Simple pleasures in life...

gnocchi with pork sausage, spinach and pesto. 
thanks Trader Joe's!

  I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turns out the Trader Joe's gnocchi is...not so bad. I've been craving gnocchi lately but have been too lazy to make it from scratch. While I was on the train coming back from work, I started brainstorming ideas for dinner (as I often do). Gnocchi with fennel sausage, pesto and spinach perhaps? Luckily we live 2 blocks away from a legit Italian butcher. Shout out to Los Paisanos on Smith Street! Woot woot! (Can I have some free meat now please?) Los Paisanos doesn't mess around. These guys have nearly every kind of meat and cut that you would ever want, and their prices are pretty damn reasonable. I picked up some Italian berkshire pork sausage meat to go with the gnocchi, and two extra sausage links. Cause, you know. Why not?
  This is a fairly simple meal to throw together. The gnocchi cooks in about 5 minutes so while I was waiting I sauteed up some fresh minced garlic and diced onion, then threw in the sausage meat. When the sausage is cooked through, I turned off the heat and added three big handfuls of spinach and stirred until it was completely wilted. Then I added just a touch of marinara sauce for liquid and a bit of acidity. But I wanted the base of the sauce to be pesto, so I added some of TJ's jarred pesto and mixed that all together.
  At the end, I threw the gnocchi into the pan with the sauce  to fully coat each little gnocchi baby, and finally plated with some freshly grated asiago and some basil leaves. Not bad for a 10 minute meal. Do eet!