Chicken Gnocchi Soup - Easy Version

We LOVE gnocchi soup! It is definitely a favorite around here. But the recipe I originally used takes forever to make so we didn't eat it nearly as often as we would have liked. This version of the recipe is a game changer - it literally takes at least 30 minutes off the prep time - and is every bit as good! You really can't go wrong either way, but this one is my current go-to. Yum! (Originally found here.)

2-3 chicken breasts grilled using Perfect Chicken recipe*, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 white onion, diced (yellow or red onion is fine, too)

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups chicken broth (4 bouillon cubes + 4 c. water works fine)

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp thyme

1/4 cup flour

16 oz. potato gnocchi (I literally buy this at Dollar Tree)

2 cups half and half

1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add celery, onions, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent.

Add salt, pepper, thyme and flour. Stir to coat veggies. Add chicken broth and stir well. Add chicken. Bring to a boil, then gently stir in gnocchi. Boil for 3-4 minutes more, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes** to finish cooking gnocchi. (**Or cook the gnocchi in a separate pan according to package directions before adding to other ingredients. Then you can skip the last 10 minutes of cooking time.) 

Stir in half and half and spinach and cook another 1-2 minutes until spinach is tender. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Serve alone or with homemade bread, breadsticks or rolls.

*You can substitute a 12.5 oz. can of chicken breast if you don't have time to make Perfect Chicken. Or make it without the chicken. I did that once on accident and no one noticed! Or just cook the chicken however you like!

Jeff's Chili

Jeff is a great cook and we have certain favorite meals that are always made by him. Hamburgers, biscuits, fish tacos, and waffles immediately come to mind. Yum!! Here's his latest and greatest contribution. It's delish!

1 pound stew meat or rib eye steak
1 onion, chopped
1 packet Kinder's chili seasoning, "woodfired chili" flavor
32 oz. Spicy V8 juice (or use regular V8 for a more mild chili)
2-3 cans Bush's chili beans

Saute the onion in a little bit of oil. Cut up meat and add to onions. Season with steak seasoning or salt and pepper. Cook until meat is done, then add chili seasoning, beans and V8.

Mashed Potatoes

Sadie is our mashed potato maker around here. She definitely knows what she's doing. :)

5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (or Russets, if preferred) 

1/2 c. butter (1 stick) 
1/2 c. milk or heavy cream

1/2 c. sour cream

Salt and Pepper 

        Peel and chop potatoes into chunks. In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until totally soft, 16-18 minutes. Drain and return potatoes to pot. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes until smooth.
        Melt butter and milk until warm. Pour over potatoes and stir until completely combined and creamy. Add sour cream and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Chewy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't remember how I stumbled upon this delicious recipe, but I'm sure glad I did. These are by far my favorite pumpkin cookies ever. While I love the flavor of pumpkin cookies, I don't love how cakey they always seem to be. Well, with the eggs eliminated, these cookies solve that problem. These are chewy and perfect and I can't get enough. The amounts below are doubled from the original recipe, otherwise there wouldn't be enough! You're welcome. :)

2 sticks (1 cup) butter
2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

7.5 oz. (1/2 can) 100% pure pumpkin

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cloves

3 c. flour

2 c. chocolate chips

        Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together butter and sugars. Add the vanilla and pumpkin and mix until smooth. Combine all dry ingredients and add to the rest, mixing just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

        Bake rounded balls of dough (I use a cookie scoop) on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11-14 minutes or just until they start to puff up a little. Cool slightly before removing from pan.

Pumpkin Bars

These yummy bars from my friend, Susie, really hit the spot once September rolls around and everyone starts craving pumpkin everything. Yum!

4 eggs
1 c. cooking oil
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
        Beat together eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread batter in an ungreased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes. Cool. Frost with cream cheese icing (recipe below) and cut into bars.

Cream cheese icing:
1 cube butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
2-3 c. powdered sugar
        Combine butter and cream cheese until creamy. Stir in vanilla and salt. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix well. Add additional powdered sugar, up to 1 cup more, to attain a fluffy frosting consistency.

Bread Pudding

My friend, Penny, made this for us at the end of a particularly long and hard day. It just screams "comfort food!!" Okay, maybe it calmly whispers "comfort food" while playing soothing music in the background. ;) All I know is I have happy thoughts about this yummy dessert because it left me feeling like everything was going to be okay.

