Black Bean Burger Breakfast

So....last night I didn't take any blog pictures while I was cooking.  Sometimes, I just get in the zone...and taking pictures every few minutes really messes up my flow.  Plus, I have to take many, many pictures because most of them come out blurry.  As you might have noticed already, my pictures are not professional quality, though we do have a pretty awesome camera (a Nikon Coolpix P4).  However, it is about 7 years old (almost as long as my husband and I have been together), and it is starting to show it's age.  It takes spectacular up-close shots, but without the right lighting, it is hard to get it to focus properly....
Well, enough on that end.  I guess I just need to suck it up and start researching new cameras!  In the mean time, you will all have to deal with my very noob-ish pictures. Ha ha.  
And since I didn't take any pictures last night, I have very few to share with you today!  That will sure teach me!  I having to quickly learn how to manage my time cooking and taking pictures at the right moments.  I like showing the whole process of a recipe from start to finish, but there are so many times when the veggies are sauteing, something is in the oven, and I'm pureeing something in the food processor...and I totally forget to document it!  And making food look pretty is actually kind of hard.  I'm so far fairly happy with my pictures, but I never noticed how dark my kitchen gets in the evenings.  And my lights have a yellow-ish tinge to them.  I'm going to have to experiment some more and see how I can improve my photography.  If any of you have any suggestions...let me know!

I did take some pictures this morning, though, because I really wanted to share these black bean burgers with you.  I got the recipe from the Moosewood cookbook again (it was very influential in my menu planning this week), but I think it was pretty successful.  I also made some yummy condiments to go with the burgers that (in my opinion) really made them that much better.  There were a few things that I would change, though...although it wasn't the recipe's fault, but my own.  Well, we're always learning!

And as you might know by now, these also make a fabulous breakfast.  I just can't recommend the "Leftover Breakfast" enough.  If you make enough the night before, you have plenty to heat up for breakfast.  All it needs is a perfectly runny over-easy egg, and your delicious breakfast is ready!

Menu:
Southwestern Black Bean Burger
Homemade Salsa
Avocado Mayonnaise
Arugula
Seven Grain Bread (from New Seasons)
Fried Egg

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers
From Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health Cookbook

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onions
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste...I felt like these needed a little more salt)
dash of ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 cup grated carrots
1 fresh chile, minced or 1/4 tsp cayenne (I used cayenne)
1/4 cup orange juice 
1 cup ground tortilla chips (whirl in food processor until they resemble coarse cornmeal)
2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.Warm oil in a skillet on medium high heat.  Add onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Stir in the cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and cook until the onions are soft.  Add the mushrooms, carrots, chiles, and orange juice, lower the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 8 minutes.
2.While the vegetable cook, combine the ground tortilla chips, beans, and egg in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher, or pulse in a food processor until combined.  When vegetables are tender, drain, and stir into bean mixture.
3.Form the burger mixture into 6 patties (1/2 cup per burger) and place on lightly oiled baking sheet.  Bake in a preheated 375F oven for 25 minutes until firm and lightly crusted.

What I would changed about this recipe:

1.  I'm personally not sure that I loved the orange juice in this recipe, and since my burgers were super moist (almost mushy), I'm not sure it was needed at all.  I might have just gone with a squeeze of lime/lemon for some flavor and acidity.
2. I think I ground my carrots and mushrooms too finely.  Mine came out like coarse meal out of the food processor, which I think had something to do with the burgers holding too much liquid and being mushy.  I would have kept them somewhat chunky.
3. I did use cayenne, though I think jalapeno would have been better and would have given the burgers a fresher taste.
4. Although I did like the coriander, I think I would have put less in and added in a little chili powder.
5. I think some fresh cilantro would also be great in these.
6. I used fresh black beans, which are good because you can control their salt content.  However, since these burgers could have used more salt, it really doesn't matter what kind of bean you use.
7. TASTE the mixture before you put in the egg.  Put the egg in last (you don't want salmonella when you're tasting), and taste to make sure the seasoning is right.  I meant to do this, and promptly forgot.  So, my burgers were slightly bland.
8. Form the patties uniformly and make them about 1/2 inch thick.  This way the patties will cook evenly and not be so mushy in the center.  Mine were a little too thick.

