The Perfect Lunch

As we ate lunch today, Brielle said, "Mom, when you make me bow noodles for lunch I feel too, too much love in my heart. I want to take some to everyone else so they can have it too." Well, that made me feel "too, too much" happiness in my heart, so we decided that we would "take some to everyone else" through the blog so that you "can have some too."

Here is what makes this the "perfect lunch":

• It only takes 10-15 minutes to make.
• The kids get AT LEAST two servings of vegetables.
• And we all love it!

"Buttered" Noodles from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook
8 ounces of pasta of your choice
1/2 cup yellow squash or cauliflower puree (*Explanation below)--I like cauliflower better because it makes it more creamy
1/4 cup milk
2 T. butter or margarine
2 T. grated Parmesan
1/4 t. salt

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente.

2. Drain, return pasta to the warm pot, and stir in the squash or cauliflower puree, milk, margarine, Parmesan, and salt.

Simple! When I make it, I start 2 pots of water at the same time and steam some fresh broccoli in the 2nd pot. I sprinkle just a little garlic salt on it in the last minute of cooking and make sure to take it off just as it starts to get soft. (I'm sure there is a term for that, but I don't know it. :) I used to boil broccoli and it always ended up mushy--due to my overcooking, I'm sure--and not very flavorful, even when I added salt or butter to the water. We all LOVE broccoli when I prepare it this way). The broccoli gets done first and I "let" my "starving" children eat that while they wait for the pasta to get done. They gobble it down. After they have eaten a full serving (or 2 or 3) of broccoli, I serve up the pasta and that disappears quickly as well. When lunch is over I feel like I have succeeded in helping my kids to eat something healthy (which you know has been a struggle with my oldest) and their hearts are "too, too full" of love. I call that success! :)

*You make the veggie puree by simply steaming the vegetables and pureeing them in a food processor or blender with about 1/4 cup water. I have had 2 "pureeing parties" in the last year where I buy a whole bunch of fresh veggies and spend a couple of hours steaming and pureeing them. Then I freeze them in 1/2 cup measurements in a snack size baggie and pull it out whenever I want to add a little nutrition to a meal. I have found I use cauliflower and carrots the most. Cauliflower hides itself well in anything and doesn't seem to affect the flavor at all [except in Spagetti O's...don't do it!]. I put carrots in anything red or orange...spagetti sauce, tomato soup, Mac n' cheese etc.

This is some of the "fruits" from my first pureeing party that I had last January. I just did it again, but only had to do cauliflower and carrots as we still had some left of the other veggies. It is quite fun and satisfying.