1 loaf white bread or French bread (Penny uses 1 ½ loaves Jimmy John’s bread)
4 eggs
1 ¼ c. sugar
4 c. milk (whole milk if you have it!)
2 tsp. vanilla
4 Tbsp. butter, cold
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
        Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with butter. Cut the loaves of bread into pieces by cutting it lengthwise into strips then again crosswise into one-inch chunks and put into pan. Beat eggs well in mixing bowl, then add sugar, milk, and vanilla and beat together well. Pour over the bread. Push bread down into milk with a spoon until bread is well covered with milk mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the top and dot with the cold butter. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla sauce (below).

Vanilla Sauce (double this recipe)
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. boiling water
½ c. real butter
1 Tbsp. vanilla
        Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Gradually add boiling water. Cook until sauce thickens. Remove from stove. Add butter and vanilla. Stir until blended. Spoon warm over bread pudding when served.

Homemade Honey Wheat Bread (or White)

Years ago, I won a loaf of homemade bread at a church activity. It was seriously the best. My friend, Kristina, was kind enough to share her recipe and I've made it so many times since then. This is my go-to bread recipe. I took fresh loaves to each of my neighbors near the start of the Covid quarantine in 2020 and the single guy next door still talks about how good it was! :)

¼ c. oil
¼ c. honey (or brown sugar)
2 tsp. salt
1 ½ Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. dough enhancer
2 ¾ c. hot water
3 c. wheat flour (grind 6 c.)
2 - 2 ½ c. white flour
        Combine ingredients, adding the additional wheat flour as needed. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Knead 8 minutes on #3 (Bosch*) with dough hook. Turn out on oiled counter (or a floured silicone baking mat). Divide into 3 equal pieces. Smoosh out each section, popping yeast bubbles, then roll each into a loaf. Place in 3 greased bread pans (8”x4”). [For larger pans, this makes 2 loaves.] Let rise. Bake at 325° for 21-24 minutes.

        I’m a sucker for white bread so I usually use all white flour (5 cups + 3 additional cups to use as needed) with brown sugar in place of honey. However, when I do make wheat bread, I use honey. 

*My Bosch has 4 settings, so #3 is pretty fast. That should help you determine what speed to use on a different type of mixer. 

       I usually double the recipe and make 6 loaves at a time. The baked loaves freeze well.

Funeral Potatoes

If we changed the name of this dish, would people make it more often? It's yummy and comforting, but kind of sad that it's mostly eaten only as after-funeral food. :(

22-32 oz. frozen hashbrowns

2 cans cream of chicken soup

16 oz. sour cream (2 cups)

1 c. grated cheese

½ c. melted margarine

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

2 c. finely crushed cornflakes

2 Tbsp. melted margarine

Combine all ingredients except cornflakes and last 2 Tbsp. margarine. Put in 9x13 baking dish. Combine cornflakes and margarine and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

White Chili

Hands down, this is the recipe I've had the most requests for over the years. I got the recipe years ago when Jeff and I were the judges for a Chili Cook-off at church. The flavor was so unique and amazingly delicious that it was our #1 choice. The "chef" was kind enough to give out copies of the recipe to anyone who wanted it. The original recipe is from a restaurant in St. Louis called Lewis and Clark's. I've tweaked and simplified it over the years to the version below. This can easily be doubled or tripled and it makes great leftovers!

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped (or a handful of dried minced onion)

4 garlic cloves, minced

one 4 oz. can chopped mild green chilies

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cloves (don't leave this out. Super yummy!)

1-2 c. cooked and cubed chicken (or one 12.5 oz. can cooked chicken breast)

3 cans Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

4 c. chicken broth

8 oz. cream cheese - see suggestion below*

Sour cream (optional)

     Heat oil over medium heat. If using fresh onion, add onions and stir until translucent. Stir in garlic, chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne and cloves. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken, beans, and broth. Stir in cream cheese. (*To eliminate lumps when adding the cream cheese, warm the cream cheese to soften, stir it up until creamy smooth and add some hot broth a little at a time - stirring well after each addition - until it's runny, then stir it into the soup as the final ingredient.)

     Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Ladle into large bowls. Top with sour cream and serve with tortilla chips, if desired. 

Potato Soup / Corn Chowder

This is one of Sam's favorites. It's pretty easy to make and, with the simple addition of canned corn, it goes from potato soup to corn chowder. It's delicious with homemade bread, rolls, or cornbread.

