SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Spring has sprung but someone forgot to tell our friends out West. Blogging friends from Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado are reporting more snow. Poor Midlife Slices is stuck in Oklahoma when she really wants to be in Texas. Don't hate me but as I write this the sun is shining and it's in the 80s. From where I sit I can see My Harley Stud occasionally walking past the front windows doing some much-needed yard work as a "break" from the project he is working on. Would it make you feel better if I said I'm stuck inside working on our tax preparation?

My head is spinning from number crunching so I thought I would take a little break. My mind wandered to my friends out West who are not feeling the effects of Spring yet. This brought comfort food to mind. When the going gets cold, I always turn to comfort food. The good, old fashioned Midwestern delights my Grandma use to serve. We had our own cold snap awhile back and I whipped up some chicken and noodles. I thought it might be a good time to share my recipe. It doesn't have to be cold outside to enjoy this carb-LOADED treat, it will warm the cockles of your heart regardless. And Janie, if you don't really care for this dish, you could always spread it across the highway to melt the snow as you go.


This recipe is a quickie version of what my Grandmother used to serve on a regular basis. She had eight children and raised them during the Great Depression. The dish is very pocket-book friendly. It definitely qualifies for a Money in the Bank post so I'll
have to remember to link
myself.

Measuring when cooking isn't my thing. If you are a person who requires exact amounts for a recipe, you should probably skip anything I have to offer. When I give a measurement, I'm guessing. I'm at my best in the kitchen when I can just feel my way through. Sometimes there is more of one thing and another time less of another. No two dishes are the same but they are usually good. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.





Chicken and Noodles

1 Rotisserie chicken (skinned and boned, meat shredded)
2-3 Carrots (chopped)
2-3 Stalks of celery (chopped)
1/2 large onion (chopped)
Olive oil - a swirl around the pan
2 boxes of chicken stock
1 package homemade noodles
salt and pepper to taste
fresh or dried thyme to taste. (I will use poultry seasoning if I don't have thyme)

***The following photographs are taken while standing on my toes. I'm short and the pan is tall. I apologize if they are a little fuzzy. I'll have to work more on my balance in yoga class.***

Start by sauteing the the vegetables in olive oil until tender. Grandma's recipe didn't include any vegetables. I like how they add color, texture and flavor to the dish. Sorry, Gramma. It doesn't hurt to have the added nutrients either. :-)

Once the veggies are tender, add the shredded chicken and I usually season with the salt, pepper and thyme at this point. You can make this dish by stewing your own chicken or using left-overs, of course. I can assure you that my grandmother NEVER bought a rotisserie chicken.

I usually prefer to use stock instead of broth as I think it gives a greater depth to the flavor. I use two of these boxes.
When I went to the store to get the chicken stock, this chicken broth was on sale as a buy one, get one. I quickly made an executive decision to scrap my original choice in favor of the bigger, better deal. No one except me was the wiser. My grandmother would use the stock she made from the original chicken. Both ways are good, my quick version makes up in convenience and time whatever might be lost in Grandma's "from scratch" way. Gramma didn't work the hours (outside the home) that I do. I think she would be proud of me still. :-)

Add the chicken stock/broth and stir. Bring to a boil and add the noodles.
Bring to a boil again and then lower to simmer.
Continue to taste and season as you go.

This groovy little bag of noodle love may not look like much to you. I only use home-made noodles. I can get away with adding a few veggies but I'm sure that poor Gramma would roll over in her grave if she knew I used store bought noodles. Sadly, I don't have the recipe for my grandmother's noodles. My cousin, the long, lost blogger has it. Gramma must have loved her more. *pout* I'm forced to "import" my noodles from the Egg Lady in Indiana via my father. (This dish becomes even more economical when Daddy buys the noodles.) There is a woman on a chicken farm in Indiana near our home town that makes home-made egg noodles and sells them. My mother always bought her noodles. Now Daddy buys them once a year and shares them with me. If you're feeling ambitious and want to try your hand at making them yourself, check out my cousin's blog. She didn't post the recipe but tells about the process. There are just a few ingredients and if you really want to try it, I'm sure she would email you the recipe. Right, cousin? I'm going to have to get it myself too. I'm not sure I'll ever make them but I think it's just wrong that I don't have it. *pouting again* I thought the Egg Lady was really old when I lived in Indiana. I can't imagine how old she is now. I'm thinking 125, maybe.

