Blissfully Domestic: Freezer Meals
Blissfully Domestic: Meal Planning with Slow Cookers
Recipe: Asparagus Risotto with Chervil
Recipe: Pasta and Vegetable Soup
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I am often looking for ways to get my kids to try different foods. If you were to ask the little ones on any given night what they want for dinner, the answer is sure to be pasta ... or cheese sandwiches, but most likely, pasta.
So when Miss M saw me in the kitchen tonight cooking dinner, the conversation went a little like this:
M: "What are you making us for dinner?"
Me: "Soup"
M: "But I don't like soup"
Me: "You like pasta, sausages and pasta sauce though right?"
M: "Yummy, but I don't like soup".
Me: "You'll like this one".
She didn't quite believe me and stomped outside to report to her brother that I was making soup for dinner. Who proceeded to announce his dislike for this to the neighborhood by screaming "Yuck". Score 1, ME! Neighborhood parents, looks like you'll just have to continue feeding your own kids because they won't want to come here now.
So when the soup was ready, here's what I do to keep the little ones happy. I ladle out the pasta, sausages and just a little of the soup into bowls for the twins - in the small amount of liquid that I put in their bowl (not pictured below, that is my bowl) there is sure to be a little of the veggies. And shh, don't tell them but I may hide a little spinach or tomato under a piece of pasta or sausage. Then I top it with parmesan. This way I only have to cook one meal, but everyone is happy.
So my thoughts on making this soup is I wanted to include as many of the ingredients as possible that I would normally use to make a pasta dish, but give it a new twist, make it a little fun, and have the kids try something new.
Ingredients:
Week 10: George Foreman 90 Day Challenge
Grilling: Salmon with Couscous Salad
Comfort Food: Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
A Pasta Bar
We love pasta in our house. Ask Marisol what she would like for dinner any day of the week and she would tell you pasta, her favorite being Penne. The hardest thing I find with serving pasta for dinner is taking out certain ingredients from dishes to suit each person.
I'm also a huge fan of getting the kids involved in the kitchen. We normally have one night a week where it's a 'make your own' night. Whether it be putting your own toppings on pizza, or making tacos or burritos. So last night I decided to set up a pasta bar in the kitchen and let everyone choose their pasta, their toppings and their sauce. Everyone loved it. For the first time there was no-one picking out what they didn't want to eat, no-one complaining about the type of pasta I used and everyone ate all of their dinner.
