Baby Food with Homemade Stock and Broth – Make Baby Food with Vegetable Stock, Chicken Stock, Beef Stock for Making Baby Food

Homemade Vegetable, Chicken and Beef Stocks for Making Homemade Baby Food Recipes

I have had a lot of requests for “Stock” recipes.  Many parents with older babies want to use stocks to make meats, for mixing with rice and noodles etc..  We have compiled some good stock information and tips from  www.allrecipes.com below.  We have also listed our own stock recipes as well as a few we have tried from various sources on the web.  All work very well and will freeze well if you follow the advice and directions below.

My Own Secrets of Making a Good Stock

 Simmering without overdoing it

 Skimming the cooking stock

 FRESH ingredients – you wouldn’t eat those wilty, moldy veggies or 6 day old chicken in the fridge, why toss them into your stock?

 COLD water to start with

Stocks are great for making soups; here’s an example: take 3 cups of stock, add some rice, carrots, onions and celery coupled with some cooked diced chicken and VIOLA, soup. Simmer for 20 minutes or until veggies are soft and tender.

Please ensure that the ingredients you choose for your stock are age-appropriate for your infant.  Leave out or substitute anything you feel is not right for your baby.  All of the ingredients below should be age appropriate for the 8 month or older baby. Happy Stocking.

Basic Soup Stocks:

Vegetarian, Beef, and Chicken (learn more at www.allrecipes.com)

“Stocks are not compost heaps. If you wouldn’t eat that moldy old mushroom or aging chicken as is, then don’t subject your stock to them. Yesterday’s, or even last week’s, vegetables are fine, as long as they’re still healthy. The beauty of stock ingredients is that the ideal ingredients are usually the trimmings from the soup you’re about to make (leek roots and leaves, tiny, end-of-the-head garlic cloves, potato parings, etc.)

 Use a stockpot that is tall and narrow to help slow water loss from evaporation.

To extract the most flavor from your stock ingredients, start with cold water.

Meat stocks benefit from long, slow cooking while vegetable stocks do not. Quick vegetable stocks should take 25 to 30 minutes; basic vegetable stocks, 45 minutes to one hour. Chicken or beef stocks can take anywhere from one hour to five; longer if you’re using a slow cooker.

Certain herbs and vegetables will turn bitter as they steep. Strain as soon as the stock is finished.

Some vegetables should be avoided altogether in stocks. The cabbage family (turnips, rutabagas, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) does not do well in stock. Nor do most powdered herbs, ground black pepper, onion skins, artichoke trimmings, or too many greens. When in doubt, simmer the ingredient separately first, and taste the water. ”

How I Start A Stock

1. Gather up my chosen spices, veggies and/or meats

2. Decide what we will use to make the stock – crock pot, sauce pot?

3. Decide if a commercial stock starter will be used.  I have added a 1/2 cube of an all-natural, low sodium, no MSG broth cube. I use 14 cups of water so that the 1/2 cube of broth is negligible as far as sodium is concerned.  The choice is yours.

 Pacific Natural Foods offers WONDERFUL broths that are natural and free of gluten, casein (dairy), wheat and many are Organic and Free range.  We have used these to help our stocks along when we didn’t have time to gather meats around.

4. Wash and Cleanse your veggies, rinse your meats.  Yes, giving your leftover chicken or beef a good cleansing with cool water will help reduce the amount of fats, seasonings etc that remain in the leftover meats.

5. Arrange your prepared spices, meats and veggies and start stocking.

Stock and Broth Recipes – Great for Making Baby Foods

Beef Stock

2 lb beef bones (ideally some marrow bone) and 1 pound of beef stew meat

14 cups water

1 cup beef broth Pacific Natural Foods if desired to give a kick start

2 onion

3 carrots, chopped & peeled

1 parsnip

2 sticks celery

3 garlic cloves (not 3 garlic bulbs. add more or less as desired)

2 bay leaves, 3 basil leaves, 4 springs of parsley (you may use dried spices, about 2 tablespoons of each

2 tablespoons paprika

2 shakes of coarse ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a large saucepan or crock pot and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat (crock pot to low).  Simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half. Taste.

Add more water or spices as desired then simmer again for about 1 hour.

Strain and skim throughout the simmer.  When finished and cool the beef fat will become visible on top; remove it  with a spoon.

