The Best Chicken "Noodle" Soup Ever

Today was so not a soup day. Little Man and I went out for a nice walk to soak in the sun and enjoy the 70 degree day. He even had to don his shades.

He was totally into the walk.

Notice that he and Bruce (The Moose) have the same posture. The toy really is named Bruce (The Moose). The parenthetical is on his birth certificate and I'm contractually obligated to use his full name when I write about him. He's got an agent.

Anyway, I have been craving the chicken "noodle" soup I made about a month ago and decided the weather really doesn't matter that much.

The recipe is so good it NEEDS to be shared with you guys.

I used Tyler Florence's recipe as a base, but modified quite a bit.

In fact, I don't actually use noodles. I use gnocchi. So, my Chicken Noodle Soup is actually Chicken Gnocchi Soup. And it is delicious.

That's not my only change, though. Like I said, I use the Tyler Florence recipe for a base and then run with it.

Here's my version:

2 tablespoons coconut oil (my latest obsession--look for a Granola Mom post on it soon)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup baby carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon ginger (I use the stuff in the tube. It is awesome)
2 quarts chicken stock*
2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is perfect for this)**
1-16 oz. package of dried gnocchi
salt and pepper to taste

(Yes, that is my shadow. I'll get the photo part of this right some day. Soon, hopefully.)

Heat the coconut oil in your stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, sage, rosemary, thyme and ginger. Cook for about six minutes until veggies are soft. Stir often.

Inhale deeply because this stuff smells incredible.

Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Add the shredded chicken and gnocchi. Simmer for a bit to heat through and make the house smell like heaven.

Grill up a grilled cheese, ladle yourself a big bowl of soup and enjoy.

So there you have it. My neighbor made me some soup months ago and used the gnocchi. I stole that from her. She also added ginger and lemongrass. (Thank you Ayme!) I didn't have any lemongrass, but if you've got some handy, throw it it. It's pretty dang good.

If you're worried about coconut oil giving your soup a strange flavor, fear not. It tastes divine. Promise.

Newscasts say that flu is hitting hard all over the country. I firmly believe that chicken noodle soup is a preventative medicine. Chicken gnocchi soup, its distant cousin, is just as effective. Maybe more so. You know, because of the coconut oil. I'm convinced that I'll be fine this season because I ate three bowls of this soup today.

But I'll probably be getting my flu shot on Friday just in case.

*Tyler Florence has a recipe for homemade stock. I'm sure it is wonderful. I usually open two boxes of the low sodium stuff and dump that in the stockpot. It is considerably less time consuming. Sorry Tyler.

**I also made this right after Thanksgiving and used leftover turkey. It was pretty delicious as well.

Do you guys get flu shots, or do you just down soup like a champ and hope for the best?