A Day In The Life: Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

A big favorite soup in our home is Chicken and Gnocchi. It’s rich, filling, and all around delicious. I thought since it is Thanksgiving and there will be leftover turkey galore that I should bring to you a recipe to take up some of the oodles of turkey from your Thanksgiving dinner. The recipe is written with chicken, but just substitute your turkey for the chicken and you should have a delicious, warming meal. So gather around your stove and be thankful that you are about to eat a meal that could just change your life!

What you need:

· 2 cups of diced, cooked chicken

· 4 Tablespoons butter

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

· ¼ cup onion, diced

· ½ cup flour

· Salt and pepper to taste

· 2 cups of cream

· 1 can chicken broth (or stock... or drippings from your turkey to make this festive)

· 3-4 cups of milk (depending upon fat percentage and personal preference of thickness)

· 1 carrot, shredded

· 1 celery stalk, shredded

· 2 cups spinach, shredded

· ¼ cup basil, shredded

· 1 package Gnocchi

How you make it:

1. Brown chicken in melted butter. Add garlic and onion and sauté.

2. Once chicken is browned, slowly add flour (you may not need to use it all), salt and pepper, until it is thoroughly mixed with butter and coats chicken. Slightly brown this mixture, making sure not to burn it.

3. Once browned, stir in cream slowly until thoroughly combined with chicken and flour mixture.

4. Add broth and continue mixing.

5. Add milk to desired thickness. Keep your milk around as the mixture cooks to thin out the soup in case it becomes too thick for your preference.

6. Add carrots and celery. Bring soup to a boil for a couple of minutes, then down to a simmer for about 15 minutes.

7. Once soup has reached desired thickness, add spinach and basil, followed by the gnocchi. Bring up the heat to medium once more. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, covered.