Chicken Soup with Homemade Noodles

It's that time of year when most people seem to catch some kind of bug.  I have several sick friends, a friend at the end of her pregnancy, a neighbor with a spinal headache, and other special folks with various ailments.  Just this morning I was telling someone how lame it is to feel kind of helpless to help them.  It's no fun to watch your loved ones suffer.  I'm not a health professional, but I do know how to make chicken noodle soup; that quintessential feel better kind of food.  It's always a good idea to make a big batch in order to keep some on hand in the freezer to share when inevitably, someone gets sick.  Looks like I need to make a REALLY big batch!

There are two ways to go about the broth.  There's store bought (soup aisle) and homemade.  I've done it both ways, but when I have the resources, I like to do homemade. 

There are also two ways to go about the noodles.  Either store bought egg noodles or homemade noodles.  Again, if I have the time and ingredients, I like to do homemade.  It's much easier than it may seem. 

Homemade Chicken Broth:

After enjoying your roasted chicken and chicken sandwich place the chicken carcass (I know that's not a great word to use when talking about food) in a large pot and just cover it with water.  Add some carrot tops, celery pieces, onion bits, mushroom stems...just toss in whatever extra pieces you have after chopping the veggies you'll use later in the soup.  You're going to strain these out of the broth anyways, so don't worry too much about them looking pretty.  They add flavor and vitamins to the broth. 

Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Allow it to simmer for several hours.  Strain out the broth, pick the last of the meat off the bones, then toss the bones and boiled veggies.  If you have the time, refrigerate the broth, then skim the white colored fat off the top before reheating it. 

Egg Noodles

1 egg
Heavy cream
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Break the egg into a medium bowl.  Fill half an egg shell with cream.  Add cream to egg.  Stir in flour and salt.  Knead the dough a couple times.



These are Claire's hands, mine aren't near this long and graceful.  She made this batch of noodles.



Roll dough out on a floured board or counter as thin as possible and let stand 1/2 hour.  Cut noodles to desired width.  Either let dry or use right away in your soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion
3 sliced carrots
3 sliced stalks celery
4 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Noodles
1-2 cups cooked chicken pieces, chopped
Broth (if doing store bought, 36-48 ounces, buy extra just in case you need it)
Chicken bullion (optional)

Cook onion in olive oil over medium-high heat for a couple minutes.  Add carrots and cook a couple minutes more.  Add celery, garlic, peas, and corn and cook a couple minutes more.  The vegetables should be tender, but not mushy at all.  In a separate pan, cook mushrooms in butter until mushrooms start to brown. 

Add broth and parsley and bring to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper to your taste.  If it doesn't taste 'chickeny' enough, you can add some chicken bullion.  Add the noodles in a few at a time so they don't stick together.  If using store bought, use about 8-10 ounces.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until the noodles are cooked. 

Reduce heat and add the chicken and mushrooms.  Taste and adjust your flavors as needed. 

This recipe is very forgiving and flexible.  Don't like peas?  Don't add them.  Don't have any celery?  Skip it.  It'll still taste great and make your body and soul feel better.  I swear by it.  It'll make your friends and family feel better too!

Our Pirate Adventure

My mother is so many things.  So many wonderful things.  One of these things is whimsical.  She loves the Rip Squeak books by Susan Yost-Filgate and Leonard Filgate.  For my eldest sons first birthday, she bought him The Treasure.  In this story, Rip Squeak and his friends find a treasure map in a book and start off on a grand adventure.

I read this book to my boys last weekend and lo and behold, there was a treasure map in the back!!!  Imagine their faces....priceless!

The map led them to the 'dirt pile' and then into a field where they discovered a box containing pirate hats and a new map.

 The new map led them around the neighborhood, over a bridge, down special pathways and through the 'woods'.

 The directions on the map said to dig, so magically, there happened to be a shovel nearby.

 Treasure!!!  Inside the box was fake money, beads, silly band bracelets and ring pops.  They couldn't have been happier after this grand adventure of their own.

We've read the book a couple times since then and I know they hold their breath at the end hoping for a new map.  Perhaps one day there will be. 

Molasses Cookies

I've been thinking about these cookies all year long.  They're one of those things I look forward to the fall season for.  There's no reason I couldn't make them in the spring or summer, but for some reason I like to look forward to enjoying them during their designated season.  Perhaps this makes them more special.

When I was little, we used to eat a lot of gingersnaps at my grandparent's house.  We'd dip them in water to soften them a bit before eating them.  There were several irrigation ditches running through their 80 acres.  Every time we ate gingersnaps, someone would comment that they sure would taste better if we dunked them in the ditch water instead.  Knowing us kids we probably did it, though I can't recall any vivid memories of actually following through.  It's one of those things I wonder about.  Did I or didn't I?  As an adult (it's still wierd refering to myself as a grown up) I shudder at the thought of dipping my cookies in ditch water...especially ones running through pasture rented out to cattle ranchers.  Perhaps this makes me boring and unadventurous; perhaps this makes me wise; perhaps this makes me all of the above. 

