Eeks, I’m turning into a nervous nelly behind the wheel! 
Ever since witnessing that accident last week (which, side note, I am completely NOT blaming the victim for, obviously, and apologize if that’s how my story came out. The man who blew through the intersection was 100% in the wrong and responsible!) I’ve been super jumpy in the car. 
Waiting a good 3 beats before accelerating at green lights causing unhappy cars to honk behind me (yes, I can see that it’s green!), stopping a good 10 feet before reaching all sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, spinning my head in a complete 360 (it’s possible) before pulling out into any intersection – you get the picture…
Maybe I needed to witness something terrible to become a better driver, because I’ve never been more aware in the car than I am now. I’m terrified that I’m going to hit somebody! Hopefully the anxious feeling will die down and a more calming, responsible-driver aura will takeover? Hopefully?
Ohhhmmmm… Any advice?
In other news, it was Trader Joe’s Tuesday at my house tonight. Gee, Trader Joe’s Night keeps coming a day earlier and earlier each week, doesn’t it?! 
On tonight’s menu: Whole-Wheat Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach!
As you know, I HEART gnocchi. Homemade , store-bought , fresh from a Roman trattoria … You got it, I’ll eat it.
A reader sent me a recipe for gnocchi & sausage a couple weeks ago, and I thought this would be perfect for it!
(it’s too bad store-bought gnocchi is so unfortunate looking, right?! )
These babies cooked up similar to most other gnocchi – a few minutes in the hot tub is all it takes.
Meanwhile, in a skillet next door, I sautéed a shallot in some olive oil. PS: onions hurt Ben’s stomach but shallots do not. The taste is like a mix between garlic and onions, and they’re super delicate tasting. I just love ‘em!
After the shallots were browned, I added in 3 Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausages, removed from their casings.
TJ’s has an awesome variety of chicken sausages. I’m in love with their Spicy Italian Wine & Cheese Chicken Sausage but, in the spirit of trying something new, I went for this summer-inspired flavor. 
Check out the ingredient list! True, they don’t list WHAT part of the chicken’s in there, but at least I know there’s no random, crazy fillers.
I also added in some fresh chopped garlic. The smell was incredible!
When the sausage was cooked, I added in 4 cups of baby spinach and let it wilt down for a couple minutes.
Finally, I added in the cooked and drained gnocchi, parmesan cheese, some reserved gnocchi cooking water and a wee bit more olive oil.
Yummy!!
Serves 4
Print this recipe!
Ingredients:
1 package pre-made whole-wheat gnocchi (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup gnocchi cooking water
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small shallot, chopped
3 links sun-dried tomato & basil chicken sausage, casings removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining.
2. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallots until they begin to soften, ~3-4 minutes. Add chicken sausage and garlic. Break up sausage and sauté until cooked through. Add in baby spinach, toss and continue to cook until spinach is wilted.
3. Add cooked gnocchi into the skillet with the sausage and spinach, top with parmesan cheese, the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and the reserved cooking water. Mix together.
Great textures and flavors! While I’ll say that I liked the Spicy Italian Wine & Cheese Chicken Sausage a bit better – this sun-dried tomato & basil sausage was bursting with sweet flavor. Plus it had big chunks of sun-dried tomato in it that I just loved.
The whole-wheat gnocchi? AWESOME. You could see the "whole wheat" in there, and the texture was very firm. MUCH firmer than the frozen sweet potato gnocchi – FTW. 
On the side I broiled up some parmesan garlic bread.
You know it’s my fave! Just a slice of bread smeared with a little butter then topped with parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Popped under the broiler until golden brown. You’ll want 60 pieces.
Quick, hide the loaf.
Ok – who made the grade:
Trader Joe’s Whole-Wheat Gnocchi: 10/10. Loved them. Would eat them everyday. What? I would!
Trader Joe’s Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage: 6/10. I got a few "gamey" tasting bites, since I’m pretty sure it’s not all white-meat chicken in there, but overall the seasoning was terrific and slightly sweet from the sun-dried tomatoes. I might take the flavors and make my own SDT&B chicken burgers!
Ben gave the meal a 10/10. "mmmMMMM. I really like this! You don’t need any of the leftovers, do you? Sorry, that was selfish…"
Oh, someone asked me on Facebook today if I ever figure out calorie counts for the dishes I prepare. I usually don’t when I’m just throwing things together, like last night’s Ruebens, but when I follow a recipe I sometimes use Livestrong’s Recipe Calculator to determine cals/serving. It’s FAB.
According to the tool, tonight’s 4-serving Whole-Wheat Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach came out to 375 calories a serving. I could have probably cut the sausage down to two links and in that case, it comes out to 335 calories a serving.
In other news, I found a super-cute fuzzy caterpillar crawling on my driveway this evening! Another encouraging sign of Spring !
I didn’t want to post it because of its similarity to the gnocchi, but…
…
I’m doing it anyways!
Awww, right!? I don’t know why but this little guy makes me smile.
Have a great night everyone!
~~~~~
Do you have any phobias?
I’m deathly afraid of spiders. I once read that we’re instinctively afraid of the things that could potentially kill us – which helps explain why I’m scared of spiders, but not crabs. Both have more legs than anything ever should, but I’m only scared of the potentially venomous one!
