Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden)

www.thriftyfun.com
Serves: 6

1/3 cup butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 pound chicken cubed (using canned chicken)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 carrot shredded (using dehydrated carrots)
1/4 cup onions shredded (using dehydrated onion)
1/2 cup fresh spinach torn in pieces (using frozen spinach)
2 cups milk (could use powdered milk, but I won't)
2 cups heavy cream (using shelf-stable Gossner's cream)
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1 pinch cracked pepper
1 17.6-ounce can gnocchi (could make it fresh or with canned potatoes - see this link for the recipe: http://www.savvyshopperdeals.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,2/topic,5659.0


On medium heat, melt butter in a soup pot, add in the garlic and saute, add your chicken and cook through out.  Add flour and stir in flour and mix well until the flour is cooked into the chicken.  Next add your milk and heavy cream then add the veggies (Carrots, Celery, Onion, Spinach).  Add three bullion cubes.  Add your Gnocchi last it takes 3-4 min. to cook throughout.  Mix ingredients well until soup thickens and stirring occasionally. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

I saw this on Good Morning America last week.  Keep Carrots, Celery, Onion & Canned Tomatoes in your pantry and then you can vary this in so many different ways!!!


From the kitchen of Jaime Oliver
Servings: 4-6
Difficulty: Moderate
Cook Time: Over 120 min

You are going to love this slow-cooked stew recipe, because it's so simple and gives consistently good results. Try each of the different options below. It's a good idea to stick to the meat and booze combinations I've given you, but if you want to pick and mix the herbage feel free! For each of the four options below the meat should be cut into approximately 3/4-inch cubes. Package from most grocery stores are often about that size.

In stew recipes you're often told to brown off the meat first. But I've done loads of tests and found the meat is just as delicious and tender without browning it first, so I've removed this usual stage from these recipes.

Ingredients
2 stalks celery
2 medium onions
2 carrots
Olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 x 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Then choose one of the following:
BEEF AND ALE (3 hours)
3 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 pound diced stewing beef
2 cups brown ale, Guinness or stout

PORK AND CIDER (2 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs of fresh sage
1 pound diced stewing pork, preferably free-range or organic
2 cups medium-dry hard cider

CHICKEN AND WHITE WINE (1 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pound diced, boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups white wine

LAMB AND RED WINE (2 1/2 hours)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 pound diced stewing lamb
2 cups red wine

Cooking Directions

If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 350?F. Trim the ends off your celery and roughly chop the stalks. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel the carrots, slice lengthways, and roughly chop. Put a Dutch oven on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables and your chosen herb into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes. Add you meat and flour. Pour in the booze and canned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season with a teaspoon of sea salt (less if using table salt) and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, put the lid on, and either simmer slowly on your cooktop or cook in an oven for the times shown above. Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking and add a splash of water if it looks a bit dry. When done, your meat should be tender and delicious. Remove any bay leaves or herb stalks before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper.

*Recipe courtesy of Jamie Oliver from Jamie's Food Revolution; Hyperion, 2009.

Select from these Jaime Oliver toppers: Pastry Lid, Dumplings, Hot Pot or Mashed Potatoes.

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR ALCOHOL:

Beer/Ale: Chicken broth, beef broth, mushroom broth, white grape juice, ginger ale
Hard Cider: Apple Juice
White Wine: Water, chicken broth, vegetable broth, white grape juice, ginger ale, white grape juice
Red Wine: Red grape juice, cranberry juice, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, clam juice, fruit juices, flavored vinegar