Ok, so I might have changed a lot, but I love analyzing recipes and what I could do differently next time.  I've always wanted a great recipe for a vegetarian burger.  This recipe is definitely the best one that I've tried so far, but I could most certainly do it better next time.

Fresh Salsa:

1 cup canned whole tomatoes, drained (or fresh when in season)
1/2 cup yellow onion, large dice
1 large jalapeno (more or less depending on how spicy you like it!)
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (stems are ok)
salt to taste

Add all ingredients into a food processor.  Pulse until it is the consistency of your liking.  It can be thick and chunky or fully pureed.  Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.  Should keep for 5-7 days.

Avocado Mayonnaise

1 avocado, peeled, cored, large dice
1/4 cup mayo
1 TB lemon juice
salt to taste (if needed)

Add all ingredients to a food processor.  Puree until smooth.  Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.  Place plastic wrap over the top of the mayo (touching the surface).  This will help slow the oxidization process...help it not to turn brown!

Prepare this burger like a beef one with ketchup and pickles on a bun, or try it my way...open faced on toast with a fried egg!  Or you could even make a salad out of it!  Whatever you try...ENJOY!!! :)

Chicken Coconut Curry Crepes

Well, I just got finished eating these delicious crepes for breakfast!  That might sound weird, because we had them for dinner too, but we always have leftovers for breakfast...with an egg on it!  And these crepes are delicious for any time of the day.
I was inspired to make these while I was looking through my Moosewood Cookbook where I found a really great recipe for chickpea (or garbanzo bean) flour crepes.  They had an Indian style flair to them (ginger, cumin, cayenne, mustard seeds, cilantro), so I had to try them.  However, the cookbook is vegetarian/vegan, and I couldn't find a satisfying recipe for a crepe stuffing.  I though chicken would go nicely...maybe something slow braised and spicy.  Or maybe, something crunchy like fried chicken would have a better texture?  Maybe with a creamy coconut curry sauce?  Yes...that sounded good.  So, that's exactly what I set out to do.
Menu:
Chickpea crepes
Pan fried chicken strips/bites
Spicy coconut curry sauce
Arugula or cilantro for garnish (or both!)
Fried egg (optional for breakfast!)


Chickpea Crepes:
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health Cookbook, makes 5-6 crepes

1 cup chickpea flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne or minced fresh chilies
2 tsp grated peeled ginger root (I used 1 tsp dried ground ginger)
vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (I used yellow)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional...though I did add them)
2 TB chopped cilantro and/or scallions
vegetable oil spray

1. Whisk together chickpea flour, water, salt, turmeric, cayenne, and ginger until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a small skillet on medium heat, warm 1 TB oil .  Add mustard and cumin seeds, and saute until seeds begin to pop.  Remove from heat, stir in the garlic, and let sizzle a moment.  Whisk this mixture into the batter.  Stir in cilantro/scallions.  

3.Warm a lightly oiled or sprayed 8 to 10" skillet on medium heat.  Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet and tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly over the bottom and up the sides.  Cook for 2 minutes, until firm and golden on the bottom.  Turn the crepe over and cook for another minute or two.  Continue with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan when necessary.  Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven.

Note: If you make crepes by drizzling a little oil around the edges while cooking, the edges will come out crispy.  Otherwise, the whole crepe will be soft.  I decided to keep mine soft since I wanted to roll them up and I didn't want them to break.

Pan Fried Chicken

1/2 cup chickpea or wheat flour
3 large chicken breasts
1 TB salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
oil for frying (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

Place flour, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix thoroughly.  Cut chicken into strips or 1" bites.  Heat a large skillet on medium high heat with enough oil to coat the entire bottom.  Toss the chicken in the flour mixture, shake off any excess, and add to hot oil.  Cook on one side until golden brown and crispy (about 3-5 mins), then turn over and repeat with the other side.  The chicken will probably be cooked through at this point, but if it still looks pink, place chicken in an oven safe dish at 400F for about 10 mins.  Drain chicken on paper towels and serve warm.