Eeks, I’m turning into a nervous nelly behind the wheel!
Ever since witnessing that accident last week (which, side note, I am completely NOT blaming the victim for, obviously, and apologize if that’s how my story came out. The man who blew through the intersection was 100% in the wrong and responsible!) I’ve been super jumpy in the car.
Waiting a good 3 beats before accelerating at green lights causing unhappy cars to honk behind me (yes, I can see that it’s green!), stopping a good 10 feet before reaching all sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, spinning my head in a complete 360 (it’s possible) before pulling out into any intersection – you get the picture…
Maybe I needed to witness something terrible to become a better driver, because I’ve never been more aware in the car than I am now. I’m terrified that I’m going to hit somebody! Hopefully the anxious feeling will die down and a more calming, responsible-driver aura will takeover? Hopefully?
Ohhhmmmm… Any advice?
In other news, it was Trader Joe’s Tuesday at my house tonight. Gee, Trader Joe’s Night keeps coming a day earlier and earlier each week, doesn’t it?!
On tonight’s menu: Whole-Wheat Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach!
As you know, I HEART gnocchi. Homemade , store-bought , fresh from a Roman trattoria … You got it, I’ll eat it.
A reader sent me a recipe for gnocchi & sausage a couple weeks ago, and I thought this would be perfect for it!
(it’s too bad store-bought gnocchi is so unfortunate looking, right?!
)
These babies cooked up similar to most other gnocchi – a few minutes in the hot tub is all it takes.
Meanwhile, in a skillet next door, I sautéed a shallot in some olive oil. PS: onions hurt Ben’s stomach but shallots do not. The taste is like a mix between garlic and onions, and they’re super delicate tasting. I just love ‘em!
After the shallots were browned, I added in 3 Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausages, removed from their casings.
TJ’s has an awesome variety of chicken sausages. I’m in love with their Spicy Italian Wine & Cheese Chicken Sausage but, in the spirit of trying something new, I went for this summer-inspired flavor.
Check out the ingredient list! True, they don’t list WHAT part of the chicken’s in there, but at least I know there’s no random, crazy fillers.
I also added in some fresh chopped garlic. The smell was incredible!
When the sausage was cooked, I added in 4 cups of baby spinach and let it wilt down for a couple minutes.
Finally, I added in the cooked and drained gnocchi, parmesan cheese, some reserved gnocchi cooking water and a wee bit more olive oil.
Yummy!!
Serves 4
Print this recipe!
Ingredients:
1 package pre-made whole-wheat gnocchi (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup gnocchi cooking water
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small shallot, chopped
3 links sun-dried tomato & basil chicken sausage, casings removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining.
2. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallots until they begin to soften, ~3-4 minutes. Add chicken sausage and garlic. Break up sausage and sauté until cooked through. Add in baby spinach, toss and continue to cook until spinach is wilted.
3. Add cooked gnocchi into the skillet with the sausage and spinach, top with parmesan cheese, the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and the reserved cooking water. Mix together.
Great textures and flavors! While I’ll say that I liked the Spicy Italian Wine & Cheese Chicken Sausage a bit better – this sun-dried tomato & basil sausage was bursting with sweet flavor. Plus it had big chunks of sun-dried tomato in it that I just loved.
The whole-wheat gnocchi? AWESOME. You could see the "whole wheat" in there, and the texture was very firm. MUCH firmer than the frozen sweet potato gnocchi – FTW.
On the side I broiled up some parmesan garlic bread.
You know it’s my fave! Just a slice of bread smeared with a little butter then topped with parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Popped under the broiler until golden brown. You’ll want 60 pieces.
Quick, hide the loaf.
Ok – who made the grade:
Trader Joe’s Whole-Wheat Gnocchi: 10/10. Loved them. Would eat them everyday. What? I would!
Trader Joe’s Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage: 6/10. I got a few "gamey" tasting bites, since I’m pretty sure it’s not all white-meat chicken in there, but overall the seasoning was terrific and slightly sweet from the sun-dried tomatoes. I might take the flavors and make my own SDT&B chicken burgers!
Ben gave the meal a 10/10. "mmmMMMM. I really like this! You don’t need any of the leftovers, do you? Sorry, that was selfish…"
Oh, someone asked me on Facebook today if I ever figure out calorie counts for the dishes I prepare. I usually don’t when I’m just throwing things together, like last night’s Ruebens, but when I follow a recipe I sometimes use Livestrong’s Recipe Calculator to determine cals/serving. It’s FAB.
According to the tool, tonight’s 4-serving Whole-Wheat Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach came out to 375 calories a serving. I could have probably cut the sausage down to two links and in that case, it comes out to 335 calories a serving.
In other news, I found a super-cute fuzzy caterpillar crawling on my driveway this evening! Another encouraging sign of Spring !
I didn’t want to post it because of its similarity to the gnocchi, but…
…
I’m doing it anyways!
Awww, right!? I don’t know why but this little guy makes me smile.
Have a great night everyone!
~~~~~
Do you have any phobias?
I’m deathly afraid of spiders. I once read that we’re instinctively afraid of the things that could potentially kill us – which helps explain why I’m scared of spiders, but not crabs. Both have more legs than anything ever should, but I’m only scared of the potentially venomous one!