Chicken And Gnocchi Soup

First off, this is a recipe that is a composite of several others I found on-line.  Like all of my recipes, it's kind of shady when it comes to amounts and whatnot.  I'll do my best.

1/3 C. butter (margarine or olive oil, if you're going dairy-free)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 lbs. chicken, cubed (sometimes I cook it in the soup first and then cube it before serving.  No real reason, just whatever I'm in the mood for)
1 carrot, diced
1/2 or 1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 C. Spinach (this amount varies greatly depending on my mood and how much I have, and you can use fresh or frozen, I haven't noticed a difference)
1 tsp. thyme
Salt & Pepper (I actually don't add extra salt because I think there is enough from the chicken stock)
4 C. chicken stock
2 C. milk or half n' half (rice or almond milk work just fine)
16 oz. Gnocchi (I actually double this because my family love these little dumplings)
1-2 heaping T. flour
1/3 C. cold water

Melt butter and cook the chicken in it.  Add and saute onion, celery, garlic, and carrot until onion is clear.  Add chicken stock, milk, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi.  Gently boil 4 minutes, then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.

Whisk flour into cold water then stir into the pot to thicken the soup.  Add spinach.  Heat to boiling.  Once it has reached desired thickness, serve.

Sometimes this thickens up so much in the fridge overnight, I add more water to it before serving it the next day.  It's so flavorful it handles this just fine and still tastes just as delicious.  ENJOY!!!