Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Shredded Chicken in a White Cream Sauce

I found this sweet potato gnocchi at World Market (yes....I cheated a little and didn't make homemade gnocchi - maybe when I have more time) - but this gnocchi was still delicious - a little sweet. Jeremy loved it - and well - he is the only judge of my food other than me, so his thoughts are important to me. I found the recipe for the sauce on The Barefoot Kitchen Witch, added chicken and changed the amounts of a few things.  It was my first time using fresh fennel....and I was impressed. 

Ingredients:

• 1 package of sweet potato gnocchi (or you could make your own - see link above)
• 1 lb chicken
• 1 can chicken broth (for boiling the chicken)
• 1/4 cup sliced fennel
• 1 tsp. minced shallot (I used about 1/2 shallot bulb)
• 1/4 cup sliced white onion
• 1/2 cup sliced roasted red pepper

• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup cooking white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp fresh basil (I forgot this - so I used dried basil)
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. grated romano cheese
• Handful of baby spinach
• salt and pepper

Steps:

• Boil chicken in 1 part chicken broth, 1 part water for about 45 min to 1 hour

• Cook gnocchi according to package, and drain

• In skillet - heat oil over medium heat
• Add onion, fennel and red pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes

• Add garlic and shallots - cook for 1 minute

• Add white wine, basil and brown sugar

• Add cream and reduce by 1/3

• Add butter, salt and pepper - cook, stirring occasionally until butter is melted

• Add in cooked chicken - stir

• Add cooked gnocchi and spinach

• Add romano cheese

• Stir occasionally, cooking until the thickness of your liking (only a few minutes, I turned the stove down to low during the end)

• I served mine with a little garlic bread - it was very filling - no need for lots of other sides.

• We loved it - it will definitely be made again! (and I am sure it would be good with regular gnocchi)

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream cheese Glaze

I saw this on pinterest, just used a spice cake mix instead of yellow cake and made a cream cheese glaze. It was so moist and delicious.

Ingredients:

•1 box Spice cake mix

•1 can 100% pure pumpkin purée

Steps:
• preheat oven to 350
•mix together cake mix and pumpkin for 2 minutes.

• pour in to greased Bundt pan

• bake for about 30 minutes
• remove from oven and immediately remove from Bundt pan.

Cream cheese glaze ingredients:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 tbsp milk

Steps:
• mix together sugar and cream cheese until well mixed.
• add vanilla, mix
• add milk in 1 tbsp at a time.
• pour over warm cake, let cool

• Enjoy!

Crockpot Chunky Potato Soup

Another Pinterest find - recipe found @ The Stir.
Just craving more soup now that the weather is cooling off:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups diced potatoes ( I used about 8 medium potatoes)

• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery

• 4 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 tbsp. parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 cup cooked, chopped bacon

• 1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 8oz. package cream cheese
• 5 tbsp. flour

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients (except flour and cream cheese) in the crockpot and mix together

• Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours
• I only cooked mine for about 4 hours, so while I was chopping the potatoes, I threw them in  pot of hot water for a few minutes to soften slightly - drained them - and then put them in the crockpot.
• About 1 hour before serving, mix in the cream cheese, mix.

• About 30 minutes before serving, remove about 1-2 cups soup and gradually mix in the 5 tbsp. flour, 1 tbsp at a time, in a separate bowl to avoid clumping.
• While stirring soup, gradually add soup/flour mixture back in to the crockpot.

• Cook for 30 more minutes and then turn crockpot to "warm" to cool off a little before serving.
• Enjoy - I added a little shredded cheese to the top of mine.

Minestrone and Blackforest Ham Panini

Since the weather is starting to cool down some, I was in the mood for some soup. I love the Minestrone at Olive Garden, so I thought I'd give it a try....I found several "copycat" recipes of the Olive Garden version....funny thing, they were ALL different. So I just took a little from them all and came up with my own. Soup didn't seem like enough, so I decided to make some paninis. The soup makes A LOT!

Ingredients for the Minestrone:

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 small yellow onion - chopped
• 1 small zucchini - chopped
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• 1/2 cup frozen cut Italian green beans
• 1 stalk celery - chopped
• 4 cups Vegetable Broth
• 1 can kidney beans - drained
• 1 can Great Northern Beans - drained
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 2 tbsp. minced parsley
• 1 tsp. Oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. basil
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1.5 cups hot water
• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup pasta (I used rotini) but most recipes call for the shell pasta

Ingredients for Panini's

• Black Forest Ham
• Fontina Cheese - shredded
• Italian Bread
• Dijon Mustard

Steps for Minestrone:

• Heat Olive oil in stock pot on Medium High heat

• Add in onion, garlic, celery, zucchini, and green beans....saute for about 5 min

• Add in broth, tomatoes, beans, and hot water

• Next add in the carrots and spices

• Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes

• Add in pasta and spinach, and let simmer for another 20 minutes (or longer)

Steps for Paninis:

• Turn on panini grill or in my case - the George Foreman
• Spread mustard onto 1 side of the bread for each sandwich you are making

• Top with Black Forest Ham (1-2 pieces or more if you like)

• Top with some of the fontina cheese

• Then top with your bread
• I sprayed each side of the sandwich with a small amount of olive oil
• Spray the foreman with a small amount of oil on each place
• Place sandwiches on the grill, and shut the lid, but do not push it down on the sandwich.

• Cook for about 5 minutes, once cheese is melted and bread is toasted to your liking

• Slice in half and serve alongside the soup....Enjoy!