regarding a lunch table discussion....

15 years ago

Someone mentioned chicken, home made noodles and gravys served over mashed potatoes.

To many of us that sounded like a nauseating over load of starch, to others, it was a common meal and now looked upon as comfort food.

Then someone said maybe it was an Iowa thing, then someone said that she grew up in Iowa and didn't ever eat such food, and another suggested it was farmers dinner...like in feed the threshers food....and another said her family ate it and never farmed and she didn't grow up in Iowa.

so...do you, or did you ever, or do you know anyone who eats chicken, gravy and noodles over mashed potatoes? And if so....where do you live?

Linda C

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Comments (57)

annie1971
15 years ago
It sounds like Amish country food to me.
caliloo
15 years ago
Way starch overload!

Tricia, my Russian grandmother never made anything remotely like that so I don't think it is a Russian thing, maybe German? Also,I'd never had Chicken and noodles/dumplings/sliders before a few months ago when I made Sharon's recipe, so I guess I grew up deprived! LOL!

FWIW, I grew up in Maine, but my parents were transplants there, 1 from NYC(immigrant family) and 1 from Europe.

Alexa
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triciae
15 years ago
Linda, Mom was PA Dutch (her family arrived in Philly in 1727 on the 'William & Sarah') & Dad was German-Russian. Maybe, that dish did travel from PA to Iowa?

/t
trudy_gw
15 years ago
Lindac....Made that meal 2 weeks ago. We had a young couple who needed to interview us for a marriage class they are taking at church. Seemed like a nice homey meal to fix. They each had seconds, and asked if we could give cooking lessons. Bless their hearts :)

We have a 'meal ministry' at church that I am part of and this is the meal that I often fix to take to the families in need of a meal. Makes a big batch so the family can have left overs.

We also do the beef and noodles with the mashed potatoes. Just as good. Of course green beans for the veggie.
I use Reame's noodles instead of making homemade, but would like to try homemade sometime when its not for company. Bruce's mom always made homemade noodles. We often had this meal for Sunday lunch when growing up.

Yes it does seem like starch overload, but to us it's a comfort food.

Any other noodle recipes out there?
Would like to try a few recipes.
cotehele
15 years ago
Not something we eat, but it is very common in Indiana. It is offered on this 'Amish' menu in Shipshewana.

Judy

Here is a link that might be useful: Menu 1st one under Platters
foodonastump
15 years ago
When I first read it I thought starch overload. But the more I think about it the better it sounds. Somehow I'm envisioning the combination of noodles and mashed potatoes working to sop up the gravy better than either of the two could alone.
shaun
15 years ago
Well, I've never eaten it, but it sounds delicious to me. I live in South Florida and always have.
shaun
15 years ago
Just need to ask, ... Perogies and gnocci - starch overload?
wizardnm
15 years ago
I'm guilty of mentioning chicken and noodles any number of times in my years on here. Definitely over mashed potatoes.

My first experience was while working for a company located in Danville IL. We would have open houses and it was requested year after year by many of the 300-400 customers that came from all over the country. Always served over mashed potatoes. I knew I could make it even better myself and it became a favorite and still is. Lots of chicken, homemade noodles and real mashed potatoes.

I don't know the history, but it was a very common dinner in central IL, which is farm country. Locals told me they grew up on it.

Another local comfort food, centered in central Indiana was beans and ham. Great Northern beans cooked with bits of ham, served in a bowl, but not to be confused with bean soup. Cornbread on the side. My first experience with that was when attending the Covered Bridge Festival centered in Nashville IN. They had huge (30-40 gal) cast iron pots they kept them hot in over a wood fire outside.

Nancy
foodonastump
15 years ago
Apparently they also eat it in Kanas - in fact the Burlingame schools are serving it for lunch on March 30.

Here is a link that might be useful: menu
teresa_nc7
15 years ago
No double starches here in my neck of the South. Heck, we don't even have mashed/other potatoes or rice with our turkey dinners for the holiday feasts.

But....I bet it would taste pretty good on a cold night. But then I would be comatose for the next 3 hours. LOL!

Teresa
dreamhouse1
15 years ago
I've lived in Texas my entire life and have never seen or heard of this combination.

My family is Greek - so for sure that wouldn't fly! I was 25 before I even knew what a dumpling was.

