Monday Meals: Pasta Dinner x 2

Happy Monday! The weekend seemed to fly by! The sun was shining all weekend, and it felt like a taste of spring!

Last Monday, I made both of these pasta meals for my family. I had picked up the gnocchi a few weeks ago and needed to use it. Since I was uncertain if the kids would like it, I decided to make them bow tie pasta with Alfredo sauce because I knew they loved it. A couple of months ago, I bought jarred Alfredo on a whim and made this quick pasta (the second recipe) and they scarfed it down. Believe it or not, but I think it’s the first time they’d had Alfredo sauce! They thought I was the best mom ever. haha

That being said, I’m no short order cook; the kids eat what I make them for dinner…like it or not. But, I knew these were quick dishes, and they would provide leftovers for Tuesday night, so went ahead and made both.

Gnocchi and Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 package of gnocchi
• Trader Joe’s Three Cheese Pasta Sauce (or any marinara sauce)
• 1 lb Italian sausage
• Shaved Parm (or grated)

Instructions:

• Bring pot of water to boil, add a heavy pinch of salt, and follow instructions for cooking the gnocchi. (Only a few minutes in the boiling water)
• Brown the sausage in a skillet. (I browned it all and used 3/4 of it for the gnocchi recipe and the other 1/4 for the Alfredo recipe)
• Once the sausage is browned, drain any grease.
• Add in sauce and let simmer for a few minutes.
• Add cooked gnocchi into the sauce and stir to incorporate ingredients.
• Serve in a bowl and top with Parm.
• Enjoy!

Chicken, Bacon, Sausage in Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• Farfalle (bow tie) pasta (or any shaped pasta)
• Jar of Alfredo Sauce
• 4-5 slices bacon (Short cut: microwave bacon)
• Chicken (Short cut: Perdue Carved Chicken Breast strips)
• Cooked Italian Sausage (if desired)
• Grated Parm (or shaved Parm—I just know my kids love grated parm)

Instructions:

• Bring pot of water to boil, add heavy pinch of salt, and cook according to directions.
• Cook the bacon in the microwave according to directions and then chop into small pieces.
• Cut the chicken strips into desired bite size and set aside.
• In a medium sauce pan, heat up Alfredo Sauce.
• Add in chicken and warm it for a couple of minutes.
• Add in cooked pasta and bacon. (and sausage if you’d like–that wasn’t a part of my original plan–but since I had the leftover sausage from meal 1, I decided to use that 1/4 lb because I knew the kids would like it)
• Stir to incorporate ingredients.
• Serve in a bowl and top with Parm.
• Enjoy!
• Also, last time I made this, I added frozen peas to it when I incorporated the pasta into the sauce–my kids love peas!

I could have added chopped parsley to both for a finishing touch, but I’m not a professional! haha

Also, side note: The Perdue Chicken Breasts (or similar brand) are something I use often. I add the chicken to my bagged salads for lunch or dinner, I cut the chicken strips into bite size pieces to use for chicken quesadillas, and obviously I also use the chicken in pasta dishes as well.

As a busy working mom with two busy kids, I do still like to make dinner as often as possible…but I also like to make something my family will enjoy as quickly as possible!

I hope you enjoy these recipes!

Have a great week!

Jen

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