Gnocchi Casserole

My friend, Ligia from Paraguay, taught me this recipe. She made it up. We had fun cooking together when I lived in Virginia.

Recipe:

½ recipe Potato Gnocchi
4 med cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb Dana's Sweet Italian Sausage
2 Tbs oil
1 dash red pepper
1¼ C milk
2 Tbs flour
2 Tbs butter
1-2 Tbs tomato paste
½ C whipping cream
1 oz cream cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Romano Cheese

Make small sausage balls and brown in oil. Add red pepper and garlic when sausage is almost done. Make room in center of pan, melt butter, add flour and stir all. Slowly add milk a little at a time and stir while it thickens and each addition is incorporated into the mixture. Add cream, stir to thicken. Add cream cheese and tomato paste and stir to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat or keep on very low while you cook the Gnocchi (nyoki). Put some of the mixture in the bottom of the serving bowl and then add the gnocchi as it is cooked. Add more sauce as the gnocchi are cooked until you have combined it all. Carefully stir all so as not to smash the gnocchi. Top with grated Romano cheese.