Prepping for the Winter Chill.

Tis the season! Tis the cold and flu season that is, and while flu shots are available at doctor offices and pharmacies, not so for colds. What to do to battle a cold; why chicken soup of course! Chicken soup is comfort food and a folklore cure for whatever ails you. In 2007, the University of Nebraska analyzed research studies to find that chicken soup's medicinal properties were "inconclusive". You ask anyone who doesn't feel well, depressed, tired or just all around blah; they'll tell you to take all the research and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Here in Monticello, Utah the weather has finally taken a turn towards the cold; several times it has gotten very windy, darkly clouded over and snow was anticipated. Then my son calls me up one day and says, "Mom, I don't feel well, you have anything I could eat?" Regretfully I had no chicken soup made, but he said that my Paella made him feel so much better; he did a three hour workout at the local gym. Well of course it would, it had chicken in it!  Anyway, I took no further chances, decided to make soup and took out a container of chicken stock from the freezer.   

Homemade Chicken Stock is an essential main ingredient for this soup; you want all the richness of flavor from the chicken, vegetables and seasonings, cooked together to create perfection. When I say "chicken carcass" in the recipe, basically you want to buy a whole chicken, remove the legs, thighs and breasts; what is left is what goes into the soup pot and remove as much skin as you can too.   

Why make your own stock?  You know exactly what is in the stock, it’s clear, not cloudy because of preservatives added in.  When making your stock, besides the bird carcass, you'll be adding in the "holy trinity" of cooking: carrots, celery and onion.  With the onion, leave the skin on to add a more golden color to the stock; it will all be strained later on, so no need to worry about onion skin floating in it.  I also add salt, ground black pepper and cloves of garlic for aroma and taste; so when making soup later on, be careful adding more of these ingredients.  Taste!!!  You can always add, but you can't take away if you add too much before tasting.

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up fast, remember to keep the turkey carcass (leave a little meat on) and transform it into a wonderfully roasted turkey stock.  The carcass can be wrapped in plastic, placed into a freezer bag and frozen for later use, but don’t go past three months.  You don’t use it, you’ll lose it! 

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lbs. of chicken carcass (legs, thighs and breasts removed)

3 large celery ribs, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large leek, washed thoroughly and chopped; include most of the green section as well

2 medium onions, unpeeled, but remove the root end

1 (8 oz.) container whole mushrooms; dirt brushed off

6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

2 whole bay leaves

1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns

1 Tbsp. Kosher salt

5 quarts cold water

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot (10-12 quart); bring to a boil on high heat and skim off any frothy residue. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 hours. 

Secure cheese cloth inside a large plastic bowl and strain the stock into the bowl; discard all the solid material captured in the cheese cloth.  Place the plastic bowl inside the freezer for one hour; the fat will solidify and then can be easily removed.   The stock is now ready to be used, can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Makes about 4 1/2 quarts.

Now for the Chicken Noodle Soup itself; personally I use only the meat from the breasts; the legs and thighs I save for other recipes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4 qts. of turkey, chicken or combination of both stocks

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1 cup diced red bell pepper

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; trim off fat

Pinch of salt and ground black pepper

1 tsp. crushed, dried thyme leaves

12 to 16 oz. homestyle egg noodles (dependent on how much noodles you like in your soup)

Preparation:

Add the stock, onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper to a tall stock pot; set on medium heat to begin simmering.

In a large pan, add the chicken, cover with water and set on medium-high heat.  Let cook for 10 minutes, any fat will foam at the top; rinse off chicken and cut into 1 inch pieces.  In a large skillet, medium-high heat, sauté the chicken pieces until no pink is showing.  Sprinkle the salt, black pepper and thyme leaves during the cooking; mix well.

Add the chicken, and any juices in the skillet, to the stock pot.  Turn the heat up to high and bring the soup to a boil.  Add the egg noodles; they will be ready once they plump up and double in length; about 15 to 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and serve in bowls.

Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour

A Chicken in Every Pot.

Tis the season! Tis the cold and flu season that is, and while flu shots are available at doctor offices and pharmacies, not so for colds. What to do to battle a cold; why chicken soup of course! Chicken soup is comfort food and a folklore cure for whatever ails you. In 2007, the University of Nebraska analyzed research studies to find that chicken soup's medicinal properties were "inconclusive". You ask anyone who doesn't feel well, depressed, tired or just all around blah; they'll tell you to take all the research and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Here in Monticello, Utah the weather has finally taken a turn towards the cold; several times it has gotten very windy and darkly clouded over and snow was anticipated. Then my son calls me up one day and says, "Mom, I don't feel well, you have anything I could eat?" Regretfully I had no chicken soup made, but he said that my Paella made him feel so much better; he did a three hour workout at the local gym. Well of course it would, it had chicken in it!  Anyway, I took no further chances and decided to make soup for him; some for my friend Heidi whose allergies were acting up due to the wood burning stoves, and freeze some in case it was needed at a later time.

Now when making soup, there is the quick method, like with my Chicken Tortellini Soup which uses mostly canned and frozen items. Then there is the slower method using freshly made stock, freshly diced vegetables and chicken breasts which are sauteed with seasonings. With this blog post, we're going with the slower method of making chicken soup.

The stock I used was a mixture of turkey and chicken stocks that I had made with the carcasses of previously roasted birds.  Granted, the stock was then frozen after being prepared, but it was still freshly made in my kitchen and by my own hands; not some food factory machine.  I knew exactly was in that stock and it was a clear stock, not cloudy because of preservatives added in.  When making your stock, besides the bird carcass, you'll be adding in the "holy trinity" of cooking: carrots, celery and onion.  With the onion, leave the skin on if you want a more golden color to your stock; it will all be strained later on, so no need to worry about onion skin in your stock.  I also add salt, ground black pepper and cloves of garlic for aroma and taste; so when making soup later on, be careful adding more of these ingredients.  Taste!!!  You can always add, but you can't take away if you add too much before tasting.

