Chicken Noodle and Sausage Soup

 

The wind where I live can cut you right down to the bone. Nothing will get you back up to speed like a warming bowl of homemade soup. It's also the best way to get through all the bones you've been saving from other dishes you've made by making the base from scratch in the form of your own broth. The veggies here can be changed up to taste of course or to suit whatever you've got on hand. This recipe is a in two parts, a recipe for the broth and a recipe for the soup itself. It's all pretty straight forward and I'd encourage you to mix it up with the exception of one part - do not cook your noodles directly in the soup itself. The result of that is a terrible mess if you reheat the soup. The noodles get way overcooked and they start to disintegrate. Best to cook them separately. 

Gather the Good Stuff

Broth 

This recipe presumes that you've been saving bones etc from other meals that you cooked and that you've got roughly enough to make a decent stock. "Enough" is roughly one chicken carcass worth or more of bones. 

1. Old bones
2. 2 carrots - chopped in quarters 
3. 1 x large onion - rough cut in quarters
4. 2 x celery sticks 
5. 1 bay leaf 
6. water 

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and cover well with water. Bring to a boil and adjust the heat so that it simmers nicely. Leave this to simmer partial covered for 2-3 hours adding more water if it boils down too much. Strain out when finished and discard the bones and veggies. 

Soup

1. 4-5 cups homemade broth
2. 3 carrots - peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
3. 1 x large onion - cut into small pieces 
4. 2-3 celery sticks - trimmed and cut into bite sized chunks 
5. 300g-400g chicken - cut into small bite sized pieces 
6. 2 x links sausage - any kind you like. I prefer a spicy chorizo but you do you 
7. 2 Tbsp soy sauce - or to taste 
8. 1/2 tsp red pepper chili flakes
9. Salt & Pepper 
10. 1 tsp Thyme 
11. Noodles - I prefer egg noodles, cooked separately before serving 

Putting it all Together 

1. Add the broth to a large heavy pot over medium heat 
2. Add the vegetables and soy sauce
3. Add the spices and salt & pepper to taste and adjust as needed
4. Cook for 20 minutes on a gentle simmer 
5. Once the veggies have started to become tender add the chicken and sausage. I find it easier to first add the sausage whole and then remove them and cut them into bite sized rounds after they have cooked for a while 
6. Continue to cook until the veggies are fully tender and the meat is cooked
7. In a separate pot, bring some salted water to a boil and add your noodles 
8. Once cooked to desired doneness combine noodles and soup into bowls and serve