Hey ladies.
Olivia loves pasta! Maybe because she's 1/2 Italian???
Anyhow, she loves the fresh pasta & homemade sauce, especially canelloni w/ricotta & spinach, but she too will not eat spinach on it's own. Here's a few ideas & I love eating this stuff too, using penne rigate or rigatoni. It's quick & readily available in most refrigerators/pantries
Baby pasta (or small elbow macaroni or the really tiny shells)
Ricotta
Margarine
Salt/pepper to taste
Boil the pasta & drain once cooked (beyond al dente for the kiddies), add margarine to avoid sticking, mix well, then add ricotta, as much as little as you like, mix well & season to taste.
You can add chopped sauted spinach in here if you like - Olivia will not eat it with spinach this way
AND THEN TRY THIS:
Freshly made meatballs, preferably chicken or turkey for the babes, the size of a dime
(meat/egg/parsley/parm cheese/bread crumbs)
Frozen spinach chopped up well
Veg stock or chicken stock (Low sodium if canned/or use oxo cubes)
All of the above freeze very well in seperate conatiners
Bring stock/broth to a boil, add meat balls, let boil for 5 min - you can add a touch of rice or pastina in at this point if desired & boil on medium for 10 more min (I do not add pasta, I add a whole egg or 2 & give the soup a quick whisk)
After boiling for the 5 - 15 min, add spinach & simmer for 20 min - half hour to let all flavours meet one another & to make sure meat balls are fully cooked & soft. Meatballs should be tender & easy to smush if neccessary.
Serve with parmasean cheese or crackers if desired.
You can also use beef if you want...