5-6 good sized potatoes, peeled and chopped in ~1” chunks

8 oz. (or less) baby-cut carrots, chopped (I like mine in big chunks)

1/2 onion, chopped (or a handful of dried minced onion)

1/4 to 1/2 c. butter or margarine

1/4 to 1/2 c. flour

2 c. milk or half and half

one can sweet corn, drained (optional)

salt and pepper

     Saute onion in a little olive oil. (If using dried minced onion, skip this step.) Place chopped carrots, potatoes, and onion in a pan of boiling water with just enough water to cover the vegetables. Allow to simmer until vegetables are soft. In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan and add same amount of flour with a good dash of salt and pepper to make a roux. Cook together for a minute or so, stirring constantly, then add the milk or half and half all at once. Use a whisk to eliminate any lumps from the flour/butter mixture. Stir constantly over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Pour into cooked veggies. For corn chowder, add corn. 

Chicken Doodle Soup

This is one of Sadie's favorites. It's a pretty basic chicken noodle soup with Hungarian dumplings instead of noodles. We learned how to make the dumplings from our friend, Andy, who served as a missionary in Hungary. Somehow, the dumplings are the perfect addition to this yummy soup. Serve with homemade bread for a comforting winter meal.

8 c. water and 8 chicken bouillon cubes (or use 8 c. chicken broth or stock)

1 handful (~1/3 c.) dry minced onion

carrots (up to 8 oz.) and celery (2-3 stalks), cut into bite-sized pieces

2 c. baked chicken, cubed (or one 12.5 oz. can cooked chicken breast)

Hungarian Dumplings (see recipe below)

     Bring water and bouillon to a boil. Add onion, carrots and celery. When vegetables are soft, add chicken. Add dumplings (doodles) by pouring through a cheese grater and allowing to drop into the boiling soup. Simmer for a few minutes until doodles are cooked. Serve with homemade bread, if desired.

Hungarian Dumplings

2 c. flour

2 beaten eggs

~1 c. water

     Combine to make a thick glue-like consistency. Allow to drip through cheese grater into boiling soup above. You can use a scraper to help feed it through the grater. To make as a side dish, drip into boiling water that has 1 Tbsp. oil and a little bit of salt in it. Cook to a chewy homemade noodle consistency. (Since Sadie only eats the doodles when I make the soup, sometimes I'll make her just doodle soup -no chicken or veggies- for lunch. I halve the Hungarian Dumpling recipe and drip it into 4 cups of boiling water with three chicken bouillon cubes for the broth.)

5-hour Stew

When Jeff and I were first married, we sometimes drove the four hours to his grandparents house in Idaho. His grandma, Helen Stowell, would always have this stew in the oven, ready whenever we were. Served with rolls or homemade bread, it's the perfect comfort food on a cold day. The amounts are not specific so put in as much as you like. If I'm making a large batch, I'll sometimes add 2 cans of tomato soup instead of one.

Stew meat – trim the fat and cut into large bite-sized pieces

potatoes, cut into large bite-sized chunks

carrots, cut into large bite-sized chunks

1/2 of an onion, chopped (can also use a small handful of dried minced onion)

Tomato soup + 1/2 can water

Salt and pepper, to taste

     Combine all in oven safe container and bake at 300° for 5+ hours or until ready to eat. Can also be cooked in a crock pot on low for 5-6 hours. Serve with homemade bread or rolls.

 

Harvest Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is originally from Thanksgiving Point in Utah. My sister passed it on to me and I've tweaked it a bit over the years. It has a slightly better texture when you peel, cube and roast the squash yourself, but I found frozen butternut squash at the grocery store one day and it was a game changer! It cut the prep time from about an hour to only 20 minutes. I've included the simplified recipe at the end. Maybe give both a try and see if the extra time commitment is worth it. For me, this used to be a luxury dish - something I only made once or twice a year. But now with the simplified version, I can make it whenever I'm craving its deliciousness. 

2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed (4-6+ c. squash)*

1/4 c. olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

1 small diced onion

1 Tbsp. butter

3 c. chicken broth

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

     Toss cubed butternut squash with olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast in oven at 350° for 15-20 minutes until browned. While squash is roasting, place onion and butter in large sauce pan and sweat until translucent. Add chicken stock to sauce pan and roasted squash. Boil until squash is tender. (Before pureeing the soup, you might remove some of the liquid so it’s not as runny. You can always pour some back in as needed.) Place in blender, or use an immersion blender, and puree until smooth. Return to pan and stir in spices and cream.

*If using more squash, alter other ingredients as needed.

 

Harvest Butternut Soup, Simplified

This version uses frozen butternut squash and comes together in about 20 minutes.

