Olive Garden Roasted Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Last week I promised a recipe that used the gnocchi you made last week.  If you haven't made it yet, you really should.  Its yummy!  This is a knock off of an Olive Garden soup.  Once again, I've never had this one before, so I don't know how close it is to the real deal, but it really doesn't matter when you're dealing with something this good.  This soup is so rich and creamy.  Its chock full of chicken and veggies and of course those lovely little gnocchi.  If you don't want to use the gnocchi, you could always substitute some form of pasta, but you'll be missing out on the great texture the gnocchi adds.  This soup has the potential to be so creamy you could eat it with a fork, or to be more on the soup side.  It just depends on how much broth you add.  Next time I'll thin mine down a little more, but either way, its delicious!

Olive Garden Roasted Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Serves 6-8

1/3 cup butter
3 chicken bullion cubes
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
1-2 cups chicken broth (Start with one and add more to reach the desired consistency)
1/2 carrot shredded
1 stick of celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup fresh chopped spinach (I used 1/3 pkg. frozen creamed spinach)
4 c. Half & Half (Non fat works too!)
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1 lb. roasted chicken
Cracked pepper to taste
Gnocchi

INSTRUCTIONS
In a large pot on medium heat, melt butter. Add the carrots and celery and saute until tender.  Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour to make a roux; cook and stir 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of chicken broth, stirring well. Add half and half, nutmeg, pepper and chicken bouillon. Stir well. Add the spinach and heat through.

Heat the soup, stirring occasionally until it thickens.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add more broth if a thinner consistency is desired.  Add the chicken and heat through.

Add your Gnocchi last; allow it to cook for 5 minutes to heat through.

Source:  Adapted from Frieda Loves Bread