When I saw this recipe for Meat Lovers Pizza Gnocchi back in January on Kevin’s “Closet Cooking” blog, I knew it had to be tried. The only problem was that Bev doesn’t care for gnocchi (the store bought version at least) so while she was in the Caribbean, it seemed like the perfect meal for our Friday card night. Here is Kevin’s description of it – “Soft and pillowy gnocchi done meat lover’s pizza style with pizza sauce, pepperoni, bacon, and beef all smothered in plenty of melted cheese!” You can see Kevin's original recipe and pics by clicking on the above link.
Since I’m alone, I like to make meals with leftovers and to
ensure I did, I made a recipe and a half to get the one below. I made the sauce in the morning so all I had
to do at mealtime was reheat it, cook the gnocchi, stir it into the sauce, and top with the cheese.
Meat Lovers Pizza Gnocchi - Adapted
from Closet Cooking
Ingredients:
1½ lbs. gnocchi (gluten-free for gluten-free)
6 oz. bacon, sliced
4 oz. of pepperoni, sliced
1½ lbs. ground beef (or Italian sausage)
1½ c. onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, chopped (1/4
tsp dried)
1 pinch red pepper flakes
3 c. pizza sauce or marinara sauce (I used Rao’s)
3 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions:
1. Cook the gnocchi as directed on the package.
2. Cook the bacon in a large pan over medium heat before
setting aside.
3. Cook the pepperoni in bacon grease in the pan and set
aside.
Optionally cook the gnocchi in the bacon grease
until crispy and set aside.
4. Add the beef and onion to the pan and cook, breaking the
beef apart as it cooks, until cooked through, before draining off any excess
grease. See Note 1.
5. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until
fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, gnocchi, bacon and
pepperoni, and simmer for a few minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle on the cheese, cover and let it melt.
The Verdict:
Not surprisingly for a Kevin recipe, we all thought it was great and I had a big bowl of leftovers. The ingredient proportions were all just right. You really need to make this.
And you know I had to do this.
RV
You may not recall, but last November our motorhome broke
down on the way home from a rally in Chattanooga, TN and we had to be towed
home then after several weeks in the shop and a few thousand dollars, it got
home just prior to my toe surgery. We
spent that rally with no hot water as our Aqua Hot (supplies heat and hot
water) sprang a leak. So, after sitting
all winter, we are finally getting ready to travel and trying to get everything
in good shape for when we want to quit RVing and sell the coach. I’m happy to report that the Aqua Hot is back
in business. Now it’s time to take it
for a check-out ride to make sure the chassis is all okay.
Photos can be enlarged by
clicking on them and the blue words are links.
Have a
great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
Larry
04/14/23
meal date
Larry, I would really enjoy this gnocchi dish. It's really good and hearty too. Cheers to RV season!
ReplyDeleteLarry, My kind of gnocchi dish! Lots of meat and cheese. Like Bev, Laurie isn't a big gnocchi fan but she might like this recipe. Of course, we would add in those red pepper flakes. I love the idea of frying the pepperoni in the bacon grease! I admit that I would have been truly disappointed if you hadn't made a breakfast from the leftovers... Best of luck with the RV season and with you travel home on wheels! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are going to continue RV'ing this year! Hope the rig works great for you. I'm loving this recipe (and the breakfast the following day)--that sauce sounds SO good! I have some leftover ragu in the fridge and some gnocchi in the pantry...hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the odd ones that doesn't like gnocchi. But the recipe looks like a great idea. Hope the RV'ing goes more smoothly. When I read the title I thought for sure you were going to sell.
ReplyDelete