Come on in! Let's talk FOOD!

"Bacon grease makes pretty much anything taste better!" is the local philosophy and I grew up on good, down home country cookin'! Although I've ventured into a healthier way of eating (some of the time) I still enjoy many of the favorites of my childhood. I also have a passion for Italian food and I'm slowly but surely learning the pleasures of cooking with fresh herbs. Here I'll share with you a broad spectrum of recipes...some healthier than others, but all of them guaranteed DELICIOUS! : )

*I have imported posts from my other blog. These posts may involve topics other than food, but they do include recipes or food related information at some point in the post. Future posts to this blog will be more strictly food-related but I did want to include these recipes here.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Homemade Noodles

Who doesn't love homemade noodles?
This girl could eat 'em pretty much every single day.
But alas, I'd be big as a house, so I control the urge.
I used to be intimidated by the very thought of making my own noodles,
but there truly is nothing to fear!
This recipe is the best I've used so far and it's super simple.
It's an Amish recipe, so you know it's good.
Those Amish folks sure do know how to cook.

If you've never made noodles, or if you have made noodles
but weren't impressed with the results, 
try these.
Really.
You'll be glad you did.
Homemade Noodles  <=====Click here to print!  (Printable version is text only)

1 cup HIGH GLUTEN flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons oil
3 Tablespoons water

Combine flour and salt in mixing bowl and make a well in the center.  Put remaining ingredients in well and stir with a fork until dough is formed and there are no dry particles remaining.  

You may add more water if needed, but the noodles will be better if you don't have to.  Add by the teaspoon and add as little as possible.  On lightly floured surface, knead until you have a smooth dough.  

Usually takes about 5 minutes.  Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 45 minutes.
 
Cut dough in half and roll each half into a rectangle.  (I doubled the recipe today, therefore I had 4 sections to roll out.)


You want the dough to be very thin, but not paper thin. 

Dust with additional flour while rolling so dough does not get sticky.  Place sheets of dough on lightly floured cloth and let rest for another 30 minutes.  


Dust each sheet of dough lightly with flour and fold each in half, then slice into strips with a pizza cutter.

Or roll each sheet jelly roll style and slice into narrow strips with a very sharp knife, whichever you prefer.

Shake out each noodle and lay in single layer on flour dusted towel.  

Let dry.  Drying can take anywhere from a couple of hours to several hours, depending upon humidity. 

When ready to cook noodles, bring water or broth to a boil and add noodles.  Cook for 7 or 8 minutes, or until tender.   (I actually cook mine longer than that because that's just how I roll...I like 'em DONE and tender.)

These are wonderful cooked in chicken or beef broth.  You can also use them to make chicken noodle soup.  If making soup or adding other ingredients to the broth with the noodles, fully cook other ingredients in the broth prior to adding noodles.  The noodles should be the last thing you add since they take such a short time to cook and are incredibly delicate and tender.

*I apologize for not having a pic of the finished product, but we had to rush dinner somewhat in order to get to ball practice and I completely forgot to snap a pic!  By the time I thought of it, the pan was EMPTY.  Guess that's enough of a testament to how good they were though.  ; )  I did save half of them (dried and uncooked) to use in another meal.  Maybe I'll remember to snap a shot then.  

Tips and Tricks

*High gluten flour is SUPER IMPORTANT!  
Any flour that says 'better for bread' is high gluten.   
* Cook diced onion, carrots and celery in chicken broth. 
You can add thyme, basil, parsley...any seasonings you enjoy.
Add fully cooked, diced chicken.
Add dried noodles and cook until tender.
Now serve your family some of the best chicken noodle soup
they've ever had!
*Cut noodles in whatever way works best for YOU.
There are no hard and fast rules.  
If you plan to roll them, make sure your knife is SHARP.
A pizza cutter or an Alaska knife are what I prefer.  

1 comment:

  1. These noodles look amazing, Kelli! I love making homemade pastas, so I'll have to try these. x Gigi

    ReplyDelete

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