Easy Noodles and other cooking ideas . . .

My college daughters do a lot of their own cooking at school. Cafeteria food helped them make this decision. Keeping this in mind, I have been passing on hints and ideas as I think of them and they felt I should share them with the world! Okay, for starving students and harried  mothers, here are a few of my ideas for staying full and productive while away from mom's home cooking.

Easy Noodles
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs

Beat up the eggs a bit and mix them into the flour. If the dough is too sticky or waterly, gradually add more flour, a tablespoon at a time. You want a workable dough not a lump that will last a lifetime! If the dough is too dry, use another egg and add it just a bit at a time.

Flour a surface and knead the dough until it is workable. Roll out as thin as you can get it, cut into strips and place on waxed paper. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and one tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the noodles and keep stirring until the water comes back to a boil. Cook about six minutes, drain, and add to soup, broth, spaghetti sauce, etc. The noodles have lots of protein, are cheap to make, and taste good.

Side note: You can also deep fry these noodles for a tasty, crispy snack. Again, very inexpensive but impressive!

Chicken Soup
Several pieces of chicken, whatever is on sale.
One onion (the ends cut off and sliced in quarters. Don't worry about the skin)
Salt and pepper to taste.
16 ounce package frozen, mixed vegetables

Fry the chicken pieces in the bottom of a large pot until a bit browned. Add about six cups water, onion, salt, and pepper. Simmer for a couple of hours or in a crock pot for six hour until chicken is falling off the bones. Separate the meat from the bone and pull out the onion solids. Taste for more seasoning, add the vegetables, heat through, and eat. Hint: Homemade noodles taste very good with it.

Fast Apple Scrapple Dessert
4 green apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
Cinnamon & sugar

Melt the butter in a large pan and add apples. Stir and cook until apples start to get tender. Mix the flour and milk. You want a runny but not too thin a batter. Pour over the apples and continue cooking and stirring until the batter starts to brown. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar and cook a few minutes more to get the sugar to start melting in a bit. Eat!

My version of quick homemade chicken soup . . .

I enjoy having a pot of chicken and onions simmering on the stove most of an afternoon but there are times when the soup needs to be on the table a lot sooner than four hours down the road. Although this might not be the most superb chicken soup, it works for those times when you don't have time!

Relatively Fast and Easy Chicken Soup
Several chicken legs, thighs, necks, etc.
1 chopped onion
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cans of canned chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cup frozen, mixed vegetables
Your choice of pasta

In a bit of olive oil, really brown the chicken pieces until they have a nice, dark brown skin. Add the onion and garlic and stir to get them cooking. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and simmer about an hour or until the chicken is tender. Drain the broth into another pot. Shred the chicken from the bones and add back to the broth. Taste the broth for salt and add more, if necessary. Bring to a simmer and add 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables and a teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Bring back to a boil and add your pasta of choice. Cook until the pasta is just tender and serve.

Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken soup is the cure-all for colds but when the cold/flu season hits, it can get pretty tiring. Since the simmering of the chicken is the key to helping us over what ails us, why not go Asian? To me, nothing is more comforting than a hot bowl of Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup. You can always freeze containers of the broth and add vegetables and stuff at a later date.

Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup
2-3 pounds of chicken pieces
Approximately 3 quarts of water
1/4 cup soy sauce
8-10 shiitake mushroom, soaked in water for ten minutes before use
4 slices of fresh ginger, slice lengthwise and about 1/4 inch thick
Salt to taste

Bring the water and chicken to a boil, add the rest of the ingredients and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add a sprinkle of salt to taste. Let the broth simmer for an hour or more until the chicken is tender. Drain the broth into another pot. Bone the chicken and add back to the broth. Taste for salt.

You now have a beautiful pot of chicken soup with an Asian flare. What to do next?

Ideas . . .

Sprinkle with freshly diced green onion and serve in mugs.

Slice up some wonton skins or Spring roll skins into noodle-sized slices and simmer until just done - noodle soup!

Add some slivers of carrot, celery, and green onion and pour it over cooked rice in a bowl.

Beat a couple of eggs and drizzle into simmering soup while gently stirring so as to form 'strings' - egg drop soup.

Ladle soup over a bowl of cooked, angel hair pasta with a dash of chili flakes.

*Ginger is usually readily available in the vegetable section of most grocery stores. It is the funny, light brown root.

*Shiitake mushrooms can be found in the Asian aisle or, if you are blessed, at an Asian market.

Very Basic Chicken Soup

A young friend asked me how to make chicken soup so I wrote down the very basic recipe for her. I thought I'd share it here, too. Chicken soup is always welcoming and you don't have to rely on the canned soup with the soggy noodles.

Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs

1 large onion, chopped

10 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 cans of chicken broth

2 cups water

2 16 ounce bags of frozen mixed vegetables

Salt and pepper

16 ounces elbow noodles

In a frying pan or pot with a cover, put in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, heat, and brown the chicken on both sides. Add the onion and garlic and cook some more until

they are slightly browned and tender. Pour in the broth, water, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for an hour. Strain the broth into another pot to get rid of the solids.

Cool the chicken slightly and pull off the meat and throw away the bones. Put the frozen vegetable in with the meat and chicken in the broth. Taste to see if you need

more salt or pepper. Simmer until it is hot.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles until just tender. Drain. Put a spoonful of noodles in each bowl and top with soup. Serve!

Ideas . . .

You can get fancy and finely chop some parsley or chives and sprinkle on each serving.

Sometimes, I sear a couple of boneless chicken breasts, dice them, and add them to the pot.

No, frozen vegetables. Nothing wrong with chopping up some fresh carrots and celery for your soup.

one-four of barley added and simmered until tender stretches out your meal and adds some extra fiber.

Dried onions are a reasonable substitute if you don't have a fresh one on hand.

My children like angel hair pasta in their soup. The choice of shape is open to choice!

A dash of poultry seasoning adds some extra flavor.

Potatoes instead of noodles/pasta is always a nice change.