Creamy Gnocchi & Meatballs | Budget-Friendly One-Pot Meal
Hi y’all - I’m still here! And I’m still striving to be faithful with what I have - one budget-friendly dinner at a time. We’ve had a busy spring and summer, and we’re gearing up for a busy fall. Busy seems to be my default answer to any and all variations of “how are you?” these days. But multiple friends (and even a few acquaintances) have referenced The Faithful Little Pantry and asked where I’ve been. Busy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still be faithful!!
So here I am, sharing about a quick and easy meal I made the other night that was huge hit, but didn’t break our bank. ;) Hope you like it!
Creamy Gnocchi & Meatballs - the original recipe
Like most people, I waited until an hour before dinner time to come up with a plan for food. I personally hate operating like this - it stresses me out. And it’s why I created this blog in the first place, to solidify my noble and optimistic plans to plan our meals. With the busy (there’s that word again), I’ve fallen off the wagon and now I’m limping along the side, trying to catch up.
At least once or twice a week over the past several months, I’ve been standing clueless and nervous in my kitchen, wondering, what are we going to eat for dinner?? Last night, Pinterest and a peek through my pantry did the trick. I had the following on hand: a lemon, a package of gnocchi, a pound of ground beef, a half-quart of heavy whipping cream, half a bag of kale, and some pantry staples (like panko breadcrumbs, spices, better than bouillon, etc.).
I found this recipe and got to work: https://vjcooks.com/creamy-meatballs-gnocchi/
This recipe called for pre-made meatballs, but all I had was ground beef and a dream. Here’s how I made them from scratch:
Homemade Meatballs
Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef (or sausage, or half and half works well too!)
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
I threw all that into a big bowl and got to work (after washing my hands really well and removing my wedding rings). I’ll be honest that I followed my heart with the measurements, so these may not be exact. Trust your gut and your preferences - if you like more onion powder, dump it in! :)
Then I rolled them into half-dollar-coin sized balls - a little less than half a normal meatball size. Making them this small made them cook faster and easier to eat when the dish was complete.
I tossed them in a hot pan (medium heat with a bit on oil) until they were brown on all sides.
Creamy Sauce & Gnocchi
Ingredients:
½ white onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 ½ cups water
2 tbsp better than bouillon (or chicken bouillon cubes)
1 cup heavy cream
1 package of gnocchi
optional: 2 cups kale
Zest & juice of 1 lemon
I’m someone who likes to skim a recipe’s directions and then focus on the ingredients. This doesn’t always work well, so don’t take it as advice, but I vaguely followed this recipe. When the meatballs were done, I pulled them out and threw them in a bigger pot. In the same pan, I tossed half a diced onion and some minced garlic, and scraped up all the meatball bits from the bottom while that cooked for a few minutes.
When the onions were soft and translucent, I added the onion/garlic mixture to the pot with the meatballs and covered it all with water. I added 2 tablespoons of better than bouillon and let it all simmer for about 10 minutes.
After the simmering, I added 1 cup of heavy cream and the package of gnocchi. I let it come back up to a simmer, then covered the pot to let the gnocchi cook for a bit.
While it was cooking, I threw the kale back into the same pan I fried the meatballs and cooked the onions in, and let it crisp up. I’m not a fan of slimy kale, so I prefer to toast/fry it a bit before adding it to recipes.
Bringing It All Together
When the kale finished cooking and the sauce around the gnocchi and meatballs had thickened, I joined them together in the pot. I zested a lemon into the pot, then squeezed all the juice in as well, and gave it a good stir. And voilà, dinner was ready!
The original recipe called for mozzarella cheese, but I didn’t have any so we did without. Honestly, I didn’t even notice anything was missing - the dish was amazing as it was.
There you have it - a quick and easy (and cheap) dinner. My husband and daughter loved it, and I definitely plan to make it again. We scarfed it down so fast, I didn’t even get a photo.
If you make this dish, let me know what you think! Since I added kale, is there anything you’d add in your version?
Also, I’m back - in whatever capacity that looks like for me week to week. I can’t promise consistency, but I can promise to keep sharing what the Lord is teaching me, in and out of my little pantry.
Keep stewarding, friends. :)