Coconut Curry Sauce

1 large jalapeno
5-6 garlic cloves
1" square piece of ginger (about 1 TB, or you could used dried)
1 TB curry powder (recipe follows)
2 TB olive oil
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 cup tomato juice (or pureed tomato)
1 cup coconut cream (or 1 can whole coconut milk)
salt to taste

In a food processor, add in the jalapeno, garlic, and ginger.  

Grind ingredients until smooth (or slightly chunky is ok, too).  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil and onions and a pinch of salt.  Saute until soft and translucent (about 5-6 minutes). 

Add in jalapeno mixture and curry powder.  Cook for 1 minutes until fragrant. 

Add in chicken broth and tomato juice.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until slightly reduced.  Turn off the heat and add in coconut cream and season to taste. 
NOTE: Do not boil coconut cream/milk.  It will separate and curdle.

The Experimental Alchemist's Curry Powder:  makes about 1/4 cup

(This recipe takes from both Indian and African influences.  There are thousands of different curry recipes depending on the cuisine, region, and household. So, don't be afraid to experiment with your own curry mixtures!  After all, it's all about how you want your food to taste.  Some additions to curry powder can be dried ground ginger, fenugreek, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and chili powder.)

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp cardamom seed
1 tsp fennel seed
pinch smoked paprika
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne powder

Heat a dry skillet on medium high heat.  Add in the cumin, coriander, and fennel seeds.  Toast seeds while shaking pan continuously for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Be careful not to burn seeds.
Add all ingredients into a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle) and grind into a smooth powder.  Store in an airtight container.

NOTE: Why use whole seeds and grind them yourself?  Why not just buy pre-made curry powder?  The simple answer is freshness.  Whole spices stay fresher than ground spices for longer.  This ensures that you're always getting the best flavor out of your spices.  There is nothing wrong with store bought curry powder, and if you're going to be making a lot of curry, then it will get used up before it turns stale.  But if you have lots of ground spices in your pantry that have gone unused for a long time, you will notice that they don't have quite the punch they used to.  
The second reason is curiosity and education.  Making your own curry powder ensures that you have to find all these different ingredients and learn what each one looks and smells like.  I think it is important to know what ingredients you're using and how they each impact the food.  
But if I had to be honest, I LOVE making curry powder.  I do it for fun!  Each seed has their own smell and texture, and when you toast them together, each scent blends into something magical.  Some smells are foreign to American cuisine, and they always transport me to faraway lands.  The act of making something from scratch, with my own hands, while creating my own, special version of a recipe cannot be underestimated! 


Putting together the crepes:

1. Place chicken, arugula, and cilantro (if using) in the middle of a crepe.
2. Roll it up like a burrito.
3.Pour curry sauce over it.
4.EAT AND BE HAPPY! :)

My Must Have Granola

Hey you other Alchemists!  I'm back after several weeks hiatus.  I was having a fabulous time not doing anything!  My husband had three weeks off from school, so we made the best of them.  Lots of tea, and fuzzy socks, and our new favorite card game, Netrunner!  If any of you have any interest in card games that involve a lot of strategy, bluffing, and resource management...then this game would certainly be one to check out.  We got it as a Christmas gift, and have already played close to 20 hours of it.  Like I said...lots of tea, fuzzy socks, and card games...haha.
Our vacation actually would have involved bashing around San Francisco with our family, but we picked the biggest winter storm of the season to travel in.   We were supposed to get in before Christmas and stay until New Years, but horrible roads and multiple wrecks turned us back home.  I was deeply sad because I've never spent Christmas away from family.  But thankfully, I have the best little family (my husband and our two dogs), so we had a warm, quiet Christmas together.  And thankfully, the weather cleared a few days later and our family was able to come see us!  That made the whole week fantastic!  We went to see Les Miserables, ate yummy Mexican and Thai food, played boardgames, and had some wonderful conversation.  It was great!

