Meg's Meal Planning

homemade gnocchi

Week of April 12th 

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How is it the middle April and it’s still this cold!? This past week was still in the 30’s!  I want to work on my garden so hurry up warm weather! Anways, this week’s dinners have a little bit of everything, from chicken to homemade pasta!  Click on the italicized link to bring up the recipe I used! 

Monday– Beef and cheddar casserole- This is the first time I’m making this dish. It sounds delicious and will be great heated up for lunches later in the week. 

Tuesday– Breaded chicken cutlets with stuffed artichokes and rice. White rice is another food that can be so BORING!  But when cooked with a little bit of chicken stock, it can make a world of difference.

Stuffed Artichokes– recipe is for 1 artichoke.

  •      Artichoke
  •     1 /2 cup breadcrumbs
  •     1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  •     Salt and pepper
  •     Olive oil
  •     1 tablespoon dried parsley
  •     Grated parmesan cheese (optional)


First, bang artichoke against counter to open the leaves. Next, drizzle with olive oil. Then, in a small mixing bowl, stir together breadcrumbs, minced garlic, and parsley. Start at the bottom of the artichoke and stuff with breadcrumb mixture about ½ way up the leaf. Once finished, drizzle with olive oil and parmesan cheese.
Add 1-1 ½ inches of water to small pot and place artichoke inside. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 1 ½-2 hours.  Leaves should be tender when done.

Breaded chicken cutlet– Nothing fancy. But its a great go-to receipe and even better to prepare on Sunday and reheat later in the week. 

  • Flour
  • Egg-whipped
  • Breadcrumbs

If using thicker chicken breasts, you will need to slice it in half the long way and pound until flat.  Find three shallow/wide containers and fill one each with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.  Dip chicken piece 1 at a time. First in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil over frying pan and cook 7-8 mins per side over medium-low heat, or until chicken is cooked through. 

Wednesday– Pork tenderloin with mashed potatos and lemon garlic roasted asparagus – Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite meals! Whenever it is on sale I’ll stock up.  I made a pre-seasoned pork tenderloin that has a bbq marinade already on it.  For whatever reason, when I cook a pork tenderloin it ALWAYS takes longer than the package directions say.  From trial and error, I’ve found the best tempature to cook the pork is 425 degrees, and it usually takes about 45 minutes.  Your best bet is to use a meat thermometer and cook until internal tempature reaches 150 degrees. 



Thursday– Thai veggie quinoa bowl. This vegetarian bowl has great flavor, and the peanuts give it that little extra crunch.  Try adding grilled chicken or shrimp if you’re extra hungry. 

Friday– Home made gnocchi. Ever since trying the gnocchi in Italy, I have been wanting to make my own.  So, I decided it’s time to open a bottle of red and attempt to make Amalfi Coast inspired gnocchi.  More to come later in the week on this dish.




Homemade gnocchi…A labor of love. 

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Ever since coming home from my honeymoon in Italy, I have been dying to try homemade gnocchi.  I had the most amazing gnocchi when staying in Positano at this family owned restaurant named Ristorante da Vincenzo. It was so good, we went back two nights in a row.

I’ve put off making my own for a while, so the time has finally come. I followed two receipes 1. from keepin’ it kind and 2. from delallo.  I combined parts of both recipes until I found the perfect consistency for the dumplings.  I do not own a potato ricer. I have never heard of such a thing before until I started making the gnocchi! Guess I should have read the full recipe first! Instead, I used a potato masher.

This meal exceeded my expecations! Everything about it brought me back to sitting in Piazza Navona in Rome! The homemade sauce, homemade gnocchi, homemade meatballs, even the wine and cheese were brought back from Italy (don’t tell US Customs!). There is something to be said about REAL GOOD Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese! And the wine, real Italian wine, sulfate free is the best kind.  The wine came from a resturant in Positiano, La Tagliata. It’s a another family owned resturant and they make their own wine. We loved it so much, we asked to buy a bottle, but the amazing owner gave us one for free!  If you can’t tell by now, I highly recommend going to Italy on your honeymoon!
Ingredients

  • 6 small-medium size potatoes – I used gold potatoes because that’s what I had in my pantry
  • 2 1/2 cups of flour – although I found I had to use more like 3 1/2 cups
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Steps

1. Boil potatoes with skins on for about 20 mins or until tender when poked with a fork. Drain well and let cool.

2. Peel boiled potatoes, removing any brown spots.

3. Clean your work surface, either the countertop or a large cutting board.

4. Use potato ricer if you have one, if not use potato masher to mash the potatoes. The masher worked just as well, but you really have to make sure to work out all the little clumps.

5. Pour flour and salt on top of mashed potatoes

6. Clear out a circle in the middle of the potatoes and crack your egg in the middle. Beat with a fork, slowly pulling in the potatoes.

7. Time to get down and dirty! Use your hands and start mixing the ingredients until your dough begins to form. This is where I started having trouble. My dough was too wet, so I had to keep adding flour.

 

8. Once you have the right consistency, cut off small parts of the dough and roll out about 1 inch think and cut into 1 inch pieces.  If you choose to, you can press fork indentations into the cut pieces. #sofancy

 

Roll out about 1 inch thick and cut into 1 inch pieces

If can indent with a fork , if you wish

 

9. Drop the cut pieces into boiling water. Gnocchi cooks very quick! Once the pieces start “dancing” they are done.  Scoop them out with slotted spoon and set aside until all pieces are cooked.

A VERY HELFUL TIP!!! Even when you think the dough is the right consistency, roll out and cut off a small piece and test it out.  If it sinks and doesn’t rise, add more flour.  If it sinks, then rises, but tastes gummy, add more flour.  I had to repeat this step 3x before my pieces didn’t taste gummy. Another helpful tip from one of my followers is use older potatoes, they hold less mositure.  That is why I probably had to use more flour than the receipe called for; my potatoes were bought the same week.

 

Enjoy!