Chicken & Gnocchi Soup - Olive Garden Copycat Recipe

Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

To get the best results, you should read ALL of these instructions thoroughly. The list of INGREDIENTS is mainly there just to give you an idea of what you will need. You should read from the dashed line down if you have all of the ingredients. The COOKING INSTRUCTIONS tell you exactly how much to add and when to do it so you don't have to keep looking back at the INGREDIENTS if you hadn't measured it all out yet. I highly suggest doing the VEGETABLE PREP and CHICKEN PREP before starting if you don't already have it ready. I would also like to note that this recipe is a bit chunkier than the Olive Garden one.

This recipe serves a family of 5 to 6 people.

INGREDIENTS:
4 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil (canola or olive oil)
1 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 minced garlic cloves (about 1 Tbsp) (I used the preminced garlic that you can buy in the vegetable section at Wal Mart. They are in jars on a stand by the garlic and onions.)
1/4 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (Amount depends on if it is thickening up like it is supposed to.)
1 quart half-and-half (Milk can be used in place of half-and-half. Half-and-half makes it taste a bit better and it reheats easier.)
2 cans of chicken broth (1 can is 14 ounces) (I only used 1 can of chicken broth so the soup would be thicker.)
1 tsp (dried) parsley flakes
2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded carrots (2 large carrots or 30 baby carrots)
1/2 - 1 cup coarsely chopped spinach leaves
1 cup - 1 1/2 cup diced cooked chicken breast (2-3 chicken breasts) (Can be left over chicken from a previous meal or a rotisserie chicken. I used some fresh, raw chicken breast, diced it up and cooked it in a little oil, salt and black pepper. I don't know how much I used of each of those because I just eyeballed it. I'd say like 1 Tbsp oil and I just shook some salt and pepper in.)
1 package (16 ounces) of ready-to-use potato gnocchis (I used Gia Russa's Gnocchis from Wal Mart that you can buy for $2.60 & they are in the pasta aisle. You can make you own gnocchis, but I don't have a recipe for that.)

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Tbsp of corn meal
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese (For some extra flavor)

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You are going to need 1 frying pan to cook the chicken & a large pot for everything else. You can use the same stirring untensil for everything.

VEGETABLE PREP:
Finely dice a couple onions for 1 cup of diced onions.
Chop about 2 celery stalks into diced chunks.
Mince 2 gloves of garlic (unless you got the pre-minced kind.)
Shred about 2 large carrots OR 30 baby carrots for 1 cup of shredded carrots.
Take a nice handful of spinach leaves and just chop them up.
*You can put the onions, celery, and garlic in the same bowl to save space. They will be cooked at the same time.
*You can put the carrots and spinach leaves into the same bowl to save space. They will be put in at the same time.

CHICKEN PREP:
Take 2 or 3 chicken breasts, clean them. Cut them up into chunks. Heat a frying pan on low to medium (4 to 6) heat. Put a very small amount of oil in the pan, just to keep the chicken from sticking. Shake in a little salt and pepper to give the chicken a little more flavor. While your chicken is cooking, you can begin the rest... Just don't forget it and let it burn while you're busy doing everything else!


COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put 1 Tbsp oil in pot on medium (6 to 8) heat.
2. In the large pot melt 4 Tbsp of butter, still on medium (6 to 8) heat.
3. Add in the 1 cup of onion, 1/2 cup of celery, and 1 Tbsp(2 cloves) of minced garlic. Stir until the onions are translucent.
4. Lower the heat to low to medium (4 to 6) heat. Pour in 1/4 cup flour. Stir for about 30 seconds.
5. Gradually pour in 1 quart of half-and-half(or milk if you substituted.) Stir it until it is mixed together well. At this point I kept the heat on 6 the whole time.
6. Let it simmer until it is thickened. If it is not thickening well enough, add 1 to 2 Tbsp of more flour and/or  1/2 Tbsp corn meal. Personally, that is what I did. I added both more flour and a little corn meal.
7. Gradually pour in 1 can of chicken broth and stir.
8. Let it simmer until thickened again, but you should stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
9. Stir in 2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of dried parsley. You would also put in the thyme and nutmeg at this point if you wanted to - they are optional.
10. Stir in 1 cup shredded carrots and 1/2 to 1 cup of spinach leaves.
11. Stir in the 16 ounce package of potato gnocchis and the 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped, cooked chicken breast.
12. Simmer the soup for about 5 minutes on low (4) heat. Stir occasionally.

OPTIONAL INSTRUCTIONS:
I shook in a bit more salt at the end. I also ate the soup in a separate bowl with some parmesan on top. I think it would have tasted better with a little bit of Parmesan AND mozzarella on top.