Blustery cold winter days, not to mention the unspeakably scary flu and other viruses going around and spreading like wildfire, require some pretty serious TLC! So what better helps us out in times like these? A big ol’ pot of delicious, comforting soup!! And this Creamy Turkey (or Chicken) & Sausage Gnocchi Soup with Spinach, a stick-to-your-ribs stew-like soup, is just the cure for the wintertime blues and flues!!

A creamy, thick and hearty soup, that not only fills your tummy and thaws your nose and toes, but also provides a nice big ole serving of multiple vitamins and minerals that our bodies so desperately need this time of year!

Our Grandmas and Great-Grandmas were right all along! Soup fixes everything. It really does!!! And I don’t care if there’s fat, or carbs, or anything else unpopular these days in it.

Some of these things just might be a part of the whole complicated package that our bodies need and are missing in today’s quickie “drive-thru insta-world”!

Even soups with a base of heavy cream or whole milk, flour, and a small palmful of salt do our bodies better than a bottle of pills, or a powder and water in the blender.

Seriously. Just look at that bowl that’s CHOCK. FULL. Of vitamins and minerals!

Potato gnocchi, sweet baby carrots, celery, onions, and spinach!! And that’s just the veggies!!

The added proteins of lean, roast turkey is inarguably another secret weapon that colds and flu absolutely hate!

Even mushrooms!! Though they were an afterthought and a “clean out the fridge day” addition, even mushrooms provide help with cancers, diabetes, and high cholesterol relief!  I had to use up the rest of a jar. But fresh, of course, would be best!

I remember when I was little, that soup was about the only thing that made me feel better. And it not only warmed me up when I had the chills, or comforted me when I had a fever, it always seems to heal me almost overnight.

Bowls of soup like this are so loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins, (and yes, fats and carbs!), that our bodies NEED, that it’s no wonder they kick colds right in the patootie.

Our bodies are very complicated machines. Just like cars. If we skip the water, or oil, or gas in a car….you’re not going anywhere.

And our bodies need a variety of elements, too. Or we wear down and can’t recover quickly from “fender benders” or “head-on crashes” from sniffles to full-blown flu, either.

Even carbs. Carbs give us energy the same as gas does for a car! (Sorry carb haters. Get over it.)

So, pile ALL of these incredibly healthy ingredients into a pot, stir it up, and you’ve got one heck of an army to shake the boots of any cold or flu even thinking about attacking you!

The flu this year has been unspeakably horrific and deadly. So besides getting a flu shot,  taking any and all meds you’re supposed to be taking, and bundling up and staying warm, please make sure you arm yourself well with something wholesome, like a good old-fashioned pot of soup!!

And good god, please don’t go out in public if you’re sick. DO NOT go to work. DO NOT send your kids to school. DO NOT spread it to everyone you come within 500 feet of. As that’s how it is spreading. Even just BREATHING passes it more than 200 feet. You don’t even have to cough or sneeze to spread it, and masks don’t stop it, either.

Stay home. Bundle up. Make a pot of soup to nourish your body. And get well!!! Hope this helps any and all who are sick, and helps to arm those who are lucky enough to have escaped these viruses.

Soup may not be the “smoking gun solution”. But it does do a body good. Just ask your Grandma. 😉

Yield: 2 quarts

Creamy Turkey (or Chicken) & Sausage Gnocchi Soup with Spinach

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Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 Tbl. real butter (I use Minerva Dairy Amish Butter)
• 1 large onion, chopped chunky
• 1 (16 oz.) bag baby carrots, sliced into fourths
• 2 large celery ribs, sliced thickly
• 3 - 4 large garlic cloves, minced (can sub 1 tsp. garlic powder and just add later with rest of herbs)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups turkey or chicken broth
• 2 cups milk (I used whole, but 2% ok)
• 1 Tbl. Better Than Bouillon Chicken Bouillon base
• 1/2 tsp. each: dried thyme, coarse ground black pepper, and regular table salt
• 1 large bay leaf
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 4 oz. white american cheese, not the wrapped slices, (sliced unwrapped kind ok, see note*)
• 2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 lbs. leftover roast turkey or chicken, torn into large bite-sized pieces
• 1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 (4.5 oz.) jar sliced mushrooms, well drained
• 1/3 cup very finely grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 2 grilled hot italian sausage links
• 2 (10 oz.) pkgs. frozen gnocchi, cooked according to pkg. directions (I cooked mine for 5 minutes once boiling again)
• more salt and pepper to taste (1/2 - 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. pepper)

Instructions

In stock pot over medium heat to start, add butter and melt, then add onion, carrots and celery, and sauté until the veggies are softened and the onions are translucent. (*Lower heat to medium-low about halfway through, then to low during last 5 minutes for best results. Cooking time is about 20 minutes.They will still be crisp-tender and cook further later.) Add the garlic, and cook one minute longer. Stir in the flour to coat, raise heat to medium-low, and sauté 2 minutes longer, stirring and folding to cook out the raw flour taste out.

Slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk, then add the chicken base, thyme, pepper, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, lower heat to medium-low, and cook for at least 20 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and veggies are tender through. *Stir frequently, scraping bottom of pot.

Add the cut-up cream cheese and white American cheese, and stir after each addition, until cheeses have fully melted and the broth is creamy.

Stir in heavy cream, turkey, spinach, mushrooms, and parmesan. Cook over low just until heated through. Set aside to rest partially covered with lid tilted and cook gnocchi (and sausage if not already cooked ahead of time).

Stir in hot italian sausages, and cooked and drained gnocchi. (Cook gnocchi according to package directions.)

Cook pot of soup over Low until heated through, and let rest a few minutes. (*Do not bring to a boil.)

Remove bay leaf and ladle into bowls! Serve piping hot, garnished with finely chopped fresh parsley or just a sprig, and a little parmesan cheese grated over the top if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

*I use Land O'Lakes White American Cheese, the slices that come unwrapped. The slices are thicker. You can also purchase a 4 oz. piece from your local grocery store deli, and just dice it before adding to the soup. The individually wrapped slices just aren't as good and are more expensive. And all that extra plastic adds to our landfills.
*I used 7 slices, but depending on what brand you use, it will be 6 - 8 slices.