Definitely not Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup, With Grandma's Chicken Stock Recipe

Definitely Not Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

Poached Chicken and Grandma's Stock Recipe:

• 3-4 Chicken Thighs, skin and bones on if possible
• 6 Cups Water
• 3 Stalks Celery
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 1 Shallot
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Peppercorns
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon Sage
• 1 Tablespoon Rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon Thyme
• 1 Tablespoon Basil
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 3 Bay leaves

Other Ingredients:

• 3 Spicy Italian Sausages
• 1 Can diced tomatoes and juice
• 1 Zucchini
• 2 Bell Peppers, I like Orange and Green
• About 4 Cups dry Egg noodles
• 1 Tablespoon Basil
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 1 Teaspoon cracked pepper or more

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pot add the water and herbs listed in the recipe. 
2. Roughly chop the celery, peel and chop the carrot, shallot, onion and garlic. Add to the pot. 
3. Heat over medium low heat for about 15 minutes and then add the chicken thighs. 
4. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for between 60 and 90 minutes, Until chicken is cooked and stock smells divine. 
5. Also try and keep an eye on the stock. You want it to be just below boiling so it is hot enough to cook the chicken, but not actually boiling. 
6. This will keep the stock clear, and not cloudy. The flavors will be better and the chicken will be more tender when it is cooked.
7. While the stock and chicken are cooking, dice the zucchini and peppers, set aside.
8. Cook the egg noodles according to package and set aside. Cook and dice the sausages, set aside.
9. Once the stock and chicken are done, Remove the chicken from the pot with a slotted spoon and allow to cool, before removing the skin/bones.
10.  Dice the chicken into little bite sized bits, set aside. 
11. Using a large strainer, Strain the stock liquid, reserving the stock. 
12. Pour the strained stock back into the pot, discard the mushy veg we strained out. 
13. Add the can of tomatoes and can juices, the cooked sausage, chicken bits, and peppers. Stir in the basil, oregano and pepper. 
14. Simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes to lightly cook the vegetables. 
15. Add in the cooked egg noodles, and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes.
16. Serve hot with bread or biscuits. Chill left overs right away or freeze in portions for later.

Enjoy!

Notes:

So in case you weren't aware it is flu season! Oh joy, oh bliss! And look at this, we are barely past the start of winter and my lovely most wonderful man friend sadly became stricken down with the bug. He was rather unwell for quite a while so I felt I had to do the only logical thing and make the poor boy some soup to cure what ailed him. However it should be noted that my lovely most wonderful man friend is a bit of a finicky eater and claims to not like noodles, or soup overly much. I mean don't get my wrong he will eat it but if I said we are having some kind of noodle for supper or soup I do not get an over-joyed reaction first. . .

So back to the point, I decided to try and get creative and mix a few different soup recipes together to make one that might do him some good.  So using grandma's old fashioned method for slow poaching chicken and making stock at the same time, let's make some soup!

Ps. To just make some chicken stock all you need is the vegetables listed in the stock recipe, and all of the herbs except for the basil and oregano. Add to the pot the bones of a roasted chicken, or the un-used parts of a broken down chicken like the spine, neck, wing tips, tail/popes nose, etc. Follow the instructions and just simmer everything down over low heat. Strain and congrats you have made home made chicken stock!