What’s Cookin’ in the Country?

Soup season is officially here in East Tennessee!  With a low of thirty-something last night, I can guarantee you that soups will be on the menu at our house this week!  

Last week during our first cold snap, I went to my blog’s recipe index to find the recipe for Chicken Gnocchi and found that I hadn’t posted the recipe in the index!  I had shared the recipe last year, but failed to put the link in place.  That is fixed!  You can find it there now.  But since I had failed to put the link there I wondered if this comfort-filled soup had been neglected?  That would be sad, because it’s the copy-cat recipe from Olive Garden and tastes every bit as good as theirs!  That means you don’t have to stop at one bowl at the restaurant; you can eat this for supper and then enjoy a bowl at lunch tomorrow!  There’s everything good in this soup ~ little potato dumplings, roasted chicken, and a creamy broth.  I’d describe it as comfort food on a spoon!

The Apple Salad you see in the picture is the one I posted here a couple of weeks ago.  If you want to add another fall touch to this meal, add Pumpkin Muffins.  We try to not eat too many breads, so I left that off my menu, but it would be a great addition to this meal!

Chicken Gnocchi
3 -4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
1 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
16 ounces potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
Directions:

Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted
(Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup.).Ladle into bowls and serve!

Though I have LOTS of old recipes, I can’t wait to make a new soup recipe this week!  Maybe you’ll hear about it next Monday!  Will you cook up a pot of soup this week?  What kind?

With love from my country kitchen,