Caramelized Italian Chicken and Baked Gnocchi with Bacon, Tomato andFeta

 
I believe in making the world safe for our children, but not our children’s children, because I don’t think children should be having sex.
 
Jack Handey


Random thoughts…

1. The other day I ran into a friend grocery shopping. She has a 5 month old and a 3 year old. We were talking about getting 2 kids ready as opposed to 1. Talk about GONG show lol. I was telling her how just as I finally get SBean ready and start “helping” HBear, SBean has stripped and HBear is in tears because “I’m only beautiful if I wear a dressssssssss”

 
Wtf?
 
I explain to her every morning “you are beautiful no matter what you wear because having a smile on your face is what makes a person beautiful, yes even Princesses.”
 
Now HURRY UP!!!!!!
 
It’s funny how for the first 4 years of her life I told her to slow down, let’s walk, look at everything, appreciate the beauty of where we live… and now that she’s in school and we’re on a schedule, all I do is tell her to hurry up. It’s so sad that kids only get 4 years of taking their time and for the rest of their lives they have to go at someone else’s speed, pace, time. 

2. The other day HBear pressed a dime she found into my hand and so solemnly said, “Mommy you keep this. You need it so you can give SBean and me all the things you want for us. You know for our future and stuff.”


3. One time when I was super young, everyone in our class had to bring in something from another country. Down the street was this bakery. My Mom drove me and my WpgBesty there (in the very back of the station wagon playing slip and slide) and bought the only “kid thing” there. I went to school with 2 dozen Care Bear sugar cookies… from Care-A-Lot 🙂
 
4. I am not one to toot my own horn but I’m super proud and excited to tell you about a new opportunity that has come my way. Over the years I have been following the YummyMummy Club that Erica Ehm started many years ago.

When I was a kid/teenager I wanted to BE Erica Ehm! She was the COOLEST VJ, her and PJ Jazzy Jan lol remember her? She was on YTV 🙂 Now she is with CTV The National and she is Janis Mackey Frayer, CTV’s Beijing Bureau Chief. 

Anyways, It’s a fabulous community for Moms that provides reviews, recipes, question and answers, hilarious stories and blogs. A couple months back they put out a request across Canada for any bloggers who wanted to join the community. 
 

I’m super happy to say that I was invited to be part of the community! If you haven’t had the chance to check out the YummyMummy Club please do! It’s super awesome and obviously they have great taste LOL. 

If you want to check out my blog, it is HERE!

Actually… PLEASE stop by lol leave a comment, share the page, share it on Google+… do all that fun stuff so they know they picked a wiener  winner 🙂

5. Isn’t it disturbing when you run down the hall and your saggy boobs make slapping sounds against your skin/belly? Oh it’s just me? Forget it then 🙂

Tonight we are having Gnocchi, chicken and my steamed green beans.

So I usually make my own gnocchi… it really is MUCH better. Really. So much better. BUT my Mom and I would do it together and I am not ready for that yet. For 2 reasons… 1 is obvious but the other is that it really is a lot quicker with 4 hands. LOL Maybe I’ll get my MBesty to help me out one of these days 🙂


Baked Gnocchi with Bacon, Tomato and Feta

Adapted from Simply Delicious
1 package store-bought gnocchi
½ package bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons sour cream
large handful parsley, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
¾ cup feta, crumbled
Basil, chopped, for garnish


***You can use Mozza too. Actually, I hope you all know that EVERY recipe is up for interpretation 🙂 Use whatever you have in your fridge! Sometimes I use ground pork because we have a TON of it, you don’t? No biggie use ground beef or turkey 🙂 Use whatever cheese you have in the fridge, If I really like something I will say “hey I’ve tried this with all sorts of stuff and this is what goes best, it’s the saltiness of it that blends so well with…” You get what I am saying 🙂 The thing is, recipes are meant to be fooled around with! Almost every recipe I do is someone else’s that I’ve F***ed with LOL Enjoy yourself in the kitchen :)***

Preheat the oven to 375.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
In a large, hot frying pan, fry the bacon until starting to crisp.

 

Pour off most of the fat then add the garlic and paprika and fry for 30 seconds.

 

Add the tomatoes, paste and the sugar and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

 

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream, parsley, salt and pepper.

 

Cook the gnocchi in the salted water until it starts floating to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the sauce.

 

Transfer the gnocchi and sauce to oven-proof dishes and top with the Feta.

 

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until bubbly.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Top with sliced fresh basil.

 

 

Caramelized Italian Chicken
Adapted from Haiyen’s Kitchen
4 Chicken Breasts
1 packet of dried Italian dressing mix*****
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

***I was too lazy to go out and buy a package PLUS it is so much better for you to make it yourself so I mixed my own… we all thought it would have been better if I had used ground herbs so I am fixing my dressing mix to reflect our dinner discussion.****

Italian dressing mix

1½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons ground oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon sugar
1½ tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil
¼ teaspoon ground thyme
½ teaspoon celery salt

 

Preheat your oven to 375.
Spray a baking dish with Pam.
Combine the packet or if homemade, all, of Italian dressing mix and brown sugar.

 

 

Dip each breast into the mixture and coat each side. Any extra coating can be sprinkled over.

 

Place chicken in oven for 20 minutes and flip each piece over. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until temperature registers 165.

Turn oven on broil for 2 minutes, flip chicken and broil for another 2 minutes.

 

 

 

The Yuck Stops Here

0 thoughts on “Caramelized Italian Chicken and Baked Gnocchi with Bacon, Tomato andFeta”

  1. I learned to make gnocchi one night while watching Disney Junior with kiddo… Helen Cavalo has some great easy recipes. Thanks for sharing on #yuckstopshere link up!

  2. YUM YUM! I'll be featuring this delicious recipe on The Yuck Stops Here Recipe Link Party this week. Stop by to pick up your "I've Been Featured" button anytime after 8pm EST Tuesday evening! CONGRATS & HUGS!

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