Chicken Stock

14 cups cold water

1 cup chicken broth Pacific Natural Foods if desired to give a kick start

3-4 pounds chicken pieces (cut up breasts, drumsticks, and/or thighs)

3 large carrots, chopped & peeled

4 parsnips, cut up and peeled

2 onions, peeled

4 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves, 3 basil leaves, 4 springs of parsley, sprig of dill weed (greens) (you may also add a pinch of Bells Stuffing Spices)

2 or more shakes of coarse ground black pepper

Combine water, chicken, carrots, onions, garlic and greens in a large pot or crock-pot over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Skim the foam from the top and reduce to low heat. Cook for 2 hours on low heat. Strain and skim throughout the simmer.  When finished and cool the fat will become visible on top; remove it  with a spoon.

Veggie Stock

20 cups COLD water

1 cup veggie broth Pacific Natural Foods if desired to give a kick start

1-1/2 lbs. carrots, cut up and peeled

2 lbs. yellow onions, cut up and peeled

1 celery heart – or cut and trim a “bunch” of celery

3 whole bunches of scallions, cut up

3 parsnips, cut up and peeled

5 leeks, use the white & light green partsand slice them.

2 bay leaves, 3 basil leaves, 4 springs of parsley, pinch of thyme (greens)

2 cloves garlic

Add veggies to a large stockpot or crock-pot

Add the cold water and slowly bring to a boil. Skim if necessary.

At boiling, add the greens then simmer until reduced to almost half; approx 1-1/2 hours.

Strain when cooled

Veggie Stock II – this is a good one, do not recall where I came by the recipe; has great hints too.  I used this to tweak our own recipe for stock.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion

2 stalks celery, including some leaves

2 large carrots

1 bunch green onions, chopped 8 cloves garlic, minced

8 sprigs fresh parsley

6 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

2 quarts water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop scrubbed vegetables into 1-inch chunks. Remember, the greater the surface area, the more quickly vegetables will yield their flavor.

2. Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, scallions, garlic, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Add salt and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain. Discard vegetables.

4. Other ingredients to consider: mushrooms, eggplant, asparagus (butt ends), corn cobs, fennel (stalks and trimmings), bell peppers, pea pods, chard (stems and leaves), celery root parings, marjoram (stems and leaves), basil, potato parings . . . you get the idea.

Veggie Stock

14 cups water

4 celery stalks with leaves, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 cup green cabbage, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 onion, chopped

12 cloves garlic

10 sprigs of parsley

2 bay leaves

Directions:

Combine water, celery, cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, garlic, onions, parsley and bay leaves in a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook for one hour. Then strain through a colander. Press the vegetables against the colander to press out as much juice as possible. Compost the veggies

Chicken Stock Recipe

leftover chicken carcass

2 onions

2 leeks

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery

2tbsp chopped, fresh parsley

Wash, peel and roughly chop the vegetables.

Place the carcass into a large stock pot.

Add the vegetables and parsley, then cover with plenty of water.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat until the liquid is simmering rapidly.

Simmer, uncovered, for about 4 hours, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

Remove the bones and strain the stock. If the stock is to be stored for future use, you may wish to simmer it for a few hours longer. This reduces it, making it more concentrated and easier to store.

Beef Stock – cloves make this a very different and savory; we like this for a twist on French Onion soup; just add more onions.

3 lbs. of beef bones

1-1/2 pounds lean beef

1/2 pound carrots, scraped cut into eights

1/2 pound turnips, cleaned, cut into fourths

1/2 pound leeks, very well cleaned; fold the green parts down around the white parts and tie into a bundle

3 quarts cold water

2 whole yellow onions

2 whole cloves
Directions:

1. Put bones and meat into large stockpot. Add the carrots, turnips and leeks.

2. Cover with the water and bring to a boil.

3. Peel onions, keeping them whole. Stick cloves in one. Cut the other onion in half and put it cut side down in a iron skillet that is on low heat.

Burn it down to about 1/16 of an inch. Burned onion will give the stock a rich brown color.

4. Remove scum that has collected on the top and add the onions.

5. Simmer 3 hours, skimming the top regularly to remove impurities.

6. Remove meat and bones. Discard the bones. Cook another 3 hours, then strain and cool