My husband is from a German/Irish mother raised in Mississippi and a Latin father and though she makes the best chicken & dumplings and some really good mashed potatoes, even she has never served them together and she is a very "Southern" cook with a good bit of German thrown in.

So, I don't think it's a "Southern" or "Texan" thang either.

Interesting topic.
cloudy_christine
15 years ago
Tricia, I just looked up that passenger list and I see two of my husband's ancestors on it. And maybe more!
triciae
15 years ago
cloudy christine, you've got to be kiddin' me?!!

OMG! Wouldn't that be something if we've got a common grandfather?!

/tricia
sissyfran
15 years ago
We sure do eat it in Kansas. A lot. Almost every holiday meal was homemade noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy and home canned corn all mixed together on my plate. Talk about carb overload. Of course there were many, many other dishes on the table but those were my go to with the turkey.
Several of my friends have mashed potatoes with chicken and noodle and beef and noodles with no other food in sight. It is a wonderful comfort meal. I always found it a bit much to mop up my plate with a slice of bread but my grandpa and Dad did.
maggie2094
15 years ago
Never had it or seen it here in NY. Sounds like carb heaven. Hold the chicken. lol

Speaking of double carbs...lol...whenever I make beef stew my husband always asks - "where's the noodles?". We always had beef stew as is with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion and dh always had the same over noodles. I never remember but I always say I was just getting out the pot to put the noodles on (to make him happy - lol).

oh yeah, we serve the stew with Italian Bread - ack! Carb Trifecta!...plus carrots are kindof carby...OY!size=1>
sprout26
15 years ago
Oh my gosh, my grandma used to make this and it was sooo yummy. Never set foot outside NE Arizona/SE Utah. Did have lots of mouths to feed with 10 children and hard-laboring hubby. I've tried to make it, but it just wasn't as good, everything she made had that extra something in it!
cloudy_christine
15 years ago
Tricia, you have to figure that most of the people who arrived almost three hundred years ago have thousands and thousands of descendants living now. Where I live the names are still the same, so we tend to think they stayed here, but of course there wouldn't be room! They spread out over the country. I bet lots of forum members have a Pennsylvania German ancestor without knowing it.
Oh, they're Zimmerman and Levan, by the way.
Marigene
15 years ago
Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes is very popular in this area of Kansas........I don't eat it, too much starch at one time for me; like serving a potato and rice dish at the same meal! I make it for Howard 3-4 times a year.
lindac
Original Author
15 years ago
I am blown away by the number of you from all over who eat this dish! I had never heard of such a thing before moving to Iowa, but in truth my DH's family (at least his mother) didn't make it....but I heard of it.
Truthfully, I have never eaten chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes!
Growing up in the east, we ate creamed chicken over biscuits, or chicken a la king over toast points, or chicken and mushrooms over rice....but never chicken and noodles over potatoes
BUT I love spaghetti and meatballs served with good Italian bread to wipe up the sauce, or breaded weiner schnitzel, with rosti potatoes and good German bread, or how about the all American classic of hot dog in a bun, baked beans, potato salad and coleslaw?
I think it's not the starch that bothers me....but it's just so...."white"?? LOL!
Linda C
flowergirl70ks
15 years ago
The noodles were made with yolks only, so they had a lovely yellow color, also the gravy made with a good old hen for the chicken had good color also. So it wasn't all white. My husbands Mother had to cook for 15, she was the oldest girl, and her Mother was killed in a tornado with the baby of the family. She had to learn to cook for a lot with a little. This was make the noodles, grow the potatoes and kill and prepare the chicken.How many of us today could do that? Washing clothes on the board and hauling and heating the water? She was a tough old girl, and could make one chicken go further than anything I ever saw. Sometimes she even made dressing to go with the rest. Out of her homemade bread of course. We are spoiled.On top of everything else she raised a big garden.
dedtired
15 years ago
Yes, my first thought was it resembles PA Dutch cooking. My family's version of Chicken Pot Pie has chicken, noodles, potatoes in a broth. Some parsley for effect!

Yes, I definitely have PA German ancestors, among others. One family name is Bettinger.
lakeguy35
15 years ago
I have vague memories of this being served for school lunches. I'm guessing it was when we lived in New Ulm, MN. It was a German town and if I remember it was named after Ulm Germany. Called Mom and asked her. She said my Dad's Mom made this way back when....she was German. They were farmers in Northeast SD.

