in it and what doesn't.

Ah, broth, how wonder art thou!