"Magic Soup"

Guaranteed to cure what ails ya.
Or at least give your whole heart a lift. :)

Cook time: 2 hours (more or less)... i'm bad at watching the clock. :(
Serves: well, in my house there are just 2 of us... so we eat it for a few days... but I'm sure it could easily serve 4-6.   ***AND I'm **really bad** about following recipes to the T... partly because half the time it's a huge waste of food if I do that (with only 2 people in the house)... so, where it works for me, to just fling stuff together in the pot and eyeball-it... i am realizing that this technique isn't the most conducive to sharing recipes with others... so please forgive me that my proportions below are kind of messed up....... i have made this soup so many times that I kind of 

Ingredients:

• extra-virgin olive oil (a couple swirls around your pot)
• 1 big onion (i'm loooving whatever i find at the farmer's market these days: big, sweet walla-wallas or candy onions or sweet spanish... whatever you can get)
• 1 lb. bag of carrots, peeled and chopped (depending on how much you want, you could even throw in another pound... perhaps I might, tonight) :)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped 
  
• 1 whole chicken (you can roast the bird yourself OR if you're short on time, grab a cheap-o $4.99 rotisserie chicken from the front of the grocery store). :)
• a bay leaf (if you have one)
  
• salt & pepper
• about 4 pieces of crisp, cooked bacon (omgoodness I have totally found a way to cheat the system on this... the last few times I've made this soup, I buy a small bag of Bacon Pieces from the salad aisle or produce aisle... NOT bacon bits but **real bacon**.  It's out there (in case you didn't know) and SOOO worth it; so legit; no one will be able to tell when you use it in a dish like this where it isn't on center-stage).
• 2-3 regular-sized cans of whole, peeled tomatoes. OR if you have fresh, you can use some peeled, whole, fresh if you like..... I'm totally doing that today because I just harvested a bunch from our garden.
• 1-2 cans of chicken broth
• 1 box of Gnocchi (find in pasta aisle or maybe international aisle) (little Italian, potato-dough dumplings)
• a big handful of basil leaves, gently washed and chiffed (cut in a chiffonade) :) 
• lots of yummy REAL Parmeggiano-Reggiano for serving on top (SO WORTH IT!)... OR you can get Grana Padano (it's cheaper, but also a hard-cheese from Italy with that nutty bite that is *perfect* for the magic soup) :)
• crusty bread for dunking & dipping (if you want!)

Directions:
If doing your own, roast your chicken (a good rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound at 350*F)... and if you're using a store-bought rotisserie that's FINE; just set it in the fridge & let it rest in there. :)


Get a large soup pot or cast-iron Dutch oven and heat it over medium heat with the oil.  Add the carrots and onion... cook for about 5 minutes and throw your garlic in... Toss around with veggies and cook another couple minutes... until everything smells good.  Salt and pepper this well.  Add in the bacon (4 strips if you did it yourself... and just eyeball the equivalent if you bought the Bacon Pieces from the store).  Add the tomatoes (I crush each one by hand, as they fall out of the can)... and add the chicken broth.  (*And your bay leaf if you have one).  Let this whole pot-full come to a boil....... In the meantime, while you're waiting on the bubbles.... Tear the chicken meat off the chicken and discard the bones.  When the pot is bubblin', add the chicken and gnocchi.  The gnocchi will only probably need a few minutes to cook (since it's soft to begin with)... but just follow the package directions.  

If you're making this for a husband who frequently gets stuck in the O.R. with patients (this might be me...) :)...... please note: when you add in the gnocchi, it will be **ready to serve** when the gnocchi are done.  There are few things I hate more in this world like I abhor over-cooked pasta....... Gnocchi included....... Even though with the stewy-goodness of this dish, it's okay if they get a little mushy...  BUT all this to say: you can put **everything** in *except* the gnocchi and just stick that in when you're very close to wanting this to be on the table---- I prefer it this way. :)

I also don't like to add in the chicken until toward the end, too... because I find that it falls apart and gets unnecessarily mushy if it gets put in too soon.  (it's already been cooked once by roasting... why boil the heck out of it and try to cook it again?)

When everything is done with the Magic Soup------ Serve with the chiffed basil, crusty bread, & Parm (or Grana Padano).  But seriously, do this dish justice and go out and get some REAL Italian cheese (not the "parm" from Wisconsin)... it's sooooooo beyond WORTH it. :)