Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, Bell Pepper, and Fennel

Gnocchi are so good. Little pillowy dumplings. I have yet to make them from scratch, but you can find them at most grocery stores these days. They cook really quick--2 to 3 minutes in boiling water. The sausage can be any sausage you prefer. I think ours was Italian chicken sausage. We also skipped the fennel cause my husband doesn't like it. It wasn't missed. Pretty easy recipe and very good.

Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, Bell Pepper, and Fennel

1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
6 ounces basil, pine nut, and chicken sausage (such as Gerhard's), casing removed and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced fennel
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Asiago cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cook the gnocchi according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the gnocchi in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Keep gnocchi warm.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove sausage from skillet using a slotted spoon.

Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add fennel, bell pepper, and onion to pan; cook 13 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add sausage, gnocchi, cheese, black pepper, and reserved cooking liquid to pan; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.

Source: Cooking Light

Man Hash Browns

Whenever we make hash browns from the frozen ones, they never turn out right. I think it may be partly due to the overcrowding of the pan. My husband followed this recipe exactly--except using olive oil instead of bacon fat-- and they were perfect. He even weighed the grated potato to get close to 4 ounces. Super yum and crispy. Thanks Alton Brown!

Man Hash Browns

4 ounces Idaho or Russet potatoes, scrubbed, rinsed but not peeled

Pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon bacon fat (or olive oil)

Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium low heat for 5 minutes.

While the pan is heating, grate the potato on the largest hole of a box grater. Squeeze the grated potatoes in a tea towel to remove excess moisture.

Add the fat to the pan and scatter evenly with the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and cook for 5 minutes without disturbing. Decrease the heat to low, flip the potatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

When most people think of tuna noodle casserole they imagine pasta noodles and things like crushed potato chips. My tuna noodle casserole is completely different. It's super easy, cheap and I think it tastes really good. It may not look pretty, but I grew up on this stuff and love it.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of milk (fill soup can)
2 cans tuna
1 bag chow mein noodles (the crunchy brown kind)

Mix first three ingredients in a large bowl. Add noodles until soaks up the excees liquid. May have to add some and wait a few minutes, then add some more. Microwave single servings for a few minutes. Top with extra noodles if desired.

Cashew Chicken

Another easy, healthy Asian dish. The sauce is good, but it needed more for the leftovers. Otherwise, no complaints. Tasty.

Cashew Chicken

1&1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 T soy sauce
1 T ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shredded (2 cups)
1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cups cashews, toasted and chopped
3 cups quinoa or rice (used brown rice)

Combine chicken, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a shallow dish; cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes up to 8 hours. Spray large wok or skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken and set aside.

Add carrots, broccoli and onion to same skillet and saute for 5 minutes or until crips-tender. Add chicken back to pan and add broth. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cashews and cook 2 more minutes or until thorouhly heated. Serve over quinoa or rice.

Source: Clean Eating magazine

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

This is from The Cake Doctor cookbook--which has recipes that start with cake mixes and then jazzes them up. So you can be a little lazy, but it still seems like you weren't. I thought this was very good. It was moist and very chocolatey. The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough cherry taste. Maybe you could add some kirsch or something. But as far as chocolate cakes go, it's yummy.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil's food cake mix or devil's food mix with pudding
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 package (6 ounces; 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

Place the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.

For the glaze, place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Source: Food Network

Pico de Gallo

Love some fresh pico de gallo. I don't really use a recipe anymore. Just sort of make sure it looks right.

Pico de Gallo

Equal parts cilantro, tomatoes, and onion
1 to 2 jalapenos
A few splashes of lime juice
A few shakes of salt

Chop ingredients and mix it together. Food processors mush it too much, I prefer hand chop.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This is not really sweet and sour. It has the elements-- the chicken, the peppers, the pineapple-- but it's missing the sauce. It is still really good and good for you. So maybe it just needs a different name.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T raw honey (or regular)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1/4 tsp crushed pepper flake
1&1/4 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
12 sprigs cilantro
1&1/2 cups cooked brown rice

In small bowl whisk together soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Place chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour mixture over chicken, toss. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 8 hours.

Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and marinade and saute' for 5 minutes or until vegetables are slightly tender. Add pineapple and cook 2 more minutes. Sprinkle with cilatro and serve over rice.

Source: Clean Eating magazine