Homemade noodles

These are easy peasy! Just plan ahead.


Homemade Noodles:

• 1 beaten Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Flour (approximately)

Combine egg, milk, and salt. Add enough Flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out very thin on a floured surface. Let stand 20 minutes.
Roll up loosely and slice ¼” wide. Unroll and spread out to dry for at least 2 hours.
Drop into boiling soup or boiling, salted water and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Notes: Makes about 3 cups cooked noodles. Can be stored in a container until needed. 

Delicious in chicken noodle soup!

Chicken Noodle Soup over Mashed Potatoes

Your life is about to change in ways you never could have imagined. 

You have been warned.

Imagine with me if you will. It is spring in Salt Lake City, Utah. The flowers are out, the sun isn't warm yet but it's warmish and things are starting to thaw out and live again. Now, enter me in my wedding dress. It was the perfect day, the man of my dreams was there (thank goodness because that could have been awkward and terrible), we both said yes, I looked awesome :), everything was just as it was supossed to be...enter the weather. IT WAS FREEZING!!!!!! annnnnnnnnnd, it was the windiest day i've ever seen! (Everyone's hair looks awesome in the pictures!)

Ok, so it was maybe not the windiest day ever, but exaggerate with me because every story is a little better if there is drama. 

So 3.5 years ago I married into the most amazing family and I have learned so much and tried so many new things since that freezing day in March. One of those new things is my mother-in-law's chicken noodle soup. 

Like I said at the beginning, this will change your life. period. 

We took this to my sister the night they brought their baby girl home from the hospital and they still talk about it, 3 yrs. later. Oh yeah, it's that good.

So, are you curious enough? ha ha i'll get on with it.

2 words of caution.

1. Making your own noodles is EASY peasy if you plan ahead - don't be intimidated (i was my first time, i think I purposely didn't mention that I was going to make it to anyone the first time so that if it was a disaster, no one would ask how it went)
2. Come HUNGRY because you won't want just a "taste."

 Now, The recipe. Drumroll please...........



{Ingredients}

• 1 cooked Chicken
• 1 ½ quarts Water & Broth in equal parts
• 3 Chicken Bouillon cubes
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 small Onions, chopped
• 1 cup diced Carrots
• 1 cup diced Celery
• Celery Leaves, chopped
• 2 cups Noodles
• 2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
   

Put all ingredients except Cream of Chicken Soup and parsley in a pot and simmer until vegetables are done.Just before serving, add parsley and the can of soup. Stir until well mixed and serve.

*Tips:
You can use the salted water the chicken was cooked in as the broth.

This soup is delicious with homemade noodles and/or served over homemade mashed potatoes. (Do both. trust me.)

Variation:Add 1 cup diced potatoes to recipe if not serving over mashed potatoes.

Homemade Noodles:

• 1 beaten Egg
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Flour (approximately)

Combine egg, milk, and salt. Add enough Flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out very thin on a floured surface. Let stand 20 minutes.
Roll up loosely and slice ¼” wide. Unroll and spread out to dry for at least 2 hours.
Drop into boiling soup or boiling, salted water and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Notes: Makes about 3 cups cooked noodles. Can be stored in a container until needed. 

Delicious in chicken noodle soup!

Fettucini Alfredo {Light!}

Sometimes I just need that rich heavy sauce that Alfredo is. Sometimes I just want to go out to Italian food and not worry that there are more calories in the appetizer than I should eat in a week, right? Tell me i'm not alone on this. 
Well ladies and gentlemen. Your day is here (well, my day is here I guess. I might be alone on this endeavor) This recipe is from Cooking Light and is a healthier version. And, it is without question, one of our favorites!!! hope you enjoy!
Now, splurge when you need the Italian food and really go crazy and have a breadstick with it! Don't worry, I will never tell.
{Ingredients)
1 T butter
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c 1% milk

1 1/4 C (5 oz.) grated fresh Parmeggiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

1 T 1/3 less-fat cream cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

4 C hot cooked fettuccini (8 oz. uncooked pasta)

2 tsp. chopped fresh leaf parsley

cracked black pepper

{Directions}

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, cook one minute stirring frequently. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Add 1 cup cheese, cream cheese and salt stirring with a whisk until cheeses melt. Toss sauce with hot pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and chopped parsley. Garnish with black pepper. serve immediately. Serves 4.

We always add some type of meat. Chicken is delicious in it and 1 chicken breast is usually plenty!

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

If you are intimidated by fish -- this is your recipe! EASIEST FISH RECIPE EVER!

This was discovered on allrecipes.com and it is extremely delicious!
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1/4 cups Parmesan cheese  

2 tablespoons butter softened 

1 tablespoon and 1 1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoons dried basil

1/8 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoons onion powder 

1/8 teaspoons celery salt

1 pounds tilapia fillets

{Preparation}

Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the filllets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Baked Oatmeal

So for all those that have found and loved this recipe, you are holding out on the rest of us! My sister--in-law has been talking about baked oatmeal for awhile now and as it was raining this morning when we woke up I felt fall-ish and needed a breakfast to follow suit. What better, than the mysterious baked oatmeal i had heard so much about!

Did it live up to its expectations? You better beleive it! This stuff is YUMMY!
and super easy! It takes about 10 minutes to get everything together and into the baking dish (and that's at "i-just-woke-up" speed) and then it only cooks for 20 minutes. Perfect for a relaxed morning and today was the perfect day to try it; raining, a little darker than usual and fall. Ahh, welcome to this beautiful season where the leaves change colors and crunch under your feet, where pumpkins start emerging from the front of stores to peoples front porches (mine are coming out this weekend after our pumpkin painting extravaganza this weekend...stay posted i'll post some pictures) and where baked oatmeal and apples take over the menu.

