This is a 6 ft. privacy fence, the snow is halfway up the fence! I took this picture this morning, yesterday afternoon papa nothing shoveled a foot and a half of snow off the patio that the trike is sitting on! The snow on the trike is from overnight! Behind the trike is the 30 inches of snow that fell from Saturday around 11:30 pm until early this morning! Yes, you read that correctly, 30 inches!
What does one cook for dinner with 30 inches of snow on the ground? My initial plan of attack for dinner was a sweet potato lasagna recipe I have been wanting to try, But I didn't realize I had to first cook and mash the sweet potatoes, I was out of time for that step. Then, I thought soup would be good, but the soup has yellow split peas in it and you have to let those soak for two hours before you can even tackle the actual soup portion...it was already 4:30 pm! So...we made a dish we have been cooking quite regularly for about 4 months now! Crispy Gnocchi with basil pesto and then I sauted up some fresh brussel sprouts. I initially got the gnocchi (pronounced nok-ee, unless you are one of my kids, then you call it Pinocchio pasta) recipe from a food blog, and she had got the recipe from another food blog. I didn't like some of the original ingredients, so we switched it up and make it the way we like.
Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
1 pkg gnocchi (found in the pasta section, in a vacuum sealed little tub)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved; we use the heirloom variety because it gives it more color
2-3 Tbsp prepared pesto
1 container of Feta cheese, although you can use goat cheese as well (I think these come in 3 oz. containers)
* In a skillet, pour 1 Tbsp olive oil and heat over medium heat. Dump the gnocchi in the skillet and let saute for a couple minutes. I then take a spatula and flip the gnocchi several times to get all sides golden in color. usually this takes no more than five minutes...be careful not to burn the gnocchi!
* Add your cherry tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until they are nice and soft.
* When the tomatoes are done, mix in your pesto and remove from the heat.
* Add the carton of feta or goat cheese and lightly toss.
For a side dish I cooked up some fresh brussels sprouts. My kids are not huge fans of brussel sprouts, but if I found that if I add enough flavors, textures, and saute them, they will inhale them! My daughter actually had three helpings of brussels sprouts last night! The original recipe is from my new "Forks Over Knives" cookbook, but like almost everything we make we end up adding extra ingredients or omitting ingredients we either forgot to buy or couldn't find. We ended up omitting some things in this recipe, here is the way I made it.
Maple Brussels Sprouts
1 1/2 lb. fresh brussels sprouts
1 large shallot
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp Tamari
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
* clean brussel ssprouts, trim off the ends and cut the brussels sprouts in half. Bring water in a saucepan to a boil, once boiling, drop in the brussels sprouts and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
* dice the shallot and saute in about 1 tsp olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the brussels sprouts and saute for another four or five minutes, tossing them in the pan occasionally.
* while brussels sprouts are sauteing, whisk together the maple syrup, tamari, and dijon mustard.
* add the sauce to the brussels sprouts and let cook until sauce thickens up a bit, about five minutes or so.
and... ta da!
Enjoy your day, wherever you are, and happy eats!
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