When I’m in the heat of playoffs at work, life can get a bit insane. It’s often during that time, I’m either leaning heavily on the use of the crockpot, or I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive about food prep on Sundays. If I even have Sundays for food prep. Sometimes, when we have a record number of teams getting sent off to playoffs, and continuously advancing, I don’t even get Sundays. Which is what I just recently learned.

So… When that happens, I pull out my go-tos for speedy-fast meals that take less than 25-minutes.

My husband was quite funny the first time I slipped aioli in something I cooked for us. If I remember correctly (I was very pregnant at the time, so my memory is a bit, spotty, to say the least), it was toasted roast beef and cheese sandwiches. Instead of mayo on his, I put a little bit of the peppercorn and chive aioli I had bought earlier that day into it.

Needless to say, I’ve concluded he has absolutely no taste buds. It wasn’t until I asked him if he’d noticed anything different about his sandwich, that he had realized his “mayo” had a bit of zip to it.

For those that have never had aioli, it’s essentially just a fancy mayonnaise. No, I don’t make my own. I’ve got a few recipes that I’d love to try, one from Bon Appetit, that sounds perfect for Spanish food, another from Taste of Home that could be perfect with Italian. The ingredients are pretty basic: usually garlic, always egg; sometimes mustard, always olive and veggie oil. A lot call for lemon juice. And you can add things here and there to tailor it to your desires. The one that I used in today’s Meatless Monday recipe has chives and peppercorn in it. It’s a good anytime aioli.

Without further ado… My Gnocchi Peppercorn & Chive Aioli contribution to MM…

What you’ll need:

• 1 package of potato gnocchi
• 2 handfuls of chopped baby spinach
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 package of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2tbs of peppercorn and chive aioli

Cook gnocchi according to package instructions. While gnocchi is cooking, in a medium frying pan, add tomatoes, onion and peppers. Cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add cooked gnocchi, chopped spinach and peppercorn and chive aioli. Mix well. Cook on medium-low for 5-8 minutes. Serve.

*Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over for added yumminess.