Burning Down the House Gnocchi

Sometimes the best recipes aren’t planned. You guys know we are huge fans of gnocchi and we seem to never make it the same way twice. That’s pretty much the story here with the Burning Down the House Gnocchi. For a simpler title, you can just call it Mediterranean Gnocchi. I used the Mediterranean Gourmet Harissa Sauce seasoning that came with my Try the World box months ago. Don’t judge. Sometimes it takes a while for inspiration to come to me.

The day started like any other…..

Kiddo was up and breakfast was being prepared.

Worked on chopping boiled dinner. I was so excited that we were finally going to eat the brisket that had been in the freezer for a while calling my name. I just love boiled dinner and was looking forward to making some Irish Soda Bread, too.

 

I’m going to tell you a secret. As a food blogger I write out recipes and snap photos ALL the time. I have a backlog on my hard drive of photos and keep notes in a composition book along with the recipe I created and date it.  At any given time I have over 100 drafts here with more thoughts and ideas along with the posts waiting for me to get the pics off my hard drive. I know some bloggers plan a few days ahead, write, edit, and schedule. I know some who don’t plan and just write on the fly. 

So, this recipe was created opening weekend of Minions. Just to give you an idea of how long ago it’s been 😉

 

Ok. So, the boiled dinner has simmered for a bit, our bellies are full. We got ready and left to go see Minions. I went back to the kitchen to turn the burner off and out the door kiddo and I went.

LOVED the movie, by the way.

We come home, pull the car into the garage and as I am walking up the steps to unlock the door I notice two things 1) the dogs aren’t barking their faces off like they usually do when we come to the door and 2) something smells funny.

I open the door and this wave of smoke greats us instead of Casey and Tink.

Not only am I panicked, I am mortified.

Kiddo and I run inside. She checks the dogs as I head right over to the stove. We start flying through the house to open the doors and windows.

I gather I turned the burner off but I must have bumped it when I was walking away or the moment I sat my purse down to double-check. So, I  had burned out all of the liquid in my pot and ruined dinner.

Epic fail.

I was more worried about the animals and the smoke and the fact I almost burned down the house. Kiddo and I laugh about it now, but it is a serious lesson in kitchen safety. Always check and double-check before leaving the house.

Since that pot of food was ruined and Mr. YUM was due home soon, I grabbed the quickest meal I could think of. A package of gnocchi. Problem was, I didn’t have the usual ingredients on had to create something I was familiar with. So, I had to get creative on the fly. While that usually works for me and the Mr., it doesn’t always work for the kid because her taste buds are completely different from ours (although, she is getting better!)

I started pulling stuff out of the cupboards and rummaged around in the fridge.

I started with some turkey sausage. Sliced and diced with some onions. I cooked that with some olive oil.

Then I added the jar of Mediterranean Gourmet Harissa Sauce from the Try the World Marrakesh Box.

I did leave a little bit off to the side in case kiddo couldn’t eat this. 😉

I added some water (2-3 cups.)

Then I added some chicken stock.

Brought that to a boil and added the gnocchi.  Turned down the heat and waited for the gnocchi to float.

 

I’m happy to report that with the addition of the chicken stock and water that it didn’t end up being spicy and everyone happily enjoyed.

Tell me your burning down the kitchen story. 🙂

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24 Comments

  1. That would be scary coming home to that. Sounds like you put a great meal together in spite of the situation. The Try The World products sound pretty good.

  2. I could share stories about numerous recipe failures but that would seriously involve writing a novel here in the comments since I honestly have so many. I am pretty much the opposite of a food blogger.

  3. I’ve only made gnocchi a few times, but your recipe is enough to make up another batch soon. I think the family will like it. If your recipe was a home, I’d say it has curb appeal. Our restaurant burned down years ago, but it was an electrical problem, not something cooking. Good job coming up with something tasty so fast.

  4. I’ve got a backlog of ideas, but need to find more hours in the day to write them all up. I don’t know how you consistently come up with such amazing recipes, but I love them all!

  5. I have never had Gnocchi before but i am sure my husband has somewhere along the way. I will have to branch out and give it a try soon.

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