Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

Get out your magic pot.  Chop one onion, 4 celery stalks, 1-1/2 cups carrots and 1 garlic clove.  Saute onions, celery and carrots in 1 tablespoon olive oil for about 5 minutes, until onions start to soften.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds more.

Add 12 cups chicken stock or 12 cups water and 4 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken base. 

Toss in 3 cups shredded chicken (or all the meat form one whole chicken) and 1 bay leaf.  Cover pot and turn down to a simmer.  After about 30 minutes of simmering taste for salt and salt to your liking.  Add some pepper too.

Once you have adjusted your seasonings in your broth you will need to get started on your noodles.  Combine 2 cups flour and 3/4 teaspoon salt.  Add 1 egg and about 1/2 cup milk to make a slightly sticky ball of dough.  Roll dough out on floured parchment paper or waxed paper to about 1/8 inch thickness.  Slice into noodles with a pizza cutter.  Let noodles sit on counter for 1 hour.  Once noodles have dried for an hour or so, begin to drop them in the simmering broth.  Don't throw them in in clumps or you will get clumps!  Drop them in one at a time, gently stirring occasionally to keep noodles separated.  Put lid back on pot and let simmer for another 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1 onion, diced
• 4 celery stalks, diced
• 1-1/2 cups carrots, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 cups water  (or 12 cups chicken stock and no Better than Bouillon)
• 4 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole chicken cooked and shredded or 3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
• Salt and pepper to taste

Noodles

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk 

This is a re-post of one of my favorite soups.  This is the most fantabulous soup.  Yesterday I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot.  When it was done I took it out to cool.  The broth that was left in pot was strained and put in the fridge to separate (so I could easily skim off the fat). When the chicken was cool I shredded it and put it in the fridge.  Then I threw 1 whole carrot, 3 stalks of celery with the leaves, 2 garlic cloves and one coarsely chopped onion back into the crock pot.  I chopped all the bones from the chicken in half to release the marrow, which is supposed to be good for hemoglobin production (or something like that).  I thew the bones and leftover chicken parts in the pot. Next, I filled the crock pot with water and left it on low all night (12 hours).  This morning I strained out all the stuff and let the broth cool in large bowl so the fat could rise to the top. Now I will continue on with the directions above and make soup for my besties hemoglobin!

Cornbread Chicken

It's cooling off in this hot part of the world.  We only got to 79 degrees on Sunday and this type of weather gets my taste buds going for some comfort food. This is the most tasty comfort food.  My friend Anna gave me this recipe.  This recipe has been handed down through the generations, or at least from her mom to her.

The Roux or "Row-x" if you are from this neck of the woods.

Pat cornbread into biscuits and place on top of creamy chicken filling.

Hot and bubbly, just out of the oven. 

Cornbread Chicken

White Sauce:

• 1 stick of butter (8 T.)
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/8 t. pepper
• 3 c. chicken broth
• 1 c. milk
• 4 c. chicken, cooked and shredded
• 1 small bag of frozen peas

Cornbread Topping:

• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 c. flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 4 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 3 T. shortening
• 1 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. White Sauce: Melt butter over medium heat in large saucepan. Once butter is melted stir in flour and pepper, making a roux. Continue to stir for 1 minute. Combine broth and milk and pour into the roux while stirring vigorously to prevent lumps. Keep stirring until sauce starts to thicken, about 3 minutes. Add chicken pieces and peas. (Anna would never add the peas.....) Pour mixture into a 13x9 inch Pyrex pan. 

Cornbread Topping: In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the cornbread topping. Cut in the shortening. Mix in sour cream.  This usually has to be done with clean hands. This dough will be slightly sticky. Form dough into 12 or so biscuits and place on top of chicken mixture.

Bake a 400 degrees for 25 minutes uncovered. Test a cornbread biscuit with a knife to see if they are done. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


This recipe is doubled.  You could easily cut it in half and make it in an 8x8 inch pan.

 

Leftover Pizza Buns

Here is an idea for leftover hamburger or hot dog buns.....

Hot dog bun pizza!  Tomato paste, garlic salt, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.  Bake at 425 degrees until crisp.  Broil for a second or two if you like it even crispier!

The boy folded his and ate it like a sandwich!

Whipped Butter Update

Whipped butter is a hit!  It really stretches the butter.  One batch lasted one week. (This includes about 1/2 a cup of whipped butter that was dropped on the floor!) In one week we would normally use 6 to 8 sticks of butter for our spreading needs.  We used our whipped butter for toast, rolls, veggies, rice...pretty much anything at the table we would normally spread butter on.  Make some whipped butter today!

Honey Butter Drop Biscuits

Honey drop biscuits are so yummy and sweet!  Smear with whipped butter!  Enjoy!

