Mock Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You know what's amazing? If you said Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup...you are MOSTLY correct. I was going to say my Mock Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup but, ya know, you may not have tried it yet...so you're just unaware of the awesomeness I'm about to teach you. You're welcome in advance.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or any type of olive oil you may have)

3/4 cup onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced...or more...since garlic is amazing

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cups half & half

4 cups (or one box) reduced sodium chicken broth (I buy 2 boxes and add more as it evaporates for a little more brothy rather than super thick)

2 cups (or 2 larger cans) of cooked chicken, shredded or chopped into bite-size pieces

1 pound potato gnocchi

3 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Here's Whatchya Do:

In a large soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender, stirring often. While it's cooking, enjoy that amazing sizzle that makes me love cooking and that incredible smell of onion and garlic bubbling in butter...yummm.

Sorry, back on track here..

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir into the onion/garlic combo and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, stirring it into the mix. Yes, it will be thick, but the more broth you add in, the better it's going to get. Now add in the half & half.

Add in the chicken and bring your mix up to a simmer and maintain for about 20 minutes. Don't forget to stir and stir often!

Cook the gnocchi separately according to the package. Once they're done, use a slotted spoon to get them out of the water and add them to your soup. At this time, add in the fresh spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted. Now stir in your basil and let it cook for a minute or two. During this process, if the soup is looking too thick, I like to add a little more chicken broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, until the thickness is to my liking.

Serve this soup topped with fresh Parmesan and garlic bread sticks and you're winning! It's very good reheated, but I do suggest reheating with a little more chicken broth splashed in...it does settle and thicken quite a bit when it's refrigerated! ENJOY!