Maleno Souper Bowl Event Scored a Winner in Erie PA

In the lead up to Super Bowl LIV, several local organizations held “Souper Bowl” competitions, from fundraising events, like the Souper Bowl 21 event benefiting the Sarah Reed Children’s Center, to other for-profit events. 

Maleno’s Souper Bowl event, held Tuesday, January 28, 2019 was for the sole pleasure of our Erie, PA apartment communities.  This was just one of many community events we host for our residents.

Our team members brought in their best soups to compete for the prize of “Best Soup in Erie”.  All residents were invited to be the “players on the field” as taste testers, with John Maleno joining as our visiting “Line Judge”. 

Folks came throughout the day from The Village on Pacific, Lake View, Scenery Hills and Shadow Pines Apartments to “Maleno Stadium” (otherwise known as the Property Management office at 2315 Jamestown Dr).  They sampled tasty, hot soups from seven different crockpots and appreciated the respite from the chilly weather outdoors. Soup, crackers, bread, drinks, cookies, and candies were provided, free of charge. 

After casting their vote, many residents browsed through the overstock of books from Maleno’s Little Free Library and took home bags of free books.

After the vote count, the “Referee” announced the Souper Bowl competition winner . . .(drum roll) . . .Morgan Schenker for her mouth-wateringly good Chicken Gnocchi Soup (recipe below)! Cristina Ras’ White Chicken Chili came in a close second.  While the rules didn’t explicitly state that the soup had to be home made, Wendy Rhines received an “offside” penalty for her Olive Garden minestrone soup entry.  It only took third place, proving once again that homemade is the best!

“It’s always fun to participate with neighbors socializing with neighbors, while others make new connections,” said Natalie Washburn, Property Manager.  “Our events have helped bond new friendships and relationships”.  Once again, it was a good time had by all!

Morgan’s Winning Recipe ( Adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up!:)

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

 Time: 30-40 minutes total                                              Yield: 12 servings 

1. Get your onion and garlic peeled and chopped, your carrots peeled and grated and your celery chopped.
2. Heat a large pot up over medium high heat. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of Olive Oil into it
3. When the oil is hot toss your chopped veggies into the pan. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 5-8 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
4. Take the lovely rotisserie chicken out of the package and set it on a plate.
5. Pour the broth that is left in the bottom of the chicken package into a large measuring cup. You should have about 1 cup of broth from the pan.
6. Pull the skin off of the chicken, and take the meat off of the bones. Chop it up with a sharp knife.
7. When your veggies are done cooking pour the broth from the chicken and 7 cups of hot water into the pot. Add 8 chicken bouillon cubes and give it a nice stir.
8. Add the chopped chicken and bring the soup to a boil.
9. Open up the package of Gnocchi and pour it into the pot. Let the soup come to a boil again and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 3-4 minutes. The gnocchi will be cooked through when they float to the top of the broth. It should happen pretty fast.
10. Chop yourself about 1 1/2 cups of spinach and toss it into the pot.
11. Pour in 4 cups of Half and Half, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir it around a bit and let it come to a boil.
12. In a small bowl combine 1/4 C cold water and 5 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix it well and pour it into the soup pot.
13. Bring the soup to a boil, while you stir. It will thicken as the soup reaches a boil.
14. Taste it and season it to your liking with salt and pepper.

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Competitor’s included (in alphabetical order):

• Brendan Oosterkamp, Maintenance Tech – Venison Cheeseburger Soup
• Cristina Ras, Rental Accounts Manager – White Chicken Chili
• Wendy Rhines, Director of Marketing – Olive Garden Minestrone
• Morgan Schenker, Accounting Clerk – Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Jim Smith, Maintenance Tech – Hot Redneck Chili
• Linda Sullivan, Leasing Consultant – Italian Wedding Soup
• Natalie Washburn, Property Manager – Italian Noodle Soup with Sausage