My Attempt at Homemade Eggless Gnocchi - Take One

Ok guys, only two recipes in and I'm seriously reconsidering this... This is a lot harder than I thought!

On Sunday, I attempted to make homemade eggless gnocchi and a classic red tomato sauce. I know, I jumped to far too quick. I must have thought my Italian roots could somehow make me a cooking prodigy or something. The sauce was actually a success. It's something that I've watched my mother make more times than I can count. I've made it a few times before and I found that all you really need for a great tasting red sauce is patience. Once I got the hang of it, I started making large amounts of sauce and freezing it in portions so it would last me a long time.

Unfortunately, the gnocchi didn't come out as planned. The recipe I followed seemed easy enough; it called for two potatoes, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried basil, and a pinch of salt. I baked the potatoes for 50 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees- just like the recipe called for. After letting them cool, I peeled the skin and mashed the potatoes until they were smooth. After adding the spices, I proceeded to add the flour. (This is when it got tricky.) The recipe called for a cup and a half of flower but in the description stated "mix in half the amount of flower and add as needed." At this point I'm talking back to the book like a crazy person"How should I know what's needed?!" I browsed the internet and found that most people suggested not to add too much flower so I stopped at half.
After I mixed the flower into the potato and made it into a dough, I rolled out long thick strands of it and cut them into pieces. Last step was to boil it in water for 2 to 3 minutes or until they float to the top. I made it all the way to this step and they were still looking really good! But in a hurry to not leave them in too long, I dumped the boiling water and gnocchi into a strainer like I would with any pasta. BAD IDEA! The pressure and heat of the water totally destroyed my poor little gnocchi and all that was left was a pile of mashed potatoes.
Nonetheless, I dished out my mashed gnocchi, topped it off with sauce, and brought it to the table for my boyfriend to taste. I told him that I was really upset that I spent hours making it and then ruined it. I said "I'll never try to make that again." And then he said exactly what he needed to say to pick me up, "But that's the fun in cooking! You get to try it again and try things differently. If it was easy, it wouldn't be as rewarding." (Can you tell who's the cook in this relationship?)

So there will be a next time!! I'm open to suggestions if anyone has been successful with this recipe or has any pointers. But in the mean time, I'll stick to less difficult recipes! I was too depressed to take a picture of the finished product, but I promise to post one when I'm successful. Hooray positivity!