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Kids in the Kitchen: Pasta Pie

Taylor went home Saturday, but the last meal we cooked together was a revisit with the visually impressive pasta pie I made last June! (Original recipe can be found here.) She had seen it on my blog and it was her one wishlist item that we make while she was here.

The first time was a pretty tedious process, but this second time with a pair of helping hands it went by a lot quicker. I think recipes that have labor intensive steps are perfect for sharing with kids because you can split up and share the work! While I was browning the beef Taylor carefully used my microplaner to grate the Parmesan cheese. Next, we swapped stations and she took over stirring the sauce and beef mixture while I got the pasta ready. (It was at this point Taylor noticed the sauce had bits of onion in it. I got a bit of a nose-crinkle and feared this might be an issue when the finished meal hit the table.) Taylor was a big help standing all of the rigatoni upright in the spring form pan. Then, her smaller fingers were the perfect size for squishing the sauce down in each noodle hole! It popped out just as cleanly and impressive this time as last time, too! The presentation is worth the extra assembling effort! I'm also happy to say that Taylor was half-way through her serving before she even remembered that she didn't like onions! When it came time to clear the plates I saw one lone piece of onion that had been picked out and discarded to the side of the plate. Knowing Taylor had she not invested so much into helping make this recipe, she would have sat there and picked out every single piece of onion! I guess all that hard work made her forget and sit back and enjoy each bite! (Thanks again to Laura for the knork - Taylor loved it and chose to eat virtually every meal with it!)

Thank you for spending your Spring break with us Taylor! We had so much fun with you and miss you already!
Posted by Christina at 12:57 PM Labels: casserole, dinner, Italian, kids in the kitchen, pasta Jessica @ How Sweet said...

That is one of the coolest recipes I have ever seen! My hubby would love it. :)

April 6, 2010 at 1:04 PM 
awesome!!! i love it!! nice job Taylor!

April 6, 2010 at 1:12 PM 
awww this is such a heart warming feel-good post Christina! not only did it feature a freakin' AWESOME recipe but the addition of Taylor meticulously lining up her pasta bits certainly sealed the deal. :) Those little fingers are definitely great to have around huh?? The pie seems like it would be incredibly tasty!!!

April 6, 2010 at 1:46 PM 
Wow, what an amazing pasta pie! I've never seen one like this and its such a cool idea. The perfect project to do with kid. And, man, does it look tasty!

I had to laugh at the onion nose-wrinkling, I was like that at her age too, but now I put them in everything! LOL

April 6, 2010 at 1:51 PM 
That pasta pie is on my list and has been since you posted it. It IS the perfect dish to make with kids, lots of jobs to do. Taylor looks like a lot of fun, she's a lucky girl!

April 7, 2010 at 3:47 AM 
That has got to be one of the coolest looking pasta dishes I've ever seen!

April 7, 2010 at 6:24 AM Lazaro Cooks! said...

Saw your profile on another page. Glad I stopped by your fun & interesting blog. I look forward to following your here. That dish looks like pure indulgence.

April 7, 2010 at 11:32 AM 
I read this post yesterday, but just now had a chance to comment - I totally remember you making that before and now I need to remind myself to make it!

Glad Taylor had a great time with you!

April 8, 2010 at 10:42 AM 
Dang! How long do you have this child on loan for? I am getting soo jealous :)

April 8, 2010 at 11:42 AM 

Alisa she was here for the week of her Spring break! hehe My mom used to get her every summer for like a month or two!

April 8, 2010 at 1:25 PM 
Hee, I already read this on my Reader...was drooling like a mad dog.
Just wanted to pop by and let you know that I'm thinking of submitting a BSI recipe this week, but I probably won't be able to post it until Sunday night. Just FYI in case you miss me out! >.<

April 8, 2010 at 1:41 PM 
I love that you have her help in the kitchen. I've been cooking with the wee ones for a couple years already, although they're still too young to do more than measure dry ingredients and dump them and crack eggs into batters for me. Someday soon!

I love this recipe - if only Mister Man would eat sauce. What a fun way to eat pasta!

April 10, 2010 at 10:51 PM 
Michelle maybe you could do an alfredo sauce? Or change it up altogether and just make it a fancy mac n cheese?

April 10, 2010 at 10:53 PM 
oh my gosh, that's beautiful and so creative!

April 11, 2010 at 6:34 AM