Cheesy Gnocchi Casserole

I know I have been a bit quiet lately.  We have had some visitors and the end of the first quarter of graduate school is taking some adjusting.  I shall regale you with a new recipe that I have tried.  This one comes from the Food Network.  I bookmarked it one day while I was trolling through posts on Google+.

Cheesy Gnocchi Casserole with Ham and Peas

from The Food Network

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
One 8-ounce piece deli ham, diced
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
One 17.5-ounce package potato gnocchi
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese

Steps

1.  Preheat the broiler to high heat.
2.  Melt the butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
3.  Add the ham and thyme and continue to cook until the ham is lightly browned.
4.  Add the chicken broth and 3/4 cup water and bring to a simmer.
5.  Add the gnocchi, stir well, cover and cook until the gnocchi is slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
6.  Uncover and stir in the peas, cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
7.  Sprinkle the cheese over the top and broil until golden and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Serve.

The Final Product

This turned out pretty tasty and was fairly easy to put together.  Some notes - I had a bit more that 17.5 oz of potato gnocchi - I think I had two 10 oz packages.  So I don't think they cooked as evenly as they should have.  Unfortunately the "cream" sauce that was supposed to form never really did.  It was definitely more soupy than creamy.  It might be user - I thought my chicken broth and water was at a simmer but maybe it never made it there.  Not a bad first run for it.  I would definitely do it again and incorporate some of the reviews others had made on the dish: use a hot italian sausage instead of ham, try some different veggies (broccoli, carrots), use a mixture of cheeses besides just swiss, and I may try using an alfredo sauce to get more creamy texture.  Definitely a quick weeknight meal!