HONEY DROP BISCUITS

• 2 cups flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter. Combine milk and honey.  Mix honey/milk in with dry ingredients.  If you are a regular biscuit maker, this batter will seem wet.  Have no fear, it is supposed to be a little more wet than biscuit dough that you would roll out.  Drop biscuits, using two spoons, one spoon to scoop and one spoon to push it off, onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until bottoms are golden brown.  Makes 8 to 12 biscuits, depending on how big you want yours.

Check out Tasty Tuesday for more yummy recipes.

Stretching a Buck by Stretching Your Butter....Making Homemade Whipped Butter

Lessen your butter budget without buying margarine!  Make your own whipped butter.  It is really easy and I can't believe I put it off for so long.  This is perfect for toast, pancakes, rolls, muffins...anything already cooked that you would normally smear with butter.  THIS IS NOT FOR BAKING. 

Using your stand mixer with your whip attachment, whip 2 sticks of butter on high until very fluffy.  Once the butter is fluffy, continue with the mixer on high slowly streaming in 1/2 cup of olive oil.  Once olive oil is incorporated continue the same way with the water.  The butter will be very white with pretty stiff peaks.

Transfer butter to storage container.  Refrigerate until set.  After this you may leave it at room temperature or keep in fridge, whatever you are comfortable with.

WHIPPED BUTTER

I found this handy recipe at Tammy's Recipes.

• 2 sticks butter
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• 1/2 c. water

Whip butter in stand mixer until light and fluffy on high.  Slowly add olive oil with the mixer still on high.  Do the same with water.  Whip until creamy white and stiff peaks form.  Chill until firm, a couple of hours.  Once set, you can store at room temperature or in the fridge.

Check out more great ideas at Works for me Wednesday.

Garlic Chicken

Going low-carb has really thrown a wrench in things around here.  I am the queen of carbs.  I love yeast.  I love flour.  Of course I am still eating these things, but Rowdy isn't and I have had to adjust things a bit.  No casseroles.  No pasta.  No  beans.  Last night I made garlic chicken.  This recipe was delicious and very simple.  Next time I will definitely double the garlic. 

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in an ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. (Yes, I forgot and did it later!) Fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown.  Don't cook at too high a heat, you don't want to burn the butter.

While the chicken is browning, slice (not chop) 8 or more garlic cloves into thin slices.  Next time I will definitely be doubling the garlic.  Check out that bag of garlic...amazing.  Three pounds of peeled garlic cloves for $4.99 at Costco.  If you love garlic, this is definitely a must buy.

Once chicken is browned, remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.  Add 2 more tablespoons butter to the pan and toss in your sliced garlic.  Once again, be careful not to burn the butter.  Saute the garlic for three minutes or so, until it becomes soft and some pieces start to turn golden.

When the garlic is done, reduce heat to low and add 2/3 cup white wine (or broth).  Using a wooden spoon deglaze the pan with wine, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  I am using 2-Buck Chuck!  Have you heard of this?  They 4 or 5 varieties available at Trader Joe's and this is great for cooking...and yes, it is 2 Bucks.

Return chicken to pan.  Be sure to pour the juices that have accumulated on the plate back into the pan. (Notice...I did add salt and pepper.)  Place pan, uncovered, in a 425 degree oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Baste 2 or 3 times during the baking, scooping up garlic slices and topping the chicken with them.

This was Rowdy's plate.  Imagine the rest of us with a pile of steaming hot white rice, doused with the delicious sauce left in the pan. 

GARLIC CHICKEN

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and 3 boneless skinless thighs (or whatevery pieces you like)
• 4 T. butter, divided
• 8 or more garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 2/3 cup white wine (If you are not Presbyterian or you live at Hume Lake or you just don't like wine, you could use chicken broth)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in an ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Over medium-high heat, fry chicken until golden brown on both sides. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.  Add 2 more tablespoons butter to your pan and saute the garlic over medium heat, being careful not to burn the butter, about 3 minutes, until garlic begins to soften and some start to turn golden.  Pour in wine (or broth) and deglaze the pan, scraping up all the yummy brown bits with a wooden spoon.  Turn off heat and return chicken to pan, along with the juices that have accumulated on the plate.  Place pan in oven, uncovered, and bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Cooking time may depend on how thick your pieces of chicken are.  Remove from oven and serve with a generous amount garlic slices and sauce on top.

No Knead Bread

Make your own Artisan bread.  This bread is simple, but you must have patience.  There is really minimal work involved and it is so worth the wait!  I am not sure where I found out about this bread, but here is the link to the original post from the New York Times.

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.

Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Heavily dust a tea towel (not bar towel) with cornmeal.