Mom also mentioned cleabas...cleavas???(sp) Some kind of dough/dumpling that was fried in bacon grease and served with bacon. I guess the whole family went crazy when she made these...it was a big deal/event. Mom didn't care for them at all..lol! Anyone ever hear of this? She made the best pickles...watermelon being my favorite.

David
momof2doxies
15 years ago
I just made chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes last week. I am in Indiana and my DH is from Illinois and we both had it growing up. They even served it in the schools a looooooooooong time ago. We always make the noodles with just the yokes and also use an old hen for the chicken. Green beans on the side is always a must. Another must have with this meal in our family is applesauce without the cinnamon.

Linda
dixiedog_2007
15 years ago
My husband was born and raised in Illinois (Central) and he has never heard of this nor eaten it. They do eat more starches then green vegetables, salad, etc. but he hasn't heard of this combination.
riverrat1
15 years ago
I've never heard of it but would eat it in a minute!

I live in SW Louisiana and it is VERY common to stop at cafe's in our small towns and be offered spaghetti over rice. Eveything is served over rice here. LOL! Even Beef Stoganoff.
User
15 years ago
I learned to make this dish from a southern friend. Susan was from Alabama. She called it
and she served it over mashed potatoes with southern style green beans. So that is the way that I serve it. The ultimate comfort food. It wasn't something that I had ever had in Canada.
coconut_nj
15 years ago
LOL RiverRat. I remember making beef stew for my DW for the first time and her asking where was the rice. I'm sure I looked confused when I said " there's potatoes in the stew...." I was new to New Orleans at the time. I've since embraced the rice, although not with my spaghetti. Smiles.
nancylouise5me
15 years ago
Nope, never heard of such a dish. Way to much starch, I agree. I could eat them separately...chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes or chicken and gravy with the noodles but together, I'm not so sure. NancyLouise
lisazone6_ma
15 years ago
Well, my family is Italian on both sides, so we grew up eating lots of starch, but in the form of "macaroni", or "pasta" as it's become more sophisticated to call it lol!!

We simply didn't eat that many potatoes. Starch was either rice or macaroni 99% of the time. And I've never had a "dumpling" in my life unless you count gnocchi as dumplings - those, I've had plenty of!

My husband's family is from Newfoundland when it was part of Great Britain and their background is English and Scottish. Their eating habits are very British. Making a cup of tea is an art form. Anyway, they ate lots of roast chicken and roast beef dinners, and because of their fishing background and the nature of living in Newfoundland, lots of fish. He remembers lots of boiled potatoes, which he hates to this day. If we had potatoes they were usually roasted with onions and garlic. We rarely had them mashed and I don't recall my mother ever making a roast beef in her life, so we didn't have much brown gravies - gravy to me is tomato sauce.

So I guess no, we never had anything like that but whether it's because of my Italian heritage or being in the Boston area of the country, I can't say. But I have to say, it doesn't sound bad! I'm a starch lover anyway and I would be perfectly happy eating macaroni three times a day, seven days a week and never get sick of it! And maybe because I never had mashed potatoes very often, I like them as well. It's something rare for me, not an every day thing.

Lisa
ilene_in_neok
15 years ago
I'm pretty sure it's a German thing.

My Dad's German ancestors came from Germany to Pennsylvania in the 1700's, with the pastor of their Dunkard (German Baptist) church, Alexander Mack, on the ship Allen. Their last name was Hoffert, which, with time, got morphed into Hufford/Hufferd and other variations. They took out "long term leases" on the land on which they built their farms. It was a hard life. They were pushed to the fringes of the community and people took advantage of them because of their difficulty with the language and not being familiar with the laws. But they built good sturdy homes, barns and mills and they found a way to prosper. After the Revolutionary War, the land was no longer owned by William Penn, so everybody's land was siezed and auctioned off to men who had served in the war as a way of payment. So my German ancestors started over in Maryland. From there, they went to Ohio and Indiana. Then to Missouri and Kansas. I was born in Kansas. I don't think there's a state in the US that doesn't have descendants of German immigrants in it somewhere. And I do know some of them went to Canada, too.

My dad's German grandmother taught my mom how to cook. So, yes, I'm quite familiar with chicken and noodles on mashed potatoes.

