Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot, hearty soup on a chilly day. Perfect!

Well today we are making some to freeze in small containers so that when the middle of October arrives, along with a chill in the air, we will be ready

I had on hand three chicken carcass’ in the freezer from roasting chickens during the months of July and August. So I put together a broth from them with some celery, carrots, onions, 3 bay leaves, a bunch of fresh flat leaf Parsley and  ground black paper and sea salt. There was plenty of meat still left on the bones of one of the carcass. I reserved it to chop and add once the soup was cooked. So it made a generous rich broth “soup base.” Usually I purchase dry prepared noodles. The brand is important because they taste wonderful.

Strain the broth and discard all the bones and cooked veggies and toss. Your broth will be clear but rich looking and tasting. Approximately 3 to 4 cups. Bring the strained broth, to a rolling boil. And 3 small diced carrots and cover to cook. Then add two chopped medium sized onions and 4 stalks of chopped and peeled celery. Continue the boil and add the noodles. They will cook in about 20 minutes uncovered. And as the hot broth sits later they will cook some on their own. You do not want to overcook. You want them “al dente.”

Now add your chopped/shredded chicken. Simmer all for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. In addition, I purchase a one quart container of extra – high quality low-sodium chicken broth, as once the soup is throughly cooked, it tends to thicken slightly. You can then add the extra broth as needed to assemble a nice serving consistency. Not too thick, but not too thin. Garnish with cooked petite peas and fresh chopped parsley. It’s hot, delicious, pretty and so healthy.

I grew up on this soup ….at least once a week. I guarantee you will make it often.  It’s  simply heart warming and so delicious. The kiddos will just “love it.”

Enjoy!

A Simple/Smart Gardening Tip from Contessa

What You’ll Need

• 10″ Terra Cotta Pot (weve used an aluminum tub)
• Clean Sand
• Mineral Oil

Begin with  a simple terra cotta pot. The aluminum one I used is about 14 inches in diameter.

Paint it a pretty color if you’re feeling fancy.

Next, working in a large bowl or bucket, mix together enough sand and mineral oil to fill your pot. You’ll want to use enough oil so that your sand is fairly evenly coated. It should stick together but still have a “crumbly-ish” texture. Place your favourite hand tools down into the sand when you’re done with them.  Each time, they’ll get a little sharper (kind of like when you use sand paper to sharpen kitchen scissors) and they’ll be coated in just enough oil to keep them rust free! It’s magic.

“Contessa” says….. it’s easy – peezy!!

Home-made Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot, hearty soup on a chilly day. Perfect!

I had on hand two chicken carcass’ in the freezer from roasting chickens during the month of November. So I put together a broth from them with some celery, carrots, onions, 3 bay leaves and ground black paper and sea salt. There was plenty of meat still left on the bones/carcass. So  it made a generous rich broth “soup base.” And I had two roasted and shredded chicken breasts to add to the final pot of soup towards the end. Usually I purchase dry prepared noodles. But Today, I made homemade noodles. Pretty simple. One cup of Gluten Free flour, 2 egg yolks, a half teaspoon of salt and one/half egg shell of milk. Knead the dough and roll out with a rolling pin. Hand cut fairly thin noodles.(they thicken once added to the boiling soup broth). Place them on a cookie sheet, fairly spread out, and allow them to air dry. In the interim, strain the broth and discard all the bones and cooked veggies and toss. Your broth will be clear but rich looking and tasting. Approximately 3 to 4 cups. Once the noodles are fairly dry, you can begin putting your soup pot together. Bring the strained broth, to a rolling boil. And 3 small diced carrots and cover to cook. Then add two chopped medium sized onions and 4 stalks of chopped and peeled celery. Continue the boil and add the noodles. They will cook in about 30 minutes uncovered. Now add your shredded chicken. Simmer all for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. In addition I purchase a one quart container of extra – high quality low-sodium chicken broth, as once the soup is throughly cooked, it tends to thicken slightly. You can then add the extra broth as needed to assemble a nice serving consistency. Not too thick, but not too thin. Garnish with cooked petite peas and fresh chopped parsley. It’s hot, delicious and so healthy.

The home made noodles are way-worth the effort. Enjoy!

“heads up”

We are going to make a Gluten Free Pineapple Upside-down Cake. We haven’t had one since….forever. Have a taste for it. They are generally very moist,  but deliciously sticky, with brown sugar and butter. It’s a lovely light and fluffy dessert served with tea or coffee. Looking forward to making this pretty and delicious cake. Yummy!!

Preparation of Holiday Wreath Ribbons (Revised 12/7) and white tipping pine cones

Counting out yardage today and practicing making bows for our Holiday Wreath offering. One completed ribbon shown above is a total of 68 inches. We have enough ribbon for 20 wreaths. Hmm! Might be important to purchase additional ribbon…. just in case. We are headed out now to take care of this.

“Contessa” says it’s a very Good thing to do!

