Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes

This is another recipe from The food nanny rescues dinner. This is the first recipe I'm posting that I actually used following the recipe in the book, but I would make changes next time which is why I'm posting it. I want to write what I would do differently next time. This was pretty much like chicken noodle soup over mashed potatoes. I thought there needed to be a bit more mashed potatoes for the amount of chicken and noodles that the recipe made. I also thought it could use a bit more flavor. Even the author of the book says that "this dish does not have a burst of flavor; the salt and pepper make it flavorful." Very true. I added pepper, and it was good, but not great. If doing this again, I would probably add some onion or something to the noodle mixture. I also tried her egg noodle recipe, I don't think I added enough flour, or had my surface well enough floured. I prefer my mom's way of doing the noodles. I'll add her recipe below. I've also simplified the directions from the book. The author can be quite wordy to tell you to boil some potatoes and mash them.



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts - I used my precooked and skipped steps
• 4 cups chicken broth -I used stock for more flavor since I wasn't boiling my chicken in it.
• 6 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs.) peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 ounces egg noodles or homemade egg noodles
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

Directions

1. If using chicken breast, boil in broth, take out, reserve broth, cut chicken in pieces - or use precooked like I did and save a lot of time and add some barbecue flavor.
2. Boil the potatoes until tender (15-20 minutes.) Drain. mash with the butter, milk, some salt and pepper.
3. Put chicken back into broth (or add it in the first place.) Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and add noodles. Cook according to package directions or 2 to 3 minutes for homemade.
4. Mix flour and water in a small bowl until smooth. Pour in a little at a time stirring until well blended - boil for 1 minute. Add as much as desired to get teh thickeness you want. I used the full 1/2 cup because I wanted it more like a gravy to go over the mashed potatoes.
5. Stir in the peas until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve over the mashed potatoes

Egg noodles

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• dash pepper
• 1 cup flour plus additional

Directions

1. Combine eggs, milk and pepper in a small bowl. Beat with a fork.
   
2. add 1 cup flour and stir. Add more flour a little at a time until the dough holds together but is still really sticky
3. Turn dough onto floured surface and add more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. You may need as much as an additional cup.
4. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into thin strips about 3/8 inch wide and 4 inches long. As you cut noodles separate them so they don't stick together. Leave them to dry for at least 10 minutes before adding them to the broth. (I'm sure I didn't add enough flour. Mine were too sticky. They didn't stick to the rolling pin, but they stuck to the counter making it hard to separate them easily.
   

My mom's noodle recipe - not as eggy, and much simpler instructions

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• about 1 cup of flour

Directions
Combine 1 beaten egg, 2 Tablespoons milk , add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add enought flour to make a stiff dough. About 1 cup. Roll very thin on floured surface; Let stand 20 minutes. Cut with noodle cutter on in 1/4 inch strips.