“Make It Snappy” is presented by Goldfish Swim School of Chapel Hill. With recipes that only take 45 minutes or less to prepare, Christy helps you stay afloat at dinner time! 

Our family is back in the swing of things as spring baseball season has begun. This means multiple kids on different teams with practices on various weeknights. And while this does often mean take out or pb&j for dinner, I don’t want our busy schedules to mean that the quality of our dinners together has to suffer. My Red Pepper and Crab Gnocchi will have dinner on the table in mere minutes but is a sure-fire way to impress your family with a fantastic weeknight dinner.

This one is just too easy! Only a handful of ingredients and about 15 minutes in the kitchen and you’ve got a show-stopping meal served in a snap. But rest assured, the ease of this entrée does not diminish the wow factor of this seafood gnocchi dish! The flavors are rich and luxurious; this dish is nice enough to serve at your next dinner party. And no one needs know your little secret!

This month’s grocery store shortcut is prepared Alfredo sauce. This can be found at any grocery store, though I am a big fan of Wegman’s jarred Alfredo sauce. Feel free to make your own sauce from scratch, but when we get home from baseball practice, I am more than happy to accept this help from the market. Our local grocery stores also offer a variety of fresh crab meat options, which also means a variety of price points. My tip here is to go with crab claw meat, rather than the more expensive jumbo lump meat. Since the crab is being incorporated into a sauce, the claw meat is a perfect option and will come in at nearly half the price.

Have fun with this one and pat yourself on the back for saving time in your day while still knocking dinner out of the park in no time at all!

RED PEPPER AND CRAB GNOCCHI

By: Christy Bray Graves

SERVES: 6

INGREDIENTS:

· 4 oz. diced pancetta

· 1 large (or 2 small) shallots, diced

· 1 red bell pepper, diced

· 8 oz. crab claw meat

· 1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce*

· 32 oz potato gnocchi

· Fresh chives, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the diced pancetta until the fat has begun to render out and the bottom of the skillet is shiny, about 1 minute.

2. Cut the heat back to medium and add the diced shallot, stirring to coat the shallot in the pancetta oils. Cook about 1 minute.

3. Add the diced red peppers and cook for 2 minutes or until the peppers begin to soften and the mixture becomes fragrant.

4. Stir in the crab meat and allow it to just heat through.

5. Add ½ cup of the prepared Alfredo sauce to the mixture and stir it to combine well. Keep adding by ¼ cups of Alfred sauce until you reach your desired texture. Allow the mixture to come up to a gentle bubble to be sure the sauce is evenly heated.

6. Cook the potato gnocchi according to package directions and drain.

7. Serve the hot gnocchi with the red pepper and crab sauce and garnish with fresh chives.

NOTES:

*Add as little or as much of the Alfredo sauce as you’d like! It can be very rich, so I advise starting out with a smaller amount and adding more to your tastes.

As a wife and mom of three young boys, I often consider myself a master “chaos coordinator.” Between running our family business, Chapel Hill Toffee, managing our household and balancing busy schedules, I love to create quick and simple recipes that I know my family will enjoy – and my kids will actually eat!

My recipes are more of a guide than a perfect plan. I will always encourage you to use what you have on hand and make substitutions to suit your tastes. I invite you to share your own ideas, questions and final products with us on Facebook  and on Instagram by tagging @christybgraves and @wchlchapelboro.

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