Additional Steps Today – 12/07

We have been collecting pine cones in the community from under a very generous Evergreen tree on Valley Drive. Each one has an ever so slight white natural tip, but we are enhancing them a little bit. They will show up so much nicer on our beautiful wreaths. And they have dried  sufficiently from the damp ground, as we’ve had them spread out to dry now for about three weeks.

All we are waiting for is the Forum Newsletter to be delivered to each household. The process seems a little slow this year, but we are patient. It will most  likely be a “Mad dash” at the end ….but gosh it’s Christmas, and that’s how it is with the holidays and preparation. Right!  It’s all about enjoying the process….. and we do!

 

“CONTESSA”

The Garden Contessa Offering “live” Holiday Wreaths

THE GARDEN CONTESSA is offering “live” Frasier Fir Evergreen Door Wreaths for the Holidays. Complete with colorful wide festive ribbon, pine cones, Holly Berries, a string of (50) battery operated “fairy lights” (3 AA batteries included) and complete with a wreath hanging bracket. We will HAND DELIVER direct to your door. $75 complete. Please txt 703-548-1882, or email ContessasHome@gmail.com Order deadline Dec 10th. Payment by check please.

Happy Holidays from CONTESSA!

(Photo to follow when the wreaths arrive)

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If you reside in Parkfairfax,  please see our upcoming Ad in the December issue of the Parkfairfax Forum Newsletter.

Thank you,

“CONTESSA”

Homemade Applesauce

Apples are plentiful now. Fall apples are crisp, plump and kissed in color by our wonderful sun and coolish evenings. Our favorite are the Honey Crisp variety. One of the reasons we love them is that they create that wonderful and juicy crunch sound when you bite into them. And they maintain their freshness a good amount of time. An added benefit is  they do not turn brownish when cut, so if you find that you cannot make your way through one, like me,  you can put it in a container in the fridge and they are almost just as fresh when you go back to finish up.

Today we are making homemade applesauce. We actually like the sauce slightly chunky. So we do not cook the apples too much. We add Lemon juice, cinnamon and honey. Maybe a little light brown sugar. Can’t wait to taste. And we have enough apples that we will make an apple crisp with granola over the weekend.

We love the recipes of our wonderful fall season. Bounty in real wonderful fibrous fruit. YUM!

French Lentil Soup – prepared today

We have prepared and posted this soup recipe prior  it’s so delicious we are posting it again today. It’s hearty, pretty and so delicious.  Our slightly cooler temps warrant a big pot of soup  Grab some crusty bread and ENJOY!

“French Lentils Soup”

Meat – 4 oz Bacon (you can substitute with sautéed portobello mushrooms for a meat free version)

Produce
2 Bay leaves
2 Carrots, medium
1/2 Celeriac, medium
1 cup French le puy lentils
2 cloves Garlic
1 Leek, large
1/4 cup Parsley, fresh
2 tsp Thyme, fresh
1 Yellow onion, medium

Canned Goods
6 cups Chicken broth, quality – we prefer home prepared broth

Baking & Spices
1/4 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp Salt

Oils & Vinegars
1 tbsp Red wine vinegar

In a stock pot cook the bacon (or mushrooms) over medium-high heat until done. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent and golden, 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the celeriac, leek and carrots and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the lentils and cook for another minute or two. Add all remaining ingredients except for the parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Finally stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

NUTRITION

Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 1448mg | Potassium: 825mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3900IU | Vitamin C: 31.3mg | Calcium: 83mg | to taste.

.NOTE:   Le Puy lentils are small,  with a slate-green color and blue marbling. They have a very slight flavor and are preferred among many cooks because, unlike their brown lentil cousins that turn mushy after a while, Le Puy lentils  hold their shape during cooking.

SOLD TODAY / Vintage Miniature Easels

Two Miniature Easels. Decorative and useful for small noted pieces of art work, photographs or special memory items you wish to display. Purchased at auction.Both have some painted ware, but in terms of ability to support your items they are perfectly intact.

One measures 11 inches and the other 14 inches. They both have a miniature shelf/ bar on which you can place your items for display.

They are charming and very unique. We love them. If you are a display person or have a shop they would be perfect to add to you display inventory. Great for adding character to a personal photograph/art collection.

We have not done any paint touch-up, as we feel this would detract from their “provenance.”

SOLD on our ContessasHome ETSY site for $30, to a customer in Forest Hills, NY

Seedlings….for “dearest”

so….. my dearest had a Birthday. I prepared a cardboard egg carton with “baby Zinnia” seeds. I took one extra step and planted them inside halved egg shells that I had been saving. The calcium shell can go right in the dirt once “dearest” gets ready to plant them. They are the tiny variety and will be about 6 inches tall. Perfect for a smallish vase in the kitchen or bathroom. A nice little project for you to do as well. You can frankly just fill the egg carton with dirt. No need to save egg shells. They will give you the same result. Enjoy!!

We think they are so “sweet.”

“Contessa”