From Scratch: ::Knoephla Soup::

I know I've said this before, but, I have alot of Norwegian in me. I remember when we were younger my sister and I were riding with my grandma (who's 100% Norwegian) and we asked her to teach us some Norwegian. She started with teaching us how to count to ten, but we only got to six. In Norwegian the number six is pronounced "sex." She started giggling...and then we did too. So, here is how you count to ten in Norwegian: en, to, tre, fire, fem, seks, syv, åtte, ni, ti. With that being said, I hadn't had Knoephla Soup until I met my husband (some people will think that is a shame). For those of you who may not know what knoephla is, I'll give you a little "run down" of what I found when I Googled "knoephla."

Knoephla (pronounced nef-la), and sometimes spelled knephla, is a type of dumpling that is mostly used in soups. The word is related to the modern German dialect word Knöpfle, meaning little knob/button. Traditional knoephla soup is a thick chicken and potato soup almost to the point of being a stew. It is particularly common in the U.S. states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota where there was significant settlement of German emigrants from the Russian Empire.

I hadn't made knoephla or knoephla soup before, so, when someone brought ::Knoephla Soup:: for a putluck at work and it was a hit, they shared the recipe. Everyone at work said how good it was and how easy the recipe looked. There was also an ingredient in there that surprised everyone and made me more excited to make it! After looking at a few different recipes for Knoephla Soup, this probably isn't your traditional grandma's recipe, but, I wanted to try it anyways. My husband really enjoyed it and he had a friend over the night I made it and he liked it too. Not only is it good but it is really easy and has very few ingredients. So count to six in Norwegian (en, to, tre, fire, fem, seks...) and make this German dish! Enjoy!

::Knoephla Soup::

1 stick butter

1 medium onion

1 bag coleslaw mix

2 large cans chicken broth

knoephla

cream

salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter and saute onion and coleslaw until it starts to brown a little. Add chicken broth and simmer for 30 minutes. Add knoephla and let simmer for about 2 hrs.. Turn down heat to low and add the cream (I probably used about 2 cups?) and salt and pepper to taste; heat through but don't let it boil once you add the cream.

The (blurry) ingredients!

Using that Martha Stewart dutch oven...love it! Thanks Mom!

Melting the stick of butter.

Then adding the diced medium onion...

And yes, the bag of coleslaw mix. Who would have thought?!

Sauteing...

Saute until soft and kind of "browning."

Then add the chicken broth and let simmer for 30 minutes.

You can make your own knoephla dough but I just bought the frozen "stuff" and it made for an even easier recipe and was delicious. Just dump the bag of frozen knoephla out on a sheet pan to let it unthaw before you place it in the chicken broth/coleslaw mix.

The knoephla added and ready to simmer for 2 hrs. However, I have a slight confession...it only simmered a little bit before I had to add the cream...my husband was too hungry. It turned out fine. Next time however, i'll allow the 2 hr time frame!