Dixie Grace Cooks
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
When it's COLD outside ... or you're fighting a cold, there's nothing better than homemade chicken noodle soup.
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (Springer Mountain Farms brand preferred)
- 4-5 stalks celery, stringed and diced (Include celery leaves)
- 1 large skinned and peeled sweet onion
- 1 cup shredded or minced carrots
- salt, to taste (about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 boxes chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon, Chicken Flavor
- 1 pkg. wide egg noodles (gluten free noodles can be used)
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken with cold running water and then place it inside a large stockpot. Fill stockpot with enough water to cover the chicken. Turn heat on high.
- Rinse and prepare celery, onion, and carrots. Add chopped celery (including some celery leaves), chopped onion, and minced carrot to stockpot. Add salt to taste.
- Cover stockpot and bring liquid to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Keep pot partially covered, being careful to not let liquid boil over. Cool until chicken is fully cooked, turning occasionally. Be careful not to splash hot liquid.
- Let the chicken and stock cool slightly. Carefully move chicken to a large bowl; remove skin and debone. Pull or chop chicken into bitesized pieces and add back to the pot.
- Add commercial chicken broth and bouillon to increase quantity of broth. Stir to incorporate. Put stockpot back on heat and reheat to boiling. Add noodles and cook until noodles are tender.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Tip: If you're not planning to use all of the soup at once, cook only enough noodles for each use to avoid having the noodles overly-absorb broth.
Dixie's Southern Fried Chicken
Dixie adds custom spice to her best chicken recipe.
Equipment
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
SEASONING MIXTURE
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried ground sage
- 1 tsp dried ground oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt more or less, to taste
- 1/2 tsp dried ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried ground basil
- 1/8 tsp ground cayenne more or less, to taste
FOR CHICKEN BREADING
- 1 tsp chicken seasoning (above)
- 1/2 cup general purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp yellow corn meal
CHICKEN PREP
- 1 lb. chicken Use the kind of chicken you prefer. Bone-in with skin, boneless skinless, white meat, dark meat, tenders, or a combination.
- 1 cup buttermilk Use the amount of milk it takes to cover chicken.
Instructions
To make seasoning
- Mix spices together. Seal in a glass jar. Use as needed.
To prepare chicken
- Wash chicken pieces and soak in buttermilk for several hours or overnight.
To cook chicken
- Add cooking oil or shortening to cast iron skillet. You will want to use a good amount of oil—maybe 1/2-inch, depending on the depth of your skillet—but not too much. You're frying not deep-frying. If you chose to use the deep frying method, use the proper tools, which includes a deep fryer.
- After oil has heated, add chicken pieces. Some people like to leave a lot of room between pieces, but I've always found that chicken placed single layer in the skillet and reasonably packed will brown better.
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Simply Delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
A very moist banana bread that's loaded with chocolate chips!
Equipment
- Loaf pans or bundt pan, metal is preferred
Ingredients
- 1 18.25 pkg. yellow cake mix (Make batter per package directions. Some box mixes require melted butter, eggs, and milk.)
- 2 overripe bananas
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- cooking spray
- flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare baking pan by spraying with cooking spray, then coasting lightly with 1/8 - 1/4 cup flour. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, prepare cake mix per package directions. (A gluten free yellow cake mix will work well for this recipe.)
- Mash or puree bananas. Add mashed banana and spices to cake batter. Mix well.
- Gently fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Don't overtake. Bread will be done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
- Remove from the pan while still warm. Serve warm or cold. If desired, serve with a dollar of whipped cream and/or chocolate syrup.
New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas
A side or main dish that's delicious any day!
Equipment
- crockpot
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dry black-eyed peas
- 6 oz. country ham
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- black pepper, to taste
- 4-5 cups water
Instructions
- Rinse black-eyed peas with water, place into a crockpot and cover with water. Soak overnight.
- The following morning, pour off the old water and replace with 4-5 cups fresh water. Turn crockpot to high.
- Chop country ham into bitesize pieces. Add to crockpot.
- Dice garlic and add to crockpot.
- Add ground black pepper to taste to crockpot. There's no need to add salt, because the country ham is salty.
- Wash the rosemary sprig and add it to crockpot.
- Cover crockpot with lid and turn to high. Cook peas for 5-6 hours. Check for doneness. If peas are tender, turn the crockpot to warm until you're ready to serve your meal. Remove rosemary sprig before serving.
- This dish makes a delicious side for fried chicken or pork loin, or it can be make as a meal on its own served with Thunder & Lightning (Green Tomato Relish) and a pan of hot cornbread.
Thunder & Lightning (Green Tomato Relish)
A mild green tomato relish to accent cooked beans and other savory dishes.
Equipment
- Hot water canner, rack, jars and lids
Ingredients
- 12 large green tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper purple might be fun too!
- 6 large white or yellow onions
- 1.5 Tbsp celery seed
- 1.5 Tbsp mustard seed
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 2.5 cups white sugar
- 1 cup cider vinegar
Instructions
- Sterilize enough jars and lids to hold relish. Set aside.
- Line a large colander with cheesecloth, place in sink or in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a food processor, in batches, coarsely grind tomatoes, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and then onions.
- Pour veggies into cheesecloth-lined colander and allow to drain for an hour.
- In a large, non-aluminum stockpot, combine tomato mixture with celery seed, mustard seed, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat five minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pack relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Add lids and tightly screw on rings.
- Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with boiling water. Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes.
- Remove jars from pot and place on cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Check to be sure each jar sealed.
Chocolate Gravy
Never heard of chocolate gravy? You're in for a treat! Serve over hot biscuits!
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 stick butter
- 3 cups milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan or skillet. Add about two tablespoons of dry ingredients to skillet. Add a small amount of milk. Stir until smooth. Continue alternating dry ingredients and milk, stirring to incorporate, until you've added everything.
- Once you've incorporated all of the dry ingredients milk into a smooth liquid, cook to boiling, stirring continually. Once your liquid has thickened to a gravy consistency, take off the heat and stir in vanilla.
- Serve immediately over hot biscuits.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Serve hot biscuits and chocolate gravy at breakfast, brunch or as a dessert!