Baked Ricotta Gnocchi Casserole

My dad and I have a recurring argument about who is responsible for making us "late" for work. I say "late" but there's really no such thing on most days. We have flex time and my boss seems OK with me arriving approximately the same time every day as long as I get in my hours.

My dad would prefer we leave at 7:30 every day. Only, when I'm there at 7:30 he's NEVER ready. Never. I'm always waiting on him. So it's so tough to actually force myself out of bed to get there "on time" — I'm not a morning person and haven't been since I was 12. It's one of the hazards of carpooling with my dad. But I can't complain too much consider its perks outweigh the drawbacks.

• I'm getting a free ride to work (no extra gas or parking fees)
• I'm avoiding car accidents. One was enough thankyouverymuch.
• I have a legit excuse for ducking out a little early from after-hours work gatherings.
• I can steal Tupperware from my parents house to cart goodies to and from work.

My little tiny apartment kitchen is stuff to the gills, and I don't have room for anything new without getting rid of something else. So, I borrow serving dishes from my mom whenever I have to bring food in to work. I arrived at my parents' house "on time" today to slice up these Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars and put them a container. They didn't get eaten as quickly as I hoped because they had to stay in the fridge. Out of sight out of mind, I guess!

They turned out well, though!

I was cooking/baking up a storm yesterday. I also made a ricotta gnocchi bake, which is my spin off the dumpling casserole I saw a week or so ago on the Food Network. It's basically the same spinach ricotta gnocchi I always make and the same marinara sauce. I just layered it and topped it with mozzarella cheese and popped it under the broiler. The cheese browned up nicely.. like the browned bits from a cheese pizza. YUM.

Tonight's dinner was another re-run of Orecchiette With Roasted Broccoli and Walnuts because I had some broccoli that needed used up. My new goal is to eat up my pantry and freezer as much as I can without adding to it so I can actually unplug the fridge and give it a good cleaning. I don't have a cooler big enough to hold all of that food. So far it's forcing me to be able to adapt. I ran out of parm last night and I ended up throwing in the last three roasted tomato halves leftover from the pizza I made Friday night.

Besides, I wanted a hands off meal. I spent most of my evening trying to dry out my work laptop. My water bottle wasn't closed all the way and opened in my bag and soaked throw the front compartment and doused my computer. Let's hope it dries out! Telling my boss I need a new laptop because I soaked mine in water may not go over well. I'm pretty sure IT has heard worse though.

So pray for me!