I'm not foolish enough to think that all or maybe even any of you are going to take a whack at making your own noodles, (have you checked the drying process?) or that you're going to call the Egg Lady. Store bought noodles will work just fine in this recipe. Just don't tell me, OK? I might not get over it.

This photograph was taken after the noodles had been simmering for awhile. They will continue to thicken the broth as they soften. The longer you cook them, the thicker they get.

I know that most people are going to think we Hoosiers have lost our minds but when everything is ready, we serve this yummy concoction over mashed potatoes. Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, already.
Add a salad and you'll feel better about yourself. Yeast rolls or parkerhouse rolls are also a must. Serve them hot with lots of butter.

Hey, I said it was cheap and delicious. I didn't say anything about healthy!

This dish doesn't look so appealing. The colors are too bland. I could have jazzed it up with some fresh parsley but Gramma never did it that way.

Enjoy.

Hugs,
SMB

SUNDAY DINNER FOR LESS

Growing up in Indiana, we enjoyed three meals a day as do most people. They were referred to as breakfast, dinner and supper. I'm not really sure if this is a Hoosier thing or a family thing. Dinner was the largest meal of the day. My father worked 2^nd shift and was always sent off with a nice home-cooked meal in his belly. This meal was provided during the week by my grandmother as my mother worked a nine-to-fiver. Supper was a light meal like salad, a sandwich or sometimes a bowl of cereal. When I moved to Florida, I began to partake of breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've adapted well but Daddy still refers to lunch as dinner and dinner as supper.

Whenever I think of a nice, home-cooked meal, I think of pot roast. It's my favorite comfort food. I have many different recipes for pot roast but the one I love the most is the traditional. The one my mother made. The one my grandmother made. It's delicious and invokes memories of my childhood and a simpler time.

Pot roast is also economical. It's best made from an inexpensive cut of meat like chuck roast and slow cooked all day long. Unlike my grandmother who could be found all day long in the kitchen, I work out of the home during the week and have a lot to catch up on over the weekend. I find the crockpot works quite well to make my favorite beef creation. Pair it with potatoes in any fashion, a salad and parkerhouse rolls; your family will applaud your efforts and possibly even give you a standing ovation. It's that good.

I've always taken pot roast and its easy preparation for granted. Lately I've encountered many friends who've never made one and don't have a clue where to start. And so in the spirit of Money in the Bank I've decided to post the recipe for my family's traditional pot roast.

Smart Mouth Family Pot Roast

Boneless chuck roast (enough to feed your family and some extra for leftovers)

2 Onions, (peeled and quartered)

2-3 Carrots (peeled and cut in 2 inch segments)

2-3 stalks Celery (washed and cut in 2 inch segments)

2 cloves Garlic (smashed)

½ cup Red wine (your choice and can be substituted with beef stock or broth)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

½ - 1 tsp Thyme (more if you're using fresh and I use poultry seasoning when I'm out of thyme)

Small bunch Fresh Italian parsley chopped (1/2 goes into the pot and ½ reserved for garnish)

Season the chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper. (I use a seasoned salt mixture that Pualani sends me from Hawaii. I have no idea what's in it but it's great. My mother always used just regular salt and pepper. ) Add the thyme.

Layer the vegetables and then add the roast to the crock pot. Pour wine over all and let it go for about 8 hours. I usually turn the meat over at some point and sometimes will put the veggies on top if the meat isn't moving along as quickly as I want.

Remove from crock when meat is tender. You can make gravy from the juices if you're serving mashed potatoes. I usually pull the meat apart with two forks and remove all the icky, fatty parts (That's a culinary term). I made red potatoes with parsley, butter and garlic on the day I took these pictures. I added a salad and some brown and serve Mrs. Schubert's parkerhouse rolls. Heaven!

Do you have a pot roast recipe you'd like to share with a Smart Mouth Broad?

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