So, back to food!  I thought I would share a classic recipe that I've developed over time that speaks to me of snuggly days at home: my homemade granola.  It seemed appropriate since our Christmas involved spending a large amount of time hibernating at home, although this particular recipe is a year round staple for us. I always keep a giant plastic tub full of granola in the pantry.  It is perfect for breakfast...especially with a little yogurt...and it makes a great afternoon or evening snack.  It is healthy and filling.  Plus, it can be changed or added to easily, so anyone can tailor the recipe to their desires.  As always, I rarely make it the same way twice (because it can always be better), but I have learned the basic technique is sound and worth following.  And I have learned what NOT to do, which can sometimes be the most important aspect of any recipe!

The Experimental Alchemist's Homemade Granola

1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup dark brown sugar
6-8 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup almonds (whole, or cut into pieces)
1 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 TB cinnamon

Put the oats, seeds, almonds, and cinnamon in a very large bowl (big enough to stir everything without it spilling over), and mix thoroughly.

Ready some casserole dishes ready by spraying them with spray oil or buttering them.  The casserole dishes should be 2-3 inches deep...this helps the granola to bake quickly and evenly.
Put the oil, honey, molasses, sugar into a small pot with a little bit of water (about 2 TBs).   Heat on med. high heat until sugar is melted.  When sugar starts to boil, take it off the heat and pour the whole mixture over the oat mixture.

 Stir quickly until all the oats are evenly coated.  Pour into your dishes and bake for 20 mins.  Take out the granola and stir it (otherwise the top and bottom will burn).  Bake another 15-20 mins.

The granola might feel slightly wet and soft at this point, but once it cools, it will be dry and crunchy.  Cool the granola completely (I usually let it cool on the stove for a few hours...if I have the space).  Store in an airtight container.  For this amount, a very large tupperware may be necessary...or you could use a couple of gallon sized ziplock bags.

Although this recipe is solid, you can easily change it up!

Let's start with the oil.  I love coconut oil because it is very healthy for you and it tastes great.  But you can easily use any other light oil like safflower, canola, or sunflower.

Not sweet enough for you?  Or maybe you don't have honey or molasses?  You can use just brown sugar.  I cannot recommend using refined, white sugar since I do not use it myself.  The great thing about honey and molasses is that they are much healthier than white sugar, plus they have their own unique flavors that make the granola taste wonderful.  Granola would taste great with more of each in the recipe.

Now for additions to the granola.  I think this is the most fun part because there are many things you can add to granola to make it unique.  For example, I used to add peanuts into my granola...which made it taste like peanut butter...yum!  Pecans or walnuts would also be great (though not toasted as they will toast in the oven with granola!) Or add in some unsweetened shredded coconut.  This would go perfectly with the coconut oil.  Lastly, there is a plethora of dried fruit that would go perfectly.  Raisins are a good choice, though dried currents, cherries, cranberries, or even apples would be delicious!

NOTE: DO NOT add in the dried fruit before you bake the granola.  It will burn.  Believe me...I have done this and then had to spend time picking it all out again.  It is best to add the fruit in after the granola cools completely.

That's it!  This recipe is so easy to make, does not take long, and lasts our family at least a month.  Enjoy! :)

Asian Inspired Meatball Sub

Ever since I found out how easy it is to make meatballs, I just can't get enough of them.  I have been thinking a lot about Thai BBQ, too, ever since I posted about it several weeks ago.  I though, "Why not Thai BBQ meatballs?  In a sandwich?  With sauteed veggies?  That sounds just about perfect!"
I didn't have a recipe for Thai BBQ sauce, so I took what I knew already about Asian sauces, and happily threw things together in my sauce pot.  I knew I wanted something thick and syrupy, a little sweet, but mostly savory with a kick of spice and acid: the perfectly balanced sauce.  Now, I'm not going to pat myself on the back and say that I accomplished the perfect sauce.  However, I made something that was pretty yummy...and something I will certainly make again.  It went especially well with meatballs and sauteed onions and bell pepper.
Usually, I do not put beer in my Asian dishes, but I had bough beer earlier in the day because we were going to our friend's house, and once I tasted the sauce without it, I though beer would be the perfect compliment to it.  I had Deschutes Jubelale, which is a dark, bitter brew.  That hint of bitterness was what the sauce really needed to be great.  It also toned down the spiciness a touch, but added more flavor.  I do believe other beers would taste good in this sauce, but you'll just have to experiment and find out!

