"It's the company, not the cooking, that makes the meal!" ~Perilee 
(Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson)



Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Chicken Gnocchi Soup


Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Time: 30-40 minutes total
Yield: 12 servings
Recipe adapted from Freida Loves Bread and Allrecipes
 and JAMIE COOKS IT UP blog
This recipe got 5 stars from everyone in my family last night. It was a perfect meal for a cold spring evening! Thanks to Jamie for her talents in the kitchen!
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and grated
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2-3 T olive oil
1 Rotisserie Chicken (or 1 Can of Mom’s canned Chicken) reserve juices from chicken 
7 C water
8 chicken bullion cubes
1 (16 ounce) package Potato Gnocchi
4 C half and half 
1 1/2 C spinach, chopped
1 t thyme
1/8 t nutmeg
1 T sugar
1/4 C cold water
5 T cornstarch
salt and pepper  
2 T butter
1. Chop onion. Mince garlic. Julienne and rough chop your carrots. 
2. Heat Olive oil in a large pot up over medium high heat. 
3. When the oil is hot toss your chopped veggies into the pan. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. 
4. Cook and chop your chicken, or use rotisserie chicken. (I used mom’s good canned chicken.)
5. Pour the broth that is left in the bottom of the chicken package into a large measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup of broth from the pan.  (Mom’s canned chicken has roughly 1 cup juices, pour this in with the tender vegetables.) 
Chop chicken
When your veggies are done cooking pour the broth from the chicken and 7 cups of hot water into the pot. Add 8 chicken bullion cubes and give it a nice stir. 
8. Add the chopped chicken and bring the soup to a boil. 
9. Open up the package of Gnocchi and pour it into the pot. Let the soup come to a boil again and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 3-4 minutes. The gnocchi will be cooked  through when they float to the top of the broth. It should happen pretty fast. 
10. Chop about 1 1/2 cups of spinach and toss it into the pot. 
11. Pour in 4 cups of Half and Half, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter and bring soup to a boil. 
12. In a small bowl combine 1/4 C cold water and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix it well and pour it into the soup pot. 
13. Return the soup to a boil, while you stir. It will thicken as the soup reaches a boil. 
14. Taste it and season it to your liking with salt and pepper.