Trash to Treasure Vegetable Broth and Soups #Recipe

Are you throwing away a meal each week without knowing it?  Most of us are, but we shouldn’t!

Each week everyone throws away…

Leftovers

Vegetable Skins

Vegetable Ends

Not-so-fresh vegetables we forgot to use!

Don’t throw them away!! All of these great pieces can be used to make vegetable broth that can be used in soups and stews!

I retain all of my vegetable pieces, that I would usually discard, inside a gallon sized plastic bag in my fridge.  Once a week these piece are used to make homemade vegetable broth that I can freeze in ice trays or use for soups, gravy, to add flavor to pasta dishes — so many recipes!

What do you keep?

I keep almost everything from my vegetables to be used.  Common items are tops to leeks, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, stems from beets, broccoli, cabbage ends, carrot skins, remnants of bagged lettuce and slaw, lettuce leaves, lettuce hearts/roots, garlic, herb stems.  When you gather a week’s worth of vegetable scraps together, it can equal a LOT!

How do I make vegetable broth?

Gather all of your vegetable scraps together inside of your slow cooker/crockpot, fill with water, add a pinch or two of salt, and simmer overnight or for one day.  When the vegetables are cooked, strain and reserve your broth. Discard the vegetables.

What do I do with my broth?

If you don’t want to use your broth immediately, you can pour it into ice cube trays and freeze (place all of your frozen cubes inside a freezer bag and keep for up to four months). 

If you know you are going to use your broth within a day or so, store your broth in a sealed jar in your refrigerator for up to three days.

If you are going to use your vegetable broth immediately you can use it in many dishes, but my favorite is soups and stews. I like soups because they are a wonderful way to repurpose leftovers.  The easiest leftover additions are roasted vegetables, pasta, or rice. 

The following photo is a soup I prepared after my broth was complete.  I added potato and carrot chunks, and sliced leeks (season to taste with Salt and Pepper)– that was all! 

Are you re-purposing your vegetable scraps or tossing them?

 

 

*Don’t use over ripe vegetables that are molding or slimy for your broth or soups.