Baked Gnocchi with Spinach & Sausage

The hubby and I don’t eat many pasta dishes.  Not that I don’t love pasta…I absolutely do…I just love other carbs more.  Like dessert and bread and desserts and fruit and veggies…did I already mention desserts?  I will even make spaghetti squash and use that in dishes before I make pasta noodles.  Not to mention that I always seem to fill up quickly when I eat pasta and then am hungry a short while later…so, we usually skip the pasta.  Except in this dish!

I first made this concoction for my husband years ago and we probably have it at least once a month.  And each time it’s just a little different, depending on what we have in the fridge.  Sometime we use rotisserie chicken instead of the sausage if that’s what we have.  I’ve even used kale instead of spinach because we had some that needed to be used.  This time we had some spicy turkey sausage left over from another dish and then my husband said…let’s add some bacon because we have some…and I said, well of course we should add bacon!  So we did.  Needless to say…you can get creative and add different veggies and meat…even leave the meat out for a delicious vegetarian dish…and find the combinations that you like best. Enjoy!

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Sweet Golden Cornbread

Happy New Year, everyone!  In a nod to my Southern heritage, I’m whipping up a New Year’s day meal of black-eyed peas, cornbread and greens – the New Year’s Trinity.  The tradition of consuming these flavorful legumes dates back to the Civil War when General Sherman’s troops destroyed most of the crops in the south but left the black-eyed peas behind because they were considered a non-vital crop – essentially animal feed.

Cornbread’s role in the New Year’s Trinity is that of GOLD.  The hubby’s favorite because he loves gold (seriously, he wanted gold-leaf for Christmas!) and my favorite because IMO, this cornbread adds a much needed sweetness to an otherwise savory meal.  And, if you’ve read the About TSC page, you’d know that I have a bit of a sweet-tooth and can’t have a meal without some sweetness in there – it’s all about balance, folks!  This cornbread may not be traditional, but it’s so yummy and a great side to my Black-Eyed Peas with Country Ham that I highly recommend you give it a try.  And if somehow you have some leftover after dinner, simply warm up a slice, drizzle it with honey and you’ll have a scrumptious late-night treat!

 

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