Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

About a week ago, a hex hit my house.  As in, my nearly 2 year old daughter and my husband both came down with a bug that knocked them out of commission for nearly a week.  Somehow, miraculously, I was unscathed.  I think it was so that someone other than the dogs could keep them alive.  I don't think Maddy or Jazzy could cook food, go get gatorade, spoon mylanta, or attend to the myriad of other things that were going on in the house...so lucky me.  I did make a huge portion of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, complete with homemade egg noodles to sustain my poor, sick babies...and it lasted a good week.  I just poured out the remaining 2-ish cups of it last night.

This recipe is fairly easy, just requires that you taste your stock to ensure it has enough flavor for you, and add to it as you see fit for your taste.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Here's what I used:

1 5 lb whole chicken fryer
1 bag baby carrots (or 4-5 peeled/chopped large carrots)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
4 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves only
S&P
Chicken Bullion

Egg Noodles (recipe below or store bought)

Here's what I did:

Preparation for this recipe consists of chopping all vegetables, and feel free to add veggies that you like to this, and omit what you don't.  Also, rinse and pat dry the chicken, discarding innards.  At this point, I cut the chicken into 4 main pieces, breasts, and thigh/legs.  Alternately, you can buy a chicken already cut up, to save on time.

Then, in a large stockpot, place chicken and all vegetables.  Add cold water, until chicken pieces are fully covered.  Allow chicken and vegetables to boil on med/high for about 20-25 minutes.  Remove chicken at this point, and take off and discard skin and bone.  Chop chicken into bite-size pieces, and add back into stockpot.  Set eat to a low simmer.

At this point, take a taste of the stock.  Its probably pretty bland.  Add salt, pepper and chicken bullion cubes or powder until you reach desired flavor profile.  Add cajun seasoning if you want a little more kick.

Homemade Egg Noodles

Here's what I used:

2 cups AP Flour
3 large eggs, beaten

Here's what I did:

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer, and simply added the flour and eggs to the bowl, and used paddle attachment for 30 seconds.  I did not need to add any extra water or flour to get the right consistency.  Test dough with finger, if its too sticky/gooey, add flour by the tbsp until dough is tacky, but not gooey.  If its in small balls, add water by the tsp until dough begins to bind together.

Remove dough from mixer, and hand knead into a ball.  Wrap with saran wrap and let sit for 15 minutes to 2 hours (as time permits).  You can make dough ahead of time, and then begin the soup.  That way, as soup boils, you can be forming your noodles. 

At this point, I again used my Kitchen Aid mixer, and added pasta roller attachment to the front.  Divide dough into 6 even sections, and keep unused sections covered by saran wrap or dish towel until ready to use.  Generously flour the dough, and feed it through the roller, starting at the widest section, #1, and continuing twice per setting until #4.  Continue this for all sections of dough, laying flattened pieces down on a floured surface, and covering with a dish towel.

Once all sections have been flattened, I added my linguine pasta cutter attachment.  Feed each section of dough through the pasta cutter, and then hang the pasta groups to dry.  I have a pasta drying rack, but you can also drape the noodles over the side of a large mixing bowl until ready to add to the soup.

Now, by this point, the soup should be ready for the noodles.  I simply took each section of fresh noodles, and with kitchen shears, cut the noodles over the stockpot, and let them fall into the soup below.  I made each set of noodles about 2" long.  I did this with all groups of noodles, and then let simmer for 5 minutes.

Test your noodles to ensure they're fully cooked.  If you opt to make them by hand, make sure the dough is rolled out very thin, and then hand cut with a butter knife.  These may take longer to cook, as they will probably be thicker.

Again, check seasoning and adjust to your liking.

Sydney was requesting "nooo-ols" for days afterwards.  This keeps and microwaves beautifully, so it provided us with 4-5 days of soup for both Nick and Sydney.

