Gnocchi in a White Wine Cream Sauce

When I'm making sauces from a white wine base, I usually use Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. This time, I decided to go with a sweeter Moscato and paired it with goat cheese to give it a rich texture- and because goat cheese is one of my fav-or-ite cheeses. I'm really happy with how it turned out! Check below for ideas on how to mix up this recipe with additional ingredients.

This recipe serves 2-3 people as a main dish or more as a side.

1lb gnocchi (or mini gnocchi)

2T butter, divided

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Moscato wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

4oz goat cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

2T fresh parsley, chopped

1/4tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

Melt butter in pan. Saute onion in butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and mix with onion. Immediately add wine, chicken stock and goat cheese. Simmer over medium heat until cheese has completley blended (about 5 minutes). Add cream, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to low. Add remaining tablespoon of butter and simmer (on low) until ready to serve.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions. After draining, add to sauce. Garnish with parsley and parmesan.

As I was finishing the sauce, I was wishing I had mushrooms to add. I think chopped Baby Bella or Cremini mushrooms added in at the beginning with the onions would be perfect with this dish! And to make it even heartier, you could also add crumbled Italian sausage.

Natalie Grace- 4 Months

Oh how we love this sweet, snuggly, loves-to-stick-her-tongue-out girl. She brings us so much joy every day!

4 Month Stats:

12lbs 4oz

23.75in

25th percentile for both :)

This month, Natalie, or "Nani" (nah-ni) as we've all come to call her thanks to Ryan, has really started focusing on on everything around her- our faces, her hands, toys, Tally. She's starting to take it all in and recognize her people, which has been so fun to see.

She loves when Tally kisses her feet and when we blow raspberries on her belly. She lets out the daintiest little giggle and then waits for you to do it again. It is so sweet!

Girlfriend has spoiled us rotten with her sleep. This month, I decided I would try giving her the paci when she woke up in the middle of the night to see if she was actually hungry or just wanting to suck to fall back asleep. One night she woke up each hour starting around 1am but went right back to sleep when I gave her her paci.  After that night, she started sleeping all night without even waking for her paci! BLESS HER!

She's our little go-with-the-flow angel. We try to make sure she gets at least one good nap in her crib each day, but aside from that, she often sleeps on the go. In fact, I've been teaching Ryan about "thinking about Nani" when she falls asleep in the car since she's so sweet to come everywhere with us, even when she's tired. ;) Ryan will peek in her carrier and say, "Sweet girl's sleepin" and will switch to a whisper voice when he wants to tell me about all of the passing dumpers, mixers, and fire trucks on the road. Love his little heart for her!

Here's a look a Natalie's past month, including her first little vacation:

Memorial Day :)

Beach Baby!

Ryan talking on his play phone and Nani listening to every word :)

The concentration- I love it

We love you, sweet girl!

Southwest Chicken Tortillas + a WINNER!

I LOVE Mexican. Almost as much as I love pasta.

I made this for dinner last week and we all loved it, even our almost 2 year old. I think I'm most excited about how the sauce turned out- it tasted so good!

The ingredients list looks a little intimidating, but trust me when I say this dish is easy! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

(Recipe inspiration from here)

Ingredients:

Filling:

1/2 rotisserie chicken, chunked

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed

pinch of sugar

Sauce:

1/2 cup sour cream

juice from one lime

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

pinch of sugar

Garnish:

green onion, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

Mexican 4-cheese blend, shredded 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and spray baking dish. Lay chicken on the bottom of the dish. Top with black beans and tomatoes. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over top the tomatoes. Bake for 25 minutes. 

Mix together ingredients for the sauce and set aside. Spread tortillas on a greased cookie sheet. Place tortillas in oven for the last 5 minutes of baking. Spread sauce on each tortilla and spoon about 1/2 cup filling over top each tortilla.

Garnish with green onion, cilantro, and cheese.

For more recipe ideas, click here.

And the winner of the $150 cash giveaway is:

Allie Kier

Congratulations, Allie!!!

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June's Mid-Month Confessions

It's confessions time! Each month, Elizabeth and I like to share our crazy will y'all, but this month, Elizabeth is off enjoying some no-kid, girl-time at the beach, so it's just me sharing today. Hopefully my list will suffice for some good laughs or will make you feel better about your own crazy moments. ;)
Here goes!

1.

All of these events happened in one day:

- I left my credit card in a parking lot (and miraculously found it when I went back 2 hours later)

-Made my mom an appetizer of string cheese and crackers because I was out of "real" cheese, and us "McKenzie" girls (my maiden name)  love our cheese and cracker appetizers.

-Got this text from a friend:

-Cooked broccoli in the microwave without putting the broccoli in the microwave. #mamaistired

2.

Ryan picked up a bag of Skittles the other day and said, "It's edamame, Mommy!"

Bless his sheltered little heart. ;)

3.

I record 4 hours of the Today Show every day in hopes of watching the two minute intro so that I can at least be aware of major events happening in the world. Which again points to my being born in the wrong generation that I don't use my phone for these things.

4.

The teacher in me can't help but use Daniel Tiger as a lesson plan: we watch the "Thank You Day" episode when we'll be going somewhere that involves thanking other people for their invitation, the "Problem Solver Daniel" episode when Ryan's been frustrated with his puzzles or toys, and the "Thinking about what Other's Need" episode when his little toddler mindset is strong. Because of this, I am totally aware that Ryan will very soon be saying "MOM!" when I try to make teachable moments out of ev.er.y.thing. I'ma need to Matt to help me with this I know. ;)

I'm also not afraid to bust out a DT song when I'm in public if the moment warrants it, as proven by this text I got from another friend this morning:

5.

Before bed one night, I took my shower and was putting on lotion and realized I only shaved one leg. But I was too tired to get back in so I just went with it.

You have until Friday to enter the $150 cash giveaway! Enter here.