Sunday

Skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans (recipe in the comments from January 9, 2009)
Salad with red wine and bacon vinaigrette

Hot tea
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This was a great Sunday dinner. I made the first 2/3 of the recipe while T was napping and then we just tossed it all together and reheated after church tonight. The result was wonderful. the first time we made this we used Gia Russa brand shelf stable gnocchi, but Wegman's was out of stock. We used Wegman's brand mini gnocchis this time to great effect. T really liked the bitty size and ate heartily!

Prep notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, chard, Parmesan
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I did!

Reaction:
"This was the perfect post apple picking dinner!"

The kid report:
T was enthralled with this. He picked out all the chard and all the gnocchis to eat first :)

Friday

Skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans (recipe in the comments)
Salad with red wine and bacon vinaigrette

Hot tea
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This is a new recipe that we were pretty sure we'd like, as we have a whole host of chard (or other leafy greens) and white bean recipes with various starches. I was drawn to it because we have not found a brand of shelf-stable gnocchi here in Buffalo that we like as well as the ones we got at Trader Joe's and I am anxious to do so. Adding gnocchi to the ingredient list can really boost your "pasta" diversity. We were both very pleased with this new brand - Gia Russa. It's toothsome without being gummy. Some of our enjoyment may have been due to the fact that this recipe did not call for boiling the gnocchi as usual, but sauteing it instead. I have never prepared gnocchi in a skillet, but this worked wonderfully, leading to good texture. All in all a very positive outcome and a VERY easy recipe.

Curious about the dressing? Check out my bacon grease post.

Prep notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, chard, Parmesan
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: You could probably make the sauce ahead and then do the gnocchi, reheat the sauce, and add the gnocchi at the last minute.

Reaction
J: "A new gnocchi method!"
M: "Easy, yummy gnocchi."