Jess' Asian BBQ Sauce:
2 TB brown sugar
1-2 TB molasses
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sriracha (more or less depending on how spicy you like it!)
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beer (preferably something dark and bitter, though any beer will do)

Mix ingredient in a small sauce pan.  Heat to boiling, then lower heat and simmer until the consistency is syrupy and coats the back of a spoon.

Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef (5% fat)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg
salt to taste (about 2 tsp)
pepper to taste

Add ingredients to a large bowl and mix thoroughly (now's a good time to use your hands!).  Roll into small balls about 1" diameter.  Spray baking sheet or casserole dish with oil and line meatballs on sheet.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until meatballs are browned on the outside and cooked through.  Let meatballs cool slightly, then pour BBQ sauce over them and coat with sauce.

Sauteed Veggies:
1-2 TB olive oil
1 onion (yellow or white), cut in half and sliced thinly
2 bell peppers
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat. (If you use too small a pan, the veggies will just steam which makes them soggy and less colorful.  When sauteing properly, your veggies slightly brown on the outside, but the veggies will keep their crunch and color.)  Add in onions and peppers and saute until slightly brown 3-4 minutes.  Add in sauce and coat veggies and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Take off the heat and cool slightly.  

NOTE! When using bell peppers, I try to be discerning.  Green bell peppers are very popular (especially in Asian dishes), however, they are very strongly flavored; they are less sweet and more grassy than other colored bell peppers.  Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are very mellow and sweet, plus they make dishes very colorful!  For this dish, I used red bell peppers, but any color would work.  It just depends on what taste you prefer.

Building the Sandwich:
1 small baguette or hot dog buns
sauteed veggies
BBQ meatballs
fresh cilantro

Cut baguette into sandwich portions and cut down the middle, so the bread opens like a sub.  Drizzle some BBQ sauce over the bread, add cilantro, meatballs, then veggies.  Drizzle a little more sauce on top.  Then, enjoy! :)  This is also great without the bread...low-carb stir fry!

What could have made this sandwich even better?  A little sriracha mayo!

Sriracha Mayonnaise:
1 cup mayo
2-3 TB sriracha (or more if you like spicy!)

Mix ingredients thoroughly.  Use like normal mayo or as a dipping sauce.

The Frugal Alchemist: Frozen Dinner

There are many nights when I just don't want to cook.  I feel like I cook constantly, so sometimes it's nice to take a break every once in a while.  However, we still need to eat.  I know this is a constant dilemma for people everywhere, whether you're single or have a family to feed.  There are just those days when cooking dinner is the last thing you want to do.  I can guiltily admit that I've gone out to dinner one to many times on those nights.  It is so easy to have someone cook for you.  But going out to eat, or even buying a frozen pizza can be really expensive, especially if you're focused on quality ingredients.  Most frozen dinners are cheap, but they have little nutritional value and on the other hand, frozen dinners that are high quality will wreck your wallet.  
A couple of months ago, when my job conflicted with me making dinner, I thought about buying some frozen burritos for my husband on those nights when I would be gone.  But I thought, "why buy frozen burritos when I can make them?  And I can make more for cheaper!"  So, I set about making a freezer full of frozen burritos from scratch.  I slow poached chicken and beef, simmered dry beans, and sauteed a bunch of bell peppers, onion, and garlic.  I also made my own salsa.  This process took all day, but my freezer was stocked, and we had easy dinner for weeks.
Although this was worth it, I realized that it would be much easier to just buy all the components, put them together, and then freeze them.  Although the burritos wouldn't be from scratch, they would still be cheap and delicious.  But I really wanted food that I made...from scratch, with my hands.  I'm big into nutrition, so I like being in control of what I eat everyday.  
I found there is a better, easier way of saving homemade food for later: double it!  When you're making lasagna, make two, freeze one, then you'll have dinner for when you need it.  In my house, we eat a lot of beans and rice.  So, when I make a pot of beans, I make a BIG pot of beans, or a BIG pot of rice, then freeze whatever is left over.  When I made stock the other day, I poached the entire chicken, then cooled it and divided up the meat.  Most of the dark meat went into a coconut chicken soup.  I froze the rest of the chicken and used it in my chicken tortilla soup pictured below.
The great thing about having all this frozen food available, is that you can just throw it in a pot with a few other ingredients and BOOM! you have dinner!

