Oregon Transplant: Chicken Soup with Homemade Egg Noodles

Cabin fever has set in.

This snow is driving the dogs and me batty. My normally calm, 8-year old Haloti has taken to running through the house, scooping up any old toy, and running through the house growling and snorting at it like a puppy.

Gizmo, on the other hand, has started a steady routine of getting on the ottoman right across me, and bouncing. He bounces when he wants something, or thinks he wants something. He stares you down, growl-barks, and proceeds to kick up his back legs in the air. He can do this continually. For hours. The problem right now is he has no idea what he wants. His little body keeps telling him to bounce. Probably just for the heck of it. Normally, the dogs get lots of outdoor time to roam the property and shed their excess energy but that's just not happening at the present time. The snow has melted considerably but we've still got 3-4 inches in spots. Plus, on top of that, the melting snow has formed an ice layer on top of the existing snow, making the snow crunchy yet still deep. This has made walking around the yard a pain in the arse. So, not much outdoor exercise for the boys.

The hubby and I were able to get out yesterday, which I thoroughly needed. I had a doctor's appointment, and then we hit up our local craft-and-home-decor store. My home away from home. I usually stop there when I'm in Ashland. I was there about 2 weeks ago when I saw a perfectly spring-y table runner that I haven't be able to get out of my mind. The problem is all the runners at this particular store are 72 inches long, which would look just silly on our dining room table. Much too short. Well, I saw the runner again yesterday, at which time I was struck by how much I wanted it. So I went forth and Googled. And I found what I wanted at 90 inches. I can't wait to put it on my table!

image source: Etsy

Isn't it cute? Perfect for spring. I'm also going to change out my centerpiece on the table to look something like this-

image source: Shanty Chic

I already have the planter box, so I just need to find some bottles and floral stems. So excited!

Ok, ok, I know this isn't a home decor blog. Let's talk about the best thing in the whole, wide world- homemade noodles!

I've had this recipe tucked in my pocket forever. Since my last trip to Oregon, which was October of 2013. Yikes! It's definitely time to go back! When I was last there, I sat down with my dad to watch him make his famous homemade noodles. He usually puts them in a German potato soup that the family calls "Leichtyswitch". Which reminds me, I need to get to work on that recipe...

Moving on.

I decided to put these tasty, carbalicious treats in chicken noodle soup. Because the hubby was sick. Because I had fresh chicken broth. Because I'm the cook, and I can do whatever I want. Because these noodles are AWSOME!

Homemade noodles have a texture that is beyond anything you could find in a package or box. They are perfectly fresh, and have a chewy texture that will have you picking through the soup with your ladle, looking for one more noodle to put in your bowl. And if you think making your own pasta sounds hard, well, this recipe puts that notion to rest. The hubby made these noodles in a quick 10 minutes while I was chopping the vegetables for the soup. There's only 3 ingredients! My dad normally lets the noodles dry out before he uses them for soup, but the hubby and I went ahead and threw these in right away. It worked for this soup.

It seemed fitting to talk about this soup right after my post on chicken broth. After all, this is what that batch of broth went towards :)

The moral of today's stories?

1. Cabin fever may cause one to have all-consuming and passionate thoughts about spring home decor.

2. Make homemade noodles! They are easy, fast, you don't need a pasta maker, and they are so yummy!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

Noodles-

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup- 1 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

Soup-

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 cups chicken broth

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Prepare the noodles- combine salt and flour. Make a well in the center, add the eggs. Use a fork to beat the eggs. Stir all together until you form a dough. Add more flour as needed to form the dough. Dough will be sticky. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Using well-floured hands, knead the dough until smooth and no longer sticky (5-10 minutes). Add flour as needed. Roll the dough out with a well-floured rolling pin to desired thickness, and cut into desired shape with a pizza cutter. You can use pasta right away, or allow it to dry out. The drier the pasta, the longer it will take to cook. Our fresh noodles cooked in 1-2 minutes.

2. Prepare the soup- heat olive oil in large stockpot. When warm, add onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté 5-7 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken and fresh noodles. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or when noodles are tender to bite. Remove from heat, stir in parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

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