Culinary Creativity Edition: Chicken Noodle Soup
I knew full well upon arrival that the things I was used to eating back in the states would not be so easy to obtain over here in England, let alone easy to make. Coupled with the fact that I don't have a large supermarket near me doubles the need for culinary creativity!
Now don't get me wrong, if I walked about an hour I could get to the store or if I called upon some of my family they'd drive me, but when I only need a couple of odds n' ends I can't justify an entire trip to the store.
Luckily for me I can find many things at one of the four small groceries down the road. I have a Tesco Express across from a Co-operative Food which is just down from a Nisa which is on the same side of the road from this dark, creepy place called 'The Shop.' I don't happen to like The Shop merely because it has poor lighting and seems to attract the less desirable in the neighbourhood. Interesting how it's the closest food place to us.
So I had a bit of a hankering for Chicken Noodle Soup, specifically this recipe from Food.com. The chicken itself was an interesting find as I had to scour the frozen section of Tesco, and despite my husband telling me that this store may not have plain, frozen chicken breasts, I was not to be deterred. I did find a small bag plus the carrots and celery but everything else was a bit of a pain to find. The recipe called for egg noodles, which we found but were very like ramen noodles in shape; it also called for potatoes and unless we wanted a giant bag we'd never get through, I decided to use tinned potatoes that I knew we already had in the cupboard. I was not able to locate poultry seasoning which I think would have given the recipe the needed boost nor was I able to find chicken broth, but the husband had OXO cubes in chicken so that was going to have to do.
Before anything else I washed the vegetables in warm water and prepared my surfaces for cooking. I got together everything I would need for the recipe so I wouldn't go hunting for them later.
I started with cooking the chicken on the hob (stove) in some butter.
Next I began sautéing the onion in the pot followed closely by the carrots and celery. After that I followed the recipe as closely as I could and added in the remainder of the ingredients including the potatoes. I then added water and the OXO cubes. I do still think the poultry seasoning and the chicken broth would have immensely helped this recipe.
I then added in the chicken and the noodles.
I then let everything boil for about twenty minutes. I tested the broth again and determined another OXO cube was needed and let it simmer for another twenty minutes.
All in all it was decently good. On a scale of 1 being completely inedible and 10 being fantastic, I'd give it a solid 6.5. It was a decently cheap meal overall and one that would fill us up quickly plus leave plenty of leftovers. A nice fresh, crispy bread would work wonders with it. As it were I attempted some Yorkshire Puddings because my bag of pancake mix had a recipe, unfortunately we only had two rather large cake tins and the puddings became too crispy and a bit flat. So I ripped them in to pieces and used them as dunkers!
With a little alteration, absolutely would try this one again!
Now don't get me wrong, if I walked about an hour I could get to the store or if I called upon some of my family they'd drive me, but when I only need a couple of odds n' ends I can't justify an entire trip to the store.
Luckily for me I can find many things at one of the four small groceries down the road. I have a Tesco Express across from a Co-operative Food which is just down from a Nisa which is on the same side of the road from this dark, creepy place called 'The Shop.' I don't happen to like The Shop merely because it has poor lighting and seems to attract the less desirable in the neighbourhood. Interesting how it's the closest food place to us.
So I had a bit of a hankering for Chicken Noodle Soup, specifically this recipe from Food.com. The chicken itself was an interesting find as I had to scour the frozen section of Tesco, and despite my husband telling me that this store may not have plain, frozen chicken breasts, I was not to be deterred. I did find a small bag plus the carrots and celery but everything else was a bit of a pain to find. The recipe called for egg noodles, which we found but were very like ramen noodles in shape; it also called for potatoes and unless we wanted a giant bag we'd never get through, I decided to use tinned potatoes that I knew we already had in the cupboard. I was not able to locate poultry seasoning which I think would have given the recipe the needed boost nor was I able to find chicken broth, but the husband had OXO cubes in chicken so that was going to have to do.
Before anything else I washed the vegetables in warm water and prepared my surfaces for cooking. I got together everything I would need for the recipe so I wouldn't go hunting for them later.
 |
| I did not end up using much of the parsnip or any of that thingy behind the chicken. |
I started with cooking the chicken on the hob (stove) in some butter.
 |
| I was limited to how much soup I could make in one go due to the pot on the left being the largest in the house. |
Next I began sautéing the onion in the pot followed closely by the carrots and celery. After that I followed the recipe as closely as I could and added in the remainder of the ingredients including the potatoes. I then added water and the OXO cubes. I do still think the poultry seasoning and the chicken broth would have immensely helped this recipe.
 |
| I heard an old wives' tale once that placing a wooden spoon over a boiling pot would prevent it from boiling over. |
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| The egg noodles were extremely cheap, coming out to about £2 for two bags. |
I then let everything boil for about twenty minutes. I tested the broth again and determined another OXO cube was needed and let it simmer for another twenty minutes.
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| The finished product! |
All in all it was decently good. On a scale of 1 being completely inedible and 10 being fantastic, I'd give it a solid 6.5. It was a decently cheap meal overall and one that would fill us up quickly plus leave plenty of leftovers. A nice fresh, crispy bread would work wonders with it. As it were I attempted some Yorkshire Puddings because my bag of pancake mix had a recipe, unfortunately we only had two rather large cake tins and the puddings became too crispy and a bit flat. So I ripped them in to pieces and used them as dunkers!
With a little alteration, absolutely would try this one again!