Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

A few things before we get down to the delicious Chicken and Gnocchi soup recipe!

 First I want to say WELCOME to my new readers! I am so EXCITED you are following me! I can't wait to get your comments and start building a relationship! 

Second I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who either commented, wrote me on Facebook, emailed me, and/or texted me on Friday's post. I was very vulnerable and I just couldn't hold it in. I did feel better once I had written everything down and go it out in the open. If you missed that post you can catch up on it here. 

Moving right along, I love to cook like a lot! I really want to take a cooking class and a baking class. I think that would be so much fun. When I am in the kitchen I am usually just eyeballing my ingredients, I rarely measure things out. One of my parents and I favorite soup is from Olive Garden, the Chicken and Gnocchi soup. One day after eating there with them I had decided I was going to try to recreate it. I did Google it so I could kind of get an idea on what they used for the liquid portion. From there everything else is mine and what I had tossed in a big pot and just started cooking away. I really hope y'all enjoy this soup! 

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Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Ingredients

 

2T butter

 2T flour

1 qt. half and half

 celery, finely diced (put the amount you and your family like)

 onion, finely dice ( I eyeball about a 1/4-1/2 cup)

minced garlic cloves (put the amount you and your family like. We love garlic so I put three cloves)

28 ounce can of chicken broth, If you want your soup a thicker consistency add half the amount of broth

 

carrots, finely chopped (put the amount your family likes. I put more carrots then celery, I just like the flavor that it puts out)

chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I usually boil my chicken then cut it up from there.)

1 package gnocchi, cooked  

fresh spinach coarsely chopped (amount your family likes, spinach shrinks a lot when it is cooked)

parsley

salt (to taste)

Instructions

 

1. Saute the onion, celery, and garlic with a little EVOO and medium heat until the onion becomes starts to brown. Put items in a separate dish, set off to the side.  Add the flour and butter and make a roux (If you don't know what a roux is let me know) (Flour and butter must be equal). Let the butter and flour mixture cook until is starts to brown(you want to make sure the flour is cooked well or you will get a flour taste) before adding 1 quart of half and half.

2. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. If you can not find gnocchi in your store you can make your own with instants mashed potatoes.

3. Into the roux, add in the carrots, chicken and the items that you set off to the side. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning; simmer until soup is heated through.  Before serving season to taste by adding additional salt.

Enjoy!