If there’s one thing I know about food blogging, it’s that you all go wild for any recipe that involves Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi! Make it a one-dish sheet pan meal that can be on the table in just about 30 minutes, and that’s it, people go nuts. I’ve been brainstorming some quick meals during this busy time of year that get a little helping hand from Trader Joe’s frozen food aisle. Want to know the secret to the famous Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi? Ignore the instructions on the back of the bag and bake them in the oven instead! They get a nice crispy, browned texture and the baking brings out more of the nutty cauliflower flavor too. 
This recipe has a nice seasonal fall feel, with bits of Italian sausage (I used sweet sausage to make it kid friendly, but mix it up if you have another kind you prefer), wilty green spinach and hearty white beans. Bits of garlic and red pepper flakes (totally optional if you don’t like spice) give the dish a punch of flavor too. Get the full recipe below – and check out my other Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi recipes here! read more
Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi was the food craze of 2019, and my sheet-pan recipe for turning it into a tasty weeknight dinner was my top post of the entire year! When I saw the news that Trader Joe’s was releasing a brand new version this year — Kale Gnocchi — I couldn’t get to the frozen food aisle at my local TJ’s fast enough! I used a similar method for cooking the Kale Gnocchi (ignoring the instructions on the bag, which give a soggy, unpleasant result) and baked them on a sheet pan until warm and crispy. Also on my sheet pan, Trader Joe’s frozen turkey meatballs, sweet butternut squash, shallot slices, and cherry tomatoes that burst and release their flavorful juices. To finish the dish off, I drizzled the roasted kale gnocchi, meatballs and veggies with a thyme-infused brown butter and lots of fresh parmesan cheese. The result was delightfully tasty, and dare I say even a bit more addictive than its cauliflower gnocchi predecessor! Get the full recipe below:
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My most-popular recipe in the last year (actually, maybe ever?) has been my sheet-pan cauliflower gnocchi with tomatoes, made with the cult-favorite Trader Joe’s Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi. I was totally amazed by the response to this recipe, but I get why people like it: it’s healthy-ish, it’s fast and simple, and it’s made on one sheet pan so the clean-up is easy! I always stock up on the Trader Joe’s Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi when I see it in stores, and decided to give my go-to recipe a facelift for the summer-season! This recipe is a spin on my original, but I added in summer veggies like squash and zucchini, tossed Italian sausage in the mix for some added flavor, and finished it off with a dollop of ricotta cheese (which melts over the warm gnocchi and acts as a sauce). It was a big hit all around our dinner table, and think this one will be a new favorite for the cauliflower gnocchi fans! Full recipe below: 
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A few months back I took a poll about new content you guys wanted to see here, and I got a big response to one of my ideas: Trader Joe’s hacks. I shared my first one (sheet pan cauliflower gnocchi!) and was amazed by the response — holy moly did people love it! It was one of my most shared posts ever (in 10 years of blogging!), so I’m back today with another recipe that makes use of some tasty Trader Joe’s ingredients for a quick-fix dinner.
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I took a little poll recently on my instagram about some new blog post ideas, and one that got resounding positive feedback was Trader Joe’s hack recipes! I love Trader Joe’s and I rely on so many of their frozen foods, great sauces and specialty items for making quick and easy dinners at home. This recipe is one of those fast-fix meals, and the best part is that it can be made in one-pan for minimal clean-up. It starts with their popular cauliflower gnocchi, which gets added to the pan while still frozen and tossed with tomatoes, olive oil, herbs and seasonings. It roasts for about 30 minutes and tossing the ingredients once or twice mid-cooking helps everything get coated in the blistered tomato juices and ensures the gnocchi has a perfectly crisped outside and fluffy texture inside. It’s so simple to make I even had time to make it for a lunch last week! Get the full recipe below:
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I’ve always been someone who gets hyped over the new year. I love a fresh start, I love clean to do lists, I love resetting goals and the whole clean-slate thing. It usually gives me so much energy and momentum, but man this year has not been that way! I have been sick, Jane has been sick, we’ve been operating in a cloud of sinus infections, ear infections, and general exhaustion. I even had to cancel plans on my birthday so I was in a reallll cranky spot! Over the weekend I rallied for a girls night out with my best friends’ and today is the first day since the start of 2020 that I’ve felt like I can breathe (literally and figuratively, ha). So I’m trying to get back in the game — a little bit slower in my start than I anticipated — but with lots to share.
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I am eating up every last bit of summer this month. We had a perfect 4th of July weekend with some beach time, meals by the water, and a friend’s pool party to top it all off (Jane put those toddler swim lessons to the test and was paddling around like a fish!). This week we’ve been eating from our veggie garden every night and I’m loving it; it turns out the way to get me to eat my veggies was by growing them (and occasionally by mixing them with pasta). And there’s more summer fun in the mix coming up: I’m tackling the outdoor movie night from summer bucket list, gearing up for more beach time, and packing a picnic for a summer concert series at our local library! Summer is sweet, and I’ve got a few more warm-weather updates for you below: 
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