Just in time for the holidays! My kids grew up loving homemade chicken and noodles at grandmas. Well, it’s time for the grown up kids to make them on their own 🙂 So, here’s a pretty close version of what Grandma Pat used to make. Brandi and Courtney – here ya go. I’ll give you the noodle run down, and how you get the chicken and broth is debatable. One other thing….my first teaching job led me to southeast Kansas, where I learned that eating chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes is the norm. May sound crazy, but it’s not too bad.
Broth/chicken options:
- Purchase a whole chicken, and simmer slowly with a bunch of onion, celery, carrots and seasoning. When chicken is done, remove from broth and let cool until you can debone it, or “pick” the chicken. When the broth cools, skim the fat and stuff from the top and run through a strainer. You will have delicious broth with which to cook your noodles. You can also do this with cut up chicken, chicken breasts, etc. The key is really seasoning the water as it cooks — you might also add some chicken stock to give the flavor a boost.
- Easy option – purchase a rotisserie chicken, and “pick” it as noted above. To cook the noodles, you can still create some delicious broth using chicken STOCK, not broth. Those new flavor packets work well too. I would flavor with onion, etc…and let is simmer, before adding noodles. Lastly, with either option, you might add a couple drops of yellow food coloring to give it a richer color (learned that one in the restaurant business from my Dad)
So, for the noodles, follow recipe below, and double as needed. Note that you make and store them, or cook immediately. Delish!
~Connie Kaye
Homemade Noodles
2 Cups flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg
2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
Make a well in the center of the flour. Add egg yolks, egg and salt; mix thoroughly. Mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff but easy to roll.
Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll dough, one part at a time, into paper-thin rectangles on well-floured, cloth-covered board. (keep remaining dough covered) Loosely fold rectangle into thirds; cut crosswise with sharp knife into 1/4″ strips for narrow noodles. Shake out strips and place on towel until stiff and dry, about 2 hours. You can also cut smaller and throw them in the pot if you’re ready to go. Note, the flour on the noodles will thicken the broth, so don’t shake it all off if you’re cooking now.
Break dry strips into smaller pieces. Cook in hot salted broth or water 12 -15 minutes. Do-ahead tip: After drying, the noodles can be covered and stored no longer than 1 month.
Connie Kaye's Kitchen 