Frozen Dinner Night:
Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 pound cooked chicken, frozen
3-4 cups beans, cooked and frozen
1-2 cups rice, cooked and frozen
1 quart stock, previously made and frozen
1 28oz can tomatoes, pureed
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp cumin seeds (ground cumin is fine too!)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
3-4 TB cilantro, rough chop
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Saute garlic and jalapenos in 1-2 TB olive oil for 1 minute until fragrant.  Add in spices.  Saute 1 minute.  Add in tomatoes, rice, beans, chicken, stock, and cilantro.  BTAB, RTAS.  Take chicken out and dice (if it is not diced already).  Simmer about 10 mins, then dinner is ready!

Yes, I added all my frozen ingredients in at once.  Why not after all?

NOTE: If you are going to cook, then freeze food, make sure you cool it down FAST (see previous post about food safety).  Or if you are making something like lasagna, freeze the uncooked lasagna, then it is ready at any time to bake!

Voila!  Soup in minuets!  This took very little time and effort because of previous planning.  And I didn't have to compromise my health or wallet!

Enjoy!

All Stocked Up

For years, I have bought stock or bouillon for my soups.  To be honest, I didn't even realize that you could make your own, let alone, how to.  I was never satisfied with store bought stock because it was pricey, or tasted weird (depending on the brand) which made my soups taste less delicious.  I was also frustrated because I had no control over the salt content, especially with bouillon.  It seems that bouillon is made out of mostly salt...which is probably why it is a much cheaper option than pre-made stock.  Technically, most store bought stock is usually called broth because it contains salt; real from-scratch stock should never contain salt.  Why?  Because stock is just the base for soups and sauces, many of which are reduced down.  If you start with salty stock, and reduce that liquid down, you will have a very concentrated, salty product.  Classic stock is extremely flavorful because it contains lots of aromatics, meaty bones (unless it's veggie stock!), and is simmered for hours in order to extract all the flavors.  
At first, making stock was intimidating to me because of how long stock takes to make.  At culinary school there were always huge pots of stock simmering away all day.  It seemed that I would never have time to make my own if I had to sit around waiting on a stock all afternoon.  And, yes, this still is a concern.  Stock does take time.  However, I have found that with chicken stock especially, it doesn't take all day.  Plus, with the amount of stock that you can make in one go, you don't have to make stock more than once a month!  Just think, if you do have a few free hours in the daytime, and you feel like cooking, stock is one of the easiest and most rewarding project you can undertake!
With homemade stock, you can not only get great flavored stock, but you can do it for less money than store bought stock.  With one chicken, some veggies, and a few herbs, I can make 4-6 quarts of chicken stock which will last me at least a month (but I do make a lot of soup!).  I simply make my stock, fill plastic quart containers with it and freeze them.  They will last about 3 months or longer in the freezer.
The other great thing about making stock at home is that you can put (mostly) whatever you want into it!  Below is a classic stock recipe, but I have tried out a lot of variations depending on what I want to use my stock for.  For example, I make a lot of coconut chicken soup...so my variation would be take out the thyme and parsley, and add in lemongrass, garlic, hot peppers, and cilantro.  If I wanted a Latin-flavored stock, I might put in hot peppers, garlic, and tomatoes.  This way, you can double the flavor of your specific soup with the flavors you want.  
However, there are some things you do not want to put in stock!  Veggies like potatoes or cabbage can overpower your stock in different ways.  Since stock is simmered for several hours, potatoes would break down and make your stock cloudy.  Plus, they do little to enhance the flavor of your stock.  Cabbage, on the other hand, has a very strong, specific flavor and would make your whole stock taste like cabbage.  Remember, you are just making a BASE, not an entire soup!  You can add potatoes and cabbage in the cooking process. :)

