Tony Noodle Soup AND Oven Roasted Asparagus

My wife calls it Tony Noodle Soup, but it's not something that I really came up with. When I was a child, my mother read a book to me called The Bunnies Get Well Soup. I think it was one of those books with the golden foil on the book's spine -  A Goldenback® Book. Anyway, in this story, Momma Bunny's brats are sick, and her pantry is nearly empty, so she sets off to go buy like only one more ingredient, since that's all she can afford. On the way, one of her neighbor's like a squirrel or something, asks her what's up, and she's all like "My kids is sick, yo! I gots'ta get me some mo veggies, son! Believe dat!" or something to that effect. So the neighbor graciously offers what ever vegetables he can spare, and Momma Bunny continues on her way. this process is repeated until the whole town has shared their foodstuffs with her, and she makes one bombastic soup. Every one gets to have some, all the little baby bunnies get better, and there's a crap-ton of leftovers.

That's good soup!

Now I was probably supposed to learn something about sharing or caring or looking out for your neighbor or something, but instead what this taught me is that you can make a soup out of pretty much anything. And to be honest, every time I make Tony Noodle Soup, it's a little different. But I'll fill you in on today's recipe, since it was a success.




Ingredients:
Two packs of Ramen Noodles (including the seasoning packets. I mean, hey, you always have to have Ramen Noodles in your house. I never said they were good for you, or top quality noodles, or anything that a real chef would ever touch, but if you grew up in anything other than upper-class, these things were a staple in your household or dormitory.)
A bag of frozen veggies (it was corn, peas, beans, but it really doesn't matter. That's the point!)
Six sliced carrots
A dozen peeled and halved white pearl onions
A "good"* amount of the following:

• oregano
• parsley
• basil
• sage
• rosemary
• thyme
• seasoning salt
• Chicken stock -OR- chicken or beef bullion

And finally, and this totally optional, chicken breast. But, it doesn't have to be chicken breast. One time I used, I kid you not, summer sausage.


You may think "gross", but it was really good. That's why I encourage experimentation in the kitchen. Conventional wisdom would say not to put summer sausage in vegetable soup, but I did it anyway, and it rocked!

Chicken being pan fried in
 EVOO and Worcestershire

A note on the chicken: I cheated. Instead of slow cooking it for like eight hours, like a traditional chicken noodle soup, I pan-fried it. I thawed out three breasts in the microwave, cut them into bite sized peices, and then placed them in a frying pan with a little extra virgin olive oil and about a table spoon of Worcestershire sauce. (Trust me - it was good!) Once the chicken is cooked, plop it into your soup to cook with the rest of the ingredients.


Now most people out there are going to cook this until everything is turned to mush. Do yourself a favor: don't do that. Cook it until the veggies are soft, but still have a tiny little crunch or firmness to them. This is called "tender-crisp" and is the vegetable equivalent to al dente.


The main reason I'm putting this up here is because it's going to be featured on the blog Crafty Girl Squared [ Or maybe it's (Crafty*Girl)^2 or something?] and as such, I was asked to include tonight's side dish: Oven Roasted Asparagus.

To prepare the asparagus, rinse it, and then break off the stiff part of the stalks. To do this, gently bend each stalk, one at a time, while holding it with both hands as far a part from each other as possible. This ensures that the stalk will break at the natural break point, which is right where the hard part and soft part of the stalk come together. It may seem like you're wasting a lot of the plant, but trust me, the hard part is not edible. IT's left on the help preserve the soft part. And no, these things do not keep well for very long, so don't let them sit in your fridge for more than a few days.

Now that you have the stalks prepped, lay them on a cookie sheet (or stoneware plate) and coat them with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle on top some seasoning salt,and grated Parmesan (Parmigiano) or Romano cheese (spaghetti cheese.) [If you want to get really cheese crazy, use something like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago d'allevo]


Preheat the oven to 425°F, place on center rack, and cook for about fifteen minutes. Check it to see if the flavor and texture are right. It actually took me about 25 minutes, so your cooking time will vary!


ENJOY!


*Argh. I'm terrible at this whole measurement thing. My scale is usually "That's not enough." "That's a-gunna taste goood!" or "TOO MUCH! I'll try to get more precise measurements for this one day, but in the mean time, just go with your gut.


My next soup recipe will be a real recipe with real measurements and stuff! I'm going to show you how to make that tasty egg-drop soup at home.