Chicken and Noodles – Comfort Food at its Finest

Posted by Vanessa in Cooking, January 25, 2010

If I’m ever sick and you want to bring me food, this is what I wantPhoenix, if you’re reading this, remember that if I’m ever pregnant with another one of your babies in the winter, this is what I want.  Or at least what I think I’d want.  Who knows what kind of cravings those hormones are gonna bring, you know?  Of course you know, we’ve already been through that twice.  Duh, Redbird.

So I’ve been tweaking this recipe for months, because even though my grandma has told me how to make it, mine never comes out like hers.  And this isn’t exactly like hers, but it’s close.  And it’s delicious.  Food for the soul, if I may.

My new pal, Sara, from Our Best Bites, encouraged me to try roasting my chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) for added flavor and a better texture, and, WOW, what a difference it made.  I’ve always poached chicken, I guess because that’s what I always saw my mom doing, but I’ve become less and less satisfied with the results.  Roasting it really does wonders for the chicken and I don’t think I’ll ever boil another chicken breast again.  Amen.

You can buy a bag of noodles sort of like this at the grocery store.  And it would cut down on the work a little.  But why?  I mean, it’s much cheaper, really pretty easy, and homemade.  Not that I should talk.  I had decided to buy a bag last week when I was making them for a group and wanted to cut down on the work just in case I had a crazy day, but we forgot to get them while we were at the store so I ended up making them from scratch.  And I wasn’t in the least bit sorry.

Here’s an idea of how the noodles will look once you cut them :

And I couldn’t resist sharing how stinkin’ adorable my little girl is.  At breakfast this morning, first thing she did was ask for her camera.  We couldn’t figure out why at first, but then this :

What a girl, I tell ya, what a girl.

And now, comfort food at its finest.  Enjoy.

Chicken and Noodles

Details
  • Ready in 0 Minute.
  • Makes: 10 Servings
Ingredients
  • 4-5 chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
  • canola oil
  • kosher salt
  • black pepper
  • garlic powder
  • 12 cups chicken stock
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 eggs
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • 3 cups flour, plus more for dusting
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Place chicken breasts, skin side up, on a foil-lined rimmed cookie sheet. (For easier clean-up.) Drizzle lightly with canola oil and rub in to coat entire breasts. Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
  • Bake chicken breasts at 400 degrees for one hour. Remove from oven and set aside.
  • In a dutch oven or large stock pot, pour in chicken stock. Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.
  • Shred chicken breasts using 2 forks and add to chicken stock.
  • Now let\'s make some homemade noodles!
  • Put eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with a fork or whisk. Add milk, a little salt and flour and stir to combine. (Now you don\'t want your dough to be too stiff, so if it is, you can always add a little extra milk to soften it up or flour if it\'s too soft.) You can also make the noodles in a food processor. Just throw all the ingredients in and pulse to combine. (I don\'t have a food processor so I do it by hand. Plus it makes me feel extra industrial.)
  • Roll out dough on a floured large cutting board to about a 1/4 inch thickness. Let dough dry out for 20-30 minutes.
  • Cut dough into noodles, say 1/4 inch by 1 1/2 inches or so, it sure doesn\'t have to be precise. I use a pizza cutter to do this.
  • Separate your noodles and put in the chicken stock to cook. They won\'t take too long, but I usually keep it cooking awhile and turn the heat down a little to let the flavors all come together.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings as you see fit. You might need some salt, depending on the chicken stock you use.

3 Responses to “Chicken and Noodles – Comfort Food at its Finest”

  1. Cindy says:

    Chicken and noodles, they were the best! Thanks Vanessa!

  2. Lisa says:

    I’m making your chicken and noodles for tonight. Thanks! I love how easy it is to follow your instructions. I just put the chicken in the oven and will now do the broth in the crock pot. Unfortunately, I don’t have a dutch oven yet. Maybe I’ll get one for my birthday! 🙂

  3. Sue says:

    Hi! I made the chicken noodle soup.It was delicious. I added chopped onion, celery and carrots just because I had them. The frozen home-made egg noodles worked out great. I added 2 12 ounce packages. I might either use less noodles or more broth next time. Thanks for the great recipes!

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