Sunday Dinner

I love Sundays, mostly because of Sunday dinner. Sunday dinner was one of my favorite things growing up, and I'm trying to instill that into my girls as well. It was always a time to get together as a family, and enjoy a meal that we wouldn't have time for during the busy week. 

For this Sunday, then, I thought I would share a few things. First, some pictures of my family.  Here is my hubby, J. This shot was taken while we were fishing up in Cascade last fall.

Next, a picture of our oldest daughter, B.  Here she's been working on a jigsaw puzzle with her dad.

 And this is our youngest daughter, D. Yes, she is usually this crazy. But, gosh, she's fun!

 So, since I'm such a fan of Sunday dinners, here's what we have planned for today. The oldest had requested beef stew, but of course she made that request after we had returned from the grocery store. So I hadn't gotten any stew meat. But I always have chickens in the freezer. So we're having one of my all time favorite Sunday dinners. Chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes. Yes, noodles and mashed potatoes. Carb overload!!  
First, for the chicken:

• 1 chicken, approx 2-3 pounds
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 3 celery stalks, cut into chunks
• 1 onion, unpeeled and cut into quarters
• 1 head garlic, unpeeled and cut in half
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 20 stems fresh parsley (or sub 1 tablespoon dried)
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme (or sub 1 teaspoon dried)

Place chicken into bottom of stock pot. Add remaining ingredients and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat to medium low and simmer until chicken is tender and falling from bone. Usually takes around an hour on my stove.
Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool until able to handle and shred. Discard carcass. Strain stock and return to pot. Bring to a boil to cook noodles (recipe to follow). Cook noodles in simmering stock for approximately 20 minutes, returning chicken to pot when about 5 minutes remain. With homemade noodles, the flour will help to thicken the stock until the consistency is almost to a gravy. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with homemade mashed potatoes (will post a recipe if needed-let me know!)

 Making the chicken

 Chicken and noodles in the pot

All finished!