These are molasses cookies aka ginger cookies.  Though they're soft and not 'snappy' they remind me of those special days eating gingersnaps at the Ranch with my brothers. 

Molasses Cookies
This is a print off from an online recipe.  I don't have the reference anymore to be able to give the creator credit. Sorry!

1 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups wheat flour
2 1/2 cups white flour
4 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1/2 cup white sugar\

Cream the shortening, butter and brown sugar.  Add the effs and molasses and mix to incorporate.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon and ginger.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in one cup increments, mixing completely after each addition.  Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll dough into walnut sized balls and dip tops into a bowl filled with the 1/2 cup white sugar.  Place the dough balls on a baking sheet 3 inches apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, just until set, but not hard.  Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a rack to cool completely.  I like to eat them warm!

Simple Chicken Sandwich

Some days call for a little cleaning out the kitchen kind of food.  You know, like making 'everything' cookies and 'everything' soup...sometimes a little 'everything' pasta.  It's nice to throw a bunch of leftover tidbits together and have something brilliant turn out.  Not that it always turns out great, but it's sure nice when it does.

My dad sent me a card recently and on the front it said 'True elegance becomes the more so as it approaches simplicity.' -Henry Ward Beecher

If that's the case, then this is one elegant sandwich.  It's beauty was in it's simplicity.  I had some leftover roasted chicken, a couple rolls from the night before, half an avocado and a super ripe tomato.

The layering (though the order isn't important) went like this: bun, mustard, tomato, chicken, slice of cheddar cheese, some avocado, bun.  It was cute and fun and paired with a tasty little salad.  My guest loved it! 

Roasted Chicken

I've been soaking up the fall here.  The crisp air, the crunchy leaves and oh so many colors!  It's something I look forward to all year.  Last fall, while my husband and I were traveling, there was a freeze and the leaves just died and fell off the trees.  Words fail to express my sadness at the time.

Ok, that was a little dramatic...but it was a super disappointing. 

This is the time of year I look forward to wearing socks and shoes again, having an extra blanket at night, breaking out my favorite scarf and making some of my favorite comfort foods.

Roasted chicken is one of the easiest main dishes to prepare.  It's so easily adaptable and feeds my little family several times.  It's always a crowd pleaser and it looks like to spent a lot of time when really, it takes less than 5 minutes to get this baby in the oven.

Just rinse it, check the cavity to make sure there's not gizzards and then pat it dry with paper towels.

I like to line a 9x13 pan with foil to make clean up easier.  Rub it down with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cover the chicken with foil and bake in a 400 degree F oven until a meat thermometer reads 190 degrees and the juices run clear when you cut it near the hip bone.  Depending on the size of the chicken, this usually takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours.  Remove the foil the last 30 minutes or so to let the skin brown.  Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes after removing it from the oven before slicing it.

This is the most basic way to do this.  Other variations include:

Placing butter and/or herbs under the skin

Stuffing the cavity with onion and/or lemons

Injecting flavor into the meat with an injector kit

And so many more!

Stay tuned for what to do with the leftovers!

Aubrey 

Pot Pie

We pay our starving college student dog sitter with food.  When asked what he wants, he stares off and usually comes up with something like 'meatloaf and limeade' or 'gourmet pizza' or 'spaghetti and meatballs.'

This time, I didn't really give him an option.  I'd seen this recipe in a book on my buddy's coffee table.  It yields 2 pies, which is perfect considering I needed both dinner for the night plus something to have ready for him before our trip to Seattle. 

Earlier that week, my husband, Brad, requested nachos with my version of a slow cooked Hawaiian pork.  There were so many leftovers, I decided to use pork in this pie instead of chicken.  You can do whatever floats your boat.   



(I promise I'm working on my camera skills).

Yes, the recipe calls for a cup of butter.  I'm not usually shy around butter.  I'd like to think butter and I have a close relationship, however, even I took a second look at the recipe to make sure.  When you break it down between the two pies, though, it's really only about a tablespoon of butter per serving...not too shabby.

The second pie can be frozen or taken to your sick friend or used as currency for your dog sitter.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)

Directions:

Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp tender.  Drain and set aside.  In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender.  Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended.  Gradually stir in the broth and milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots.  Remove from heat.

Line two 9-inch pie plates with bottom pastry; trim even with edge of plate.  Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies.  Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.  Cut slits in top pastry.

Bake one pot pie at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.  Cover and freeze remaining pot pie for up to 3 months.

To use frozen pot pie:  Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F.  Bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.

Source:  Taste of Home, Halloween Food and Fun, Nov 2005

JOY

These boys are my joy, that's for sure.

We visited the beach on the Navy base in Anacortes, WA and there were these JOY signs made out of driftwood everywhere.  I think we counted 5 or six. 

What a fun ambition, to write JOY all over the beach.