Easy Homemade Egg Noodles

2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
milk







Mix flour and salt. Stir in eggs. Add milk until a soft dough-ball forms. Turn dough out onto floured surface*. Roll flat and thin with a rolling pin. Make certain there is plenty of flour beneath the dough. Allow to air dry for about one hour. Cut the dough into strips**. Bring soup stock or salted water^ to a boil. Stir in the noodles a few at a time. Boil for 20 minutes or so.

Once again OC started eating (actually, so did I) before I could take a picture, so I hopped from my seat, grabbed the camera and snapped this:

Cooking tips:

*For easy clean up, I use waxed paper. Wipe your counter with a wet paper towel, leaving it damp (but not sloppy). Smooth the wax paper over the damp spot and it will stick to the counter. Roll your dough out on the waxed paper.

**As you can tell from the photo, I used a chef's knife to cut my dough, but only because I just moved here. Pizza cutters do an excellent job of cutting noodles. My super-sharp chef's knife sliced right through the waxed paper as well!

^Homemade noodles aren't just for soup. They can be used in any dish you would put store bought noodles in.

Fancy Tuna (or Chicken) Salad

This actually doesn't look as good as it tasted. I would have tried for a better picture, but my loving partner was impatient to eat. He snapped this for me then hustled his plate to the dinner table. However, if you think about it, that's quite an endorsement for the salad. (Note to self: Don't mention that OC hadn't eaten in almost 10 hours.)

This recipe evolved -- as many of my recipes do -- out of a lack of necessary ingredients for the salad I wanted to make. No mayo? Crap! [snatch open fridge] Oh, look! Sour cream! It's the right color. I wonder what will happen if ....

Salad:

• 1 pound bag of fancy pasta, boiled and rinsed
• 1 12-oz. can of albacore tuna (canned chicken works well, too!)
• 1/2 med. sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 cup diced or grated carrot
• 1/4 cup pickle relish (I prefer dill)
• 1/2 fresh or *frozen peas

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayo (or Miracle Whip or Sour Cream)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 2-0z jar of diced pimento with juice
• 1/4 c. dill pickle juice (if you use sweet pickles add a little more white wine)
• 2 tbs. spicy brown mustard
• 1 tsp. celery seed (or 1/4 cup fresh, thinly-sliced celery)
• 1 tbs. dried parsley
• salt & pepper to taste

Toss the fresh ingredients in a bowl. Mix the dressing and pour it over the top. Stir and chill.

**Serve on a bed of lettuce. Garnish with paprika and deviled eggs. Fresh rolls on the side would be nice.

Makes 4 generous (full meal) servings.


tips:

*I defrost the peas by putting them in the colander and draining the pasta over them.

**This salad tastes best the day after you make it. I like to put it together the afternoon before the day I serve it. (I like to, but I seldom get to.)