Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts

As I mentioned in the last post, I tried to reward my mom for her hard work by feeding her tasty meals. You saw the pictures from Sunday's Mother's Day brunch but now let's talk about dinner the night before.

It wasn't anything too fancy since we'd been working all day and hardly wanted to spend more time in the kitchen just to eat something. Then we decided that Jason actually needed to make us dinner since he missed out on the yard work. We sent him to the store to pick up some steaks while we finished up the last of our projects and then we put him to work in the kitchen. 

While I grilled sirloin steaks outside, Jason made Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts. This recipe goes great with something grilled or all on its own.



Here's a pic from the first time I ever made this dish.



Here's the cookbook photo...pretty close
(minus the professional photography) huh?







Here's the recipe for those of you that are now jealous and would like to try this at home. It comes from one of my go-to cookbook's Cooking Light's Complete Meals in Minutes. All of the recipes are 30 minutes or less and so far they have all been terrific. Also, in case you have never tried gnocchi before go for it! They are little italian potato dumplings with a slightly chewy texture due to the addition of flour. You can purchase them pre-made as I did. In Kirksville, you can find them at Wal-mart and Hyvee on the shelf next to other dry pastas. In fancier grocery stores in other towns, you might also find them with refrigerated fresh pasta.

15 minute recipe

Brown Butter Gnocchi with Spinach and Pine Nuts from Cooking Light's Complete Meals in Minutes

1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (10-ounce) package fresh spinach, torn

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Heat butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts to pan; cook 3 minutes or until butter and nuts are lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute. Add gnocchi and spinach to pan; cook 1 minute or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Stir in salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup gnocchi mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Calories: 289; Fat 10.8g; Protein 9.5g; Carb 40.3g; Fiber 1.8g; Cholesterol 20 mg; Iron 2.2 mg; Sodium 877 mg

I'd love to hear your feedback if you give this recipe a try.