Gnocchi and Greens Soup

Tonight's dinner was mostly brought to you by "things I had in my fridge/freezer." Sometimes if I'm going for cheap eats, I brainstorm with what I've got around the house and what sort of a meal it would make. When it gets cold out, I usually plan a soup or stew for dinner at least once a week. I keep quarts of homemade vegetable broth in the freezer and thaw them out as needed. I also had sweet potato gnocchi in the freezer that I made over the summer. So I thought "Hmmm Gnocchi soup." I already had the carrots and celery, and thought peas and greens might be nice. Peas I had in the freezer, greens I had to buy (and to that guy in the supermarket who bought ALL the Kale while I stood there with an open plastic bag waiting to get some kale, you suck. You could have left me one. Ornamental Kale is not the same). All this ended up costing me out of pocket was about $1.50 for the collards that I used in the soup. Good deal since it made a TON and it was VERY filling! (I should have known it would be considering how dense gnocchi is.) This recipe is just really the stuff I threw together in a pot. It was super easy to make. I'd suggest making half as much, however, if you don't care to eat it for a week.


Gnocchi and Greens Soup
1 rib of celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 quarts of vegetable broth (I used 1 quart homemade + 1 quart water + bouillon)
1 bunch collards, torn off the stalks and cut into thin ribbons
1 cup frozen green peas
1 lbs gnocchi of your choice (isn't the sweet potato pretty though?!)

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat and sautee the celery and carrot until it begins to soften some, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Add the broth and bring to a boil.

3. Add the collards, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the peas and gnocchi and simmer for another 15 minutes until everything is heated through and the greens are as soft as you like 'em.