This is what I love.

It’s Sunday night, the busy weekend has concluded, the kids are bathed, the baby is sleeping, it’s 7:30 and I’m already in my jammies. I sit down to analyze my week’s calendar, realize it’s crazier than usual, and commence panicking about food.

Because I only made a brief stop at the grocery store this morning for diapers and milk and cereal, I know that I’m going to have to be creative, and I’m going to have to plan ahead, if we are to eat anything but pizza or fast food this week. At 7:30 on Sunday night, what is a girl to do?

A girl makes homemade chicken and noodles, that’s what she does.

Almost any day of the week, any week, you can find the following in my house: a frozen chicken carcass, some random vegetables (always onion, celery, and carrot — I get nervous if I can’t make the mirepoix at a moment’s notice), eggs, flour, chicken and potatoes. I mean, they are virtually ALWAYS in the house.

So on Sunday night, I threw my chicken carcass in a pot with some veggies, whipped up some egg noodles with the last few eggs in the refrigerator, and pulled out a chicken to throw in the crock pot in the morning before work. The prep on that was about 10 minutes.

If you are not making chicken and noodles from scratch, change your ways. It is so inexpensive, so soul-nourishing, and, really, so easy.

Begin by putting together your stock. Stock recipes are as many as the stars in the sky. Here’s the truth to all of it: it doesn’t matter. If you start with a chicken carcass, add herbs, salt and vegetables, and cook slowly. IT WILL BE GOOD.

On this particular Sunday, this is what I had on hand, so this is the “recipe” of the day.

Sunday Night Chicken Stock
1 chicken carcass
1/2 red onion
4 stalks celery, chopped into large hunks
1 cup baby carrots
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
Cracked black pepper
Handful of fresh thyme sprigs

Fill a large stock pot halfway with water, add all the above ingredients, bring to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer, on VERY low, and cook for 3 to 8 hours. I just go ahead and reduce my heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer it all night long if I can.

When it’s done, strain it into a large container to seal and save for later, or just go ahead and make your dinner right that minute.

For the noodles:

My “recipe” goes something like this: plop a mound of flour on the countertop, stir in eggs and salt until you get the right consistency.

I realize that is not satisfying to many cooks, so I will try to be more specific.

Homemade Egg Noodles
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chicken stock or water (if necessary)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put the flour on the countertop and sprinkle on the salt (or in a bowl, if you must — I just like to avoid dirty dishes), make a little hole in the center of the mound, and crack in an egg. Use a fork to incorporate the flour into the egg. Crack another egg, repeat. If it is too dry to form into a ball, add a little broth or water.

I usually eventually get my hands dirty and bring it all together, and then I let it rest for a few minutes before I roll it out. Somehow, it just behaves better if you do.

In this case, I made the dough and put it in an airtight container to roll out and make into noodles the next day.

When you’re ready, sprinkle a little flour on the countertop and roll out your dough. I use a pizza cutter to slice it into 1/2 inch-wide ribbons. Let the noodles dry anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour before you drop them in your hot soup.

For the chicken
Note: You can use breasts, parts, a whole chicken or whatever you have around. I usually prefer to do a whole chicken if I have it, because I like to have that carcass in the freezer for stock.

1 whole chicken
4 cups water
2 cups chicken broth or stock
Salt and pepper

Cover your chicken liberally in salt and pepper. Plop it in the slow cooker and surround it with water and broth. Cook on high for 7 or 8 hours.

Let the chicken cool, and remove the meat from the bones. Put the bones in a freezer bag and tuck them away for use another day.

When it’s time to put it all together, warm your stock to almost boiling, and add in some chopped onion, celery and carrots. While those cook and get soft, roll out and cut up your noodles.

Add the chicken and the noodles, and simmer so it all thickens. If the noodles don’t provide enough thickening agent, you can whip up a little mixture of water and corn starch and stir it in.

I like to add some extra herbs to the pot, but my family doesn’t prefer that. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. And if you are in Kansas, you are required to serve this over whipped mashed potatoes, so get started peeling those suckers.

While this seems like a lot of steps, it all happens very quickly and simply. It didn’t stress me out at all on a Sunday night to put together the basics of this meal. In fact, I loved it. I love knowing that I can put together something wholesome, delicious and handmade for my family to enjoy even if I’m having a busy week and not home as much as I’d like to be.

It is so worth the few extra minutes on Sunday night.