How to Make Homemade Noodles Recipe

I love family recipes and traditions!  I love them because it doesn't matter if I am standing next to my mother in the kitchen, or making something that was on my grandmother's table at every holiday, when you tap into those family recipes it is like they are right there with you. Today is one such recipe. 

This classy lady is my Grandma Racer.  Isn't she beautiful?  One of things I remember about her is that she always looked fabulous.  Her hair was always perfect and her taste was impeccable.  Another thing that was impeccable were her homemade noodles.  I remember them on the table at EVERY holiday.  She lived about 45 minutes away from us and we would talk about how excited we were to eat them all the way to her house!  I have a confession.  When I was little I would go into her kitchen almost as soon as we got there and look to make sure we were having the noodles.  They were so delicious. 

One of the things that made her noodles stand out among the rest was that they were cut so very thin.  Now, know that this is coming from the memory of a child, but it was like they were nearly as thin as a spaghetti noodle.  It was a wonderment as to how she got them that way because we have been trying for years and NO ONE has managed to pull it off!  Another thing that made her noodles stand out from the others was their brilliant yellow color!  When we would ask her how she got them so yellow she would say "It's a secret ingredient."  I am happy to say that before her passing she revealed that secret ingredient to my mother, but out of respect for her and the many, many years she kept it....I will too ;) 

I look forward to the day when we can share that secret with my nieces and they share it with their children because that is where family traditions are born. 

My mother, sisters, nieces and I celebrate Grandma Racer every year by getting together on the day before Thanksgiving, and making her noodles while we share our favorite stories of her.  Some of these stories I have heard a thousand times, but we still laugh, we still cry, we still love her so very much.  I can't think of a better way to honor her memory. 

The recipe I am bring to you today is not her exact recipe.  I know that no matter how hard I try, I could never replicate it, but I have taken her basic techniques and made them my own.  I promise you they are just as delicious because, at the core of this recipe, is the ingredient of love that she put into them every time she prepared them for us. 

I present to you...

Homemade Chicken and Noodles:

*Prep Time:  5 hours  *Cook Time: 10 minutes  *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings:  4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 c. flour
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of salt
• 2 c. chopped chicken
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 c. chicken stock (recipe for homemade is HERE)
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 tsp. turmeric
• Salt and pepper to taste

Tools:

• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups
• Chef's knife
• Fork
• Rolling pin
• Dutch oven

To begin, combine 1 c. of flour, eggs, and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl.

Using a fork, stir to combine the ingredients together.

After the ingredients have come together to form a dough ball, use your FLOURED hands and work the dough until it forms a nice ball.

Dust your surface,

and I use the term dust loosely here because Grandma Racer said you can not have too much flour,

with the other cup of flour.

Pour your dough out onto the work surface.

Flour your rolling pin, and working from the center out, roll your dough, making 1/4 turns. 

You want to keep it moving and keep it well coated with flour so it will not stick.

You will roll it out to about a 1/4 inch thick. 

I realize this is a rectangle. 

 I can't explain it.  Sometimes it turns out in a circle, sometimes not. 

I just go with it because they all taste the same. 

Once you have rolled out your dough, you will place it on a floured

baking sheet and let it dry for 5 hours.

I like to flip mine half way through for even drying.

After they have dried for 5 hours, you will want to roll them up tight,

into a little cigar.

It will be a little brittle, and it may break. 

That is okay.  All the pieces will be yummy!

Now you will slice the dough cigar into little disks.

The thickness of the noodles are up to you, but as I said before,

I cut mine thin because Grandma did. 

They are still nowhere near as thin as hers.

Once you have cut all your noodles, unravel them, and set them aside while you prepare the rest. 

Place a Dutch oven over a medium high heat, and melt butter.

To the melted butter, add your onions, carrots, and celery,

 and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Homemade recipe found HERE.

While you are waiting for your stock to come to a boil, you can

shred or dice your cooked chicken.

I am using chicken left over from my homemade stock, but

you can boil a couple boneless, skinless breasts or even roast them in the oven.

Just make sure they are fully cooked.

Once the stock is boiling, add the chicken and...

noodles.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.

Let the noodles cook for about 10 minutes until done.

As the noodles cook, the excess flour from the noodles will make

your sauce thicken and become silk-like.

Now, you can totally use frozen noodles here.

If you do, just whisk together 1 c. of cold water with 1 tbsp. of cornstarch.

This will help the sauce to thicken, which makes this chicken and noodles and not

chicken noodle soup.

OH!  I ALMOST FORGOT!

Remember how I told you my grandma had a secret ingredient that gave her sauce such great color?

Well, I am not going to reveal her secret, but I WILL share mine.

A 1/4 tsp. of turmeric will give your sauce a BOLD yellow color and add some great flavor as well.

If you don't have turmeric, don't worry.

These noodles will be great with or without it.

And there you have it!  My homemade chicken and noodle recipe

birthed from my Grandma Racer's.  :)

I hope this will become one of those special family recipes that you can pass down from generation to generation.  I pray that when you make them, you make memories with your children like we have.  And I know that when you serve them, they will not only be filled with love from your heart, but from mine, and my amazing grandmother's as well.

Thelma Racer, may your legacy live on through our memories of you and your wonderful recipes that we share with others!  I love and miss you.

Happy Reading, Happy Eating, and Happy Living,

~The Kitchen Wife~