Avgolemono Chicken Soup

Strange name I know, it's Greek and is a wonderful Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup.  I went to a ladies night out and a friend brought this soup to the event.  I went back for thirds and then took some home with me to share with my husband.  Delicious!  My kids all love it too and it is a frequent request now.  I make it about every other week now.  The recipe is from Cat Cora on the Food Network.  I made a few changes to suit my family's tastes.

Just today my daughter announced that every Restaurant should have this recipe and serve it because she would order it every time!  It really is that good.  Do try it!
Source:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cat-cora/avgolemono-chicken-soup-with-egg-lemon-sauce-recipe/index.html

Avgolemono: Chicken Soup with Egg-Lemon Sauce - Cat Cora
1 (3 pound) free range chicken
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 bay leaves
1 leek, cleaned and quartered
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
2/3 cup Aborio rice
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

Place the chicken in a large pot with 2 quarts cold water, enough to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, skimming when necessary.

In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions. Sweat the onions until clear. Set aside.

When chicken is cooked through, remove from the broth. Let the chicken cool and pull the meat from the bones. Dice into large cubes. Set aside.

Add the onion, bay leaves, leek, and carrot to the broth and simmer for 1 hour. When finished, remove the carrot and leek from the broth and add the rice. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to medium high to simmer until the rice is cooked to al dente, about 30 minutes. Add the chicken back into the broth. Add more water if needed.

In a small bowl beat the eggs and lemon juice together. Pour 2 cups of broth slowly into the bowl of egg and lemon, whisking continuously. Once all the broth is incorporated, add the mixture into the pot of chicken soup and stir to blend well throughout. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes


Prep     10 min
Cook    3 hr 10 min
Total:     3 hr 20 min
Serves 8-10


Becky's NOTES:
After I remove the carrots and leeks I chop the carrots into small pieces (last time I even squeezed them through my potato ricer) I add the carrots back into the soup with the chicken.  I do not add onions, my kids don't care for the texture, but I do let them simmer in the broth with the leeks and carrots, but do not add them to the final product.  Very very yummy and fairly easy to make!  Do go out and buy some Aborio rice, it is perfect for this soup.

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!!