Picture
Everyone loves sweet summer corn on the cob, slathered with butter and salt - at least I do!

But that's no challenge, so I'm sharing with you one of my favorite recipes, which is great for throwing together leftovers, it's packed with protein and overall, I think it's pretty healthy.

This is the basis for my recipe, but I have quite a few modifications so I'll post my version of the recipe at the bottom...
http://www.food.com/recipe/worlds-best-chicken-soup-454050

Picture
Yum! Those fresh glistening little kernels of summer! Simply shaved off of the cooked cob for soup... (I used cobs leftover from dinner the night before and that works great!)

Picture
I've talked about quinoa before (See post for Stuffed Bell Peppers) but here's a close-up...

Picture
I also shredded up leftover grilled chicken, and I chop up whichever veggies I have in the fridge, this time it was carrots and onions, but sometimes I'll also use celery if I have it.

This is my go-to method of making "chicken soup" and of course, I deem it a SUCCESS!

Cassie's modified recipe:

Chicken Quinoa Corn Soup with Dumplings

Quantities are approximate... I end up eyeballing it and using what I have on hand...

6+ c chicken broth (add more as needed if it gets soaked up)
2+ c cooked, shredded or cut chicken (leftovers are perfect! canned white chicken meat can be used)
1/2 - 1 c quinoa
2 T +/- olive oil
1 T butter
2-3 carrots, sliced in thin rings
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 - 1 c chopped onion
3 tsp minced garlic
2 T fresh chopped parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
fresh ground black pepper
2 C +/- corn kernels, fresh (or half bag of frozen)
2-3 hardboiled eggs, chopped
2 c +/- corn (leftover off the cob are great!)

For dumplings/rivels: Start with 1/2 C flour, pinch of salt (to taste), 1 T water.
I love pasta and if you want the extra dose of pasta in your soup, add these! (You can double if you really love pasta or are making a larger batch...)
- Mix dumpling ingredients together with a pastry blender or fork. Start with 1 T warm water, mix until dough sticks together. If needed, add more water, 1 T at a time. If mixture becomes too sticky, add a little more flour until you have the right consistency.


Directions:

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat until the butter melts. Saute the carrot, celery, onions, and garlic, until the garlic and onions are somewhat transparent.

2. In a soup pot, heat the broth, quinoa, and chicken to boiling.

3. Add the sauteed veggies, corn, parsley and chopped eggs. Return to simmer.

4. Mix your dumplings/rivels and drop a few small lumps at a time into the soup pot. I consider dumplings the bigger pieces, and rivels are usually smaller... the size is only a personal preference. They will rise as they cook.

5. Add fresh ground pepper to taste. Simmer 15 minutes and serve. Enjoy!

 
Picture
Although I'm a little behind on getting my posts online, I've still been working on the veggies!

And although I've had potatoes french fried, baked and scalloped, I've never tried gnocchi, so that's the goal here! But more than that, it includes a handful of other yummy summer veggies too...

Thank you to one of my readers for suggesting this recipe... Gnocchi with Farmers Market Fresh Vegetables!

Picture
Recipe: http://triblive.com/home/2366681-74/gnocchi-potatoes-salt-cup-tomatoes-cooked-dough-flour-freshly-ice#axzz27REirtOK

The recipe also calls for fresh cherry tomatoes... and these lovely little heirloom cherry tomatoes are so beautiful! Savor the rainbow!

Picture
Roasting these little beauties really gave them such a great flavor!

Picture
Now on to the gnocchi-making...

You basically mash the taters, and create a little volcano to put the egg...

PS - I'm pretty sure I used WAY more potatoes than I was supposed to, I'm not great at measuring by weight, and I got these from my dad's garden, not a bag with a measurement...

Picture
I will say, if you've never made them before, it's not a quick and clean process... I think I had flour on every surface of kitchen!

Picture
Finally to the point of rolling, chopping, boiling then icing these little buggers...

Picture
Part of the fresh summer vegetable sauce included some leftover corn-on-the-cob I had from the other night with some fresh parsley and garlic...

Then toss in those roasted tomatoes!

Picture
It's a really simple, light sauce... I'm used to "Prego" which covers everything, so I was worried that there wasn't enough to cover the gnocchi... 

Picture
But it was actually quite delicious!!! Believe it or not, there was enough juice that had simmered out from the roasted tomatoes, corn and garlic that covered the potato gnocchi and gave it a good flavor! It had a hint of sweetness, I think from the corn, and it was a great combination. Next time, I would probably add some grilled chicken to make the meal more "complete" for us. Also, I'll make sure to use the correct amount of potatoes!

All in all, it was a SUCCESS! (However, I'll keep this as a weekend meal, I don't think I want to try to make these on a weeknight again!)