Basic Handmade Pasta

That's right. I took the plunge and made handmade pasta last night. My right arm/wrist/hand have recovered pretty well by now, and I think Nick and I agree that it was worth the effort. It was fun!! I did watch a YouTube video on how to roll out the dough for cutting into strips (ala linguine), and it has to be super thin for the noodles to not resemble/taste/texture of spaetzle (which I remember making in 9th grade Home Ec). But I have to say it was fun to be able to make the pasta myself...would I do it every day?! No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. The results were worth it. And now I can't wait to try to make my own ravioli!!

I used a Mario Batali "Basic Pasta Dough" recipe:

3 1/2 cups unbleached All Purpose flour
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Here's what I did:

On a large cutting board or wide, clean, flat surface, I made a mountain with the flour. Then with my fingers, I created a bowl or crater in the center. I cracked the eggs into the space I created, making room as needed for the eggs and olive oil. Then, with a fork, I began to gently stir and beat the eggs, slowly folding and sprinkling in the flour as I went. I will warn that I took a very long time to incorporate the flour...maybe 10 minutes? Because if you go too fast you risk incorporating too much flour, and having less successful dough. Once the eggs and flour started to come together, and pull away from the flour "mountain" that now resembled more of an outline...I began to fold it over and into itself with the fork.

At this point, I tested with my finger, and the dough readily stuck to it, so I continued to add flour. The dough needs to be sticky but not stick and glop to your hand or the surface you're working on. Once the dough was well incorporated, I transferred it to a NEW, clean, flour dusted cutting board and began to knead. I kneaded the dough for 6 minutes, then wrapped it tightly in saran wrap, and then let it rest Unrefrigerated for 30 minutes. Kneading consists of continually folding the dough on itself, and the pushing it back out into a larger ball with the heels of your hands.

Once the dough had rested, I cleaned a very large area of my countertop and dusted with flour. I had just finished watching this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/user/spotandLucy#p/u/12/85xeHTyHEZM and tried to replicate with my much smaller rolling pin. Then I took a pizza cutter, and tried to cut very thin noodles out of the dough, similar to a common linguine. I was not shy about flour, either. Every chance I got, I continued to rotate the dough 1/4 turn and dust underneath so that my sheet of dough didn't stick to the counter.

I don't have a pasta drying rack, but the recipe suggests to allow the noodles to "dry" for another 30 minutes before boiling/cooking. I used a large mixing bowl, and laid my noodles over the side, and across the bowl as I found space. I allowed them to rest for 15 minutes, as my water was boiling, and Nick's chicken had already come out of the oven!

Once my water was at a rolling boil, a touch of olive oil was added to the water, to help prevent sticking. I added a "Test" noodle to see if the noodle would hold up. It did. So I went ahead and added the rest of my noodles and allowed them to cook for 3-5 minutes. The recipe suggests 3 minutes, but at 3 minutes my pasta was still a little chewy, so I left it in a little longer. I think maybe the pot was a little small for the amount of pasta, and my noodles were not perfectly cut, so some where thicker - and all in all the whole batch took longer to cook.

Once the noodles were cooked to the right tenderness that I wanted, I drained them and then plated alongside Nick's balsamic glazed chicken. I opted to just use the juice/glaze and caramelized onions from his recipe (another Batali recipe from the same book), and it was very good.

What would I change next time? I think I need a way to make my noodles more uniform in size. I also need a way to allow the noodles to dry better. I need to brainstorm some household items that I might be able to rig into pasta dry racks...

Whole Wheat Rotini Primavera

We recently made our monthly pilgrimage to Costco, and picked up huge bags of cut broccoli and red/orange/yellow bell peppers. I wondered to myself how my little family of three would possibly consume all of it before it went back to God. I imagined all sorts of Broccoli soups, casseroles, steamed, etc. Not to mention that Sydney really won't eat her veggies, so she's out, in terms of help. So I decided to throw together a Pasta Primavera, in memory of a restaurant near my college that had an awesome Primavera with great veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, etc. in a light, fresh sauce.

Here's what I used:

2 cups broccoli flourettes
2 bell peppers, cut into 1" pieces
4 roma tomatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 box Whole Wheat Rotini
1 cup chicken broth
4 tbsp butter (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch Red Pepper Flake
4-5 tbsp olive oil

Here's what I did:

Boiled water in a large stock pot with salt. Began to boil the Rotini.

