Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Erin, it has been so cold in DC lately and I have been miserable. Being from Texas, I am not used to 45 degree weather the first week of October. Trying to stay warm, I finally decided to try a soup recipe I found awhile back. It was warm and hearty and really good!

Ingredients: 

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I used a rotisserie chicken and it was super yummy!)

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 quart half and half

1 14 ounces can of chicken broth

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

2 minced garlic cloves

1 cup carrots, finely shredded

1 cup onion, finely diced

1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoons extra virgin oil

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1 pound potato gnocchi ( I had so much trouble trying to find this at the grocery store! I've heard that you can find it either in the gourmet section of the store, or the frozen section in Kroger. At the Safeway in DC, I found it in the pasta aisle next to the pasta)

What to do:

1. Saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. 

2. Add the flour. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.

3. Meanwhile, cook gnocchi according to package directions.

4. Add in the carrots and chicken to the flour/butter mixture

5. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. 

6. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning;, simmer until soup is heated through.

I served this with a loaf of sourdough bread to dip in the soup and it was fab! Enjoy!