Classic Chicken Stock: 4-6 quarts
(for veggie stock, exclude the chicken and add more veggies)
1 chicken carcass (or one whole chicken if you're poaching the meat)
1 cup onion, rough chop
1/2 cup carrot, rough chop
1/2 cup celery, rough chop
1 tsp black pepper corns
1 bay leaf
1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
1-2 sprigs fresh parsley
cold water 

NOTE! Why use cold water when cooking?  Because hot water is more likely to leach heavy metals out of your pipes...which are not good for eating! 

Equipment:
1 large soup or stock pot (A pot large enough to comfortably fit a whole chicken covered with water)
1 mesh strainer
cheese cloth
plastic quart containers (or Tupperware that can hold liquid and be frozen)

Stock Additions: 
garlic, whole
jalapenos (or hot peppers), whole
lemon grass
tomatoes
mushrooms
white wine
lemon or lime juice

Directions:
Create a sachet that contains the pepper corns, bay leaf, thyme, parsley by tying them up in cheese cloth.  Or you can just throw them in the pot, but they will float which will make the stock harder to skim later. 

 Add sachet, chicken, and veggies into a large pot.  Cover ingredients with cold water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 

(NOTE! You do NOT want to boil your stock.  Boiling stock will release impurities and mix them back into the liquid which makes for a very cloudy stock.  When you see the stock begin to boil, turn down the heat and let it gently simmer.)  Once it has simmered for 10-15 mins, it is time to skim!  Use a spoon (not slotted) to skim off any foam, scum, and fat that rises to the surface.  By removing these, your stock will be clear of impurities and fat. 

 Make sure to skim your stock a few times as it simmers.  Some fat might be left over, but that can be skimmed off once it cools down completely.
Simmer for 4-6 hours.
Note: Sometimes I simmer my stocks for less time (2-3 hours).  Sometimes you don't need the full 6 hours!  Keep tasting the stock to see how flavorful it is, and you can decide when it is done.

Straining stock: 
When your stock is done, put your mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl or container and pour your stock over the strainer.  If you don't have cheesecloth, that is fine, but it's a good idea to consider it because it does a good job of filtering out your stock, making it clearer.

Cooling Stock:
Place your bowl or container in a larger container (or sink) full of ice water.  Cool until no longer warm (about 1 hour).  Stirring the stock occasionally will help it cool down faster.  Pour into smaller containers, then freeze.
OR: Pour hot stock into quart containers (if they are heat safe) and leave out to cool or put into an ice bath.  I use this method, because smaller containers cool down a bit faster.  They can be put right into the freezer once they are cool which will chill them fast.  Don't put hot liquid into your freezer, though, because that will raise the temperature of your freezer which could compromise your other food.  

IMPORTANT NOTE!!
Cooling down your stock fast is CRUCIAL! Food safety guidelines show that most foods should not be left out at room temperature (40-140F) for more than four hours before it is unsafe to eat.  Four hours TOTAL.  This means that if stock is left out cooling for two hours, then it is reheated for a soup and that soup is left out cooling for three hours...it is technically (from food safety standards) no longer safe to eat.  Although these are restaurant standards, it is always good to be conscious of time and temperature!  For this reason, make sure you cool your stock down quickly (around 1 hour)!

I reuse my New Seasons quart containers because they are heat resistant and dishwasher safe. 

Now you have stock!  And it is wonderfully delicious and healthy!  Plus, you've saved money in the process.  What can be better than that?  It is now time to go make some fabulous soups or sauces!