how to be lazy and save money(aka) how to make homemade chicken broth~

I know, I'm supposed to be writing about preparing for a baby, but in trying to put that together I kept running across the fact that I keep chicken broth on hand and seeing as how I had this homemade broth brain block for so long I thought I'd just type up what I do in case some other poor soul ever comes along and things, "Wow, Shyla, thanks so much for posting that.  I never knew."   :)

Anyway, I was always intimidated of making homemade chicken broth.  It just seemed a little too much.  Right up there with grinding my own wheat and canning my own vegetables that I had grown in my very own garden.  I'm busy on facebook raising children and homeschooling, people, what do you think I am, Super Mom?  (If you do these things, and I know many women do, then you qualify for Super Mom AND Super Wife AND Super Homemaker but you should probably keep quiet so the rest of us don't throw things at you.)

I digress...

But I hated buying broth, the good kind was expensive for the amount of soup that I make, not to mention that I have to use it in making sauces for Glen with the whole celiac thing.  So I finally just got over myself and asked someone.  And I found out it was super easy.  And then I found out I could justify doing it the lazy way.

So, this is what I do.  I buy rotesserie chickens from Costco.  They cost $5.  They are amazingly yummy.  I buy one every week and we either eat it plain (as in roast chicken) or I'll use it in a recipe.  If I have time I pick off the dark meat and save it for tacos, soup, or casseroles.  I throw the leftovers in a bag in the freezer.  That was a lot of words to basically say that first we eat most of the meat or save it for later.

Then I throw the entire carcass into the crockpot.  I cut an onion in half or fourths, toss in some carrots, garlic, and whatever else I have on hand, and let it cook on low all night.  Pretty much until whenever I can get to it the next day.  Then when I have time, I put my colander into another large bowl and pour everything into it.  Then I take the broth, set my strainer (it's different than a colander in that it's mesh) over another large bowl, and pour it through again.  My colander catches the big stuff, the strainer catches the grainy stuff.  I let it cool, I skim the fat, then I pour it into containers and put it in the freezer.

Wa la. Homemade, nutritious chicken broth.

But you said be lazy AND save money.

Oh yes.  The lazy part is buying the Costco chicken instead of roasting my own.  For me, the savings of buying an unroasted chicken, plus spices, plus time is insignificant compared to the taste and convenience of the Costco chicken.  They are delicious.  And we don't usually eat them the same day.  I usually reheat them a few days after I buy them and they are still yummy.  The saving money part is because I estimate I can make $10 worth of the good broth from one $5 chicken.  

So there you have it.  You know, since you asked and all.