Guest post from Kate
If you tend to cook from scratch you probably have had several recipes that called for broth, and while canned broth isn’t very expensive, you can make it at home with hardly any effort for pennies!
This homemade vegetable broth recipe is very easy.
Step 1: Accumulate veggie scraps.
I save veggie scraps in a zip bag in the freezer. You don’t need to use new, fresh veggies for broth — old, frostbitten bits work just fine!
When I cut up an onion, I put the skin and bits I am not using into the bag. We buy a large bag of uncut carrots with the skins on, I put the tops and bottoms of the carrots into the bag too. Celery tops go straight into the bag, along with that last one or two pieces of celery that get limp before we use them. When I use garlic for sauces I put the left over bits into the bag.
Everything that goes into the bag is leftovers – totally free!
Once I have two or three gallon-size bags of veggies, I am ready to make broth.
Step 2: Cook veggie scraps in slow cooker.
I empty the bags of veggies into my slow cooker, add in a couple bay leaves, and fill with water. I turn the slow cooker on low for five hours and walk away.
After five hours, I can just scoop the broth out of the slow cooker and into containers.
It lasts in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for months!
Not only does this easily save me a couple dollars each week, it’s also quite “green” as I’m reusing veggie scraps I normally might throw out. Plus, I put the broth into a reusable container, so I am not throwing out or even recycling a package.
Win win!
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
aloud at lunch. 
