HISTORY

A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.

From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.

In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.

Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.

Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.

We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.

As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
_____________________________________________________________

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Chicken Stock: A Tutorial

I told mom about how I have been making my own chicken stock for about the last year and she thought it would be a good idea to post it on the family blog so everyone can get in on the $$ savings!

Start with a whole chicken. I never pay more than .85 a pound. I can usually find them at Winco in packs of 2 for pretty cheap. I freeze them until I am ready to use them. You can either bake/roast the chicken for dinner, or cook it in the crock pot all day (with about 1/2 cup of water) on low, shred the chicken and use it later in recipes. On Monday I made this recipe for roast chicken, it was really good. When we were done with dinner I put all of the bones/leftover chicken remnants in the fridge. I even use the leftover skin, but if you wanted to just throw the skin away it would reduce the fat content of your stock. I knew I was going to make my stock the next day, but you could also freeze this and make the stock any time.


When you are ready to make your stock put all of the chicken bones, etc. in a big stock pot.


I usually quarter 2 onions, 4 celery stalks, and a bunch of carrots.

Put them in the pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce heat to low. Let the stock cook on low all day. Your house will smell so good!

The water will start to reduce down, so about halfway through the day fill the pot back up to the top. It won't water it down, it will just reconstitute the reducing stock.


After it has cooked 8-9 hours remove from heat and get all the big pieces out. Then use a smaller mesh strainer to strain out the small bits and pieces. I usually pour it into a big bowl and back into the pot, straining both times.


Let the stock cool for a little while. The fat will all rise to the top and you can spoon a good bit off.

You can store the stock in re-useable plastic containers. You can find these for relatively cheap at the grocery store. I have even frozen it in plastic freezer bags. They work great. I put 2 cups of stock in each container. This is how much stock/broth is in a store bought can and most recipes call for stock in 2 cup multiples.

Freeze and enjoy!

I usually get 16-17 cups of stock from a pot this size. That is the equivalent of more than 8 cans of broth (and the stock is so much better than salty broth). A savings of about $6-8 depending on where you shop, made from stuff that would normally just be thrown away!
I made this soup for dinner last night with my new chicken stock. I have lots of other soup/stew recipes that I use the stock in if anyone is interested! It makes me feel so good to be able to stretch my dollars in this way and not waste any part of the chicken.

11 comments:

Jason and Dana said...

You do realize only you and mom can get chickens at Winco, right? :(
But GREAT idea Beck! I never buy who chickens, but I just might so I can do this.

Jason and Dana said...

who=whole

Jason and Dana said...

And, holey moley. I've made that tortilla soup TWICE this week!! Hahaha, that's great.

David and Debby said...

thanks becky, i am going to try this.

Colin & Lori said...

You can also get all of the fat off by putting your stock in the fridge until i. is completely cool. All the fat will be hard at the top and you can get it off easier. At least I think so. Thanks for the post. I will try this the next time I get a whole chicken.

rebeccaV said...

That's a really good idea, Lori!

Crystal said...

I post worthy of Pioneer Woman! Way to use your camera! LOVE IT! I may (for the first time in my LIFE) buy a whole chicken to do this with.

Jason and Dana said...

I got a rotisserie chicken at Costco yesterday and made myself some chicken broth! I think I used a bigger pot that you, and it didn't reduce down much. $5 for chicken I will use anyway and 12 2 cup containers of broth!

rebeccaV said...

Awesome Dana!! I want to get a bigger pot, too.

Colin & Lori said...

I think I will try this the next time I go to Costco too. I always feel so guilty throwing away a carcas when I know I can use it more. Thanks for the tutorial. I will be more inclined to do this from now on.

David Chipman said...

Thanks Rebecca! I use chicken broth all the time in soup recipes and other sauces. Those Costco chickens are a pretty good deal too! I'll have to do this once I get my own freezer. (In less than 2 months now!)