The pasta I used for the soup was old fashioned, homestyle egg noodles.  They are longer and thicker than the curvy egg noodles used for a side dish to stroganoffs or stews.  The noodles plump up and elongate once they are ready to eat.

Now this recipe is a bit of work, but so definitely worth it; now lets get to it.

 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4 qts of turkey, chicken or combination of both stocks
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup diced red bell pepper
5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; trim off fat
pinch of salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp crushed, dried thyme leaves
12 to 16 oz homestyle egg noodles (dependent on how much noodles you like in your soup)

Preparation:

Add the stock, onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper to a tall stock pot; set on medium heat to begin simmering.

In a large pan, add the chicken, cover with water and set on medium-high heat.  Let cook for 10 minutes, any fat will foam at the top; rinse off chicken and cut into 1 inch pieces.  In a large skillet, medium-high heat, saute' the chicken pieces until no pink is showing.  Sprinkle the salt, black pepper and thyme leaves during the cooking; mix well.

Add the chicken, and any juices in the skillet, to the stock pot.  Turn the heat up to high and bring the soup to a boil.  Add the egg noodles; they will be ready once they plump up and double in length; about 15 to 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and serve in bowls.


Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour

R & F Restaurant is Welcomed Comfort.

R & F Restaurant

149 East Center Street (Route 491)
Monticello, Utah, 84535

(435) 587-2440

Website: N/A

After reading many reviews online, I was a bit hesitant about having a meal in this local establishment. However, I wouldn't be very useful at restaurant reviews if I just went by what others wrote. Camera and reading material in bag, off to R & F I went to get my own conclusions.

As I was walking up to R & F's door, I was greeted cheerily by employees standing outside; and even had the door opened for me. My hostess and waitress was Fana; and if you want to feel like a little kid in grandma's kitchen, she'll oblige you with a smile. Now I could have been a tourist passing through or a local dining alone, the employees there didn't know, but they treated me very, very well.



The interior is reminiscent of an old time country kitchen and that decor is intentional; just like the feeling of being in grandma's kitchen. The entire place is clean and that includes the kitchen area which I was allowed to visit. R & F is open 7 days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner; 90% of the menu items are house made.


For dinner, I chose the Chicken Strips which came with a choice of potato, vegetable of the day and a cup of soup or a salad. I tried the soup of the day which was Chicken Noodle. A savory seasoned thick broth with old fashioned noodles, carrots and shredded chicken; a real stick to your ribs kind of soup. Just writing about it is making me crave more.



The chicken strips are coated in a mixture of flour and cornmeal; then deep fried to a crispy golden brown. At a half inch thick, the chicken was tender and juicy; it came with a spicy bbq sauce on the side, but you didn't really need it. The fries were crispy on the outside, fluffy inside and piping hot. The corn on the cob was hot, sweet and a perfect side for what I had ordered. No dessert for me; the meal I had just eaten was just right.

R & F is on Route 491 as you are going to or coming from Colorado; and if you're hungry, make sure to stop on in. There are many hotels and motels in Monticello, Utah and I hope they're giving their guests a hint about R & F. Oh, and if you're there on a Wednesday, stop on in for Mexican night; we're talking authentic Mexican cuisine. Whether you're a tourist or trucker passing through, or one of the locals; you'll feel welcomed comfort at R & F.

Mary Cokenour

Move over Chicken Noodle Soup.

Chicken Noodle soup is the classic comfort soup and cure all for anything that ails you from the common cold to depression. Not sanctioned by the American Medical Association, but what do they really know about home remedies anyway? While a huge believer in the powers of herbal and homemade remedies, this post is more about soup.

This week alone I was emailed three advertisements, from three foodie sites, and they all featured "Chicken Tortilla Soup" as the soup of the week. Surprisingly, I have not ever eaten nor made this soup before, so looked at the recipes and they were basically almost all the same ingredients and directions. Strange I thought. So I started to surf the web and look up more of this type of recipe and guess what? Either almost everyone invented this soup first, or almost everyone is copying a basic recipe and claiming it as their own. There were a few other versions here and there, but when I read the word "tortilla" in a recipe name, I expect Southwestern/Mexican flavors and ingredients. Items like carrots, brussel sprouts and edamame, or making a classic chicken noodle soup and putting slices of avocado on top, just don't do it for me,

I had already figured out my own variation on Taco Soup, and that is what I was going to base this new soup on; consider it copying myself. Going to my well stocked pantry, the soup process began and the results were quite, quite pleasing. The soup was colorful with ingredients, flavorful from the seasonings and a mild warming sensation from the chilies exemplified the essence of comfort.

The tortilla chips? I wondered about them myself, basically why put something crunchy in a soup, just so it can get soggy?  I was surprised though, the softened tortilla chips gave the illusion of noodles or dumplings enhancing the feeling of comfort overall. Oh, while I do list some possible garnishes at the end of the recipe, you'll find you don't really need them. The soup is delicious as is and a garnish would just be nothing more than a decoration.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 (15 oz) can black beans, do not drain liquid
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, do not drain liquid
2 (11 oz) cans Mexican corn, do not drain liquid
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
Tortilla chips

Preparation:

Set a 6 quart crock pot on low; place inside the ingredients in order of listing. Cook for 6 hours; remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to crock pot and mix thoroughly. Line bottom of soup bowl with tortilla chips; ladle soup over chips.

Makes 10 servings.

Garnishes: sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, chopped fresh cilantro

Mary Cokenour