I have so much to tell you about in regard to chicken slippery noodle soup! The first thing is of course to explain what the heck a slippery noodle is, and I think you will be overjoyed to hear that it is like a regular noodle and a dumpling got married and had a baby. It’s a thick noodle that cooks up in the chicken soup, absorbing all that delectable chicken soup flavor until it is soft and pillowy and perfect. And don’t worry if you’ve never seen slippery noodles in your supermarket, because you make them yourself, and no fear…it’s super easy! The second thing I have to tell you about has nothing to do with soup and everything to do with gardens, although there is a vague soup connection, because you know me. It always leads back to supper. Ah, supper. Let’s make it!
So, this all started with going out with my mama on a Garden Conservancy tour.
The Garden Conservancy (I learned from my mama) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving exceptional private gardens. It was founded by Francis Cabot, who created some amazing gardens of his own, and they have helped preserve everything from the gardens at Alcatraz to the gorgeous Long Vue House gardens that were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. They also have Open Days throughout the country where you can visit beautiful small gardens that are in your area. My mama and I went to see two of them this weekend…both were at private homes where the owners had turned their back yards into garden paradises.
Little winding stone paths, natural branch arbors, and more rustic and beautiful plants than you could count. My mama knew the names of all of them.
I particularly loved this one…in this garden, a dead tree was painted blue and turned into a spectacular bird feeder. The amazing creativity and care that went into these gardens was just incredible. If you are interested in visiting any of the Open Days gardens in your area, click here for more info. It was a lovely, dreamy way to spend a couple of hours.
So where’s the soup connection? Well, even though we are smack in the middle of May, the weather here has been a little chilly. We get teased with sunny and 75 for a day here and there, and then we go back to 62 and cloudy, and the garden tour day was one of those. Which in my book is perfect weather for chicken slippery noodle soup! For this soup, I rely on already cooked chicken (either leftovers or a rotisserie chicken) and already made really good chicken broth (I like the Pacific and Imagine brands in the box. So good.) This way I can spend all my time making the all-important slippery noodles, and by all my time I mean the 10 minutes is takes me to mix up some flour, vegetable oil, water and salt into an easy dough, roll it out and cut it into nice fat noodles. You are going to bring your broth to a simmer, drop in some carrots and shallot and those noodles and simmer them up until both the veggies and the noodles are tender. Stir in the chicken, season it to your liking and voila!
The only issue is that it may be very, very hard to go back to regular old chicken noodle soup. #SorryNotSorry
PrintChicken Slippery Noodle Soup
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 5 cups chicken broth (I like the Pacific and Imagine varieties)
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the noodles
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make the noodles by mixing together the flour, water, oil and salt until it forms a stuff dough. Roll it out (I usually do this on a silicone mat) until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a paring knife, cut the dough into strips about 2 inches by 1 inch.
- Put the broth and the poultry seasoning into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the veggies, and then the noodles. Simmer until the veggies and the noodles are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken and season the broth to taste with salt and pepper. Let the soup stand off the heat for about 5 minutes to heat the chicken through, then serve.
What a nice day you had with your Mama. I love gardens and always wish I could make a backyard sanctuary like the gardens you visited. I am always astounded by the creativity, planing and know-how these people have to turn an ordinary or wooded parcel of land into something extraordinary! After walking around in the cool weather, it sounds like your slippery noodle chicken soup hit the spot. It sounds and looks wonderful.
The gardens were truly amazing – people are so incredibly creative. You should check out the Garden Conservancy gardens where you live – it’s such a lovely way to spend the day! :)
Love the bowl!! I’d love to try to make the noodles. The recipe sounds delicious. You’re so lucky to have your Mamma to take such a lovely trip with.
I got the bowl on the sale table at Anthroplogie – I always find the nicest pottery there! And yes, I am so lucky to be able to spend so my time with my beautiful mama! :)
What a great story. And such a beautiful garden!
And I’ve never had a slippery noodle, but it sounds like the best hybrid food ever!
Oh Mir – you HAVE to try slippery noodles ASAP! They are the best. :)
What a creative soup, Kate! I love the mashup of noodles and dumplings. Chicken noodle is a classic and it’s one of my favorites. Just perfect!
I’ve never heard of a ‘slippery noodle’ before but if it is a combo of a regular noodle and dumpling, then it must be delicious! And who doesn’t like a big bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup? Yum!
Loved spending that afternoon with you, Kate!
Is it possible to have a craving for something you’ve never had before? Because I simply must try these slippery noodles ASAP! And this soup is definitely perfect after a chilly day outside wandering through gardens. How lovely!
Good morning Kate!
So…. Your slippery noodles are the version of what my mother from Texas made… Which were their dumplings!
Her mama before that. I grew up with this wonderful, cure what ails you, dish. She would boil the chicken so there was white and dark meat and then I would watch as she made, cut and dropped those heavenly pieces of dough into the boiling goodness.
I think I am going to have to make some. I love this quicker version for sure.
What a beautiful day with your mama. Gonna check out something in my area.
Hoping all is well in your world and that life is being kind<3…sending hugs from CA
Those gardens look like paradise. It would be wonderful to turn your yard into something like that!
This soup looks wonderful! This is some serious comfort food. Plus making noodles is a blast!
The Garden Conservancy sounds like a wonderful organization and those gardens you showed look beautiful! Nothing quite as pretty as a lush garden! I have never heard of a slippery noodle, so thank you for introducing me! Noodle meets dumpling?! Now that’s something I want to devour! This soup looks seriously delicious, Kate!! I could certainly slurp a few bowls of these right about now. Cheers to a beautiful holiday weekend, friend! xo
Great gardens! And I am saving your recipe for the slippery noodles, it is nice to have something different than the regular semolina dumplings in our chicken soup from time to time.
They were pretty much dumplings where I grew up in So Ill. My mom said my grandmother often called them slickers. Ours are made with broth instead of water and oil, which is rather “the same difference” though. My older daughter got the dumpling gene and it’s a good thing as this just made me terribly hungry for them.
Wow! Sounds like you had such an awesome day with your Mom. My daughter loves chicken soup and I sure she will love this one with added noodles. Lovely share!
Oh gosh, garden paradise indeed! Love that you were able to explore not one, but two incredible private gardens through the Garden Conservancy. Also, how cute are you with your mama? ;)
Thanks for introducing us to slippery noodles! These look incredible. Hope you have an enjoyable weekend, friend. Pinning! xo