Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Gouda Cheese Sauce

I found this recipe on my new favorite website (read: addiction) Pinterest. It combines two of my favorite things: gnocchi and cheese. For those of you that don't know, gnocchi are Italian dumplings usually made from potatoes. It's one of my ultimate comfort foods. Original recipe from The Noshery.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Gouda Cheese Sauce

Gnocchi:

1 lb. sweet potatoes (yams), rinsed, patted dry, pierced all over with fork.

6 oz. fresh ricotta cheese

1 T light brown sugar

1 tsp. + 1 T salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

Sauce:

2 C milk, heated

1/4 onion

3 sage leaves

Salt and white pepper, to taste

3 T unsalted butter

3 T all-purpose flour

1 C Gouda cheese, shredded

Line a large sheet with parchment. Place sweet potatoes on plate; microwave on high until tender, about 5-6 minutes per side. Cut in half and cool. Scrape sweet potato flesh into bowl and mash; transfer 1 1/2 C to large bowl. Add ricotta cheese; blend well. Add Parmesan cheese, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg; mash to blend. Mix in flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, until soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface; divide into 3 equal pieces. Rolling between palms and floured work surface, form each piece into a 20-inch-long rope (about 1 inch in diameter), sprinkling with flour as needed if sticky. Cut each rope into 20 pieces. Roll each piece over tines of fork to indent. Transfer to baking sheet.

Bring large pot of water to boil; add 1 T salt and return to boil. Working in batches, boil gnocchi until tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer gnocchi to clean rimmed baking sheet. Cool completely. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

In a small sauce pot combine milk, onion, garlic, and sage. Place over medium heat and heat until tiny bubbles appear around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes. Do not boil. Remove pan from heat and let stand for about 10 minutes. Remove and discard onion, garlic and sage leaves. Cover to keep warm. In saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, until blended, 1 minute.

Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and continue to whisk until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. Dip a wooden spoon in the sauce to coat it. Pass your finger through the sauce on the back of the spoon, it should leave a clean track.

Strain the sauce into a clean saucepan. Whisk in 1 C of Gouda cheese. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enchiladas

Sigh...I realize that if you were to click the link for Mexican food on this blog, it would literally be the same as clicking on the link to my posts. I promise we don't eat Mexican food every night....but it's pretty close.

This is a recipe I got from my new guilty-pleasure show, "The Food Nanny". While I will NEVER admit to watching ANYTHING on BYU's channel, I may or may not tune into this show ahem*religiously*ahem. You can go to the show's website and have a look around at the free menu planning and recipe software they have on there. It's actually pretty helpful. These are the tastiest enchiladas I have ever made at home. I don't usually like canned enchilada sauce - it always ends up tasting bitter to me. This recipe simply builds on top of a canned enchilada sauce and boy is it yummy! I didn't follow the recipe exactly and made a few helpful adjustments which I will be sure to note.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 cups tomato juice, divided (I used 1 cup tomato SAUCE and one cup water)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce (I but the 28 oz. can and ended up needing all of it, because i make the enchiladas a bit differently than the recipes says to...read on)

3 cups cheddar cheese (we use Mexican blend)

corn or flour tortillas

3 cups diced or shredded chicken (optional, these can just be cheese enchiladas)

2.25 oz can of sliced olives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter and saute over medium high heat the onion and pepper about 5 minutes, or until the onions begin to become transluscent. Pour this mixture into a blender and add 1 cup of tomato juice (or tomato sauce) and blend until smooth. Return to sauce pan and bring to a low bowl. Add the enchilada sauce (10 oz. can if you are sticking the recipe, the whole 28 oz can if you do it my way), salt, cinnamon, other cup of tomato of juice or if you used the tomato sauce, add a cup of water instead. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Now, here is where I differ from the recipe, the recipe says to dip the tortillas in the sauce, lay on a cookie sheet, fill with cheese (and chicken), roll up, put in a 9x13 casserole dish, cover with the sauce. That just seems like a giant mess to me. A Mexican friend of mine once told me that she skips the rolling up process entirely when making enchiladas and just makes them casserole style. So much easier. So this is what I do: (if you do it my way, you will need the whole 28 oz. can, if you do it the above way, you only need a 10 oz can)

In a 9x13 casserole dish, spread a bit of the sauce on the bottom. Rip up tortillas and lay them in the pan so they cover it. Pour a layer of enchilada sauce, sprinkle a layer of cheese, add some chicken and repeat this process (like lasagna) until the dish is full. Top with cheese and olives and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Bleu Cheese Dressing... From Scratch!

