Gnocchi from leftovers!

I love the fact I am dating a chef, that means I get to eat lots of nummy food.  One downside is when he brings home the same thing over and over.  The most common item is garlic mashed potatoes.  I mean they are really good, but every week...for months..gets to be a bit much! So I had a aha moment about a month ago.  I LOVE gnocchi and have even made them before.  It occurred to me that gnocchi are mashed potato, flour, egg, and cheese.  Looked at the box o mashed and thought hmmmmm I wonder! I googled my idea and found this recipe. I decided to cut it in half for me since that would mean less I would be tempted to eat! 

1 egg

1 cup leftover mashed potato

pinch of salt

That's it! I didn't add any seasoning as the mash was already cheessy and garlicy. 

The lineup (the black box is the box o mashed potato) 

Mix everything together, I find using a fork is the easiest.  If the mash has been in the fridge, pop it in the microwave for a minute to warm it up so it is less brick like.  Take a bit at a time and roll it out into a log on a floured board. Then cut into pieces.  You can roll the pieces on a fork or a gnocchi board if you like.  I used to do this so I could be authentic, but when I saw gnocchi on Iron Chef and they were not rolled I felt justified being lazy and leaving them as is =P The pop them into boiling water until they float.  Don't leave in too long or they will absorb water and turn into something akin to paste. 

For my sauce, I decided to doctor up a jar of pasta sauce.  To start out I took some olive oil, minced garlic, and pepper flake.  I heated on low for about 20 minutes to let the oils from the flakes come out and for the garlic to soften.  I then added in my tomato sauce.  

Add to gnocchi and tada! Dinner!