Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I recently went to Olive Garden with my family.  Since it was cold out that day I had their "Chicken Gnocchi Soup" rather than the usual Salad that I have with my meal.  It was so good and tasty, that I had seconds of it and took my main meal home with me to reheat for dinner.

I looked on the internet and found a few different versions of copies.  Here is one I tried that I found on Pioneer Woman's Site: Tasty Kitchen
(http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/soups/chicken-and-gnocchi-soup/)

Preparation:
Saute garlic, grated carrots and 1/2 chopped onion in 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil

Add cooked,chopped chicken and 4 cups of good chicken broth
(the recipe calls for 3 cooked chicken breast halves, I used an already made rotisserie chicken and cut it up into bite size pieces)

Add 2 cups of heavy cream (I did not have two cups of cream and added last 1/2 cup of half and half)

Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried Thyme and season soup with salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and it had nice flavor)

Add about 1/2 cup thawed, drained chopped spinach (the original used fresh spinach chopped, but I didn't have any on hand and this was an easy substitute

Bring to boil and boil for a few minutes then add gnocchi

Add 1 (16 oz) package of Potato Gnocchi
return to boil and allow to boil for about 4 minutes.  After that turn the heat to low and allow to simmer another 10 minutes.

I tasted it at this point and decided to add about 1 teaspoon of Knorr Chicken Bouillon granules to enhance the chicken flavor.  Turned out great.

Here is the recipe:

Chicken Gnocchi Soup


2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 peeled large carrots, grated
1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 chicken breast halves, cooked and cut up (or Rotisserie Chicken)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream (or mix of heavy cream and half and half)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz package Potato Gnocchi

Preparation:
Saute the onion, garlic and carrots in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Add chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt and pepper, and thyme.  Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi.  Gently boil for 4 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for 10 minutes.  Add chopped fresh (or defrosted frozen chopped spinach) and cook for additional 2 minutes. Taste and add chicken bouillon if you desire. Enjoy!  I will be adding this to our soup favorites.  It is nearly identical to the soup they serve in Olive Garden and oh so good!!