2 bags (10 oz. each) frozen butternut squash (steamable, organic)

2-3 c. chicken broth

A small handful of dried onion

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. curry powder

Salt and pepper to taste

½ c. heavy whipping cream

     Place chicken broth in large sauce pan and bring to boil. Add onion and squash. Boil until squash is tender. (Remove some of the broth, if needed, before pureeing.) Place in blender, or use an immersion blender, and puree until smooth. Return to pan and stir in spices and cream.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

This is our current favorite soup. The only problem is that it takes FOREVER to prep so make sure you double the recipe to make it worth your time. If you don't, you won't have any leftovers and then you'll be sad. I could eat this for lunch every day! (Update: check out this easier version! Still delish and takes way less time to make :)

¼ c. olive oil

1 c. onion, finely chopped

1 ½ c. matchstick carrots (or baby carrots cut into bite-sized pieces)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 c. celery, chopped

1-3 c. fresh broccoli, finely cut

4 green onions, chopped

¼ c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ tsp. marjoram

½ tsp. basil

4 c. chicken broth

1 package potato gnocchi (I cut each piece in half or thirds)

4 chicken breasts cooked with the perfect chicken recipe, cut in small pieces

1 c. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

2 c. half and half

     Prep all vegetables before starting. You’ll be glad you did. Saute the onions, carrots, and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for three minutes. Add the celery, broccoli and green onions and continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender. Combine the flour and spices. Add to veggies and stir to coat. Let the mixture cook for about a minute before adding a cup or two of the chicken broth. Stir until smooth and add the rest of the broth. Cook until the mixture thickens. Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Add the cooked gnocchi, chicken and spinach to the soup. Stir in half and half. Cook until the spinach is soft.

      (Gnocchi can usually be found near the pasta section of larger stores.)

Cinnamon Milk Mix

My friend, Jackie, brought us a cute little jar of this powdered cinnamon milk mix a couple years ago for Christmas. Oh Yum!! We went through that stuff so fast! It's easy to whip up a new batch and then you're all set for a delicious and comforting drink. 

2 c. powdered milk

1 c. powdered coffee creamer

1 c. sugar

½ Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. powdered vanilla (optional)

     Mix all ingredients together. Put in a jar or other container with a lid or in a gallon-size ziplock bag. To drink, put 1/3 c. mix in a mug and fill with 1 c. boiling (or not quite boiling) water while stirring.

Rice-A-Roni Egg Fu Yung

To be fair, I haven't made this in years, but Jeff really loved it way back when. This was a perfect recipe in our lean years where money was tight, but it was fun to dress up an ordinary box of Rice-A-Roni into something super delicious.

One box (6.25 oz.) Rice-A-Roni Fried Rice
6 eggs
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup water
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 can (16-oz.) bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1/4 c. sliced green onions
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions. Cool. 

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, cornstarch and water to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened. Set aside. 

In a medium bowl, beat eggs with pepper and remaining soy sauce. Stir in cooled Rice-A-Roni, bean sprouts and green onions. In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, heat 1 Tbsp oil. Spoon 1/2 c. of rice mixture into skillet. Spread to form a 6-inch circle. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining rice mixture to form 8 patties, using remaining oil as needed. Serve with additional soy sauce or sweet and sour sauce, if desired.

Noodle Casserole

This is something Jeff's Grandma Stowell made for us when we visited once after we were married. It has a sort of comfort food aspect, but the green peppers are a surprising addition that make for a delicious flavor.

½ of a green pepper, chopped

¼ to ½ of a medium onion, chopped

Saute above ingredients in a little bit of margarine.

Add:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can tuna, drained

1 c. frozen peas

Heat through and stir into 1 lb. cooked egg noodles.

Chicken and Noodles

I got this recipe years ago from my friend, Chris. Not much to it, but it sure hits the spot after a hectic day. Even better if it's cold and snowy and you need some good old comfort food!

3 or 4 lbs. boiler/fryer chicken

Put in crock pot with salt & pepper and water to cover. Leave on high about 5 hours. Drain from broth. Put broth back in crock pot, still on high. Add 1 package egg noodles and water, if necessary. Cut up, skin and debone chicken. Put chicken back in noodles and cook for another 30-40 minutes.

Chicken and Rice

Mmmm. We just had this last night. The rice gets so soft and mushy and yummy. It tastes like comfort. I even used pretty thick and completely frozen chicken breasts and they cooked up just right, though I did up the temp to 325º just to be safe. This one comes together in a jiffy. Just make sure you plan for the longer baking time.

2 cups Minute Rice

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

½ cup milk

½ bag dry onion soup mix

Mix above ingredients together. Put in pan and lay chicken breasts or tenders on top. Sprinkle other half of dry onion soup over chicken. Bake at 300º for 90 minutes, covered.