Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Now I know rain gives way to beautiful flowers and greenery, but over here on the East coast, it has been raining for about a week and a half now. We have a had a couple of sunny breaks in between, but I think depression is sinking in. This girl thrives on Vitamin D! A few of the days have been especially chilly so soup seemed like a fitting menu item. 

My boyfriend and I went to Olive Garden recently and they have this wonderful soup which we both fell in love with. I've wanted to try gnocchi for quite a while now, and I finally had the opportunity to do so. Little dumplings made of potato, egg, and flour. Yum! They were perfect in this soup! I just had to make this soup. Having it once was NOT enough! And now you can experience it for yourself as well! The preparation takes time, but it is totally worth it!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

1 cup chicken breasts, diced and cooked

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 quart half and half (I used evaporated milk)

1 14 ounce can chicken broth

1/2 cup celery, sliced

1/4 cup flour

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup carrots, shredded

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

16 ounce package gnocchi

In a large stockpot, saute the onion, celery and garlic in the butter and olive oil(I sprayed the pot with cooking spray instead of using oil). When the onion is transparent, add the flour and form a roux(thickener using butter and flour). Stir and cook a minute. Add the half and half evaporated milk . Meanwhile in another pan, cook the gnocchi. Add the carrots and chicken to the stockpot. Stir often and when it gets thicker, add the chicken broth, gnocchi, spinach and seasonings. Cover and heat through. Serve with crusty bread to dunk in the soup! Enjoy!

Adapted from Pass the Sushi