Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

November 12, 2014 4 comments Article

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas I am super excited guys! You want to know why? Well, I’ll tell you anyways.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (8) I am so excited because Cheddar cheese has come to Chile!

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (2) As most of you know, there are certain things that just aren’t available where I live and cheddar cheese has been on the top of my “miss list” since my family and I moved here. It’s not that you can’t find any in the entire country. We have seen it at the larger grocery stores here but it’s outrageously priced. Because they have to import it, usually from Wisconsin, it’s always expensive and the brands are the ones that we wouldn’t even have bought if we still lived in The States and they were on sale.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (9) We’ve also seen cheeses advertised as being cheddar but have always been disappointed when it turned out to be like heavily processed American cheese instead. Now one of the local dairy companies are producing it here and it’s really cheddar. It’s more of a yellow color than the orange that is typical in Cheddar but did you know that Cheddar isn’t really orange? It’s been dyed for generations using a seed called annatto.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (5) It started when people realized that the richer the color the better the flavor and cheddar was becoming popular. Cheese makers raised the price of their cheddar and started adding color to it in order to sell more and it has evolved into a bright orange cheese.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (4) Sorry for the history lesson, I just find food history very interesting. So this recipe is the first thing I have made here with cheddar and it made me so happy to put it in and watch it melt into my sauce. Oh, and the flavor, the flavor, oh my goodness! How have we survived without cheddar?

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (6) I’ve made gnocchi from scratch before but this time I used store-bought that my mom found at our local market. I usually like to do things all the way but I was kind of secretly happy that this was such an easy meal to make with the pre-made.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (3) Does that make me a cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater? I know, could I be any more corny? Well, actually, I probably could but I won’t put you through that. Besides, you don’t have time to sit there and read my attemps to be funny. You’ve got some cheddar cheese to grate because this is definitely a recipe worth trying!

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

Ingredients

2 (1 lb.) packages potato gnocchi
1 cup canned or frozen sweet peas

Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce:

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (1/2 of 1 (8 oz) can of beer)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

Cook gnocchi according to package instructions.
While water is heating for gnocchi make the sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in flour until there are no lumps. Return to heat and slowly pour in milk and beer and stir until smooth.
Turn heat to medium and continue stirring until sauce begins to thicken; then add pumpkin and seasoning.
Reduce heat to low again and stir in cheese until melted.
Add cooked gnocchi and peas to sauce and stir to coat.
Serve hot.

Notes

I like to add meat sometimes. Chicken is great and so is bacon. Try it with any meat you want.

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Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (10)

Categories: Autumn/Fall, Holidays & Seasonal, Main Course, Sugar-Free, Vegetarian

Ukrainian Potato Latkes

June 17, 2014 No comments Article

I know that I recently posted another Ukrainian recipe for Borscht but this one is in a totally different category so I am not really being redundant.

These are so good (and bad, addictive bad). Just one of the many ways that you can prepare potatoes. They’re like chips on the outside and french fries on the inside. Definitly a crowd pleaser.

This recipe wasn’t completely my idea to make so I will not take all the credit or the blame. My family is full of potato lovers but I have two sisters who are major fans. This potato recipe just happens to be inspired by the latkes that they used to eat. This was their doing.

I could almost say that my entire family loves these but that is not completely true. My picky brother saw me adding onions and even though they are undetectable once you have fried them he wouldn’t even try a bite. He has an unnatural fear of onions. I keep telling him that there are onions in everything, including most of his favorite foods, but it doesn’t help. This isn’t a recipe that I feel the need to force on him. Mostly because I know that if he tried it he would love them and want to eat them all. It is better this way. More for everyone else.

Ukrainian Potato Latkes

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: about 10

Ukrainian Potato Latkes

Ingredients

3 medium potatos, washed and peeled.
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil for frying

Instructions

First, grate the potatoes with a cheese grater (I cheated by shredding my potatoes in my food processor). If shredding by hand, put the potato shreds in a large bowl of water as you shred to prevent them from oxidizing (turning brown).
Mix onions and potatoes together in a large bowl. Pour out onto a large clean towel and wrap up tightly. Wring as much of the liquid as possible.
Combine garlic, eggs, salt, and pepper with onions and potatoes and stir well.
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Carefully drop spoons of potato mixture, about 3 tablespoons, into oil and spread out with back of spoon. Cook on each side until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Remove to plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil. Serve immediately with greek yogurt or your favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Optionally, you can add a few tablespoons of flour to help your latkes stay together better if they seem to be separating too much.

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Categories: Appetizers, Dairy Free, Gluten-Free, Snacks, Sugar-Free, Vegetarian

Red Bell Pepper Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps (Low Carb & Gluten Free)

May 21, 2014 1 comment Article

I love the ease of salads. Just throw everything together and it is ready to serve.

You can pretty much add anything to a salad and it still tastes good. Take this salad for example. I just opened the fridge and looked around for what fresh ingredients we had on hand and built on that. Most people have a basic chicken salad recipe that they always use, but I like to change it up every time I make it.

You could, of course, serve this on bread, with crackers, or just eat it by itself. I happened to be making this low-carb so I went with the lettuce wraps as a quick lunch for my dad. It is a pretty idiot proof recipe and it takes about 10 minutes. Perfect for hot summer days and picnics.