~Creamy Chicken and Noodles~

Finally, it's starting to feel a bit like Fall around here and I always look forward to making "warm your tummy" type meals that are expected this time of the year.
Over the weekend, we had much needed rain and it just felt like Fall.  Trying to come up with something for dinner is becoming much more of a challenge for me these day.  I spotted my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook and started thumbing thru its pages.  I came across the Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe, which is usually a mainstay meal that I make often, but this one was a bit different.  It had butter in it.  Hmmm...sounded interesting so I thought I'd give it a try.

I kinda revised the recipe in that this one didn't have any veggies in it.  You can't have chicken soup without vegetables...it's sacrireligious!!  At least with my homemade variety, it is.  How about you?

I cut the recipe in half since it's just Mr. Bill and I these days.  Even halved recipes are sometimes too much, but that's the joy of soup.  You can freeze it and enjoy some later.  At least that's what I have to do for Mr. Bill as he doesn't like to have "day after" leftovers.  When he was a kid, an only kid at that, his mom would fix soup that would last for days and days.  He was scarred for life because of it.

Cutting the recipe in half calls for one to two chicken breasts, 1/4 cup of butter, one can of Cream of Chicken soup and two cans of chicken broth.  Tip:  In a separate bowl, combine the soup and broth stirring with a whisk to get all the lumps out before pouring it over your chicken.  I love, LOVE Reames frozen egg noodles!  I used to make my own egg noodles alot way back when; as in when my children were young and still under my roof.

I added the veggies...the norm for my chicken soup.  Chunked carrots and celery, and chopped onion.  Whatever floats your boat on how much you want to add.  Surprisingly, there were no spices in the soup recipe.  In my version, I added about 1/4 tsp each of sage, marjoram, thyme and about a tablespoon of parsley; all dried spices.  Or you could use poultry seasoning, which I use as well.  Depends on how I'm feeling that day. :)

I LOVE my Hamilton Beach three-in-one slow cooker and had to show it to you.  I got it as a gift this last Christmas.  It has three different sizes of crock bowls; two, four and six quarts.  I love the versatility of having the different sizes to suit the occasion.

For Mr. Bill and I, usually the four-quart bowl is sufficient.  IF I had the two-quart bowl, it would be great for dips, sauces, or for one-person meals.  But I don't have the two-quart bowl!! When the slow cooker came, the smallest bowl was broken.   I requested a replacement that took several attempts and about six weeks later before the replacement came.  It, too, was broke.  Arrgghhh!  I contacted the company and asked for another replacement.  It, AGAIN, took several weeks but I never received the bowl even though they said they sent it each time I called them, as a matter of fact, and finally gave up.  Sigh....one of these days, I 'll order me one without contacting the company.  Anyway, I do love my slow cooker.

Because my chicken was still frozen, which happens with my meats most of the time, I cooked the soup on high (without the veggies) for about 3 hours, added the veggies and cooked them another hour before adding the frozen noodles.

I don't think I added enough broth or I added too many noodles.  I never measure my noodles so either there's too many or not enough.  Thankfully, noodle products aren't that expensive.  But doesn't it look yummy?

I also made some homemade cornbread.  The recipe is called My Mother's Cornbread, which is funny because it isn't really my mother's recipe and she didn't really make homemade cornbread.  Hehehe.  I'll share the recipe and the story behind the cookbook tomorrow.  In the meantime, it's time for dinner!!

This type of homemade soup is so easy to make and generally doesn't need a recipe, but I'm making a printable recipe of MY version of the soup just in case you want to add one to your library of great meals.  Click for the Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe.

P.S.  The butter does give the soup a distinct flavor.  I think that I prefer the soup without the butter but try it for yourself to see what you think.

Quote for the day ~ "The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools." ~ Henry Beston, Northern Farm