It’s hard to believe I’ve been retired now for almost 14 months, and I have only posted a little over half a dozen recipes to this blog. I need to step up my game, including by learning how to upload and post photos, how to post just the recipes without all the background blah, blah, blah and how to organize the recipes into categories for easy reference. That’s a lot of New Year’s resolutions, which I will tackle “bird by bird,” beginning with posting more.
What better way to celebrate the New Year and get a start on my resolutions than by posting the recipe for your Great-Grandmother Hallie Spalding’s homemade chicken noodle soup, along with some optional variations to the original recipe. Your Great-Grandmother was born Hallie Viola Spunaugle in Clarinda, Iowa in 1909. She married your Great-Grandfather Ernest (Ernie) Clifford Spalding in 1931, and they raised a family of six children, including your Grandfather, Gary Spalding, in Waseca, Minnesota. I understand from Aunt Nancy that some of the Spunaugle tribe still live in and around the Clarinda area and own a restaurant, where this family chicken noodle soup recipe is regularly featured; so it must date to Hallie’s mother (who would be your Great-Great-Grandmother), Mary Ethel Filley-Spunaugle, born in 1888. It’s impossible to say how far back the culinary history of this family recipe stretches. For all I know, the recipe was passed down to Great-Great-Grandma Ethel from her mother (or mother-in-law), and so on.
This dish was a favorite, and was frequently served, when I visited Grandma and Grandpa Spalding. It’s a great meal to stretch your food dollar and feed a crowd (which six children and a subsequent horde of grandchildren constitute), or lay in a few easy meals for the coming week. And it is the ultimate Spunaugle/Spalding-family comfort food. My Mom learned to make this chicken soup from Hallie, soon after she and my Dad married. And it was an often-requested birthday dinner during my childhood. I recommend making this dish on a weekend, as it does take some time.
Ingredients
For the soup:
1 whole chicken, giblets removed
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 4″ pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 4″ pieces
1 large yellow or white onion, peeled and quartered
1-2 Tbsp salt
1-2 tsp pepper
For the noodles:
3 cups all purpose flour
5 eggs
1 tsp salt
Instructions
Place the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Add water to cover. Boil for 1-1.5 hours, depending on the size of your chicken. I find 1 hour is generally enough. If you’re unsure about doneness, stick a digital thermometer in the thickest part of a thigh and breast and remove the bird from the stock when it measures 165 degrees. Let the chicken cool. Once cool, debone the chicken and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Strain the stock and return it to your stock pot or dutch oven.
Mix flour, eggs and salt with a fork. If needed, add water by tablespoons until the dough holds together when pressed with your hands. If you have a stand mixer with a dough attachment, whoo hoo! If not, here is how to make the noodles by hand: With a rolling pin, roll 1/3 of the dough out as thin as you can into a rectangle. Sprinkle lightly with flour to prevent sticking and, starting from one of the long sides of your rectangle, roll the dough into a cylinder. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 1/4-1/2″ strips. Unfurl the noodles (my Mom always did this with a flick of the wrist and a smart “snap”) and lay them out on a plate or platter. Repeat with the rest of the dough, laying wax paper or parchment paper between any layers of noodles on your plate or platter.
Bring the reserved stock to a boil. Add the noodles and let boil 15-20 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot during the last five minutes of the boil. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Serve! Even better, if you can stand to wait a day, let the soup cool down, refrigerate it overnight, and reheat and serve it the next day. The sauce is thicker and tastier when it has a chance to absorb gluten from the noodles overnight.
Optional Variations
At the risk of inviting the ire of Uncle Craig (who believes messing with this family recipe is sacrilege) and the extended Spunaugle/Spalding clan, there are some variations that you might want to consider. One is to boil the chicken and vegetables in store-bought stock, rather than water, or in half stock/half water. It makes for a more flavorful broth. The other is to add matzo balls to the soup, or even substitute them for the noodles.
Matzo Ball Ingredients
1/2 cup matzo meal
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp sparkling water
Matzo Ball Instructions
Mix all matzo ball ingredients in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Bring 6 cups of well-salted water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Reduce the flame until the water is at a simmer/gently rolling boil. With wet hands, roll the matzo dough loosely into 1″ diameter balls and drop them into the simmering water as you work. They should pop to the surface. If any stick to the bottom of the pot, gently loosen them so that they float. Cover the pot and cook the matzo balls for 30-40 minutes. Spoon the matzo balls into soup bowls and add chicken stock, chicken and noodles if you also made noodles. Top with a little fresh dill.
MaeNot Favorite Recipes 