I have my fantastic mother-in-law to thank for this easy and super yummy recipe. As an added plus, with only five ingredients and two simple steps, this dressing is the definition of "easy-peasy." This is great as a salad dressing or a tasty dip for veggies (or plain potato chips, if you want a less healthy dipping option ^_^).

You can vary the amount of Bleu cheese if you want more mild or more potent Bleu cheese flavor.

Ingredients:

16oz container of Light Sour Cream

approx. 3/4 cups crumbled Bleu cheese

approx. 3/8 tsp. garlic powder (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Blend the light sour cream and 1/2 cup of the Bleu cheese in a blender.
2. Empty dressing into a bowl and add remaining 1/4 cup Bleu cheese crumbles, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, stirring with a spoon to combine.

Chicken Enchiladas

My mother has never been modest about the fact that she doesn't cook. She hates it and with cooking, practice makes perfect so if you don't practice...it's not going to be perfect. :) I love my mom's openness about the fact she has no desire to be a traditional housewife. She does, however, have 2 recipes I made sure to get when I flew from the nest. This is one of them. These are chicken enchiladas for people who hate cooking. Though they seem pretty fatty at the outset, you can use the fat free cream of chicken and low fat/fat free sour cream and it lightens this dish considerably with no sacrifice on the taste. Quick and very easy and you can even make them in the microwave....

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken (my mom uses canned chicken and it tastes great)

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz. sour cream

1 small can diced green chilis

2 cups shredded cheese

4-6 tortillas

Canned enchilada sauce (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 or don't if you want to microwave. Mix together all ingredients, reserving about half the cheese, fill and roll tortillas. Now, this part is like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book, remember those?! Loved them. If you want to top them with some of the filling, reserve about 1 cup of it and you'll get about 2 less enchiladas. I particularly like pouring store-bought enchilada sauce over the top. Whatever you choose, top with the remaining cup of cheese and bake for about 20-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly. If you would rather microwave them, microwave on high for about 10-12 minutes until heated through. The microwave technique tastes just fine and is great if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table.

Italian-Style Spinach Dumplings

While cuisine hunting on the internet, I found a recipe for some "arugula dumplings" that sounded absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, I don't keep any of the main ingredients required on standby in my kitchen. I do, however, keep spinach on hand in the freezer, which made me think, "I know the basic components of a dumpling, so let's give this a shot!" And thus, the Italian-Style Spinach Dumpling was born!

I am rather proud of this recipe as I took that arugula inspiration and took it in a whole new direction... all by myself. I find this is one of the most satisfying aspects of cooking and baking: creating a culinary Frankenstein's monster all your own. It's even better when that monster turns out to be quite tasty!

Ingredients:
8 oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained well, and chopped
4 oz (approx. 4-5 slices) bread, chopped finely (I used wheat because it is what we routinely buy and we always have it on hand, but you could use 4 oz white bread or French bread with the crusts cut off for a milder flavor)
2 eggs
1/3 cup light sour cream
3 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup real Parmesan cheese, grated (you won't want to use the bottled "sprinkly cheese" for this recipe)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt to taste (I used about a tsp of salt)
1/2 - 3/4 all-purpose flour (measure will vary; you will add between 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup to get the needed consistency)
Homemade or bottled spaghetti sauce
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese



Directions:
1. Heavily salt a pot of water and start it boiling on the stove.
2. Whisk eggs, sour cream, and milk together until uniform in consistency.
3. Add garlic powder and salt; stir.
4. Add bread, spinach, and Parmesan cheese, mixing well to combine.
5. Stir in flour a little at a time until mixture reaches a dough-like consistency ( a small ball of the "dough" should hold itself together).
6. Roll dumpling "dough" into tablespoon-sized balls. Drop about 10 balls at a time into boiling water. (Note: if this is your first time making these, you may want to cook just one dumpling to start with and taste test it once it done. After tasting it, you can decide to add more salt, flour, cook them longer, etc. before you cook all of them and it is too late to alter the "dough." Many a culinary catastrophe has been avoided by a simple taste test!)
7. Cook dumplings about 5 minutes (after they float to the top of the water, cook an additional minute to ensure egg-y middle is cooked all the way through). The center of the dumplings should be firm, not slimy.
8. Remove dumplings from water with a slotted spoon, being sure to drain all water.
9. Place all dumplings in an oven-safe baking dish. Repeat process until all dumplings are cooked and in the baking dish.
10. Cover dumplings with spaghetti sauce. Layer mozzarella cheese evenly over sauce.
11. Broil dumplings in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.

