New Blogger Notes and Recipe Contest Post

Obviously, I've switched to the new blogger. Good things - I like that I, as someone who has little HTML and/or coding knowledge, can change things around. Bad thing - I added one link - Hi Liz! and for some reason, I can't go back and add more??? WTF?? I'll get there one day I suppose! Edited to add that I somehow figured it out! Now, how do I add my Webrings back in???

The recipe part came to me this weekend, when I had an epiphany of sorts. You see, both the boyfriend and I came down with a sickness. It started out like food poisoning (I'll spare you the details on the symptoms) and then resulted in a flu-like stupor for both of us. He is actually still home sick today. Me, I needed a break, and headed to work, only to find out four of my co-workers are out today with the same symtoms. We really need to wash our hands more at work or something.

So anyway, my Secret Pal 9 hostess, Patty, asked us to post a story about a recipe that was dear to us and what it meant to us. Well, after this weekend, it was really a no-brainer. My mom can cook - very classic stuff - grilled pork chops, whipped potatoes, spaghetti, etc. But she always had one recipe that I could never duplicate - that of her homemade chicken noodle soup. I remember that stuff from when I was a kid - it was magic. At the first sign of a cold she would have it on the stove, and when we ate it, it was like it just killed our cold. The amazing part - there was never really a recipe. So, I thought I should share my mom's non-recipe chicken noodle soup. Oh, and I will say that it certainly saved me this weekend - it's all I could stomach!

Mom's Chicken Noodle Soup (serves about 6)
Take one @ 2lb chicken (remove giblets/neck/etc.) and rinse, pat dry. Place in a pot that is big enough to cover the chicken with 4 or so inches of liquid.

Pour two cans of chicken broth into the pot. Fill it the rest of the way with water (chicken should be covered by about 3-4 inches of liquid.)

Bring to a boil. When chicken is cooked, it will literally start falling apart in the pot - about 45 to an hour. Take it out, and let it sit on a cutting board for about 10 minutes. LEAVE THE LIQUID IN THE POT!

Pick the chicken apart into pieces suitable for soup - One thing I like to do is pick half the meat for soup, and then save half the meat for a casserole or something else. But I'm usually only cooking for two, so that might not be a great idea if you have a bigger family!

Put the chicken pieces back into the soup. Add 1/2 bag of wide egg noodles, bring to boil to cook noodles, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve when noodles are done! I like to add a dash or two of parmesan cheese to my bowl just before I eat it.

Optional add-ins for when you put the noodles in: carrots, celery, beans, spinach, onion, asparagus, etc. This is a basic recipe, but it's soooo good! Hope some of you get to try it!