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball, just kind of folding up the side on top of each other.  This dough is really soft and can seem very difficult to work with, but it is so worth it. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. (Prepare the towel before you shape your dough so you can immediately flip it over on to the towel coated with cornmeal.) Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours.

When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it will look messy and cornmeal may fly everywhere!  

Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

NO KNEAD BREAD

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• 1-5/8 cup water
• Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees. (Mine was on the counter for about 24 hours...I was busy.)  Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball, just kind of folding up the side on top of each other.  This dough is really soft and can seem very difficult to work with, but it is so worth it. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. (Prepare the towel before you shape your dough so you can immediately flip it over on to the towel coated with cornmeal.) Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.  At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it will look messy and cornmeal may fly everywhere!  Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Chicken Alfredo

The Rowdy has gone low carb!  We have done this before and I would join him except for the fact that I am still sitting on an egg and see no reason to not eat pasta!  I like to make recipes that can go either way so everyone can pretty much eat the same thing.

Rinse and pat dry the chicken fillets.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Fry chicken breast fillets in olive oil, in two batches, until both sides are nice and browned and they are cooked through.  Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel and cover with foil to keep warm.

While the chicken is cooking dice one large shallot.  Do not put your fingers in your eyes when you are done!  Ask the baby chick...she will tell why.

In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, add 1/4 cup butter and melt.  Add shallots and cook until softened, on medium heat, for about 5 minutes.

Add 1-1/2 cups heavy cream to the pan and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken and reduce...try not to let it boil...like me.  After about 5 minutes, add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and stir until melted.  Reduce heat to low until cheese is melted.  Turn off heat. Salt and pepper to taste.  Return chicken to pan and coat with sauce.

Just below is the low-carb version.  No PASTA!  Yes, that is 3 chicken fillets...Rowdy is hungry when he gets home from work.  These fillets are really not that big...they are nice and thin, like a chicken breast should be.

Here is the carb version.  While preparing the chicken, prepare some pasta.  I like these little shells because they are much easier for a 2 year old to eat than a big long noodle!  Once you have cooked and drained the noodles, toss with a little bit of butter so they don't stick together.  To serve, place a scoop of noodles on the plate and top with chicken and some sauce.

 

CHICKEN ALFREDO

• 8 chicken breast fillets or 4 regular giant breasts, pounded thin and cut in half to make 8 pieces
• Salt and pepper
• 4 T. olive oil
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1 lg. shallot, diced
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts.  Salt and pepper both sides of chicken.  Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet and fry chicken until golden on both sides and cooked through.  Place chicken on a plate lined with paper towels and cover with foil to keep warm.  While chicken is cooking dice the shallot.  Once chicken is done, add butter to the same frying pan and melt.  Over medium heat, cook shallot until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add cream.  Bring to a simmer, but not a boil.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the cream starts to thicken and reduce slightly.  Add Parmesan cheese and reduce heat to low, stirring until cheese is melted.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place chicken breasts back in sauce to coat the chicken in yumminess.  Serve as is or over pasta.

Find more yummy recipes at Tasty Tuesday.

Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is yummy and easy.  You don't have to have a fancy garlic roaster either.  You can just use foil.  Once roasted you can spread on crusty bread, throw in mashed potatoes or just eat along side a slab of steak!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  After removing most of the paper from the outside of the heads of garlic, chop the top off being sure to expose the tops of all cloves.  You may have to do some tricky cutting if you have some cloves down low on the sides.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  If you are using foil, place cloves on foil in a pie tin, prepare as directed and then seal the foil.

Roast garlic in a 400 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes until they look nice and caramlized on the top.  To remove from skins I use the tines of a fork. 

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

I have often wondered why people would be interested in such simple recipes.  I have now decided that sometimes we just get in a rut and need some inspriation, no matter how simple.  Once while reading the kids a book, we read of a family that rolled out store bought biscuits and then made mini-pizzas.  Totally simple...but I would never have thought to make a biscuit pizza.  I don't know if it is a home school phenomena or what...but my kids expect more than a sandwich, more than just an apple.  Maybe they are just spoiled.  Today we made smoothies for a mid-morning snack.  The boy is hungry all the time.  He would probably starve to death if I sent him to school  :O)

Throw 1 cup crushed ice and 8 ounces frozen strawberries into your blender.

Add 1 cup strawberry yogurt.

One "rotten" banana.

Pour in 1/2 a cup of milk and begin to mix, adding more milk to make the desired consistency.

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

• 1 cup crushed ice
• 8 ozs. frozen strawberries
• 1 cup strawberry yogurt
• 1 "rotten" banana (really ripe and sweet)
• 1/2 cup milk plus more to make smoothie desired consistency

Throw all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Serve to happy children.