Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been craving homemade chicken noodle soup a lot lately. We hit a cold front here in  Seattle and when fall and the chill comes into town, I feel a strong pull to make comfort food like soup.

I didn't have a good recipe so I went on to Tasty Kitchen and managed to put a couple of recipes together into one.  At the end of the day, this is what I came up with. Oh, and I was tasty.

It made enough to have some for lunch/dinner tomorrow and the  next day, and the next day, and the day after that.  I won't be doing that of course. But I'll be freezing several servings. 

Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 6 - give or take

Photo courtesy of Jenn Wraspir

2 T vegetable oil
2 carrots, sliced into bite size pieces
2 stalks, sliced into bite size pieces
6 c chicken broth (I started with only 4 cups, but I had more viddles than soup, so added chicken broth to make it soup again)
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 package egg noodles
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 bay leaves
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes, without letting them brown.  Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes.  Add egg  noodles and cook until done.  Add chicken to heat it through.  Add salt and pepper to taste and poultry seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes longer.

Remove bay leaves and serve.

Thai Red Curry Turkey

Red curry is a fave of mine.  Its so flavorful and can, on occasion, clean out one's sinuses. I've had this recipe before with chicken, but found the use of turkey interesting and a bit different for a change.

Super easy recipe, flavorful and worth the cook. 

Thai Red Curry Turkey
Serves 2

1 T peanut oil
12 oz turkey tenderloin, sliced, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 c sliced red onion
1 T red curry paste (less if you aren't a fan of hot)
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp minced garlic
1 c canned lite coconut milk
1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fish sauce (if you don't have fish sauce you can use soy sauce. Not the same flavor, but close)
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp cornstarch
2 c chopped fresh spinach (I almost didn't put this in, but decided it would be good for me. And it was really delicious with it)
chopped dry roasted peanuts
chopped red pepper

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and sauté until brown on both sides and cooked through (4-5 minutes). Put on a plate .

Add red onion to pan and cook until soft (2-3min). Stir in curry, garlic, and ginger and cook 1 minute.  Combine coconut milk, broth, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir mixture into pan, scraping up any browned bits on bottom. Bring to a simmer; cook until slightly reduced, 5 minutes.

Whisk together lime juice and cornstarch. Whisk into pan until thick, 1 minute.  Return turkey to the pan and add spinach, tossing with tongs until wilted.

Garnish turkey curry with peanuts and peppers. Serve over rice.

Herbed Fried Chicken with Black Pepper Gravy

What's not to like about fried chicken? I mean, really? It's fried chicken.  I, as it turns out, am horrible at frying food. I have no patience and tend to keep the oil too hot. Then it browns too quickly and the chicken isn't cooked.

Alas, this time I remembered my issue and kept the oil nice and low-ish.  Still frying isn't really a great low calorie way to eat chicken. But once in a while is ok.

This recipe is easy and requires just minimal knowledge of cooking (the dredging knowledge that is).  At the end of the day, super flavorful and a recipe I'd make again - if I didn't have so many other recipes to try.

Herbed Fried Chicken with Black Pepper Gravy
Recipe from Gourmet Today
Serves 2

Photo courtesy of gourmettoday.com

Calories 412 (before the mashed potatoes)

1/2 c flour
1 tsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp minced fresh thyme
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c buttermilk
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-6 oz each)
Canola oil

For the gravy:
1 tsp minced garlic
3 T flour
1 1/2 coarsely ground black pepper
1 c milk
1 tsp minced fresh thyme

For the chicken, combine 1/2 c flour, parsley, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp pepper, and salt into a shallow dish. Place buttermilk in second dish. Dredge chicken in flour, then buttermilk, then dredge again in flour mixture. Chill coated breasts on a rack for 5 minutes.

Heat 1/4 inch oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry chicken until golden on one side (6 minutes) flip and fry for another 6 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.  Pour off all but 1 T oil.

Cook garlic in same sauté pan over medium-high heat until fragrant (30 seconds).  Whisk in 3 T flour and 1 1/2 tsp pepper; slowly whisk in milk. boil gravy, whisking constantly until thick, about 2-3 minutes.  Note on gravy...whisk it constantly!! It may seem lumpy at first, but it will smooth out while cooking if you constantly whisk.

Serve gravy over chicken. Or like I did, over chicken and mashed potatoes.