Creamy Chicken Gnocchi

Over the Spring Break someone asked me if I had ever made gnocchi. No, never have made fresh or cooked with pre-made either. I would love to make fresh gnocchi but I just cannot muster the energy to make fresh pasta of any variety. Of course having discussed gnocchi now I wanted it so I made Creamy Chicken Gnocchi with Spinach using store bought found in the same the isle with dried pastas.

Modifications Made:

In making the sauce, the Italian seasoning was substituted with oregano, rosemary, basil, and fennel to equal half teaspoon, and only one cup of Parmesan cheese instead of two.

A whole chicken about four pounds was boiled with onion, garlic, salt and pepper, de-boned, shredded, and contents divided in half. One half for dinner tonight, the other for tomorrow, broth (minus one cup for tonight) frozen for another day with onions and garlic and all.

Fresh chard roughly chopped replaced the spinach as was added the same time the chicken was to allow time to fully soften in the sauce.

Scaled for Likability: Great

Everything was simple about this dish. It was made with simple staple ingredients (minus the gnocchi which is found at almost every grocer so it is simple to find, too), comes together in a simple to prepare cream sauce, and its simplicity in flavors is soul filling. The next time this dish is made, a heaping tablespoon of garlic will be added to the sauce, the chicken will be omitted to create a vegetarian dish, the chard will be doubled and finely chopped, and a dash of nutmeg will be added directly before serving. This dish would also be fantastic with a sprinkling of crunchy bacon crumbles across the top. The crunch would offset the softness of the gnocchi creating a well balanced texture meal.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Cold Corn Bean Salsa

Nothing says junk food like chips and salsa, chips and cheese dip, chips and guacamole. Over the years I have perfected my salsa. It's good on tacos, on nachos, on enchiladas, and of course on chips. Just because I have the best salsa doesn't mean I don't like to try new salsa's like this Best Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Modifications Made: Shoepeg corn was replaced with one can of standard yellow corn with no salt added. Petite diced tomatoes were reduced by half. Italian dressing was swapped for half teaspoon comino, half teaspoon of chili powder, and two tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Salsa was made and let rest for two hours before eating. Scaled for Likability: Good Salsa this was not. Good it was however. It was too much for chips by themselves but was great served over a soft beef taco.

Eating Waffles

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