Main Dish

French Onion Baked Gnocchi

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If you need a recipe for something that oozes home-style deliciousness and will quickly put you to sleep if you eat too much this would be the one for you.

I made this a couple of weekends ago when Chuck and I had gotten up early to go apple picking and work on house projects. It was pretty nippy out, and after a busy morning we were both in the mood for something that would both fill us and warm us up as well.

We may or may not have taken a 2 hour post lunch break to laze on the couch under blankets and watch netflix.

I think it was well deserved.

Our new normal seems to be setting in. I say this because we finally have time to watch Netflix, but I can’t say that it’s the same old routine anymore because we are watching said Netflix as a married couple in our new home. A lot of things have changed (and are still to change) in our lives recently and so our new normal is vastly different from our old.

I’ve caught myself referring to Chuck as my fiancé, only to remember that he’s now my husband, and then I have to stop and think about that for a minute. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. I found someone that while he can drive me nuts sometimes, truly makes me happy and loves me with all of his heart. I’m really lucky.

Ok, I know you’re not here to listen to (read?) all my sappy nonsense. It’s all about that comforting cheesy deliciousness on top of onion and broth slathered gnocchi right?

So back to the recipe, I remember coming up with this while we were on our honeymoon after I had just indulged in the biggest plate of gnocchi baked with tomato sauce and a ridiculous amount of mozzarella cheese. Gnocchi and cheese go really well together if your into that whole coma after eating thing like I am this time of year, so the wheels got turning and I decided to turn one of my favorite soups into a baked gnocchi dish.

It was a great idea if I do say so myself. The key, in my opinion to a really good French Onion Soup is the thyme as well as time. Taking the time to slowly sweat the onions and reduce the broth really sets the base and adding a hint of thyme (the herb) to the mixture really pulls it together. Now all that goodness poured over hot, chewy gnocchi, and topped with some really good gruyere cheese and you’ve got yourself a right masterpiece in my book.

French Onion Baked Gnocchi

Author: JC

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours 10 mins

Serves: 4 to 6 Servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 ½ lbs yellow onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ tsp sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup white wine
5 cups low sodium beef (or vegetable) broth
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 lb gnocchi
2 cups fresh grated gruyere cheese
Chopped chives for garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.
Heat the oil and butter over medium heat.
Once melted add the onions, stirring to incorporate, then cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the salt, pepper and sugar, stirring well and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the flour and cook for another minute before adding the wine, broth, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. Adjust seasonings and remove from heat.
While the onions simmer prepare the gnocchi according to package instructions.
Place cooked gnocchi a baking dish. Pour the onion mixture over the gnocchi and top with cheese garnish and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and begins to brown.
Serve immediately.

Here are a few of my favorite similar recipes:

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Smoked Gouda

Risotto Style Pasta

6 Ingredient Creamy Sausage Gnocchi

Venison Stroganoff

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Stroganoff is a pretty traditional recipe with a wide breath for interpretation. I have already posted a few of my favorite versions, one is vegetarian, one a hiking version and one includes pasta and is all prepared in one pot because sometimes you just have to cheat. The number of other versions of this well loved recipe is staggering, I’ve seen them use tomato puree, lemon, dill, and numerous types of meat….

Blue Apron Review & Thai Chicken Burgers

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

This is a review of Blue Apron & their Thai Chicken Burger Recipe. I was not compensated by Blue Apron for this review.

Recently a couple friends of ours, we shall call them the Birdtails (long story unimportant story) offered Chuck and I the opportunity to try out Blue Apron. Apparently after you receive a few deliveries you can then let someone else try it out for free, which is a pretty cool way for them to build business if I do say so myself. I wasn’t planning on reviewing it, but I really want to share this amazing burger recipe so I figured it was only fair.

I like to cook so this was never really something that interested me however with the wedding coming and all the crafts that I had going on I thought that it would a good time to try it out. For that purpose it worked out great. I didn’t have to meal plan or grocery shop and everything comes premeasured, with instructions so food life was pretty easy. Most of the recipes were pretty good, especially these burgers, which we will get to soon. However I did have a few qualms; while all the packaging is recyclable it’s still a lot of packaging, and my environmentalist heart just can’t stomach that. The other thing was the delivery times, wed, thurs, fri, or sat for my area just doesn’t work the end of the week is always tough for us, because we travel or go to my parents for dinner, so I’d prefer a Monday or Tuesday delivery. I also think that the recipes available might be a little too much for a picky eater, there aren’t any plain Jane recipes here folks, this is geared toward foodies. As you can probably tell my gripes are few for the huge benefit that comes from the service, and the awesome food that results.

So now that the review is out of the way let’s talk burgers.

I absolutely loved these burgers, like can’t stop thinking about them, must make them again soon, they might be my favorite burger ever, kind of love. I was not expecting this. In fact I was expecting to hate these. You see lemon grass and I don’t generally get along. I’ve had it in tea, and occasionally in food, and every time after a few tastes, my stomach does a back flip and it takes everything I have not to throw it up (sorry; truth). My feelings for cilantro aren’t far off, while cilantro doesn’t make my stomach flip, I can only handle a small amount before it takes over my taste buds and the rest of the dish is ruined. In this case though I was piling it on! It was all just so good together. So amazingly wonderfully good!

Now the hoisin mayo is the stuff that dreams are made of in burger world. A two ingredient simple sauce that really brings the whole burger together. Its hard to say what my favorite part of this burger was, everything went so perfectly together and the overall flavor was spot on.

Now I do have to note I changed up the recipe a bit because of my apprehension, so this is my version of the Blue Apron Recipe.

