Recipe: Chicken Gnocchi Skillet

 I've decided to resurrect the recipe part of my blog/writing, if only so I have a written record of these things...because otherwise I never write down recipes. Ella's forever asking me how to make (insert food here) and I can never give her even a basic recipe. (Because, as I've said, I never write these things down)

I made this yesterday evening, and while attempting to photograph food I realized two things. 

1) I'm out of practice. My food photography has suffered in my blogging absence. 

2) The kitchen chandelier had 2 burn out bulbs that I hadn't noticed. Whomp. 

But here we go. 

Chicken Gnocchi Skillet. 

Disclaimer: All of my recipes are written with zero measurements, and I eyeball literally everything. If you're looking for scientific, super specific recipes, this unfortunately is not the blog for you. 

What you'll need: 

**Butter and Olive Oil

**Chicken (I use the pre-cut stir fry stuff)

**Mushrooms (either canned or fresh, we just happened to have fresh on hand)

**Frozen veggies (we use the frozen mixed vegetables from Aldi for this one, because it's what we had on hand) 

**Chicken broth (or water and chicken bouillion powder)

**Shredded parmesan cheese (not grated)

**Half n half (or heavy whipping cream, or milk, all of these work just fine)

**salt, pepper, your favorite spices

**pre-packaged gnocchi (pasta aisle at your local grocery)

What you gotta do: 

**Heat up your oil and butter in a pan and use it to saute the chicken. Add your favorite spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc) 

**Add your mushrooms and your veggies, and enough chicken broth to allow things to start steaming through  

**Meanwhile boil water for your gnocchi

*Add in the gnocchi into the boiling water. It's ready when it floats to the top. Meanwhile, add in the parmesan cheese to your skillet with the chicken and veggies. 

**Stir that around and add the milk/cream/half n half, to make a lovely little sauce

**Your gnocchi should be ready by now, so go ahead and add that into your skillet

**Stir everything around until it's all incorporated. Top with parsley, or dill, or basil, or whatever you like. 

This was delicious, and well received by everybody, so that makes it a success in my book. 

In the Kitchen: Tomato Pie...uh...Tart?

Okay, so full disclosure. This did NOT look like the Tomato Pie that I looked at here even though I followed the directions. 

It's no secret that pie crust and I are not friends and never have been, but I had high hopes. That said, it tasted delicious. So delicious that my tomato hatin' husband ate three helpings. 

Here we go. 

What You Need: 

*Store Bought Pie Crust

*Tomatoes (I had 4 or 5 Romas)

*Basil (I just ripped a bunch of leaves off one of my giant garden plants)

*Chopped Onion (1/3 of a cup? I don't know) 

*Salt

*Pepper

*Mayo

*Shredded Cheese (the recipe called for Grueyere, but I used Fiesta blend, sue me) 

What You Do:

1) Pre-bake your crust, according to the directions on the box, then make sure your oven is at 350

2) Chop up your tomatoes and onion and basil

3) Salt and pepper your tomatoes and put them in a colander, over a container (I threw the onions and basil in there too, cause why not?). Mash them down with a potato masher to draw out the moisture

4) Put your (hopefully drier) tomatoes in the pie crust shell (side note: mine looks terrible. Pie crusts and I are not friends, whatcha gonna do.

5) Combine your half-cup (or cup, or whatever) of mayo and your cheese. Spread that over your tomato mixture

6) Bake at 350 until bubbly and golden brown 

(25-45 minutes) 

So, it doesn't look all that great. But, man. It was delicious. If you're better at pie crust than I am (and let's face it, you probably are), yours will probably look amazing. :) 

In the Kitchen: Breakfast Casserole

This is loosely based off a recipe I googled from here . I've played around with some of the amounts (aka, I measured nothing)
I'm going to give y'all the Kitchn's measurements because they're what I used the first time I made this recipe. (Usually, the first time I make something, I follow the recipe to a T, then play around with the amounts once I'm comfortable)

Anyway, here we go

What you need to make this: 

*Cooking spray
*Olive Oil
*Ground sausage (mine is in the picture, it's just hidden)
*medium onion, diced
*red/green/whatever peppers (mine are frozen, but you can use fresh)
*frozen hash brown potatoes
*10 large eggs
*1 cup sour cream
*1.5 cups of milk
*2T mustard (the original recipe called for dijon, but I like the grainy stuff better)
*Shredded cheese (I used mild cheddar because that's what the kids devour)


Here's what you do:

*Preheat your oven to 375

*Spray the inside of your casserole pan (mine is way too big for this probably, but it's what I grabbed) with cooking spray

*Brown your sausage, and then add your onions and peppers

*Add some spices...salt, pepper, whatever. I use Possum's seasoning because I discovered it on an impromptu road trip with a friend before this COVID craziness, and I love it.

*Throw that all into your casserole dish, and add the hash brown potatoes. Mix together (not pictured)

*Beat the eggs. In a separate cup, whisk together the milk, sour cream, mustard and some salt/pepper. Combine the milk mixture with the eggs. Add cheese.

*pour over your hash brown/sausage mixture

*Bake for 45 minutes or so, until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!!

Full disclosure. While I was cooking this meal, I ate a chocolate-frosted sprinkle donut

In the Kitchen: My Grandma's Vegetable Soup

I love soup. Period. All the soup. But this is one of my favorites. 

With the help of my Mom, I was able to nail down the recipe. Thanks, Mom!

Without further ado, here we go. 

The Things You Need: 

(keep in mind, some stuff isn't pictured because I'm a Mom and working at half-brain capacity) 

*Smoked Sausage

*Pat of Butter

*Onion

*Mushrooms

*Diced Tomatoes

*Can of Green Beans

*Can of Corn

*Potatoes

*Chicken Stock

*Frozen Vegetables (my Mom always called it "Mrozonka" which means frozen lol)

*Random Pasta Shapes (I used tiny elbows this time, but anything goes)

*Half n Half

*Sour Cream

It's a weird and motley list of ingredients, but trust me here. Polish Grandmas can't go wrong. 

*Brown the sausage, onions, and veggies (but not the frozen ones) in a bit of butter

*Add potatoes, diced tomatoes, and chicken stock

(Disclaimer: You will notice the lack of amounts in the recipe. This is one of those "grandma didn't measure a dang thing, Mom didn't either, nor will I. I promise not all of my recipes are this disorganized)

*Add your pasta 

Shout out to the Mexican store in my town, for making it feel a little bit like home!

;*Dump in your frozen veggies

*Stir in a big ole tablespoon or so of tomato paste

*Mix a big splash of half n half with some sour cream. Yes, this is one hundred percent necessary

*Add that to your simmering soup

*Stir together and bring to a quick bubble

*Optional* I added fresh dill from my garden, like a good Polish cook would, ha :)

It tastes just like my Gram's. And my Mom's. One day my girls will make this...the thought makes me all misty eyed. Sigh. Time goes by way too fast.