Chicken Noodle Stew

I love making soup when the weather turns cooler and this is one of my favorite soups to make. It is so delicious. I made it last night and couldn't wait to have the leftovers for lunch today. It is one of Zach's favorites too. If you like a good chicken noodle soup you will love this!
I am going to give you the recipe and then I will give you my modifications to it. Here is the actual recipe:

Chicken Noodle Stew

2 chicken breast - 1/2" cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white onion (minced)
1 cup chopped celery leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup chopped celery stalks
2 cups sliced carrots
3 quarts water or chicken broth
chicken bouillon cubes
homemade noodles (or store bought)
pepper to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons cornstarch in 1/2 cup water

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large pot. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is done and onions are clear. Add bay leaves, the other celery, carrots, water, and bouillon cubes (if used water instead of broth); boil until carrots are crisp-tender.  Add noodles. Add pepper, red pepper flakes, and enough bouillon for a strong chicken flavor. And 2/3 of the cornstarch mixture, stir and simmer to thicken. Add more for desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Chicken Noodle Soup Noodles

3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups flour
Combine the cold water and salt with the 2 beaten eggs, add about 1 cup of the flour. Roll out to desired thickness while adding the last of the flour using a rolling pin. Cut into think strips using a pizza cuter and put into boiling soup.


*My Notes:
- I cook my chicken separately and shred it. I add it to the soup at the very end. I do it this way because I prefer shredded chicken to chunks of chicken. So I just cook the onions and celery stalks with the carrots and celery.
- I never have bay leaves on hand so I just leave those out.
- I like lots of veggies to I normally add a little more than it calls for
- If you don't have red pepper flakes it's not the end of the world but I think that is my favorite part of the soup. It gives it a little kick. Just don't add too much!
- I always use the homemade noodles, they are so good! They are a bit tricky at first. You don't want to add too much flour to them or they will be too stiff. The problem is, they are going to stick to the counter if you don't have enough flour and then you can't peel them off. Here is my solution, keep adding flour underneath them as you roll them out, and add flour on the top so the rolling pin doesn't stick. Roll a little and then stop to add flour underneath, and keep repeating. Also, yesterday I rolled them out on wax paper which seemed to help. Don't be scared, once you get it down they are super easy to make. Also, I don't like them so long so I cut them in half.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Yesterday was the first day that it has felt like Fall so I decided to do some fall cooking. First on the list: pumpkin bread. Last year I made pumpkin bread for the first time and it was just alright. This year I found a new recipe and gave it a try. It was delicious. It was super easy too. Give it a try!

*Note: This bread tastes best when it has cooled completely for a few hours and tastes even better the next day.
*Makes 2 (9X5-inch loaves) or 3 (8X4-inch loaves)

2 ½ cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans or three 8×4-inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together canned pumpkin, oil, eggs and 2/3 cup water until well combined and stir into dry ingredients, just until the dry ingredients are moistened and no dry streaks remain. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter in prepared pans.

Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife gently around the edge of the bread and turn the bread out, right side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This bread freezes beautifully. After cooling, wrap the bread in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil. Freeze for up to 2 months


Notes: * I didn't add quite so much sugar and it still tasted great
           * I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce