Children are expensive. That’s just all there is to it. And when my children were very young, I decided I’d better learn to stretch a dollar just as far as it would go. That’s why I bought “The Complete Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn. She did what I wanted to do. She made the most of what she had so that she could live the kind of life she wanted to live. I took a lot of her advice to heart, especially in relation to feeding the family. It’s made a huge difference in my life.
You see, one area in everybody’s budget that’s flexible is spending on food. And one way to save money on food costs is to use scraps. So here’s what I do. When I cut up a stalk of celery, I put the ends and the leaves in a freezer bag. When I cut off broccoli florets, I toss the stalk in the same freezer bag. Carrot tops and leaves go in the bag. You get the picture. Wash the entire vegetable (any vegetable) before preparing and save the scraps you don’t cook.
Eventually, you’ll end up with enough vegetables to make vegetable stock, which you can then use as a base for other recipes.
Not only will you save money by making your own vegetable stock, but you’ll also enjoy health benefits. Vegetable broth is rich in minerals, which is always a plus. And by making your own you can control the amount of sodium that goes in it.
Slow cooker vegetable broth
Total time
- Frozen vegetable scraps
- 8-10 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, if desired
- 1 teaspoon pepper, if desired
- 2 bay leaves, if desired
- Add clean frozen vegetable scraps to slow cooker and cover with water.
- Add sea salt, pepper and bay leaves — or any combination of these seasonings — if desired.
- Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- Use a mesh sieve to strain the broth into glass jars, leaving a bit of room at the top for the broth to expand.
- Freeze the broth until you’re ready to use it.
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