Mmmm Mmmm Good!

We have a "go to" meal around here, it requires a little effort and a little time, but not much in the way of ingredients, so it's an easy fix with the cupboards are bare! Around here, the cupboards seem to be bare all the time! I call it Chicken and Noodles, but my husband calls it soup - you know, po-tat-o, pa-tat-o. I got the recipe from my mom. It's one of those home comfort foods. I don't know that I remember eating it much as a kid, but I remember my kids eating it and asking her to make it often. Grandmothers will do anything for their grandkids! Okay, let's start with the recipe and then I'll tell you my secrets! I triple the recipe, but you don't have to, unless you have an army to feed like mine!

Chicken & Noodles

2 TBS butter, softened (I use the real thing baby!)

2  eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cup flour

Chicken stock 

2 chicken breast or other chicken

2 ribs celery 

2 carrots

1/2 med onion

bouillon if desired

1 TBS parsley flakes

* If you are making your own chicken stock (which I do), then do this first. If you are using premade chicken stock - skip this step.

Step 1: The stock

In a large stock pot add 2 cubed skinless, boneless breasts and about 4 quarts of water. Set on med high. Meanwhile, take the vegetables and prepare them. If you want larger pieces of vegtables you can slice the carrots and celery,(note: I love to add some of the celery leafy tops) if you have some picky kids that you want to force some veggies in, then run them through the food processor. Add to pot. At this point you can season with salt and pepper if you desire, or add some bouillon for a stronger flavor. Personally, I love the Tone's Chicken Base from Sam's Club - it's way better than bouillon! Let this come to a boil and then lower it to a simmer while you prepare the noodles. 

*You can also use "stewing" chicken and boil and debone, then add back to pot. I usually save the frames from turkeys or roasted chickens and put them in the freezer. I plop that into my pot and make broth a lot! You'd be surprised how much chicken is still on them! Enough for soup for sure!  My other tip...speaking of leftover turkey - If you don't want to freeze the frame, you can boil the frame in a very large pot - covered with water. I will make turkey broth. I strain it and put in mason jars. Sometimes I put the jars in a boiling water bath for about 20 minutes to seal and store in my pantry, other times I will use those plastic canning jars and put them in the freezer. Instant broth when I need it and no peeling those little cubes! One turkey frame will yield about 6 - 8 quarts of broth!! And yes, I interchange turkey broth with chicken broth all the time!

Step 2: The noodles

I use a kitchen aid mixer. If I didn't have it, I would be handicapped!  In the mixer bowl add the butter, eggs and salt. Using dough hook attachment add about 1 cup of the flour and mix until combined with the egg and butter. Then add the remaining flour and mix until it's all combined. If it's dry and crumbly, add a little water about 1 TBS at a time. If it's very sticky, add a little more flour. 

Here's my super tip for rolling out any kind of dough. Use a flour sack tea towel to roll on. I wish I could take credit for this, but a very sweet lady from my church taught me this, and it is valuable information!!! I fold the towel in half and sprinkle with flour. I don't end up with sticky mess on my counters and I don't have to use near as much flour. I use this on anything that requires rolling out!

On the floured towel, turn out your noodle dough. (When I triple this recipe, I roll out one third at a time). Pat it into a disc and then turn it over and sprinkle top with a little flour, just so things aren't sticky. Roll, Roll, Roll and then roll some more. It will seem like it's not flattening at all for a while, but trust me, it will, keep after it! I roll until it's very thin, about 1/16" maybe. If you like thicker noodles like dumplings, then don't roll so thin. They do "fluff" up while cooking. When you have this rolled out, you're ready to cut the noodles. There's two ways to do it, Mom rolls hers up like a jelly roll and then slices it with a knife into noodles, then unrolls the strips to dry. I'm a rebel and I leave mine rolled out flat and take a pizza cutter to it to make thin strips, zoom, zoom, zoom, done! I then separate them a little by picking them up and dropping them on the towel. Then gather the corners of the towel to make a little hobo bag and give them a little toss. This coats the cut edges with flour so they don't want to stick together. Either way, spread them back out on the counter (I leave mine on the towel) and let them dry at least 20 minutes. (If I'm using boned chicken, this is when I go to the pot and debone it and put the chicken back in the pot).

Step 3: Cook the noodles

After your broth is ready and your noodles are dry, it's time to cook the noodles. Bring your broth to a good boil. You want to try and maintain a boil, but not too hard. I take my noodle hobo bag over to the stove and very slowly add noodles a little at a time. By a little I mean, two or three at a time. If you dump the whole mess in there you end up with just that, a mess! Watch out because that leaping, boiling broth will splash up on you and it hurts! Give the pot a stir after about each fourth of the noodles. Just to make sure they separate and none are stuck together.  Once you have all your noodles in the pot start timing. I make thin noodles so about a 10 minute boil is enough. If you make thicker noodles adjust the time. Give it the taste test to see if they are done. Add some salt and pepper and the parsley just before serving. I like to thicken the broth with a  little cold water and cornstarch slurry, but that it totally optional. 

Enjoy!!