Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Broth and Noodles

My husband was all sick and gross one day, so I ran out and got a chicken to make him some soup! That would be because I am an amazing wife, if I do say so myself!! :) Chicken noodle soup is one of only two soups my husband will eat, but he will only eat these two soups when he's sick. The other is a potato soup I make with ground beef or shredded chicken and chicken stock which is incredible as well! When I make a broth forward soup, where it is the star, I always make it myself, because then it is eight thousand times better! I also make my own noodles, so I'll just break this recipe into it's three parts!

Ya, of course I put cheese on there! What do I not put cheese on??

To start, you need to make broth;

I don't salt my stock. You can if you chose to, but I prefer to add the salt to whichever dish I'm using the broth for.

This takes at least three hours, but you can simmer as long as you wish.

1 stewing chicken plus boney parts you may have in your freezer from butchering another bird, or three pounds of scraps from butchering. (Neck, backbone, wings, any scrap with a bone.)

3 stalks of celery with leaves, cut into large chunks

2 carrots, cut

1 large onion, unpeeled and cut up

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns (If you have none, use 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper.)

4 sprigs parsley

2 bay leaves

2 large garlic cloves, smashed and unpeeled

8 cups cold water

(If, whenever you're making stock, you're making another dish, throw in the scraps from the veggies you're chopping for it as well. So, go ahead and prep the veggies for your soup now, it will add more deliciousness to your broth.)

If you are using leftover pieces from butchering a bird, preheat your oven to 425 degrees and roast the bones for 20 to 30 minutes until browned.

Place chicken and bones into a large stock pot, with at least a 6 quart capacity. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to boiling, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for at least 2 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove the bones and vegetables. Discard the bones and give the veggies to your cat. Or throw them away, better yet, compost them. Whatever you choose!

Strain broth through a fine seive lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Skim the broth or clarify it by returning strained broth to the pot and stir in an egg beaten with 1/4 cup cold water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes and strain again. If you're chilling it for another use, you can refrigerate and scrape off the hardened fat from the top, but I find clarifying to be the easiest method for defatting broth.

This makes about 8 cups.

While the broth is doing it's thing, make the noodles:

I like to add dried herbs to my homemade pasta, and used basil for these, you can leave it out if you like or use whatever herb you like. I've also used frozen, drained spinach, which is in my pasta recipe from earlier.

These noodles take about 1 hour to prep and cook.

2 cups whole wheat flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg (Save the two whites for an omelette.)

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups flour and salt. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, water, and oil together. Pour into well in flour and mix well. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup flour onto a clean kneading surface. Turn dough out and knead until it is smooth and elastic, a good 8-10 minute arm workout! Cover and let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into four equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each out into a 12x9 inch rectangle, about 1/16 inch thick. Let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Lightly dust dough with flour, loosly roll up into a long log, and cut 1/4 inch wide strips and shake to seperate. Cut into 2 inch lengths. To use immediately, cook for 2 minutes and drain. To dry for storage, lay out on a wire cooling rack and let dry for an hour, until completely dry. Store, refrigerated, in an wirtight container for 3 days, or freeze for longer storage.

When I make these noodles as part of a soup, before I add the stock to the veggies for my soup, I pull out enough to cook the noodles and then place a strainer over my soup pot when draining my pasta to return the stock to the pot, toss the noodles with a little extra virgin olive oil and store in an airtight container in my refrigerator, and add them to the bottom of the bowls before I add the hot soup, it warms them through very well, and that way I don't have fresh noodles sucking up all of the moisture and falling apart in my leftovers.

This makes about 5 servings if you plan to have them as a main player of your meal.

For the main event, the soup;

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook.

1 cooked chicken, from making your stock

1 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen green beans

2 teaspoons salt

8 cups chicken broth

pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Siracha sauce (optional)

Remove and discard skin and fat from chicken. Cut the meat from the chicken and shread.

In a large pot sprayed with cooking spray, saute onion, carrots and celery, seasoned with salt. Add chicken and saute so some of the meat becomes a little crispy on the edges. Add the broth, peas and green beans, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered,  for 5 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in the parsley. Ladel into bowls, grate parmesan cheese over the top, and sprinkle with additional parsley. If you're wanting to open your sinuses, or just dig spicy soup, add some Siracha to taste! This soup is also really good with a teaspoon of basalmic vinegar stirred in, even with the Siracha!

This recipe makes 8 to 10 servings!

Enjoy! This is some delicious soup!!!

Roasted Shrimp Alfredo and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Here I go again with the roasted veggies!! You can't stop me!! :) I wanted a different spin on shrimp, sauteed is awesome, but I've done it alot!  So I roasted it, and it came out amazingly!!

Mmmhmm, looks good, doesn't it?

To get that amazing alfredo on your table;

This takes about 20 minutes to prep and make.

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (Leaving the tails on may be pretty, but it's annoying to eat, so leave them off, please!!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

pepper

8 ounces whole wheat pasta, whatever cut you have around the house

1 small to medium clove garlic, minced

1 cup evaporated skim milk

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

3/4 to 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning (Pre-made seasonings are usually mostly salt, so go easy with it, parmesan adds a good bit of salty flavor, as well.)

