Chicken and Handmade Noodles

Author: Cassie Stevens

One of my favorite dishes my mother makes for Thanksgiving is her turkey and homemade noodles. OMG! They are so good, she makes them the day before and lets them dry out overnight. Although I have tried many times, I don’t make them the same as my mama.  Well, this is a similar recipe to hers.  My chicken and noodles has veggies in it unlike my mama’s, but I think it adds a lot of flavor to the stock.

I start by making the dough for the noodles. It’s really very easy, all you need is

2 cups of flour

1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

2 egg yolks and one whole egg beaten

1 tsp olive oil

Prep: In a large bowl stir together the flour and salt, then make a well in the center.  In another small bowl mix egg yolks, whole egg, water, and olive oil.  Add egg mixture to flour. Mix well. add a tsp of water at a time if too dry. On a floured surface roll out dough and knead until smooth and elastic. (8 to 10 minutes). Cover and let dough rest for ten to fifteen minutes.  Cut dough in half and roll out as thin as you want your noodles. Dust with flour on each side so the dough does not stick to the counter and cut with a knife, pizza cutter, or the nifty little roller cutter that I found at a thrift store never opened for fifty cents.

I love that thing. I’m glad I picked it up. It also has another roller blade that tenderizes meat. I use it for pastas only. I tenderize my meat other ways.

So after all your pasta is cut, it’s time to set it aside to dry.  I just place it on a parchment lined baking sheet to air dry. I turned it after an hour to help it dry out more evenly.

I let mine dry for about two hours. It was dry enough by that time. As soon as it was dry I started the stock. I added a Tbsp of minced garlic and enough olive oil to cover a stock pot. Then I added the veggies:

About three carrots, half an onion, and two stalks of celery. Dice them all up and sweat them out in the stock pot. I also, added two Tbsp butter, cause I can never cook without it. I love butter, real butter!  Once your veggies are sweatin’ add 3 cups water and simmer.

Next in a cast iron skillet or whatever pan you have (I love my cast iron skillet) brown your chicken. I used 3 boneless breasts and I seasoned my chicken with salt and pepper and a little bit of minced garlic in the bottom of the pan. Once browned on each side I set aside to rest for a few minutes. Then cut into small cubes and put inside stockpot to finish cooking for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Drain the liquid from the stock pot into the skillet and bring to a boil, then add your noodles. Cook for about three minutes. Noodles will be done. Cook a little longer for thicker noodles.

Once the noodles are done, add them to your stockpot. Before you add more water, make a slurry to thicken to a gravy.

Add 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 Tbsp flour and mix well in a measuring cup with just enough water to dissolve. Add to stock pot, then add more water to desired consistency. Let simmer for a few minutes and it will thicken up to a gravy consistency.

Looks yummy right? Time to eat! Pair it with your favorite dinner rolls and you have a great dinner your family will be talking about for a while!

I hope you enjoy as much as we all did! Happy cooking!

Hand Made Raviolis

Author: Cassie Stevens

Hand made pasta is one of my favorites.  No shortcuts with a pasta machines. Although, they are nice to have, and can make life a lot easier when making fettuccine and other noodles.  I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I’m looking at my finished product, thinking to myself not a lot of people know or can do that!  Well, I’m here now to share how fun and easy it can be.  It takes a little time, but it is so worth it in the end, when sitting down to enjoy all the effort you made. You will surely impress your family.

Assemble your ingredients:

6 eggs

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp olive Oil

4 Cups all purpose flour

That’s all you need! Super simple and it really is easy too! It’s just time consuming but, make this one day when you have the time and freeze the rest, and you’re all set to make a simple and easy dinner for another day when you’re pinched for time.

Make a well in the center to mix everything together

 

Add your salt then your oil

I start with just two eggs and get those mixed

Mix it up a little, then add the other four eggs

Using your hands (your best tools in the kitchen) Mix Mix Mix!

Pulling in flour as needed

Mix Mix Mix and Mix some more!

Eventually, you will get a dough ball you can start to really work

Beautiful! Finished dough.

I cut it into four pieces. Smaller pieces just makes it easier to work with the rolling pin.

This is about as thin as I can get it!

I used my melon baller to divide the filling on to the dough.  There are a few different filling recipes I really enjoy.

Spinach and Cheese: 1 pound (16 ounces) Ricotta, 1/2-1 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste, 3 Tbsp heavy cream, 2 Bunches fresh spinach (cook, squeeze out water, and chop.) mix well and fill raviolis.

Ginger and Sage Butternut Squash: 1 large butternut squash cooked and mashed, 2 Tbsp fresh sage, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 Tbsp ground fresh Ginger

Ground Beef and Cheese: 2 Pounds meat (diced), 1 package beefy onion soup mix, salt and pepper, 1 pound (16 ounces)  ricotta cheese, 1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream.  Brown meat and add beefy onion soup mix to it. Transfer to a food processor and pulse a few times to chop. Put mixture in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Combine well and fill ravioli.

I used a cap to a baby bottle to press and seal the edges around the filling. It was of appropriate size.

Use a pastry roller to cut the raviolis out.

The next dough piece to get filling is ready to get sealed up

Yum! Just a pretty shot!

Keep working until you have about what seems like a thousand. Lay them out on a dinner napkin or a dish towel to dry for about 30 minutes up to an hour if you are going to freeze them.

Boil some up! It takes about ten to fifteen minutes depending on how thick your dough is!  Pull one out and let cool then check it to see if it is done.  If it is not done it will look raw or dry on the center of the dough when you cut it open!

Put it in a pan with your favorite homemade red sauce and cover.

Make sure to give some to baby! She will be pleased!

Yummy messy face! Thanks Mom!!

And there you have it the best raviolis ever and very little money spent to make them.  I just love ravioli night at my house. Please share this recipe with your family for dinner one night.

How do you fill your raviolis?