No-No Gnocchi

I made gnocchi for dinner last night. It was delicious!

NOTE: if you are ever going to be lost in the wilderness, with no food for days, fill up on gnocchi beforehand (like you would know ahead of time that you were going to get lost!) They are VERY filling!

Like a maroon (my favorite Bugs Bunny saying!) I didn't take any photos during the making/cooking/eating process! You'll just have to be satisfied with what I clicked this morning!

Mix the potato flakes and boiling water together, then add seasonings (you could add parsley, garlic and/or onion powder here also!), an egg to bind everyone together and then flour. I knead it a little bit to make sure it's not sticky...which I'm sure makes Italian Mamas everywhere roll their eyes! I use a wonderful bench scraper for these next steps! Divide dough in half and roll each half out to a long skinny rope. The recipe said "breadstick size" but I didn't know what kind of breadsticks they were talking about...big beefy ones or skinny little grissinis...so I rolled it out to about teen-age snake size...about the diameter of a quarter. Cut the ropes into bite-size pieces and cook 'em in boiling water. Don't tell Mama Italiano but I cook them for about 5 minutes AFTER they rise to the top of the water...a definite gnocchi no-no! Test 'em to make sure they're done! I sauteed some onions and garlic and made a cream sauce with peas, then tossed the little dumplings in to coat them for last night's dinner. Sometimes I add ham or bacon too. You can serve them with pesto, marinara sauce, ricotta...all kinds of stuff!

Easy Gnocchi

1 cup instant potato flakes

1 cup boiling water (I needed to add a smidge more)

1 teaspoon salt

1/8-1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 to 1 1/2 cups flour

Mix the potato flakes and boiling water together and let cool. Mix in salt, pepper and egg. Add flour until it's a fairly firm dough. If it gets too dry, add a little more water. Divide dough in half and roll each half out to a long skinny rope. Cut into bite-size pieces and place in boiling salted water. After gnocchi rise to the top of the water, cook for 5 minutes or until done. Drain and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.