Spicy Chicken & Bacon Noodle Soup

Thanks to DJ Webstar and Young B. I will forever associate any reference to chicken noodle soup with this song and dance. Thanks a lot…It’s just so catchy though! But my question is, who really drinks soup with a soda on the side? I’m sure I’ve probably done it at some point, but something about that combination just seems wrong. However, the combination of bacon plus anything is just so right.

I would consider this to be your fairly standard chicken noodle soup recipe with just a couple of twists to make it special and take it over the top. The first of course is the bacon. Enough said. The second being the use of a spicy chicken sausage that I happened across at the grocery store one day. The recipe is chocked full of protein and vegetables—you could also use whole wheat pasta or some other grain (i.e. bulgar wheat or quinoa) to increase the fiber and nutritional value. The recipe—plus additional photos—were originally posted here over on CurlyNikki.com.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup bacon, diced
• 1 lb. spicy chicken sausage
• 1 lb. carrots, sliced on the bias
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 4 lbs. (2 boxes) unsalted/low sodium chicken stock
• ½ lb. tri-color rotini

Procedure:

1. In a large enough pot to hold all of the ingredients, render the fat from the bacon and cook until crisp. Reserve bacon bits.
2. Add the chicken sausage to the pan and cook until nicely browned. Reserve and slice.
3. Start cooking your vegetables beginning with the carrots. After a couple minutes, add the onion followed by the celery. Add olive oil as needed (this depends on the amount of fat leftover from the bacon). Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and chili flakes.
4. After the vegetables have begun to soften, sprinkle with flour and cook for two minutes. Deglaze with wine.
5. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer; add pasta, chicken sausage, and half of the cooked bacon. Cook until pasta is al dente.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with more bacon on top.

“And let it rain, and clear it out.” What’s one of your favorite one-hit wonders?