The first time I had gnocchi was for my High School prom dinner. We ate at an Italian restaurant that was rumored to be run by the mafia (gotta love HS rumors). I had just finished my AP exams and had an hour to get ready for dinner. I probably looked like I got ready in an hour but boy did I have fun with my gang and the gnocchi kept me going until 3am. Gnocchi is traditionally made with potato, but Cheap and I prefer this fluffier and easier version.

Due to the sticky batter, I like to drop mine instead of rolling and slicing (which is another option you can try if you're a master at rolling sticky dough- icky) The pasta looks more uniform with the rolling but I like how rustic the drop version appears.

Ingredients:
1 8oz container ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed

Directions:
Strain the ricotta of any excess liquid

Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. The dough will be a bit sticky. Add more flour if need be, but remember the more flour that's added the less fluffy the gnocchi becomes. Chill while you bring salted water to a boil over the stove.

Once water is boiling, I like to cover my fingertips in flour and pick up pinches of batter and drop them into the water. Make sure the water is boiling. (I have been known to use lukewarm water and consequently turn my gnocchi to mush- Cheap would deny it ever happened)

Let gnocchi boil until the pasta rises to the top. Let boil for a few minutes longer and then strain.

Top with favorite pasta topping- marinara, brown butter and sage, possibilities are endless..

Or I guess this should really be called "oven-dried tomatoes".. Either way, it's a fabulous way to enjoy leftover tomatoes without losing them to the composte pile. This recipe is definitely an eye-baller. It's hard to give exact measurements depending on the amount and size of tomatoes used. That being said, it's hard to mess up. We love to have these dried tomatoes around to throw into sandwhiches and pasta. I freeze mine once I'm done and Sweet Pea loves squeezing the juice out of the "matoes"... just takes a bit more clean up in the end...

Ingredients:
As many ripe tomatoes as you want to dry (Roma and cherry are nice because they have less juice)
Extra virgin olive oil
Minced garlic or garlic powder
Basil or favorite Italian herbs
Salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200F

Cut the eye of the tomato off and squeeze all the juice out. For larger tomatoes, I cut the tomato in half. For smaller, like cherry, I leave it whole

Put the juice free tomatoes in a bowl and pour enough olive oil to coat all the tomatoes (as a reference I pour about 1 Tbs oil for about 2 cups tomatoes)

Add herbs and garlic (as much as you like) and salt

Put seasoned tomatoes in a single layer on a pan and check on them every hour. I cook mine until they're slightly tough but still soft. I don't like them too crunchy. It can take anywhere from 1-4 hours. Mine usually take 2 hours but times will very with the size of tomatoes and ovens.