Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Fall has arrived {yay} & with that, the soup season has begun!
What better way to bring in the new crisp, autumnal air than with a new soup recipe.

A good while back, my sister began telling me about a new soup Olive Garden
was serving called Gnocchi Soup.
She raved about it & insisted that I try it the next time that I was at OG.

It wasn't but a couple weeks after hearing about this soup that I got an email
from a couponing/savings blog that I follow sharing a copy cat recipe of
Olive Garden's Gnocchi Soup.
I knew it was a sign ... I was surely ganna try this soup, fall in love with it,
& wish good ol' OG would share their secret recipe.
Jackpot!
I had the recipe already!

I have since tried the real deal at OG, my sister's version, & I made several batches
with the recipe I'm fixing to share with all of you.
I've served this to company several times & it always gains rave reviews.
I'm sure you'll add this to your fall time favorite soups!

The star of this soup is the gnocchi, which translates to dumpling
{usually made from potato or flour} in Italian.
I've watched Giada make them from scratch on Food Network, but the premade
packaged versions from the store are a nice alternative.
And the pronunciation:  \ˈnȯ-kē, ˈnyȯ-, ˈnä-\ .... that's the dictionary version.
N-YO-Key ... that's my version.
That's how Giada says it so it's got to be right ;)

You can buy this in the pasta aisle or sometimes in the refrigerated pasta section.
When Aldi has the Italian themed items, you can buy it there for the best price.

1/3 c. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1/3 c. flour

1/2 c. shredded carrots

1 stick celery, chopped

1/2 c. fresh chopped spinach

2 & 1/2 c. milk

1 & 1/2 c. heavy cream

3 chicken bullion cubes

salt & pepper to taste

17 oz. pre-made gnocchi

On medium heat, cook chicken and garlic in a large pot in olive oil until cooked through.

Stir in flour and mix well until the flour is cooked into the chicken.

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the gnocchi.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add gnocchi & cook for 3-4 more minutes till cooked through.

 

 

I am more of a 'method' cook than a precise one.
I usually take the recipe as the jumping off point & tinker with it,
if I want/need to ... which almost always happens.

On this one, I cooked the chicken ahead in the crock pot.

I usually do large batches of  chicken in the crock-pot or the oven, making enough to use

for at least a couple recipes.

I used the broth for the soup {omitting the olive oil}.
I transferred the chicken & broth {approx. 2 c.}  into a lg kettle & brought it to a boil.
I then added the veggies & cooked for a few minutes before whisking in the flour.
After adding the flour, I whisked & boiled for a couple minutes, then reduced the heat.
I added all the other ingredients, except gnocchi, which I added just a bit before serving.
 One more note, instead of heavy cream, I used half & half.

photo credit

I also double the recipe, making sure there's plenty of gnocchi ...

James wants one in every bite.

 

This soup is super cinchy ... and way delicious!

 

PS}  I've MISSED you all!

It's been almost a month since I've blogged.

Tell ya about how busy I've been in the next post!