Recipe Monday #27 Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

I love the Chicken and Gnocchi Soup at Olive Garden, so when I saw gnocchi for sale at a local Italian restaurant/store, I had to give it a try.

I started with some recipes on line.  There seemed to be only one out there, so I started with it.  Many of the comments said "make a roux" (and used 1/3 cup of flour and butter), but in all the times I've eaten the soup, it never seemed that thick. My recipe is not as rich/buttery...I believe that is due to the Alfredo Sauce not being as buttery as Olive Garden's Alfredo Sauce.

So this is what I did:

Ingredients:
1 pound of cooked diced chicken (seasoned and baked in the oven for about 20 minutes) (I think they just boil it in the soup at my Olive Garden-it is always pink-ish which wigs me out!)
Butter (I used Smart Balance 1/2 butter sticks)
Bertolli AlfredoSauce (1/2 jar--the reason I didn't need to make a roux)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 of a grated carrot (approx 1/4 cup)
1 clove of minced garlic (or use garlic powder-maybe 1/8 tsp)
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 package (approx 16 oz/1 pound) of gnocchi
1 cup fresh baby spinach
2 cartons of Swanson's Chicken Broth +2 cups of water
1 Tblsp Grated Parmesan Cheese

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large soup pot. Add onion and garlic....Cook but do not allow to burn.  Add 2 cartons of Swanson's Chicken Broth and 2 cups of water. Add Italian Seasoning. Grate carrot and add to broth. Bring to a boil. Add Parmesan Cheese and chicken. Return to a boil.  Add baby spinach and return to a boil. (I like my spinach to lose its color, but if you don't, wait and add it with the gnocchi.) I let it boil about 5 minutes and then add gnocchi.  Once the water returned to a full boil, I cooked the gnocchi for 2 minutes more. (You may need to adjust to the directions given on the package.)

This makes about 8 or 9 medium size bowls of soup.