Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Have you ever been to Olive Garden and had their unlimited soup and salad?  The soups are wonderful!  ...the salads, well, they have green stuff so yeah, not too interested in that.

I was at Olive Garden with my sister Heather a while back.  When I talked about how yummy my Gnocchi (pronounced "No-Key") soup was she told me she had the recipe!  She emailed me the recipe and it has now become a regular favorite at my house.  Here is a link to the original recipe that she used.  She gave me instructions and told me some of her personal changes to the recipe.  We both substitute the cream with half and half. Now, Doug and I don't eat out very regularly so I'm not sure how close this is now to the Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi, but it sure is tasty. (Doug has since told me that it is BETTER than Olive Garden's version.)

Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi Soup:
-1 rotisserie chicken (roasted and ready from the grocery store)
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
-1/2 cup finely chopped celery
-1/2 cup finely chopped onion
-1 tsp. minced garlic (either fresh or the spice)
-4 cups chicken broth
-1/2 tsp. thyme
-1/2 tsp. parsley
-chopped spinach (as much as you like)
-2 cups half and half
-1 lb. potato gnocchi

1. Start first by picking the rotisserie chicken. (One time I used chopped chicken breast and it just wasn't as good.) If you have a pair thin rubber gloves handy, you could wear them if you don't want greasy hands. I do it without them though. Picking a chicken is an art and I find now that I have the process down, I get finished faster and get more meat. 

Pickings from rotisserie chicken.

2. Next, chop up all of the veggies and saute them in the olive oil until the onions are transparent. I add the garlic at this point as well. (If you're in a hurry, I've found pre-chopped packaging with carrots, celery, and onions in the produce section.)

Chopped carrots, celery, and onion.

3. After that, add the chicken, the chicken broth, the chopped spinach, and the spices and bring that mixture to a boil.

4. Once it is boiling, you can add the potato gnocchi and follow the directions on the packaging for cooking time.

5. The last step is to add the half and half.

All done!  Enjoy!

I think I have made this about a half a dozen times already.  Doug and I both eat as much as we want and we still have enough for leftovers in our lunches the next day. This makes great leftovers!