I've heard of noodles being called "sliders" and "dumplings". To me, a dumpling is a spoonful of biscuit dough that cooks on the surface of chunks of beef in broth or chicken in broth. You have to be careful to keep the lid on while they cook or they will not be fluffy. Noodles, on the other hand, are made of egg, flour and water, rolled out, cut in slices and dropped into boiling broth.

My dad always wanted a slice of bread or a roll, with butter, with every meal, and my mom made bread at least once a week.
annie1992
15 years ago
I've never made it but I have eaten it locally at an Amish home when I was a dinner guest. I also remember seeing it on a menu somewhere in Pennsylvania but I didn't order it.

Like ilene, dumplings in my family were the spoonfuls of biscuit type dough dropped onto the top of simmering sauce or gravy. We had chicken in gravy over baked biscuits and sometimes served potatoes on the side with more of the gravy but that's as close as we got. We had potatoes every day in some form, sometimes twice a day, it was cheap farm food and a part of Dad's Irish ancestry. Mostly potatoes were simply peeled and boiled, we seldom had them mashed or scalloped or even baked. A snack was often just a cold boiled potato straight out of the refrigerator and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Occasionally they became potato salad but more often were American Fries for breakfast.

The picture of Ann T's is what we called chicken and noodles, something different than chicken noodle soup, LOL.

I like 'em all, incidentally, And I've never met a potato I didn't like.

Annie
cloudy_christine
15 years ago
It sounds strange to me, and I'm here in PA Dutch country.
Pot pie usually has a little bit of potato cooked in the broth, but you hardly notice it among the big squares of egg-noodle dough.
triciae
15 years ago
David,

YES, my Mom made something called "glease" (I have no idea how to spell it?).

It came from my Dad's side of the family. He was German-Russian from the Volga area of Russia. Many German-Russians settled in the Dakotas & Kansas although my grandfather's village all immigrated to Portland, Oregon.

The dish was regular dumplings (the fluffy kind). Just when they were almost done you took the lid off the pan & the dumplings collapsed. Then, taking them out of the broth Mom would cut each dumpling into quarters. While the dumplings were cooking she fried bacon. Reserving the bacon she fried the dumplings in the grease along with a few onions adding the bacon crumbled at the last minute. These were then served with what else....mashed potatoes!

David, those things were like lead in your stomach. I remember one time, about age 16, having a date over for dinner & Mom made these Glease things. My date loved them & went back for seconds. I told him, "You're going to regret that decision!" About a half-hour into the movie at the drive-in he excused himself saying he needed to use the facilities...I didn't see him again until after the movie was over! He was still green around the edges!! rofl

/tricia

PS I just looked them up in my German-Russian food terms list & there's something listed as "Caris Glace" that I'm pretty sure must be it. The German-Russians were mostly illiterate & words were spelled phoenetically making it extremely difficult to trace because each person spelled the same word differently. Also, each village spoke their own dialect...a mis-mash of whatever was passed down from 18th century German combined with the local Russian mis-mash. You've no idea how hard it's been doing Dad's genealogy because of this little 'spelling issue'. :) Supposedly, the German-Russians own the grand distinction of having the most messed up language of any immigrant group. Figuring out the food names is a real challenge!
ruthanna_gw
15 years ago
Ditto what cloudy christine posted. I've never seen the chicken and noodles served over mashed potatoes but I have eaten the PA Dutch version of chicken pot pie with potatoes cooked in with the noodles.

I've also had chicken and gravy (no potatoes or noodles in it) served over waffles, which is a totally different "chicken and waffles" than you'll find in the southern U.S.
dgkritch
15 years ago
My German and Dutch grandparents never served it. In Portland, Oregon (triciae, know any Volz's???? Ashman on the Dutch side).

Waayyy starchy for me, but sure wouldn't refuse it!! LOL
So, who's cooking and where are we meeting??

Deanna
craftyrn
15 years ago
I grew up in western NY--father "Irish", Mom "Polish"--and like Annie potatoes at every meal-- any chicken in gravy was served on either baking powder biscuits or a steamed biscuit dumpling.Tho I do remember Mom making "spaetzle" type noodles -- often with veal.

Pasta & potato together-- no way-- Dad was dead set against any "macaroni"-- wouldn't touch the pierogies the rest of us love.

