Noodles and mashed potatoes, and why they work well together

Now remember, I did not say it's a healthy meal.  Neither did I say we were going to eat noodles and mashed potatoes every day.  I never fix noodles unless we have company, usually grandchildren.  My ex-daughter-in-law came to eat noodles with us last Saturday.  This is allowed, because she is the only person in the world who actually wants me to come and live with her if something happens to Cliff.  Trust me, that would be a disaster for both of us.  But it's nice of her to keep repeating the offer.  
And now to explain why noodles and mashed potatoes are a good combination:    
Before I make noodles, I boil some chicken, take it out of the broth and remove the skin, debone it, and toss it back in the pot.  I  usually use three or four chicken leg quarters, but the amount doesn't matter.  Just so it's enough to make delicious chicken broth.  Please don't buy that chicken broth you get at the store that comes in cans or boxes; it doesn't hold a candle to home-made.  
I add enough water to make a LOT of broth, because broth is what makes the mashed potatoes so good when you put the noodles over them.  My oldest granddaughter, the picky one, is the noodle addict.  She doesn't like the broth at all; she takes a slotted spoon and gets noodles only.  Unless there is pumpkin pie for dessert, she eats nothing but noodles, no matter what else is on the table.  
Because of the amount of flour used in the process of making noodles, the broth thickens up almost like gravy.  I'm sorry you northern folks don't understand why anybody would put noodles on their mashed potatoes; I will be sure and not make any mashed potatoes when I make noodles for you.  But let me warn you that without potatoes, the broth is going to run all over the place and soak into any other food on your plate.  It will be a mess.  Have fun with that.  


By the way, what kind of grandma worries about carbs or calories or rules when she is cooking for her grandchildren?  Sheesh.  It is the parent's job to keep the children healthy; it is GRANDMA'S job to spoil them.


My mom's noodle recipe is HERE.  You will find me sharing my noodle memories HERE.

Noodles

There are a few controlling people who hate the fact that I have a blog (dare I mention inlaws?).  
You know, the type of people who think that if they're scared to death to do something, everybody should be scared.  One of them recently had a conversation with Cliff about my "problem".  (Chuckle)
I'm sorry, I won't live my life letting fear keep me from doing what I love.  You go shopping, if that's what you want to do.  I will blog.   
Do you realize how much I would miss out on, if it weren't for my blog?  I don't meet a lot of new people in person.  I don't drive, and Cliff and I don't travel much.  But I have "met" so many wonderful people through blogs!  
In fact, the Internet in general has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.  For one thing, it got me back in touch with one of my favorite former coworkers, Jessica.  The one born in Arkansas to hippie parents.  
Last Saturday the local grandchildren, plus a couple of other people, came here for noodles (a family tradition in this house).  The only other food I fixed was mashed potatoes, because most of us like to put our noodles on mashed potatoes.  No green vegetable.  No dessert.  Just noodles and mashed potatoes, because that's really all my grandchildren cared about.  As I was making the noodles, I posted this picture on Facebook:

Among the people who asked for the recipe was my little buddy, Jessica. 
I mentioned that when you make noodles this way, you really need a child unrolling them.  I remember unrolling my grandma's noodles for her.  
Yesterday Jessica tried my noodle recipe for the first time, and posted a picture of her daughter unrolling the noodles.

 I knew by the picture that those noodles were perfect, and Jessica confirmed that.  I think this makes us relatives.  We are more than blood sisters; we are NOODLE sisters!  Noodles are a family tradition.  


Here's a picture of my real-life sister making noodles with her great-granddaughter at Christmas:

Don't you just love family traditions?  And don't you love the Internet, where those of you who aren't scared of your own shadow can keep in touch?  


Speaking of family traditions, I think Noodle Day may become a monthly event.  

countdown to Thanksgiving dinner

The noodles are drying on the table. If I were serving nothing else but noodles and mashed potatoes, followed by dessert, the family would be happy. I sometimes wonder why I bother to make anything else.

The Oreo Delight is in the refrigerator. Now that the holiday season is upon us, I get at least two Google searches per day leading people to my Oreo Delight recipe. The first time I made it my oldest grandson, Arick, was around three years old; as he sat in the floor eating his piece, he stated, "I LIKE this bezert!"

It's been his favorite ever since.

I'm going to peel the potatoes now.

My noodle recipe

Rose asked for my recipe for noodles, which I got from my mom. You'll find it in an old entry HERE.

You can read me waxing nostalgic about noodles HERE.

On another note: Our Christmas guests had all departed and I looked out the window to see at least six male robins hopping around my yard! I think there were more, but I counted six at one time in the front yard, then noticed some in back too. What on earth are robins doing here on Christmas day? (Added later: I've now seen more than a dozen at one time in the pasture behind the house.)

I found some interesting robin facts online, but nothing that tells me what they were doing here at this time of year. Except at this site, where it is suggested that robins seen here in winter have migrated from Canada.

" If you live in Missouri, for instance, the robins you've seen all summer may, during fall migration, head south to Texas, while the robins you see during the winter may have nested in Canada."

All I can say is that Cliff and I don't recall ever seeing robins around in December. But it made for a nice Christmas surprise.

The most nostalgic food I know

It's almost 6 A.M. I've been cooking since 4 o'clock. First off, I mixed the noodles. Then while they had their twenty-minute rest, I started the old settler's beans and got them ready for the crockpot.

Today is the only big holiday feast I'm giving this year. Back before Cliff's heart issues were discovered ... before the quadruple bypass... I cooked like this at least once a month, and invited all nearby relatives to come and indulge. Now it happens once, or maybe twice, a year.

There can be no family feast here without chicken and noodles. A holiday dinner without noodles would be like Communion without the bread (or wine, take your pick). We don' t need gravy for our mashed potatoes, because we put noodles over our potatoes. Another family tradition.

You see, noodles take me back to the farthest reaches of my childhood memories, back to Grandma's house. There was never a family gathering without noodles; it was one of the first things anyone fed their infants, at Grandma's table: I recall hearing the phrase, "give that baby some noodles" more than once.

When I make noodles, I roll them up and cut them exactly the way she did it. My mom, in her later years, acquired a noodle-cutter, which my daughter, I believe, inherited. I wouldn't use it if I had it, because I like to do it the way it was done in my childhood. I like to think about Grandma.

Grandma would sit on a tall stool at the end her cupboard and roll out the dough and cut it just like you see I've done it, in the pictures. It fell to me, or whatever cousin was handy, to unroll the noodles as she cut them.

When I'm making noodles, I am back at Grandma's house. I can smell her little kitchen and see it exactly as it used to be. I can hear the clock ticking in the other room.

Merry Christmas, Grandma Stevens. Thanks for the memories.

By the way, while I'm being all nostalgic: at this entry on my AOL journal, you can see some pictures of our hog-killing yesterday, if you're so inclined.