Stromboli

I got the basic recipe for this out of my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook but one day I did my own thing with what I had in the fridge and it's waaaayyy better than the original recipe. That being said, this is a good recipe for using up stuff in your fridge (i.e. the large and inexpensive bags of spinach I cannot resist buying at Costco always promising myself I will eat it all....) so you won't find specific measurements in this one. Just use how much looks good. The last time few times I've made it it's been a little different but each time it's so delicious.

Ingredients:

1 store bought pizza crust
Sliced or shredded mozarella or provolone cheese
Lunch meat (I prefer turkey but have used ham)
Hard Salami (I've also used pancetta, and prosciutto - I like to say any "fancy Italian meat will do here)
Spinach
Black olives
Italian dressing (my favorite is 'Cheese Fantastico' probably because of the name...)
1 egg
Italian seasoning, garlic salt (Lowry's is the best!), and parmesan cheese for topping.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil.
On a clean and lightly floured surface, CAREFULLY roll out the pizza crust. If you're me, you ALWAYS end up tearing it. Just mush it together to cover the holes until it somewhat resembles a 13"x10" rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect!
Lay the lunch meat on the dough keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. I usually use 4 to 6 pieces. Top with a handful of mozarella cheese and then put a layer of fresh spinach on the cheese. Now layer on your "fancy meat". I've also done this with just plain old ham and turkey and that works too! Put more cheese on top if you like it cheesy...I do....and finally drizzle some Italian dressing on all of that.
Now carefully roll it up. Don't worry, you'll tear it a little, just pinch it back together and don't stress. Pinch the seam together and smush the edges closed. Transfer to the cookie sheet, seam side down.
Beat the egg in a bowl and use a pastry brush to brush the egg over the top. This will make it nice and brown and pretty. Sprinkle the top with the Italian seasoning, garlic salt and parmesan cheese and then be sure to poke several little slits along the top to vent.
Bake for 30 minutes and let cool for 10 minutes. Slice it up and eat!

This serves Mike and I as a main dish with salad and we have about 6 inches left over. If you have more than 4 people, though, I suggest making two.

Sumptuous, Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup

The first time I ever had French onion soup was my senior year in high school. My now husband was my boyfriend at the time and had secretly made a romantic, 5 course meal for me. After a fresh green salad, he brought out piping hot, homemade French onion soup.

I was a bit apprehensive, I mean, it's a soup that tastes like onion, for heavens sake! One bite, however and the food angels sang, confirming that, not only was it a soup made from onions, it was a delicious soup made from onions!

This isn't the recipe that my husband used that night, but it is fabulously tasty and is a snap to make! Even though this is a slow-cooker recipe, it can be ready in as little as four hours (which is pretty fast for a slow-cooker). The onions come out so tender and the broth is so flavorful, you'll have to have a second helping!


Ingredients:

5 small onions, thinly sliced (be sure to use white or yellow onions, not red onions for this recipe)
2 cans (14 oz) beef broth (I mush prefer to use a low sodium variety so I can control the amount of salt that goes into my soup)
2 cans (10 oz) beef consomme
1/2 water
1 packet of dry onion soup mix
8-10 slices French bread, cut about 1 inch thick
1 cup grated Gruyere (if you can't find Gruyere cheese, you can substitute Provolone or Mozzarella)


Directions:
1. In a slow-cooker, stir together broth, consomme, water, and soup mix. Mix until combined.
2. Add onions to broth mixture. Give a quick stir to coat onions.
3. Cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours or LOW setting for 8 hours.
4. Portion soup into oven safe bowls. Place a slice of French bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle bread with shredded cheese.
5. Put soup bowls under the broiler in the oven until cheese is melted, about 30-60 seconds.
6. Serve warm.

NOTE: If you don't have oven safe bowls or don't want to be transporting soup to and from the oven (with my episodes of clumsiness, this is often a recipe for steaming hot disaster), you can place the bread slices on a cookie sheet, top with cheese, broil, and then move a slice to each bowl of soup once cheese is melted.