They feed at the feeders and down on the ground. I wonder if they came in from the south, the north or from someone’s feeders who went south.
Many in our area are “Snow Birds” that means when the snow flies they head south. The rest wait till after Christmas to head out and then there are those of us who stay put…die hard Minnesota residents. Someone has to stay around to feed the birds.
I made homemade noodles and chicken for Saturday night supper. The ultimate comfort food. His paternal grandmother would make them often for Sunday dinner along with blueberry pie. We skipped the pie part. There was plenty left over to freeze. As I rolled and cut the noodles I was transported back to her kitchen…she threw a towel of the back of a chair and hung the noodles there to dry.
We have become lazy cooks…cook once eat at least twice…or freeze in individual servings.
Far Guy wanted to know step by step what I did with those noodles. I made them, the recipe is in any Betty Crocker Cookbook for Egg Noodles. They dried on cookie sheets. I cooked up chicken thighs in a roaster pan in the oven while taking a nap. When I got up, I boiled the noodles for about 20 plus minutes in a Dutch Oven half full of water. Far Guy shredded the chicken and took out bones, sockets and veins…I hate veins in chicken meat. Then I drained the noodles and added the chicken and it’s broth…and brought it all to a simmer. Delish…almost as good as his grandma used to make.
I'm making chicken soup today and hadn't thought of making homemade noodles but that's just what I'm going to do! I think the smell of chicken soup cooking is one if the best smells ever.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice photo of the little redpoll. That little pop of color on their heads is fun to see in the dead of winter.
Hi Connie, I've been meaning to tell you how I love your new header photo. John's grandma made her own noodles and he talks about how good they were. That's something I've never tried, but your recipe sounds delish.
ReplyDeleteOver the years, I've shared lots of pictures of my niece's border collie mix rescue dog. He passed away yesterday after a long illness. I believe he was 14.
I hope you and FG are feeling better. You are smart to make enough food to freeze or have leftovers. I have gotten where I hate to cook! lol
I'm with you on the cook and freeze routine. It has been especially helpful lately. Homemade noodles, yum! Your banner pix are lovely. The birdfeeders look awesome in that photo!
ReplyDeleteI hope you eat as well as the Redpolls!
ReplyDeleteHave you discovered crockpots yet? It is an easy way to make food and even though you are not away from home all day, it is good to put something on in the morning and let it cook all day and you have your supper and leftovers. We do a lot of crockpot cooking here with two working outside the home.
ReplyDeleteShirley H.
Oh yes we use the crockpot to simmer soups! Those Reynolds liners are wonderful and make clean up a breeze:)
DeleteWe rarely had redpolls this far south but it happens every so often. We sometimes head up to Sax-Zim for our Canadian winter bird fix...:)
ReplyDeleteMy mother made noodles all the time - just as you described, right down to the towel on the chair. Homemade noodles are the BEST!
ReplyDeleteMaking it together makes it even better.
ReplyDeleteHomemade is the best!The Bennie is making chili today.
ReplyDeleteI have never made homemade noodles! That doesn't sound like 'lazy" cooking to me.
ReplyDeleteMaking soup in winter is a good thing.
That's not lazy cooking, that's smart cooking. I made a big pot of chili last night. Meals for several days. If we like something, we don't mind eating it day after day:) Never get around to freezing it because it is easier to just keep eating it rather than having to cook something new. Last time I made it I had a different chili powder from the usual one, that had run out. 2 tbsps of powder made it unbearably hot. I had to cook up a whole other batch to add to it so we could eat it. This time I only put 3/4 tsp chili powder in and it was just right. We are wimps in the 'heat' department.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is smart cooking - - - - you could have written the cookbook on it since it is advocated in many time-saving articles now!
ReplyDeleteI think of Redpolls as our snowbirds.....they stay all winter but I've yet to get a decent photo of one. Your's is great. I'm making turkey soup this afternoon....but not the noodles.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how birds suddenly show up at your feeder.We wonder why. You've got some good suggestions.
ReplyDeleteMy maternal Grandma made chicken and noodles, too. She dried them sprinkled across floursack towels on the kitchen counter. But when you said about the kitchen towels across the backs of chairs--I know I had seen that when I was a kid! So she must have done that, too. I have never attempted homemade noodles. I admire you. :)
ReplyDeleteTo the best of my knowledge I have never seen a Redpoll. I love adding new birds to my life list but it has been some time since I have done that.
ReplyDeleteBoy that does sound good to me. And I agree with what you posted on blog this morning: Far Guy has been through hell and back and he still has a wonderful sense of perspective. The two of you are some of my favorite people, including all the "skin" friends I have too! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my grandmother would kill the oldest hen in the pen and make chicken and noodles. I couldn't deal with the creation most of my life because of the excess fat. When we all started using fresh chicken I do now like homemade soup. I guess watching the whole process of preparing the chicken really shut me down on the food. I did eat it as I would starve if I didn't. When I became an adult I stopped eating any of it for many years. Today, I am the one who cuts up the whole chicken and I am ok with that.
ReplyDeleteOh these little birdies are soo cute we haven't seen any here but we have been getting the Pine Siskins by the truck load at the thistle feeders which they are also very cute . Lovely photo and post all sounds YUMMY ! oh we are blueberry pie lovers here for sure lol ! Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteThe noodle dish sounds wonderful. Homemade noodles are a labor of love.
ReplyDeleteI guess that makes us permanent snow birds...we left and never went back!
ReplyDeleteYeah, cook once, eat twice is great. With a freezer, we're working on cook once, eat six or seven times. Nothing like a little efficiency in the kitchen.
OMG you made homemade egg noodles?! I'll be right over!!! heehee Gotta love those old Betty Crocker cookbooks too - you made me remember the time I was in MN and went and visited the Betty Crocker kitchens. It was soooo cool! Still have the cookbooks I bought there too. The redpolls arrived here about 2 weeks ago as well. They are favorite of mine, not as dull looking as all the finches are. Happy New Year miss!
ReplyDeleteThose home made noodles sound delicious! Yes, we stick around to feed the birds too (but winters aren't near as bad in Oregon as they are in Minnesota!)
ReplyDeleteOh yum, my mom used to make homemade noodles too. I make the Spaetzle noodles or dumpling to go with our chicken.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds delish! Pure comfort food!
ReplyDelete