2014 52 in 52 #5 - Baked Gnocci with tomato, bacon and mozzarella

Everything is better with bacon and cheese, right? 

I first found this recipe when I was looking on Pinterest for new recipes at my husband's request.  I am not normally a fan of tomatoes that are visible in food, but I figured that I would make a sacrifice this time because the rest of the dish sounded that it would be tasty. 

I had a semi-boring day at work today; not that I wasn't busy, just bored, so I figured making a longer recipe today would be better than saving this one for a different day where I was more stressed out during the day.  Plus all I needed to have unfrozen was some bacon that I bought yesterday.  It seemed like everything was lining up perfectly for today to make an awesome dinner.

Now the original recipe was written in grams instead of any sort of cups/ounces measurement, so I will spare you the conversion and write mine in ounces. 

This recipe has a few steps to it but the result is awesome.  It was flavorful and creamy and was an excellent answer to the need for comfort food.  A lot of the steps were completed simultaneously so overall this recipe takes a relatively short amount of time to cook. 

Baked Gnocci with tomato, bacon and mozzarella
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins  

Ingredients:
8 ounces bacon, chopped into small pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
handful cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
2-3 tbsp. cream
small handful fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
17 oz gnocci
4 oz mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. 

In high sided skillet, fry chopped bacon until crispy.  Drain excess grease.  Add garlic and paprika and fry for 30 seconds.  Add all tomatoes, tomato paste, and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add cream, salt, pepper, and parsley. 

Boil gnocci until they float.  Remove from water with a spider strainer and add to sauce.   Incorporate sauce and gnocci and pour into oven safe baking dish.  Top with mozzarella cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. 

Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Enjoy!