Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp of canned/jarred minced garlic)
coarse salt and fresh black pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 + 1/2 cups half & half
2 cups cooked white meat chicken, shredded or cut into small bites
1 pound potato gnocchi (cooked accordingly to packaging)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

If you do not have half and half (or forgot to pick it up) you can take the 1 cup and 1/2 cup measuring cups. Fill the 1 cup with 1 Tbsp of melted butter and the rest with milk, fill the 1/2 cup measuring cup with 1/2 Tbsp of melted butter and the rest with milk.

In a large soup pot, heat the butter and oil together over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until tender over medium-low heat about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir into the vegetables, cook 3 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the chicken broth 1 cup at a time, followed by the half & half.

Add the cooked chicken. Bring up to a simmer and maintain for 20 minutes stirring often. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the gnocchi separately according to package directions. Add them to the soup along with the spinach. Simmer until spinach is wilted. Stir in basil.

Enjoy!

Whole recipe is 1565 cals so you can divide accordingly. My nutritional info is for 1 cup servings.

Serving Size: Makes 7 1-cup servings

Number of Servings: 7

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SHANESANGEL2010.