“Tuscan” chicken with gnocchi

Omg yum. I just made this really yummy dinner and it is a keeper. I put “Tuscan” in quotes because I didn’t exactly follow a recipe, but merely looked at a few ideas on Pinterest. Some of them were called “Tuscan”. So here’s how this is going to work. NOBODY wants to read your whole story of how your meal came to be. Whose tome of family recipes it came from. What fancy trip you took a cooking class on. We all just want to click on “Jump to Recipe” Am I right? So this is my recipe. In prose. 

I threw chicken breasts in the crockpot. Added some green olives and sundried tomatoes (in a bag, literally dry). Added some garlic for good measure. Admittedly the chicken ended up a little dry. You can totally grill it, bake it, broil it, rotisserie it, whatever. 

This was going to be it. I just needed something quick and easy. Maybe I’d open a can of green beans.

But it was missing something. So I grabbed some gnocchi from Trader Joe’s that I happened to have in the cabinet. It said “product of Italy” which was, well, good for me being gluten sensitive along with a fun case of IBS. When I went to France, NO ISSUES. Croissants, check. Baguettes, check. Hell, I even ate a whole bowl of French onion soup, or just onion soup as they call it in France. I guess “French” onion soup would just be redundant. So I started to think that products made over in the Old World might be ok since they don’t use all the crap we use here to process shit. Though I just read this morning that actually many countries over there actually use flour from over here. I’ll chance it. 

Gnocchi cooked quickly. Read the directions. Drain that shit in a colander. 

In that same pan, throw in the sundried tomatoes (chopped, or not, your choice), more garlic, olive oil. 

Slosh in some chicken broth and milk of your choice. I used unsweetened almond milk. Want it richer? Use some heavy cream. Sprinkled in, oh who am I kidding, I took the cap off the damn bottle and dumped in a bunch of parmesan cheese. Parmesan makes everything better. Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING.  I used the cheap grated stuff in the cylinder. Use whatever kind you like. Add some Italian seasoning. Clearly I didn’t do measurements. Start small, you can always add more. Taste, taste, taste.

Saute on low. If it starts bubbling, it’s too high. Here’s a really important direction: lower it.

While I was sauteeing, I realized I needed a green. I had a huge bag of pre-washed kale that I have to feed the dragon. Bearded dragon. His name is Sandwich. Unfortunate name for him when we say it in front of Tati (our awesome dog who I can’t tell if she wants to eat Sandwich, play with him, or simply assert her dominance). 

Olive oil, kale, kosher salt. Deliciouso. Saute that shit. Turn to low if it’s crackling too much. I love me some crispy, tasty kale. Throw some parm in. Or not. You do you.

That sauce you were making, or bath of goodness as I will now refer to it as? Throw the gnocchi into that pool of flavor. Throw some Kosher salt in there too. Gently mix to let that flavor drape itself over that dense, chewy gnocchi. 

Grab that tasty, crispy kale and put it on a plate. 

Grab that, hopefully-not-dry chicken, rest it on top of the kale.

Spoon that luxurious gnocchi and sauce over it all. 

Drool. Eat. Repeat.

Lesson? Don't be afraid to play around with flavor. Experiment, take some ideas from other recipes. And have fun!