Gnocchi with Sausage & Spinach

After a winter filled with comfort foods, I am trying to get my diet back on track. I have finally gotten myself into a good routine with exercising, but I'm not going to drop any pounds if I keep stuffing my face with rich savory comfort foods! On the other hand, I don't want to sacrifice taste. We have had a couple fails recently so I was happy to have a winner with this Gnocchi recipe I found on Pinterest!

What You Need:
1 package pre-made whole-wheat gnocchi (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup gnocchi cooking water
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small shallot, chopped
3 links sun-dried tomato & basil chicken sausage, casings removed
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

The Steps:
1. Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining.

2. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallots until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add chicken sausage and garlic. Break up sausage and sauté until cooked through. Add in baby spinach, toss and continue to cook until spinach is wilted.

3. Add cooked gnocchi into the skillet with the sausage and spinach, top with parmesan cheese, the remaining Tablespoon of olive oil and the reserved cooking water. Mix together.

The Verdict:
I thought this was really yummy! I might add a little salt & pepper next time but I was pretty happy to have something healthy that didn't sacrifice taste, as we've been finding recently! I didn't have whole wheat gnocchi so I just used the regular gnocchi I had in my pantry. That could have saved even more calories! According to MyFitnessPal, this is only 366 calories per serving! And I find gnocchi to be really filling. The boys loved the chicken sausage, but I had to bribe them to try the spinach, but at least they tried it and I know that I can make this dish again without complaints! The best part was that it took less than 20 minutes to put together!