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Happy breakfasting!

Baked Oatmeal:

{Ingredients}

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins (opt.)
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts, plus more if you so desire -- i put in about 3 T and loved it.
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup applesauce (you can substitute cooking oil for this but i think it would be best with applesauce, sticking with the season and all)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten (or 2 medium eggs)
Cooking spray

{Preparation}

Preheat oven to 375°.

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg. Add milk mixture to oat mixture; stir well. Pour oat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

I logged on here today to grab this recipe for dinner tonight and was appalled to find that I had never posted it! This is one of my all time favorite recipes (I am a succor for any bread)! Jared and I were planning our dinner menu for the next couple of weeks last night and he kept suggesting things that went really well with breadsticks. He confessed later that he was trying to plan dinners around the breadsticks so I would make them again. These are very similar to Pizza Factory Breadsticks and are surprisingly easy but time consuming. Whatever event you make these for it will be a HUGE HIT! Trust me!

Thank you Jessi, found these treasures on her wonderful blog, nummies.

yields about 25 but the above picture is half the recipe and it made about 30. My balls of dough (see below) were smaller so that my breadsticks were a little more manageable. If your breadsticks are big this recipe makes 25. If you do smaller breadsticks you will get loads more than 25.

Ingredients:

4.5 cups hot water
3 tablespoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant yeast
10.5-12 cups flour

(i've used white flour, wheat flour and half white/half wheat -- they were all delicious)

Glaze:

1 1/2 cube butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

Combine (in a Kitchen Aid, Bosch mixer or something like it -- i love my Bosch for this one) water, sugar, salt, yeast, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 3-4 minutes. On greased countertop, break off pieces of dough (a little bigger than a golf ball when rolled into a ball) and roll into thin ropes. If you're using skewers like at Pizza Factory, roll the ropes about 1 1/2 times the length of your skewers. Twist the rope around the skewer. I didn't use skewers. Instead I twisted two ropes together and pinched the ends so they stayed. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the breadsticks double in size. Repeat till all dough is used. (*note: If you use a dark coated cookie sheet the bottoms burn more easily so watch them closely)

While they are baking, combine
glaze ingredients so the flavors will blend. Bake twists at 375 for
about 12 minutes if you're using skewers, and 14 minutes if you are not,
and are using the twisting method. Remove from oven and brush with the
butter glaze. (Don't glaze before you bake, it's not as good.) I
sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese on top, too, and let that melt before I
served them. Or you can add add canned parmesan cheese to the glaze,
which adds even more flavor. Best if served immediately, but amazing at
any time!!!

*note: I have never actually followed the recipe for the glaze. I always make up my own and it has always turned out yummy. Experiment and see what you like.

Some ideas: butter; fresh garlic, minced; onion powder; basil; oregano; salt

*If you don't use salt in the glaze, the dough may need a bit more, according to your taste.

Serve this along side any pizza, pasta or other favorite meal!

Homemade Pizza Dough

So many pizza doughs get so dry and tough. This one stays light and delicious regardless of how thick or thinly it is rolled and is perfect for any pizza! Try pepperoni, margherita, hawaiian, a fruit or dessert pizza...you name it -- here is your crust!

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Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups very warm water

1 Tb sugar

1 scant Tb yeast

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tb olive oil

4 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl (Kitchen Aid, Bosch, etc.) dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water - let sit for 10 minutes. Foam should form on top. Whisk in salt, olive oil and 1 cup flour. Whisk in 2nd cup of flour. At this point put on dough hook and turn mixer on low as you add the last 2 cups of flour. If your dough is too sticky, add flour a little bit at a time until dough forms a ball. Knead for 5 minutes. (Or 10 minutes by hand) Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for an hour in a warm place until double in size. Punch down dough and divide into 2 parts.
Each half will make a 12 inch pizza. (If you only want to make one pizza now, then put other dough ball in an oiled freezer bag and pop in the freezer for another day!) Take the dough ball that you want to use immediately and allow it to rest for 15 minutes then roll out.

This part is totally your choice, you can roll it by hand by pushing and forming the dough ball into a circle or you can use a rolling pin. They both work great, I usually do it by hand but have done both. Also, pizza's don't always have to be round, just make sure you can fit it onto your pizza stone, cookie sheet, grill...whatever you are cooking it on.

Bake according to pizza directions however, 425 for 15-18 minutes is a safe standard.

*to freeze the pizza dough... at the point where you divide the dough into two parts, you can put one half in an oiled plastic bag and put directly in the freezer. When you want to use it, let it thaw in the frig or at room temperature. Once thawed, there is no need to allow it rest/rise again - just roll out and use immediately.

Addition 10/28/2011: I made the most amazing pizza the other day (coming soon) but love this dough fresh so much that I just couldn't bring myself to freeze it so, i made breadsticks out of it! BRILLIANT! I was quite proud of myself. I know there are severeal of you out there saying, "duh!" but this was like an epiphany for me so let me have my moment! Thank you. :)
Well, they were delicious and easy. I rolled them out like the Pizza Factory Breadsticks and made a glaze out of parmesan cheese, butter, dill weed (which by the way is my favorite topping for breadsticks) and kosher salt. They were yummy and light and wonderful. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. These were really light and airy. My husband prefers the Pizza Factory Breadsticks because they are more dense but that is your choice! MMM! Bon Apetite!