Cooking With Emily--Chicken Noodle Soup & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

So, those of you who know me know that I am PASSIONATE about cooking.  I grew up with a mother and father who both enjoy cooking and are very good at it.  Mom was wonderful at teaching her children how to cook.  As a result, my brothers and I all love to create amazing dishes.  When our family gets together, one of the first things that's decided is what we are going to eat.  So I decided to blog about it.  So, here you go:

There is nothing like a bowl of soup and warm bread on a cold day.  Friday, when I was at Costco, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for dinner that night.  We only ate about 1/3 of the meat and Chicken Soup sounded wonderful so I saved the carcass.  My chicken soup recipe is kind of a mishmash of several recipes and I honestly just through a bunch of stuff in the pot.  But here are step by step directions for you. My camera is not working at the moment so no pictures this time.

• Take as much meat off the bone of the chicken as you can.  Don't worry about getting it all--it will add flavor to the meat and be much easier to pull of the bones once it's been simmering for awhile.  Cut this meat into about 1 inch pieces, place in a plastic baggie to save for later.
• Place chicken carcass in a medium stockpot.  Fill the stockpot with chicken broth just until the chicken is covered.  (You can also use water and chicken bouillon.  When I do this, I am generous with the chicken bouillon; I use about 4 tablespoons for the stockpot.)
• Add one chopped onion, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 3 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons basil, 1 teaspoon marjoram (if you don't have this it will be just fine without it!), 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, and 1 teaspoon parsley. 
• Turn heat on to medium and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  (Just long enough that your entire house smells like chicken soup and your stomach starts growling. )
• Remove carcass and any remnants (skin, meat, bones) from the stockpot and set aside to cool.  Once cooled, take the remaining meat from the bones, cut into 1 inch pieces, and add back into your pot.
• Add 3 ribs celery sliced, and 3 carrots, sliced.  Add chicken that you previously cut.
• Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender--about 30-40 minutes.
• Turn heat up and bring mixture to a low simmer.  Add 1 pound egg noodles.  I have used store bought before and they work wonderfully, but it you feel adventurous, see recipe below for homemade noodles.  Cover and simmer until noodles are cooked; about 9 minutes for store bought or 14 for homemade.
• Serve in individual bowls.   You can garnish with fresh parsley if you like.

HOMEMADE EGG NOODLES--Now, I am a novice when it comes to homemade noodles.  They never turn out as pretty as I would like and they are usually thicker than I anticipate.  But they still taste amazing.  (I think there's a lesson there about judging by appearance.)

2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra as needed
3 large eggs, beaten
Water

Yep, that's all the ingredients to making pasta.  Who knew?

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour a few times to aerate.  Add the eggs and process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds.
2. If the dough resembles small pebbles, add water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.  If the dough sticks to the sides of the bowl, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and process until the dough forms a rough ball.
3. Turn out the dough ball and any small bits onto a clean counter.  Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth, about 4 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours) before rolling.

The hardest part about these is getting them the right thickness.  Remember that they expand when they cook so you want them thinner than you think they should be.  I have use both a pasta roller and by hand with a rolling pin.  Both work fine.

•  If using a roller, follow the instruction that came with the roller, using the flat roller first and run it through about 3 times to get it the right thickness. (I am usually too impatient and just run it through once--don't be tempted!!  They are better thinner!You should be able to see the outline of your hand through the pasta) and then running it through the fettuccine setting.  You will then cut the noodles in 2 inch pieces. 
• If you are using a rolling pin, lightly flour your counter top.  Roll out dough as thin as you can get it without it tearing or ripping--the thinner the better.  Using a pizza cutter, slice dough into 1/2 inch by 2 inch pieces.
• Separate the noodles and cook according to recipe directions.

GARLIC CHEDDAR CREAM BISCUITS--These are the easiest biscuits I have ever made.  They are a little crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside.  The secret is not handling the dough too much.  Handle it as little as possible.  If you handle it too much, you will have tough biscuits.

2 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (no substitutes!  They won't turn out without the cream...they need the fat.)

1. Adjust the oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or if you don't have any, just spray the sheet with some non-stick cooking spray.)  Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and garlic together in a large bowl.  Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball.  Knead the dough briefly until smooth, about 30 seconds.
2. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle.  Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter (I don't have a biscuit cutter.  I don't see the point when a drinking glass works just as well).  Place the biscuits on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 16 minutes.

There you have it!  My homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipes as well as yummy garlic cheddar biscuits. Bon Appetite!