Crock Pot Vegetable Stock

The best way to get the appropriate amount of vegetables for this is to keep a gallon sized bag in your freezer and fill it up with vegetable scraps until it's full. I had the butts of onions and zucchini, thick broccoli stalks, carrot peels and more in my bad. Waste not!

There's no need to thaw out your vegetables before making this stock. Simply throw your frozen vegetables in your crock pot, add your water to the brim, add in the bay leaf, and turn it on. You can let the crock pot go for 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high (I recommend low).

When you're ready, remove the solids from the stock using a slotted spoon, then strain through a mesh sieve to get everything out of the liquid. Use within 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. You can add salt, pepper and other seasonings to the stock if you like (my favorite is curry powder, cayenne and a little garlic salt), but I prefer to use the stock in soups and whatnot as it is, seasoning after I've decided what I want to use it for.