1/2 tablespoon butter

basil, cut into a chiffonade

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together shrimp, oil, salt and pepper to taste. Lay out in an even layer on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Roast until pink and firm, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta one  minute short of package directions, to al dente doneness.

In a small saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium heat, saute garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds and add milk. Bring to a light bubble, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken and stir in butter, cajun seasoning, and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and add parmesan. Drain the pasta well and toss with the sauce. Plate as prettily as you can and top with shrimp. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese and basil. Enjoy! It's very awesome!!

This recipe serves 4.

For the Brussels sprouts:

This recipe takes about 40 minutes to prep and cook.

1 pound Brussels sprouts

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

pepper

freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim any ends off of the sprouts and peel off any yellow outer leaves. Halve each one and toss in a large bowl with oil, salt and pepper. Spread out in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and roast for 30 to 35 minutes until browned on both sides, turning halfway through. Plate and top with cheese!! Mmmmm!!

This recipe serves 4.

Onion and Mushroom Sauced Steaks with Roasted Broccoli and Potatoes

I'm sorry I haven't updated my blog in so long! Once my son started waking up as soon as I end my workouts on the weekdays, I haven't had a ton of time to update! Add to that planning a move, packing, moving, and trying to get settled, and being overwhelmed with how many meals I didn't post, I procrastinated a bit! So, let's see how many I get done today! :)

This is my "Fantastic. I want steak but didn't plan a steak meal this week." recipe! It also happens to be my husband's favorite way that I make steaks, so this was actually planned, but I tend to use it when there are a few rogue steaks in my freezer from packs of 6, which seems to be how most steaks I buy come. My favorite pan sauces always include some sort of alcohol, and when I come across a recipe that calls for a different liquid, I always substitute part of it with wine, beer, or liquor, whatever's in my house. I have even made beer and bourbon gravies! If you don't have any in the house, or don't cook with alcohol, you can always use a stock that matches the meat (or a vegetable stock if you aren't eating  meat that night) you're serving the sauce with. Pan sauces are my favorite things to play with, you can make them with juice and soda, even, and they're amazing!!

My favorite way to make any vegetable, which you may be able to tell if you have read a few of my blogs, is to roast them. I adore the caramelization you get when you roast, and, of course, the cheeseaholic I am gets an excuse for gratuitious cheese use!! What goes better with that roasted flavor than a nice slightly sharp cheese?? :)

Looks awesome, right?

To make the steak;

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook, but depends on what kind of steak you use.

4 steaks, whichever you like (I used chuck that was leftover from a large package this time.)

grill seasoning

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce, divided

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced thick or quartered, about half of a 10oz package

1/4 cup dry red wine (This time I used a Cabernet/Shiraz blend)

1/4 cup beef stock

1/2 tablespoon butter (3 teaspoons if you're scooping it from a tub)

salt

pepper

1 tablespoon thyme, divided

Season the steaks liberally with grill seasoning. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sprayed with cooking spray and coated with oil, cook steaks to desired doneness (I like medium-rare, so I cooked my chuck steaks about 4 minutes on each side.), sprinkling with the  tablespoon of Worstershire after you flip, and remove from pan to let rest and tent with foil.

Spray the pan with more cooking spray, if necessary, lower the heat to medium, and add onion, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until the onion is tender and mushrooms begin to brown. Add the 2 teapoons Worchestershire, stir to coat the veggies, and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat so you don't burn your house down, and add wine. Scrape the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan, let come to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until it has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. If you dip a spoon into the sauce, run your finger down the back, and the line stays put, it is ready. Stir in butter until it melts and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in half of the thyme leaves. Plate the steaks and top with the sauce and veggies. Sprinkle the top with the remainin thyme.

This recipe makes 4 yummy servings!!

For the roasted broccoli;

This recipe takes about 25 minutes to prep and cook.

2 heads broccoli, cut into long spears (Use those stems! They're yummy and you already paid for them!)

2 tablespoons olive oil (Don't waste your extra virgin to cook with.)

salt

pepper

juice of 1/2 of a lemon (Juice from half of an orange is amazing, as well. Just use an actual orange, don't use what you drink with breakfast. It usually has sugar added, and won't work as well.)

freshly grated parmesan (I also is use swiss on them, which is delicious, also!) 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lay the broccoli spears on a foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat well. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 20 minutes, until the florets brown. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the broccoli to brighten it up, and garnish the top with some parmesan cheese.



This serves 4!

To make roasted potatoes;

My husband loves the crispy, brown potatoes on the edges of the foil packet when his mom grills potatoes. I wanted to make them a bit healthier, and the crispy ones are the best, so why not just make an entire sheet pan of crispy potatoes?

This recipe takes about 30 minutes to prep and cook.

4 medium to large Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, sliced to a medium thickness (Not paper thin, but not terribly thick. Yukon Gold is my favorite!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with remaining ingredients. Spread out on an even layer on a foil lined baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. Roast for 20 minutes. Switch on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the tops turn a nice golden to medium brown and crisp up.

This makes 4 servings, or two and a half if my husband is eating them!