Whole Roasted Crockpot chickens and Homemade Chicken & Noodles

**I find it easier to actually roast 2 whole chickens in a crockpot earlier in the week before making my chicken and noodles.  I put balls of foil in the bottom of the crockpot to keep it from boiling in its own juices.  I have a large crockpot that will comfortably fit 2 whole roasters.  I simply rub with a zesty seasoning salt, put them on top of the balls of foil, and let it cook on low all day while I'm at work.  Have roast chicken as your main dish that night, then save the broth and rest of chicken for your noodles.  Sometimes, I have enough chicken left for chicken quesadillas or chicken salad too.


Noodles:

2 cups all purpose flour
3 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/3 - 1/2 c water
Additional flour to roll out noodles

Mix flour and eggs together.  Add water until dough is firm, but not too sticky.

Rolling them out:  Use lots of flour!!  Back when I first started making my own noodles, I rolled them out on my flat stovetop with a rolling pin and cut them with a pizza cutter.  If you have a kitchenaid mixer, they have an attatchment that rolls your noodles.  I finally splurged a few years ago and got one!

As you finish rolling them, put them back in your mixing bowl.  Toss occassionally to keep them from sticking to each other. 

Broth:  Scoop the fat off the chicken broth that you saved from the crockpot chicken.  Put the broth in a large pot and add 1/2 as much water.  If you did not make chicken in the crockpot, you can use 4 cans of broth and 2 cans of water.  Bring this to a boil.  When boiling, drop small handfuls of noodles in.. stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to medium/medium high and cook to desired tenderness.  After I add my noodles, I add my leftover cooked chicken.

I always think these taste better on the second day... over some instant mashed potatoes... YUM!

Stuffed Green Peppers (Recipe from Allrecipes.com - Original Cook: Suzanne M. Munson)

I've been wanting to make some stuffed green peppers for Jason.  Looking to allrecipes.com, I found this great recipe.  I did modify it a little by using diced tomatoes in place of the whole ones.  Verdict?  Delicious!

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• salt to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce.

    3.  Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.

    4.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.

    5.  Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Inspired

I was inspired by Courtney Dyar to post some of what's cookin' in my house!  Her enthusiasm to use the crockpot and my need to make something quick are the key idea to my blog.

So stay tuned... more to come from my kitchen.......