Chicken Gnocchi Soup

It's been a while since I posted a recipe. Life seems to get busy at times and this year has been a busy year for me. However I'm hoping that I will be back to updating this blog at least weekly if not more often.
A neighbor told me that she loved the Chicken Gnocchi Soup from Olive Garden and since I make a pretty good knock off on their Zuppa Toscana soup could I try making the Gnocchi soup. I'm always up for a challenge so off I went in search of recipes. Now I have never had the Gnocchi soup so I just hoped the recipe I settled on really did taste like the Olive Garden recipe.
I ended up loving this soup. It reminds me of a chicken dumpling dish and I love dumplings. The flavors blended well together and it was really simple to make. I highly suggest you try this soup this fall.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup
recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up

1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and grated
4 stalks celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2-3 T olive oil
1 Rotisserie Chicken + 1 C reserved broth from the bottom of the chicken container
7 C water
8 chicken bullion cubes
1 (16 ounce) package Potato Gnocchi
4 C half and half
1 1/2 C spinach, chopped
1 t thyme
1/8 t nutmeg
1 T sugar
1/4 C cold water
5 T cornstarch
salt and pepper 
2 T butter

 1. Get your onion and garlic peeled and chopped, your carrots peeled and grated and your celery chopped. 
2. Heat a large pot up over medium high heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil into it. 
3. When the oil is hot toss your chopped veggies into the pan. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent. 
4. Take the lovely rotisserie chicken out of the package and set it on a plate. 
5. Pour the broth that is left in the bottom of the chicken package into a large measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup of broth from the pan.  
6. Pull the skin off of the chicken, and take the meat off of the bones. Chop it up with a sharp knife. 
7. When your veggies are done cooking pour the broth from the chicken and 7 cups of hot water into the pot. Add 8 chicken bullion cubes and give it a nice stir. 
8. Add the chopped chicken and bring the soup to a boil. 
9. Open up the package of Gnocchi and pour it into the pot. Let the soup come to a boil again and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 3-4 minutes. The gnocchi will be cooked  through when they float to the top of the broth. It should happen pretty fast.
10. Chop yourself about 1 1/2 cups of spinach and toss it into the pot. 
11. Pour in 4 cups of Half and Half, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir it around a bit and let it come to a boil. 
12. In a small bowl combine 1/4 C cold water and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix it well and pour it into the soup pot. 
13. Bring the soup to a boil, while you stir. It will thicken as the soup reaches a boil. 
14. Taste it and season it to your liking with salt and pepper.