Chicken Corn Rivel Soup

When I graduated high school, my Gramma gave me the choice of taking a trip to Hawaii for a week, or taking the summer to travel around the United States in their RV. I think I surprised her when I picked traveling across the country and that she was actually hoping I'd pick Hawaii!

One of the places I loved was Pennsylvania Amish Country. So much of me wants to be Amish! (You know - pick and choose the good parts: living simply, having a close knit community, etc.) One of the things I was a little surprised by was how much I LOVED Amish food. I couldn't believe it. I was so interested in their quilting and furniture making and farming that I never even thought about their food. It was amazing. It was like everything I ate somehow tasted familiar, like I'd had it years ago and couldn't quite place it. Yet a dish that seemed completely normal that I was sure I'd had a million times in my life was suddenly the best version I'd EVER had.

My Grandpa was in culinary heaven, too. As a child of Illinois/Wisconsin farmers descended from German immigrants, THIS was HIS food.

 I immediately started buying Amish cook books. I HAD to figure out their secret. THIS is how I wanted to cook. Unfortunately, it didn't take me too long to realize their ham was the best ham ever because it didn't come from the grocery store. Their vegetables were so flavorful because they were heirloom varieties they grew themselves and hadn't been shipped across the country.

Shoot. I was hoping for a secret ingredient. Can't you just sell me some "Amish Spice" or something?

This recipe for Corn Rivel Soup is my attempt at recreating the world's most perfect soup I had while I was there. It's now my go-to recipe whenever anyone is sick, and my number one craving during those yucky weeks of morning sickness.

(I apologize for my lack of decisiveness in the amounts. I just put in enough until it "looks right.")

Chicken Corn Rivel Soup

Chicken – I don’t know how much. You can use a whole chicken, but really it’s easiest to use boneless pieces because you don’t have to take the bones out after it cooks, and white meat tastes better in this soup than dark meat.

Carrots, and Celery – as much as looks right to you! Maybe 6 carrots and 4 celery???

1 can of Corn – pour in the whole can – juice and all – it will make your broth sweeter

1 onion chopped really small (minced?)

Seasoning: Garlic, Salt, Pepper, and a little bit of Chili Powder

Water and some chicken broth or bouillon if you have it – if not water’s fine

Pour everything in a big pot with plenty of liquid over it to cover everything. If you cook it with the lid on it will cook faster and you’ll lose less water. If you used chicken with bones in it, you’ll need to pull the chicken out with tongs and get the bones out once it’s cooked. Shred the chicken with a fork and return it to the pot.

Once the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are as soft as you like, your soup is done and you can add the rivels.

Rivels (Amish Dumplings)

1 cup flour

1 egg

¼ cup milk

(I usually double this recipe)

Combine flour and egg. Add milk. (I use a fork to mix it all up.) It makes a sticky dough. Get your soup boiling good and drop little balls of the dough (the smaller the better) into it. The dough is so sticky they won’t be pretty round balls, they’ll be all sorts of weird looking shapes! They only take about 2 minutes to cook and then you can eat your soup.