
I have to say upfront, I can’t take credit for this recipe. It’s a Trader Joe’s Dinner Hack that I found on Cup of Joe but we’ve been making it quite a bit and it’s too good not to share. The recipe calls for only 5 items (all from Trader Joe’s, not counting the condiments) and dinner is ready in about 15 minutes.
The sweet potato gnocchi are from the frozen section and come in a light butter and sage sauce, so there is no need for making any other sauces or adding a ton of extra spices (besides a bit of parmesan and pepper to taste).
I don’t know about you, but I really appreciate simple and quick dinners during the week that can be whipped up with a handful of ingredients and don’t require a lot of work when I get home from work.
And if they’re tasty? Even better!

- 1 pckg TJ Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage (pre-cooked)
- 1 pckg TJ Sweet Potato Gnocchi (frozen)
- 8 oz crimini mushrooms
- 4 oz arugula
- 4 oz grape tomatoes
- TJ Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- Olive oil
- Black pepper
- Slice sausage and mushrooms and brown in 1TL olive oil over medium heat, turning occasionally. Remove from pan.
- Make gnocchi in the empty skillet according to package directions, adding 1/4 cup of water. Cook for 6-7 minutes total. Add back mushrooms, sausage and the halved tomatoes to the pot and heat everything through. Toss in the arugula and stir until it starts to wilt.
- Just before serving, top with parmesan and black pepper.
Do you have any other quick and easy dinner hack recipes that you’d like to share?
We love a quick meal during the week. Usually, it involves incorporating some food items from Ryan’s catered work lunches into something we have at home already. There are also a few things at Costco we like to have stocked up in our freezer or pantry for a quick meal – their potstickers, dumplings, brown rice ramen, curries.
I eat a lot of quick oven dishes during the week – mainly cut up veggies with bacon and cheese toppings. Or Soups. Nothing fancy and I usually only cook for myself. Just the other night I thought about an gnosis from the oven – how strange is that?!
Happy day to you, Tobia
Yummy! This looks delicious! One quick meal I’ve found is to cut up some veggies like sweet pepper and carrots (or whatever you have around and you like). Then cook them until they are softened using olive oil or sesame oil. Cook stir fry meat in another pan and once almost done, add in a type of Asian-style sauce like Korean BBQ (we looooove it and you can get it from Whole Foods or TJ’s) and the veggies and cook them together for a few minutes. Serve it with rice. SO GOOD. And so easy.
This looks delish! I’m actually picking up some chicken sausage on my way home today!
Oh I love gnocchi! I’ve not had sweet potato gnocchi but I’d bet that I’d like it. Sometimes just with some pesto, simple and delish!
I always used to wonder about the cans of creamed corn and what they’d be used for and then I discovered sweetcorn egg drop soup. Mix the can of creamed corn, water and stock and bring to the boil, turn down the heat and swirl in a beaten egg. It doesn’t take long for the egg to cook and I like to serve this with prawn crackers.