Tasting Tuesday: Gnocchi Mac and Cheese with Bacon

Husband has been doing most of the grocery shopping solo lately while I’ve been wrapping up school projects and preparing for finals. He shops and I sort while praising him for his efforts. I occasionally find a few surprises while emptying the bags and this week was no exception. Apparently, Husband was in a gnocchi mood, so ever since, the box has been sitting in the cupboard staring me down and challenging me to come up with a new recipe.

Luckily, Pinterest is always there to help. I have found that scrolling through the colorful links has become a soothing and entertaining activity that helps me get through boring classes. Thankfully, gnocchi recipes are not hard to come by and since Husband also has a habit of filling our fridge with cheese, I decided Mac and Cheese was the best way to go.

I modified this recipe from Fox Valley Foodie to fit my ingredients and to serve 2. I couldn’t remember if I had ever made a cheese sauce before, so this was definitely a good one to start with. Easy, breezy, and fast to make, especially with Husband serving as my gnocchi cooking/bacon frying assistant. Here’s what you do:

1. Bring water to boil in medium pot and cook 1 pound gnocchi (I used DeLallo) batches, removing them after they float.
2. While the gnocchi is cooking, melt 2 Tablespoons butter in medium saucepan. Slowly add 2 Tablespoons flour until smooth.
3. Gradually add 1 cup milk to saucepan. Stir well.
4. Add 2/3 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Provolone cheese, and 1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese to saucepan in slow batches until all is melted. Add salt/pepper, if needed.
5. Add cooked gnocchi to cheese sauce, along with 1 pound cooked, crumbled bacon and 1/4 cup chopped scallions. Mix. Serve. Enjoy. Savor. (The original recipe noted that this does not keep well overnight, but I didn’t have a chance to learn this for myself because Husband licked the bowl clean)

This was definitely not one of my healthiest recipes, so I paired it with a strawberry spinach salad so I felt at least a tiny bit healthy. And there you go! Tasting Tuesday, indeed!