And to this day I'll salivate over any dish with a potato-- even plain boiled spuds-- snuck out of the pot & eaten out of hand with S & P & butter dripping down my wrist !
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
15 years ago
I have never had pasta and potatoes together ever. Ok, pierogies, but those fall into the "ethnic" category :-)

I haven't ever seen it on a restaurant menu either.
And it sounds gross to me!
triciae
15 years ago
Deanna,

A few Portland surnames...Hartzell, Bauer, Wagner, Keiser, Jost, Pauli. Rose City cemetery is filled with my family.

I've taken a whole chicken out of the freezer. All this talk has me salivating for chicken, noodles, gravy, & mashed potatoes. It's going to be Sunday dinner! I won't need to eat again for a week. :(

/tricia
cloudy_christine
15 years ago
Oh, yes, the chicken and waffles! When I was a little kid my father built the waffles into castle walls, with the gravy around them as the moat. Come to think of it, the cement was mashed potates!
patti43
15 years ago
I grew up in Indiana and it is one of my favorite food memories. There were 7 children in my family and each got to choose their favorite dinner on their birthday. Chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes was always my choice. It's deleesh! I finally learned to make noodles like my mother, but I don't make them often--too many calories.
dgkritch
15 years ago
triciae,
I emailed you privately about family names!

Deanna
lakeguy35
15 years ago
Tricia, thanks for shariing that. I may have to try this out.....maybe not after reading about your dates reaction to it...LOL! Great story/memory!

I know what you mean about the German translation...we have the same challenge in my family.

David
dedtired
15 years ago
My mom always makes turkey in gravy over waffles with the Thanksgiving leftovers. Yum.

I love the Pennsylvania Dutch potpie noodles. They are always big square and kind of chewy.
User
15 years ago
Those of you that have trouble with potatoes and "noodles" served together must not appreciate Greek food either then. I love how the Greeks serve both rice and potatoes together.

Ann
lindac
Original Author
15 years ago
It's not that potatoes and noodles are served together....but that noodles are served OVER mashed potatoes and all held together with a rich gravy!
I've been to more than a few Greek restraunts though and never had rice and potatoes together? What dish are you referring to?
Linda C
Marilyn Sue McClintock
15 years ago
I think chicken and noodles may be a dish the farmers started as they would at times have lots of eggs. To me dumplings are not like noodles at all. Noodles have a lot of eggs. Dumplings maybe only one. Our dumplings were always the flat wide ones, no baking powder. The dumplings with baking powder are just like steamed biscuits, which by the way are really good on top of green beans seasoned with bacon or ham and onions. I have lived in Indiana all my life and on a farm growing up. My Grandma and my Mother always made noodles and I do too. There actually is no "gravy" it is just the broth that is thickened with the noodles. Our church has a meal once a month and that is always the main item served at the beginning of the food line and it is always gone and of course the mashed potatoes are right there next to it, can't have one with out the other. Making your chicken broth with bone in chicken gives a better flavor. No other seasonings are used, just salt and pepper. When my Mother was able to make noodles, she would give all the gals in our family a bag of homemade noodles for Christmas and for our birthdays. They were always welcome! It is a lot of work to make a lot of noodles and to roll them by hand.
pfmastin
15 years ago
Here in Eastern NC, Ann T's picture is called "chicken and pastry" and our church uses it to feed crowds for fundraisers, etc. You can buy the "pastry" (wide, flat dough "noodles") frozen in packages and they're dropped in the broth to cook. No mashed potatoes are included, though.
Pam
caliloo
15 years ago
"I've been to more than a few Greek restraunts though and never had rice and potatoes together? What dish are you referring to?"

I was wondering the same thing..... I've never had rice and potatoes in the same dish at a Greek Restaurant either!

However, the Indian Restaurant near me makes some killer samosas that have potato in them and are dough encased (then deep fried I think). They are killer good, but fall intot the pierogi category in my mind.

Alexa
cooksnsews
15 years ago
I've often had rice+potatoes in Greek restaurants. And potatoes are often cooked as a side dish in Indian cooking, although rice is always present as well.

Never had noodles over mashed potatoes. The weirdest starch-on-starch I've ever experienced was a "chip butty" from a typical English fish-and-chip shop. Imagine a french-fry sandwich.....

regarding a lunch table discussion....

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