The Mother Of All Comfort

Can we talk comfort food?

Thank the Lord above for gifting me with a mother who could cook anything, and cook it well......and probably with butter and salt.
I know how lucky I am to have had a mom who could delight us all in the kitchen and who taught me how to as well. I'm not saying, by any means, that I'm any kind of chef. But I do alright.
One of the best, and most simple things, my mother ever made was Chicken Noodle Soup...always from scratch.
It's easy, it's cheap and it's comfort.
I had just made a big batch of Chicken Noodle this past Monday for dinner and then my dear friend Lindsay went and had her third baby this week!  I'll be making it again this morning for her and her family. You see, if you've had a baby, or have been sick, or have lost a loved one....I'll make you soup. Soup is good. Since I have these pictures, I'd love to show you exactly what Lindsay will be getting when she gets home from the hospital.


The main ingredients:

Chicken, Onion, Carrots, Celery, Salt & Pepper & Water

Place the chicken, chopped up veggies, salt and pepper in a roaster or crockpot and let it go!

A nice big roaster. You can certainly use a crock pot as well. I cook the chicken at 325-350 for a few hours.

I use 1 large onion

I use as many carrots as I can fit. I love carrots in my soup!

I use 1 stalk of celery

Chicken covered in yummy goodness ready to be cooked for hours. Be sure to put enough water to cover chicken.

I cook the chicken  for at least 2 1/2 hours, depending on what else I've got going on that day. Easy!

Chicken...which makes your house smell delicious...is done.

I remove the chicken from the roaster and place it into a shallow pan to cool. It should absolutely fall apart!

You're left with this delicious stock, which I then transfer to a soup pot on the stove, because I make a very large pot of soup.

Thank you Mervyn's Going Out of Business Sale for this amazing soup pot!

Since I like to make enough soup to feed an army....or freeze for a second meal in a few weeks, I do add a bit more stock. I find that liquid stock is better tasting than bouillon of any kind. But this is just a personal preference. Either one of these are ok! 

This next part is where I've deviated from my mother's plan. She always loved Kluski Noodles for her soup, and they are very delicious indeed, but when I was a child, my paternal grandmother made some homemade noodles that were just as tasty as they come. So, a few years ago, I asked her how to make them. Ever since then, I've been making the homemade noodles instead of store bought. 

Oh yes...my mother would be proud. 

Here's how to make the noodles:

Beat 3 eggs

Then take one half of the egg shells and fill it three times with cold water. Beat. After this, add about a tablespoon of salt. Then beat again

This next step is a bit of guesswork. You need to add flour to make the dough. I start with 2 cups of flour and if I think I need more, I add more.

There is only one way to mix this...by hand. You'll know if you need to add more flour by the consistency of the dough. Mix and knead by hand until the dough bounces back after pushing it down. If your dough is dry, just add a little bit of water until you're good with it.

This is the dough ball I'm left with. I like to work with half of this at a time, so I'll just tear this in half and roll out one part at a time.

The tools you will need: A cutting board, a roller and a pizza cutter or knife.

Cover your rolling spot with plenty of flour. I mean...plenty of flour.

Roll out your dough to your desired thickness. I try to get it as thin as possible because the noodles do get thicker when cooked.

After they are rolled out, I pull it up on my cutting board and start cutting. You can cut them any shape, length or thickness your little heart desires.

Place the cut noodles in a colander and when you're ready to place them into your boiling stock, give them a quick rinse in cold water. I mean quick....they will get mushy and start to stick together if you're not quick enough. 

Simply add your noodles to boiling stock and let them cook for a few minutes, that's all they need.

At this point, all there is left to do is tear apart your chicken (Which I do by hand) and add it to your soup.

Voila!

Chicken Noodle Soup. Delicious.

Some of the best part of this is letting the kids help....and play. Flour is easy to sweep up, so I let them go to town!

I'm not sure why he looks so angry....he was having a great time. 

Lindsay will also be getting chocolate chip cookies, but that's a recipe I don't feel like sharing just yet.

Bon Appetit!