Slow Cooker Italian Stew With Gnocchi

     My dad gave me a recipe when he was here over Christmas. It was something he had tried at his local grocery store and then he had made it at home and really liked it. I wasn't able to get the exact ingredients in my part of the country, but I took his recipe and adapted it to what I could get and this is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 medium onion

1 3 oz bag sundried tomatoes

1 14 oz. can beef broth

1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce

1 16 oz. package gnocchi pasta

dried spaghetti sauce mix (use about 1 heaping T. from envelope)

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

Parmesan cheese to garnish if desired

     Put all the ingredients except the gnocchi into the slow cooker. I left my sundried tomatoes whole. Next time I would slice them. I also left the onion whole. I don't eat onions, but I like the flavor. This way I could remove the onion after cooking.

     Cook in slow cooker 4-6 hours (I did mine 4 hours on the high setting). Put in gnocchi for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. The gnocchi should be tender and the meat should be falling apart.

I served the stew with the bread I made here.

This one was a hit with my husband.

I'm joining Michael @ Designs by Gollum for Foodie Friday.

Please take some time to check out all this week's

wonderful recipes!