From my kitchen: Olive Garden, at home!

Good morning, friends. My guess is that you (unless you happen to live in a tropical climate) are as ready for spring as I am! Winter has held our area hostage - typically when we get snow, we get very little and it melts within a day or so. But not this year! It has been so cold for so long that some of the snow we got a week ago is still with is, and now another winter storm is forecast for tonight!

I find that when it is cold and snowy or icy, I tend to prefer to stay at home rather than go out...must be I am getting older (no comments on that are necessary!), but the nesting instinct kicks in. And when you can make the kind of meal I am going to share with you today, why go out? If you enjoy the soup, salad, and breadsticks meal at Olive Garden, then I have the recipes for you! The first one is for Chicken Gnocchi soup. I originally got this recipe from my mom (thanks, mom!), and I tell you, it tastes JUST LIKE the Chicken Gnocchi at Olive Garden! It is not hard at all to make, but let me give you a tip: have all your ingredients prepped and at hand before you get started and it goes much faster.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup
1/3 c. butter
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced (I used more because we really like garlic!)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced. (I don't cook mine ahead, but you could use leftover cooked chicken breast)
1/3 c. flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 celery stalk, chopped small
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped (you can use frozen chopped spinach that is thawed and well-drained, but I had fresh spinach and love using that)
3 teaspoons chicken stock base (like Tones) dissolved in 3/4 cup of hot water, or 3 bouillon cubes
pepper to taste
1 1 lb. package of Gnocchi (I cut mine in half so they were more bite-sized)

Melt butter in a large pot and sauté the garlic. Add diced chicken and saute until chicken is cooked, about 5 minutes. Add flour and stir into chicken mixture. Add milk and cream and stir well. Stir in all the veggies. Add the chicken stock and the pepper and stir in. Add the gnocchi last - you don't have to pre-cook them, as they will cook in 3-4 minutes. Mix well and soup will thicken. Cover and simmer a few minutes. If it's too thick, add some more chicken stock a little at a time. That's it! The whole thing takes 30 minutes from start to finish! So yummy, so easy, and it makes quite a bit. I served with a salad on the side.

So, what's Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi without breadsticks? (That's what my husband asked last night when I made this for supper and I DID NOT make breadsticks. Partly due to my not eating bread and partly because neither one of us NEEDS bread, when the soup is so filling!) But - I do have a wonderful recipe for Olive Garden-style Garlic breadsticks that I have made many times!

Soft Garlic Yeast Breadsticks
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T olive oil
2 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp basil
3 cups bread flour

You can make these in the bread machine by placing all ingredients in bread machine pan and selecting the dough setting. To make by hand, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add all the other ingredients and mix well, adding more flour or water if necessary. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and soft. Divide into 15 balls and roll each ball into a rope about 6 inches long, place on greased baking sheets, cover, and let rise 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and while warm, brush with a mixture of melted butter and garlic granules.

If you're in the mood for a good restaurant-style meal but don't want to go out, I hope you will give these a try! If you do, I would love to know what you thought. Stay warm!

Love,
Kathi