Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi recipe

Ohmigawd! The most amazing gnocchi I've ever had and so super easy to make. I actually hadn't intended on blogging about this recipe. It was the first time I had ever tried making anything like gnocchi. I've never homemade pasta or anything. But it was so easy and so good, I had to share. I wouldn't say it was a quick recipe, but it is worth the effort.

A friend and I enjoy cooking together. We try to make creative, fun, and interesting things. For the day after Christmas, gnocchi sounded like a good afternoon's entertainment. (We also made some amazing key lime pies. I'll have to save that recipe for some other time.) I don't have a potato ricer which seemed important to making light, fluffy potato gnocchi, so ricotta gnocchi was a good alternative.

RICOTTA GNOCCHI
INGREDIENTS
16 oz container ricotta
1 cup finely ground Parmesan
2 eggs
2 cups flour
Salt to taste (I didn't add any and it was fine)

SAUCE:
2 Italian sausages
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1) Put a large pot full of salted water on to boil. If you use the sauce recipe here (following), make it first so it will be ready for the gnocchi.
2) Mix the first three ingredients well. (I used my hands. No better utensil.) Add 1 cup of flour. Then continue to add flour a little at a time until a stick ball of dough forms. You don't want it to be dry, but it should hold together in a ball.
3) Flour a clean work surface. Divide out 1/4 of the dough and roll it into a long snake (just like you did with playdough as a kid). Cut it into little 1/2 inch dumplings. Place the little dumplings on a floured pan, not touching. Repeat the step until all of the dough is cut into gnocchi. Flour the top of the gnocchi and toss lightly. 
4) At this point decide how much you want to cook. This recipe makes about six good servings. If you don't want all of it, freeze the portion you don't want right on the pan. When they are frozen, seal them into a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
5) Gently drop the gnocchi one at a time into the boiling water. They will rise to the surface when they are almost done cooking. I found mine weren't done as soon as they started floating; they needed about another minute or two to be cooked through.
6) Scoop them out of the boiling water and drop them right into the sauce. Toss gently.

There are tons of other sauce choices to pair with gnocchi. The one here is just one suggestion.


SUPER EASY SAUCE
1) Crumble two spicy Italian sausages into a pan, brown, and cook through.
2) Pour in frozen peas. Cook until defrosted.
3) Pour in can of diced tomatoes juice and all. Heat thoroughly.