Pantry Homemade Double Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Yesterday, I was trying to get a meal plan for the month (okay maybe just the week… baby steps) and I knew that we wanted soup.  It’s been rainy and nasty in Georgia the last couple weeks.  With that being said, I wanted to make a new soup that we haven’t ate at home this winter, and not have to go to the grocery store to do so.  There’s not many things worse than unloading your groceries in the cold and rain with your little one.  So what is a mom to do you ask? Cook from your pantry.

First of all I want to say that I got my inspiration for a “pantry make-over” from Carrie’s Experimental Kitchen.  You can click here for her recipe.  I happened to find her on Pinterest.

I revamped this soup to fit our hibernating needs and making a good wholesome meal with what you have.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Celery Seed
• 1/4 Sweet Onion (chopped finely in food processor)
• 1/2 cup Canned Carrots (drained well & chopped finely in food processor)
• 2 tsp – Minced Garlic
• 2 Tbsp. Self Rising Flour
• 6 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
• 8 Cups Water
• 1 Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
• 2 Pinches of Thyme
• 1 Can of Spinach (well drained)
• 5 Chicken Breasts (could used canned, drain well)
• 1 1/2 Cups Whole Milk – 1/2 cup Melted Butter
• 2 – 17.6 oz Packages of Gnocchi

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400, line your baking sheet with aluminum foil – spray – place chicken on baking sheet.  Spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray.
2. In food processor, chop carrots and onion.
3. Meanwhile, drain your spinach, shaking to get any excess liquid off.
4. Using the biggest pot that you have (trust me you’ll be happy you did) melt the butter.  When melted add carrots, onion, minced garlic and celery seed. (This is a true time saver, not having to worry about vegetables getting soft.)
5. Whisk in flour, add water and bouillon cubes. Whisk until it all comes together.
6. Add nutmeg and thyme. Let it simmer while your waiting on the chicken to finish cooking.  Keep whisking.
7. Add cooked chicken (I chopped up 3 chicken breasts in food processor, and pulled 2 pieces of chicken apart by hand.  That way you’ll have some nice small chunks of chicken, giving the soup a nice texture.)
8. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes, then bring it down to a simmer.
9. Melt butter and add to the milk.  Heat mixture in microwave, until warm.
10. Add butter/milk mixture, spinach and gnocchi to the pot. It will look glorious 🙂
11. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, making sure the gnocchi is cooked and soft.

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did.  My little family devoured this, and said it was definitely a keeper.  They want it again this winter.   The Georgia Peach King said he liked it better than what Olive Garden serves, because it has more chicken and more gnocchi’s.

I’m so glad that I stumbled upon Carrie’s Experimental Kitchen, so that I could make this wonderful soup.  Making it truly our own by what we had on hand.