Homemade Noodles

I grew up eating Mom's homemade noodles. Is chicken noodle soup real if it isn't made with homemade noodles? Nope. Not in my book.

The problem is when I ask Mom how to make noodles she says, "you can make them with eggs, but you don't have to."  or  "You can roll them thin but you don't have to." So I'll ask, "How do you make them?" And Mom will say, "Oh, it just depends on how much time I have and when I'm serving dinner." ....not too helpful. right?

Here is a recipe that turned out just like Mom's. I began making these at 2 in the afternoon. I let them sit on the counter until 5:00 pm. You could make them first thing in the morning and let them sit on the counter all day. You could also make them up an hour before dinner... great, now I'm sounding just like Mom!

In your mixer mix:

3 eggs
1 T milk
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of pepper

Now add and mix:

1 cup flour

Now dump the sticky mixture on a well floured counter (about 1 more cup of flour). Knead until no longer sticky.

Roll the dough out until it is 1/8" thick. Take a sharp knife and cut noodle strips. The strips should be 4 inches long and less than 1/2" wide.

Let the noodles sit on counter for a few hours or all day. Then boil for 3 minutes.

I'll post my chicken noodle soup recipe soon!

Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken

Roasted chicken is something I love but have never been able to do very well. I always guess if the chicken is done and always under cook or over cook. I finally shelled out the $4 it cost for a meat thermometer and I don't think I can ever go back to cooking regular chicken breast without being disappointed. Hmmm, another challenge.  I placed the chicken on the top rack and the baked buttered carrots on the bottom rack.

Here is the chicken I bought. It was about 6 lbs. I rinsed it in the sink and then dried it with a paper towel. No guts or gizzards. Pretty clean. Then I slathered the chicken with cool butter -about 6 Tbl. Don't use oil. Why? Have you ever seen Julie and Julia?? Butter is better! I used my hands and got up under the skin.

Then I drenched the chicken in McCormicks Lemon Pepper.

Then, using regular string from my sewing kit, I wrapped the birds legs. Fold the wings under the bird. Really put some muscle into it and you can get them to fold.

Place in roasting pan breast side up!

Place pan in the oven at 375 for about 90 minutes. Baste the bird about 3 times throughout the 90 minutes. The first basting the bird didn't have any juices so I used chicken broth. I actually basted this one every 20 minutes. Then I ended up having to cook it for 2 hours because I kept letting the heat out.

The bird is done when the internal temp reaches 165 to 175.

Let the bird sit for 20 minutes while you make the gravy. I didn't end up with enough drippings for gravy. The problem is my roasting pan was way to large for my small bird. The drippings just evaporated.

Baked Buttered Carrots

Here is another recipe I tried from the Food Nanny. I adjusted the time and temperature so I could cook it in the oven with my chicken. I'll post the chicken recipe soon! These turned out so yummy!

peel about 5 carrots. Cut in half length wise and then cut in half width wise.

Place the carrots in a 9x9 baking dish. Cover the carrots with water. Cover the dish with foil.

I placed the dish on the bottom rack so the chicken could sit on the top rack. I baked it at 375 for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

When the carrots are done. Drain the water and return carrots to hot baking dish. Dab with butter, salt and pepper!

Biscuits and Gravy

My friend Courtney introduced me to the cook book The Food Nanny. It is the cutest cook book! It is so much more than a recipe book. It talks about meal planning and shopping. Everything this lady talks about is more support to how I like to do things...so of course I love it!

I just tried this recipe of hers and it is gooooood!! I used the buttermilk biscuit recipe I just posted below here.

For the gravy

In a medium sauce pan brown:

8 oz maple flavor bulk sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)

In a separate sauce pan melt:

1/4 cup butter

using a whisk add:

1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
pepper

Mix the flour long enough that it darkens a bit. About 1-2 minutes. Then add slowly:

2 cups milk
1 cup water

Keep whisking. Don't leave the stove to do dishes or change a diaper :)  Keep the whisk moving until it bubbles and thickens. Then add the drained sausage and serve over hot biscuits with fresh fruit!

Buttermilk Buiscuits

These are the BEST buicuits I have ever had. They really do melt in your mouth. Do not substitute the ingredients. I found this recipe from sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I ate about 6 of these before stopping to take a breath. :-)   This is the only recipe I've ever actually measured flour the way you are suppose to. You know, you spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level with a knife.

In a mixing bowl dump:

2 cups flour
2, 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Use a pastry cutter to add:

5 T cold butter

Use a fork to fluff in this mixture:

3/4 cup buttermilk
3 T honey

Place the dough on a floured counter. Roll gently into 1/2 inch thick 9 inch by 5 inch rectangle. Then fold in half to make a square. Then roll out to another 9 inch by 5 inch rectangle. Then fold in half and use your hands to gently pat into a 3/4 inch thick circle. Cut 14 buiscuits.

Bake at 400 for 12 minutes. Serve hot!!

Crispy Southwest Quesadillas with Guacamole dip

Life has gotten busy now that school is in session. I thought music practice ended when I was done with school. Now that I have children in music classes I find that I log about 1 1/2 hours a day practicing along side them. I hope I can at least post one recipe a month. I'll try!

This recipe came from this website http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/  ... I like to make quesadillas instead of wraps. I also replaced and edited a few ingredients. These are super yummy and very filling. If you want to use more legumes and less meat this is a good place to start!

The filling makes a lot! I use half for dinner and then store the other half for another dinner. You could also freeze the filling.

Cook:

1/2 cup rice (makes up 1, 1/2 cups when done)

Add to the cooked rice:

1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced

spread on tortilla with shredded cheddar cheese. Fold in half and grill on pancake griddle.

Guacamole

Blend:

2 avocados
1/4 cup cilantro
small tomato
1/2 tsp salt
1 lime, juiced

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is my all time favorite dinner in the hot summer months! Chicken Salad on croissants. I like to serve this with a berry smoothy and fresh strawberries on the side. I like that I can make this up the night before or the morning of. Leftovers are wonderful for lunches for the rest of the week.

In a bowl dump and mix:

4 cups cooked chicken (I use a whole rotisserie chicken from the Deli)
1 cup celery, chopped
1/3 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mayo (I never use miracle whip)
pepper
3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds