Home Made Egg Noodles

 Our oldest grandson came home from two weeks in Maine enjoying sun, surf and his paternal grandparents and promptly came down with a stomach virus.  Here we go.  You know the rest of the story.  People in the family started dropping like dominoes.  Kids and adults.  Dan succumed on Saturday.  Down.  For.  The. Count.  Ugh.   Fortunately, I have escaped.  Whew.

Do you have a favorite comfort food when you are ill?  Mine is potato soup, Dan's is chicken and noodles with red jello on the side.  He doesn't care what flavor jello, just red.  To make him feel better, I decided to make some chicken and noodles on Sunday when he felt maybe he could eat something.  I had a whole chicken, but not one egg noodle in the pantry.  No, not one.  That never happens.  My only choice?  Make them from scratch and I did.  The recipe was found on Allrecipes.com - you know, my "go to" website.

Let me tell you, I will never use packaged egg noodles again.  Ever.  These were so easy to make and they are wonderful.  The texture is such that they do not disintegrate in the broth and turn to wall paper paste like many packaged noodles do.  And they are eggy and yummy.  When reheated the second day, they held their shape and did not fall apart.  Excellent.  And, so, so, so good.

To make the egg noodles, here is what you need.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
4 TBSP milk

Sift the flour and then remeasure 2 cups.  Keep the remaining flour for your board when you roll out the noodles.

Beat the eggs until yellow.  Add the salt and milk.  Combine wet ingredients with the flour.  Do not over mix.  Mix just until a ball is formed.  I used a fork.  If the dough is gooey, add flour a spoonful at a time until the dough is set.  I didn't have to add any extra flour.

Generously flour a surface and break the dough in half.

Roll the dough very thin, about 1/8 inch.  (These are not dumplings so you don't want them to be thick)
Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut your noodles to the size you want.

Roll and cut the second ball of dough.  Sprinkle lightly with flour and let sit for about 2 hours to dry slightly.

How to cook your chicken using a whole chicken:

Rinse a whole chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.  Place in a pot deep enough to hold the chicken and be able to cover it with water.  Put a couple teaspoons of salt in the water and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour on simmer until the chicken is done.  (The legs/thighs, will start to come away from the body of the chicken.)

Keep the water on simmer and remove the chicken, placing it in a 9x13 pan so you can pick the meat from the bones.  I remove the skin first and discard it, then using two forks, pull all the meat from the bones.

Drop the noodles (start with a few) in the simmering water while you are removing the meat from the chicken bones.  The noodles should float on top of the water if it is at a rapid simmer.  You don't want them to sink and stick to the bottom of the pan.  If they don't float, turn the heat up a bit, you want bubbles in the broth.  Once you have all the meat removed, drop it in the simmering broth with the noodles.

The noodles will get a little wider and longer as they cook.  You don't want them to turn to mush, so keep an eye on them.  Once they are done (at least al dente), turn the heat off, check the broth to see if you need to add more salt.  Add salt if needed, stir (not too much) and serve.  DELICIOUS!

The richness of the broth, the tenderness of the chicken and the wonderful flavor and texture of the noodles makes a truly enjoyable comfort food that even children enjoy.  This is SO much better than canned soup, it is totally worth the effort.

This recipe makes enough noodles for one chicken.  If you are making a larger quantity, say with two chickens, double the noodle recipe.  There should be enough chicken and noodles for several meals (at least with two of us there is more than plenty).  If you have a large family, it may not go quite as far because it is so good, everyone will want seconds.  You might want to add some of your favorite jello as a side.  It is a nice complement and comforting for a sick tummy.

As we approach the winter season, you will want to try this recipe for those "sick" days of colds, flu, and viruses that leave you feeling icky all over.  Chicken soup is known as "Jewish" penicillin, especially good for respiratory infections.

It seems early in the season for these things to start, but here they come.  Be prepared.  Do a test run.  Make some noodles for practice so you will be ready when "the time" comes.  Your family will love them.  Promise.

Everyday Donna

Things To Remember:

Making your own broth using real chicken is so much better than canned or boxed broth.  Give it a try, it's not hard.  You will be glad you did.  Chicken soup is good for the soul as well as the body.  donna