Vegetable Stock

We love to make our turkey with a brine.  The only thing is, making a brine can get EXPENSIVE!  The base we use is vegetable stock, and if you've ever bought it at the store (and I mean TRUE vegetable stock, not broth), you know what I mean about expensive.  So this year, we decided to make our own vegetable stock.  It's easy to make, cheap, and it's kind of nice knowing everything that's going into it.  This recipe makes 1 gallon of vegetable stock, enough for our brine.

Vegetable Stock

Ingredients:
1 gallon water (16 cups)
8 large onions, peeled
8 large carrots, scrubbed but not peeled
12 celery stalks, leaves removed
1 whole bulb garlic
4 Tbs. peppercorns
8 bay leaves

Directions:
1. Chop vegetables into large pieces, except garlic.  Peel garlic and leave individual cloves whole.  Place vegetables in a large stockpot and cover with water.  Add peppercorns and bay leaves.
2. Bring stock to a boil over high temperature.  Immediately turn down to low and allow to simmer for 1 hour. 
3. Immediately strain stock through a colander fine enough to catch the vegetables pieces.  Allow to cool.  Store in freezer bags for use later.