Blue Apron Thai Chicken Burgers

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 inch piece of ginger grated (about 2 tablespoons grated ginger)
1 stalk of lemongrass grated (about 2 tablespoons grated lemongrass)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of oil – seperated
1 ½ lb ground chicken
1 ½ cup panko bread crumbs
2-4 teaspoons sriracha (add to taste)
4 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup mayo
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
Bunch cilantro, stems removed
1 tomato, sliced thin
4 buns

Instructions

In a large pan heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium high heat. Add the ginger, lemongrass, and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the mixture becomes aromatic. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl to cool.
Lightly wipe out the pan. And make the Hoisin mayo by whisking together the hoisin sauce and mayo until well combined. Set aside.
When the lemongrass, garlic, ginger mixture has cooled add the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, sriracha, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Using your hands mix the ingredients until well combined and then begin to form the mixture into patties about ½ inch thick.
In the same pan used earlier heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the burgers to the pan and cook for 3 ot 5 minutes per side, until browned and remove from heat.
Toast the buns if desired in the same pan before assembling burgers with burger, slice of tomato, cilantro, and hoisin mayo.
Serve immediately.

More Burger recipes:

Mediterranean Chickpea Burgers

Thai Ground Chicken Salad

Chicken Caesar Buger

Chuck’s Venison Chili

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

September ushers in a whole new season of food in our house; a season that I always get excited about. Warm beverages, comfy layers, fall colors, are always awesome, but for me, in fall it’s the food; squash, soups, tomato sauces, roasts, stews, corn and peppers abound. I get excited thinking about the smell of simmering sauces and the anticipation of a slow cooked meal coming to fruition without passing out from heat stroke like one does in the summer months.

Even Chuck gets excited about some of his favorite dishes this time of year, Squash Soup with Smoked Cheddar, Lamb & Leek Shepard’s Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, and Spaghetti and Meatballs. Now, there is one dish that I don’t even attempt to make any more this time of year, because Chuck and his father have perfected it, and that is chili. There’s no need for me to get involved with this time-honored tradition of father-son culinary expertise. They have it down.

Chili is one of those often contested American dishes, If this were Texas they would denounce this recipe for its beans, but in the Northeast, this is how we do it, and how we like it; filling and hearty with meat, beans, and lots of thick flavorful sauce. We top it with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, olives, parsley or whatever else our hearts desire, but usually with a side of cornbread. I’ve also been known to eat leftovers cold and straight from the pan with crackers, because hey why not?

Now Chuck will make it with any number of meat types, but the favorite in our house uses venison. If you prefer it does work with just about any other type of ground meat, however. If you are looking for more info on how we prepare our venison grinds, check out this post.

Chuck’s Venison Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground venison
½ a medium onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic minced
1 jalapeño pepper (diced)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 15 ounce can black or pinto beans
1/2 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large thick bottomed sauce pan or Dutch oven. Add venison, and onion, and cook until the venison is browned, breaking it up into crumbles.
Add garlic, jalapeno, and spices stirring well to combine. Cook for an additional minute.
Stir in the beans, corn, and tomatoes until well blended.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve.

Get this recipe and more in my Venison eCookbook

Similar Recipes:

Venison with Morel Sauce

Sauteed Ramps

Venison Burgers

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

A simple recipe for basic venison burgers as well as a discussion on perfecting a homemade burger.

The all American burger is something I’m fairly certain everyone is familiar with, even if you’ve never set foot in the U.S. By now McDonalds has infiltrated nearly the entire globe so people are at the very least familiar with the concept.

While I’ve had my share of take out burgers I honestly believe that nothing can compare to a homemade burger if it’s done right. Now there innumerable camps that have staked their claim to the best way to prepare burgers, contesting meat to fat ratios, spice content, meat type and all that jazz. For me honestly I think simplicity works best.

I think a solid 80 to 20 meat to fat ratio is ideal. Fat is what makes the burger juicy and tender. However, when grinding large portions of venison meat at once (usually the case for us) Chuck and I opt for a 90/10 ratio since it works best for other recipes. Sometimes I add more fat when I want to cook burgers sometimes I don’t. They are really good either way. If you are using a lower fat ratio then I suggest mixing in a little liquid to the meat before cooking to help them stay juicy. We typically add in a couple cups of water during the grinding process before vacuum sealing and storage for this reason. For venison burgers I like to use pork fat, usually in the form of bacon, because it’s the most easily accessible.

I’m also a firm believer in handling the meat as little as possible. Working it too much can make the burgers dense and crumbly, no one wants that. To combat this I just combine my spices separately and gently work them into the meat before forming the burgers, only handling the meat for a few minutes to do all of this.

I am a member of the flip once camp. I know that the number of times you flip doesn’t actually make a difference in anything but the outside crust. I like a little crust on the outside of my burger, and since I like mine mostly rare it’s not hard to just flip once and get a perfect burger.

If your meat is already ground up (fat included) then go ahead and heat that grill up. If you are starting from scratch this post from Hank Shaw gives a great overview on grinding meat. If you are looking to use a different type of fat in your meat this post talks about some of my favorites.

Venison Burgers

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground venison (fat included)
Salt & pepper
Burger buns & toppings for serving

Instructions

Preheat the grill.
Using your hands form 4 roughly equal patties.
Season liberally on both sides with salt and pepper.
Grill the burgers to your desired doneness (5-6 minutes on the first side and 1-2 minutes on the second for side for medium-rare).
Remove the burgers from the grill and let stand for 4 minutes before serving on buns with desired garnish.

Similar Recipes:

Venison Breakfast Sausage

Perfect Venison Loin

Whole Roasted Brown Trout

Main Dish

Chuck’s Venison Chili

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