Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Fall Comfort Food Chicken and Noodles

With yesterday being the first day of fall I really needed something warm and soothing. Can food be soothing? And I wanted to show off my new Dutch oven. Isn't it pretty? I love red. My mom had a Dutch oven when I was growing up, and I remember some pretty tasty pot roasts coming out of that sucker. I have always wanted one, just hadn't ever gotten around to getting one. And I did it on the cheap, getting it at Walmart. I am in love.

Anyway, one of my favorite fall and winter dishes is "Chicken and Noodles." There is nothing that says "love" and "home" better. This is my mom's recipe that I have tweaked a bit.



Ingredients


1 4-5 lb. chicken
1 medium onion cut in eighths
2 or 3 stalks celery with leaves cut in thirds
2 or 3 springs of fresh thyme

4 cloves mashed garlic

Later you will need
2 TBS. olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
3 cloves garlic minced, grated or pressed
1 cup sliced baby carrots you can add more if you like
1/2 cup white wine
2 cans cream of something soup...mushroom, chicken, celery whatever you have will work

1 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. egg noodles...I found a brand at Walmart called Country Pasta that is outstanding for this recipe
2 cups cream
salt and pepper to taste


Wash chicken, remove innards, and place chicken, not innards, in pot. You can do whatever you deem necessary to the innards. Me, well, I throw them away. Add onions, celery, garlic and water to almost cover the chicke
n. My Dutch oven is 6 qts., and the water was about an inch from the rim. Cover, bring to a boil, reduced to simmer and let her cook. I can't really give you a time on this. I think mine cooked about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. I just let it go while I was doing other stuff. When the meat starts falling off the bones, you know she's done.

Remove the chicken to a bowl and let cool for awhile. Yo
u are going to remove the meat from the bones, and you don't want to acquire 2nd degree burns doing it. Strain the broth into another bowl and also let cool. Throw away the veggies. After everything has cooled enough to handle, remove meat from the bones and skim grease from the broth.

In the bottom of the pot heat the oil and saute the new veggies until all but the carrots are tender. Use the wine (broth will also work) t
o deglaze the pot. Add the broth, chicken, and cans of soup. Heat to a gentle rolling boil. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Add thyme, cream, and salt and pepper. Stir until everything is well mixed and heated through. Voila, a great one dish dinner for the weekend that just warms the belly through and through. You can definitely leave out the cream. I added that to boost the fat and calories for my son. It is just as good without. Warm crusty bread and you are good to go. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Carl and Pat said...

Yep--no doubt about it--food can be very soothing. I'm sure your version for "oldest son" is the best since it has cream! This is another we've got to try. Thanks for sharing, and we hope the "soothing" worked...

@TiffanyRom said...

That looks fantastic....heartier than your average chicken noodle!