Chicken Gnocchi Soup

This soup, what can I possibly say it is fantastic!! It is a truly rustic dish with savory spices to warm you up on these cold winter days. When it gets dark at around 5pm or earlier you long for a savory comfort meal to warm you up and let me tell you, this soup is it!!!

This is a quintessential winter slow cooker soup. Place most of the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning before heading to work or taking the kids to school and let those delicious flavors simmer all day long. Honestly if you were to be at home all day with this deliciousness brewing I would go insane with the amazing smell wafting from the kitchen.

So curl up in your comfy clothes and pass around a fresh loaf of French bread to sop up the deliciousness and just relax.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups total chopped onions, celery, and carrots
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tablespoons water
2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
2 1lb. packages mini potato gnocchi
6 slices bacon
2-3 cloves garlic
5 ounces fresh baby spinach

Directions:

Place the chicken, onion, carrot, celery, basil, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt, and broth in a slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot.

Add the cornstarch mixture, evaporated milk, and gnocchi. Stir and replace cover.

While the soup is thickening up, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels and wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, leaving just a little bit for cooking the spinach and garlic.

Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat.

Add the bacon and spinach to the crockpot. Stir to combine.

Add any additional liquid as needed if the soup is too think and season again with salt and pepper as needed.