Meanwhile, sauteed broccoli and peppers in a skillet with olive oil, garlic and butter. Once the broccoli and peppers began to soften, I added the tomatoes, chicken broth and red pepper flake.

After about 10 minutes the Rotini was cooked to al dente, and then drained.

I added my vegetable mix to my pasta, and mixed to incorporate. Served in large pasta bowls and sprinkled with shaved parmesan. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Spaghetti with Clams

This is yet another EASY, healthy, South Beach Cookbook Recipe. And a dinner that can be prepared using mostly "staple" and pantry items. Which makes it a great just throw it together choice for dinner.




Spaghetti with Clams

Here's what I used:

2 small cans chopped clams in juice (separate clam meat from juice, retain juice)
1 box spaghetti (Whole Wheat if you have it)
1/2 cup Fat Free 1/2 and 1/2
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flake (great for HEAT)

Here's what I did:

Brought a large stock pot of water to a boil. Added my pasta, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, I added my olive oil to a sauce pan and allowed to warm up. Added my garlic to the oil and let soften until fragrant, about 30 seconds. (Garlic is SO EASY to burn, don't ignore it!). Then I added my clam juice, 1/2 and 1/2, parsley and red pepper flake. Allow this to cook down and thicken a bit, about 10 minutes.

Once my pasta was al dente (still a touch of bite), I drained it, and added it back to the pot. Then I poured my clam sauce over the pasta to mix thoroughly. I served this in large soup bowls so that we could fish out all the clam pieces. Also, topped with shaved parmesan.

Very yummy and easy.

Chicken Tomato Pesto with Whole Wheat Penne

Last night I was inspired by a Pesto Penne recipe, but wanted to use what was in my house, and try to "de-fatten" some parts of the recipe as well. I try to use whole wheat pasta whenever possible, and just overcook it slightly to take out some of the inevitable bite that whole wheat brings to the pasta's texture.

Here's what I used:

1 box Whole Wheat Penne Dried Pasta

2 Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts, cut into 1" or so strips
3 tbsp olive oil
S&P

3 tbsp tomato pesto w/ olives (this is just what I already had, regular pesto is great too)
2 cups fat-free 1/2 and 1/2
2 tbsp butter (can substitute Smart Start)
1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup grated parmesan

Here's what I did:

First I started by filling a large stockpot with about 4" of water, added salt, set to high and put on the lid. Once boiling, I added my pasta and let cook, stirring occasionally (penne sometimes sticks together).

Meanwhile, I seasoned my chicken strips with S&P, and added the olive oil to a teflon-coated skillet, let it heat for a minute. Once the oil was hot, I added my chicken strips and cooked for about 2-3 minutes per side. (Cook longer if you leave the breasts in tact - strips cook much faster). I lined a plate with paper towels and removed the cooked chicken, and upturned another plate on top - to keep in the steam/heat.

Then I started my sauce. In the same skillet used for the chicken, I drained the olive oil, but didn't dry it out. I added the butter, and then 1/2 & 1/2 and garlic powder and let cook for about 5-10 minutes. The fat free 1/2 & 1/2 starts to develop a bit of a "skin" on the surface as it cooks, but don't worry, it will still taste great! Add the tomato pesto, and cook for another 5 minutes.

As the sauce was finishing off, I drained my pasta and added it back to the stock pot. I also cut my chicken on the diagonal, into 1" pieces (and cut a few even smaller for my daughter to eat). Finally, I added the sauce, and the parmesan cheese and gave it all a good stir.

This one was a huge hit with my daugher, she usually picks her way through her dinner, and most goes to our two dogs, who are hovering below. I call them the "sharks" because they just circle and stare up at the high chair, watching and jerking their heads looking for a spare, flying morsel. I think they were pretty dissapointed, she wasn't too into sharing.

My husband also liked it, but he is Italian, and loves his white pastas. He's still not a fan of whole wheat. I overcook it mostly to please him, and make it taste closer to white pasta. He said it was "good", but would have been better with white pasta. Yea, well, his waistline will thank me, and pretty sure he didn't go to bed hungry either. ;)