How I love to make Stock!

Monday we had thunderstorms all day long and Tuesday morning I noticed new green grass is sprouting!!!! Yes, it is finally here...Spring has sprung in Northern Illinois!

In between down pours and flashes of lightning, I made chicken stock. My entire house smelled wonderful. I thoroughly enjoy making stocks and chicken stock was the very first thing I made in my new kitchen.

Does this look yummy or what!



I don't really use a recipe to make my stocks and the amount made depends entirely on how many bones, carcasses and wings I have. Also I add 4-5 chicken feet which make the stock very rich and add a gorgeous color! I put all the wings, feet and bones in my stock pot and add enough water to cover everything.

Also included in the stock:

1-2 Yellow Onions, quartered
2-3 carrots, cut into 3-4" lengths
3-4 ribs of celery, cut into 3-4" lengths
1 lemon, quartered
Handful of parsley
Sometimes I add a little dry white wine

Simmer the stock for about 3 hours or until the meat is completely and thoroughly falling off the bones. Then I lift out the strainer and quickly cool the stock. I fill my kitchen sink with cold water and ice cubes and put the entire stock pot in the sink. This cools down the stock quickly and helps to avoid any contamination.


If it's winter, I just put the stock pot in a snow bank.

While the stock is cooling I label and date all the zip lock bags.


When the stock is cool which just takes a few minutes, I use a 1 c. measure to ladle the stock into zip lock bags, 2 c. per bag.

Lay the zip lock bags on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer. When the bags are totally frozen, they stack nicely and take up far less room in the freezer.



Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe developed in the kitchen of Big Black Dog

Since I had all this chicken stock I decided to make some Chicken Noodle Soup with homemade noodles. My pasta maker was damaged in our last move and I was so upset. It was no longer being produced and I just loved that machine. I looked on the internet and recently found the exact same machine on Ebay and I bought it for $.99! Wow, when it came it was still in it's original box and had rarely ever been used. I was thrilled and very lucky!!


Noodle or Pasta Dough

2 c. semolina flour
2 large eggs, whipped until creamy
1 tsp EVOO
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL water

Put semolina flour in your pasta machine and turn on machine. In a separate glass measuring cup whip eggs with a fork and add EVOO, water and salt. Now, gradually add, in a thin stream, the egg mix to the semolina flour. Semolina flour will get grainy similar to pie dough. Follow pasta machine instructions.

I minced up some fresh basil to add to the semolina flour mix, a suggestion from my friend Lucy, and I cranked up the ol' machine. It is so much fun making pasta! Just watching the noodles being extruded is fascinating!





While heating up the broth, I added garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper and the fresh noodles one by one. And it was delicious!





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