Simple Fare, Fairly Simple

Living here in the south, macaroni and cheese is EVERYWHERE! HomeMADE mac and cheese. Not the stuff in the box...which, by the way, I am a BIG fan of. (I think last that sentence wasn't grammatically correct. This is a cooking page...not a grammer page...so whatever.) Aaannywayyy, I decided to take a basic cheese sauce and re-do your basic mac and cheese...but with no mac. I used gnocchi instead! If you've never had gnocchi, you don't know what you're missing. Little potato dumplings is what they are! And SO yummy! Mixed with the cheese...sprinkled with a little parm, a little breadcrumbs...I was a happy girl, let me tell you! THIS...you HAVE to try!

Gnocchi and Cheese

1 lb. gnocchi ~ I used store bought

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp flour

1 cup half & half

1 tsp dijon mustard

2/3 cup gruyere cheese, grated (or a combination of your favorite cheeses, 1/3 cup each)

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F and spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they’ve floated to the surface. About 2 minutes.

Drain gnocchi and place in a single-layer in the prepared pan.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat

Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds.

Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in the half & half and the dijon.

Continue to whisk and cook until thickened, about 3-5 minutes

Add the cheese to the butter/milk mixture, stirring until cheese has melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour sauce evenly over the gnocchi.

In a small bowl, combine the parmesan and panko then sprinkle on top of the gnocchi

Bake  until the top is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Let the gnocchi set for a few minutes before serving.

Here's what you'll need for this yumminess.

 

 

Melt the butter in a saucepan 

then add the minced garlic.

 

 

Add the flour and cook that for a bit.

 

 

Then add the milk and the dijon mustard.

 

 

Then the cheese. Stir until smooth 

and the cheese is melted.

Cook the gnocchi...

 

 

..then place it a shallow pan. 

Pour the cheese sauce over the gnocchi.

 

 

Combine the panko and the parm.

 

 

Then sprinkle over the cheese sauce.

 

 

Bake it up!