So you did it. You roasted the chicken. And then once you ate it, you ripped whatever delicious meat was left on it and stripped that bird down to nothing but bare bones. Hopefully you used those leftovers in something delicious too.
But now you are left with The Carnage. And really, what the hell are you supposed to do with a pile of bare bones?
Why, make chicken stock of course!
Remember how I kept telling you to take the leftover EVERYTHING from your chicken and put it in a bag in the freezer? Now you finally get to use it! And your beautiful (and hopefully free range, organic chicken) will have finally fulfilled his chicken destiny.
But first, look in your fridge… any wilt-y looking veggies in there? Anything that isn’t bad, but it’s looking particularly fresh and appealing? Grab it. This is always my chance to grab whatever I have leftover in the fridge and use it without feeling bad that it went to waste. Carrots, celery, onions, greens, whatever.
To make chicken stock you will need the following :
Garlic (about 2-3 heads)
Your assortment of veggies – I prefer carrots, celery, onions, leeks, greens. Try not to do anything with TOO strong of a flavor, like say, broccoli.
An assortment of fresh herbs – I use rosemary, thyme, sage and whatever else I have on hand. If you can only find dry herbs, limit the amount to no more than say a teaspoon. They can get STRONG.
Your chicken carcass and assorted bits of carnage (the giblets if you froze them, the skin, bones, etc)
Water
1 Tsp WHOLE pepper corns – not ground pepper
1 Tsp Salt
Directions
Now once you have your arsenal of flavor assembled, get out your crockpot. Because it’s summertime right now, the thought of boiling a huge pot of liquid on my stovetop just sounds… well sweaty. Instead stick it all in the crockpot to save yourself the time and heat of doing it on the stove.
Take all of your ingredients above and throw them in the crockpot. Cover everything with water (make sure the chicken is completely submerged), turn it on and leave it alone for about 18-24 hours. I usually leave it on low just so it doesn’t boil all over the place and make a mess. 
Once you have boiled everything, strain it into a container, making sure to get all the bits out. What is left behind is gorgeous and healthy chicken stock! You can freeze it in ice cube trays (what I do for pastas or sauces) or put it in larger pint containers and freeze those for use in soups or stews. Any way you slice it, you’ve made chicken stock from SCRATCH!
We’re going to start calling you the Barefoot Contessa.
