chicken soup stock

1 whole chicken, cut up
2 ribs celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped

Put the chicken and vegetables in a stock pot, cover with 2 quarts water. Add salt and pepper. Simmer 2 hours. Strain broth. Bone and chop meat, discard vegetables, skin, and bones. Add meat to broth, divide into quart jars, and refrigerate. Skim fat and freeze (leave 1-1/2 inches headspace). Makes 2 quarts.

To make chicken stock without the meat, follow the same instructions, but use several pounds of chicken necks and backs instead of the whole chicken. Strain the broth and discard everything else.

Tip: for extra-moist chicken meat, cool the meat in the broth completely before shredding or cubing.