Gnocchi

Smoked Gouda Bacon & Sprouts

I've been wanting to make this for weeks.  Tonight I just made up my mind that we are having gnocchi and I'm going to try this twist on it.  What better to put with gnocchi than bacon and smoked Gouda cheese?  I think adding brussel sprouts made it even that much more amazing, and you have to have veggies to round out this hearty meal.

Making this is rather quick and simple.  I will let you all know it's a rather filling dish and if you wanted it to be a main dish and have a side I would say fix a side salad to go with.  Something light and crisp.  I came up with this on a whim.  All things I love, and even my boyfriend love in one dish.  Who doesn't love potato's cheese bacon and brussel sprouts?  I've been wanting to make my own cheese sauce from scratch too and tonight I accomplished it no problem.  I just eyeballed everything and it all worked out.  So simple I don't know why I don't make my own sauce more often.  Next time I make this I'm going to attempt to make gnocchi from scratch.  If you do not know what gnocchi is, it's a pasta made from potato's.  YUM!

Alright, this is how I went about making dinner tonight.

What you will need:

1 package of fresh gnocchi (or you can make from scratch)

1/2 cup of chopped onion 

1 chopped clove of garlic

4 slices of bacon

8 good side brussel sprouts

2 slice of smoked Gouda cheese

1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese

1 table spoon butter

1 table spoon of flour

1/4 cup of milk or heavy cream

2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Always pulling out everything I'll need first and starting up a medium frying pan and putting about 4 slices of bacon into cook up nice and crisp.  While that is cooking up start up a large pot with water and 1 teaspoon olive oil to get a good boil going.  I put together cheese bread at this time too and popped into the oven to get crisp.  Then chop up all veggies and cheese, have the butter, flour, and cream ready to go too.  This moves rather fast.

I don't feel that we need to see the amazing pan of bacon cooking up, so here are the green goodness that is a pan full of brussel sprouts.  Healthy good tasty little green veggies and this is a great starter dish to try them for your fist time if you have never had them.  Let them fry up and get toast with the onion and garlic and that other teaspoon of olive oil.  I add a bit of water as I cook this up so that they don't burn and it helps get the brussel sprouts a bit tender.  I try very hard to use less dishes pans etc. so this was the same pan I used to cook the bacon.  You can leave the bacon bits in there just pour out the bacon grease I don't think that is to healthy for us to be eating if we can help it.

While the brussel sprouts, onion, and garlic are cooking up get out a small sauce put the butter and flour in let butter melt and work in with the flour then add milk stir and add both cheese all on medium to medium low heat stirring constantly while the cheese melts.  Once this is almost done and the veggies are looking done then put in the gnocchi to the gently boiling water for 4 min. or whatever the package tells you.

Drain the gnocchi put into a medium bowl add your cheese sauce then add the bacon crumbling it up as you add it.  Now add the brussel sprouts and gently fold everything together.

It's ready to enjoy, serve it up right away.

Eat, Love, & Live.