Food, glorious food!  To this day that is one of my favorite songs from the musical “OLIVER.” (Ok, that may be “too much information,” but bear with me, please…)  If you watched the video of my parents in a recent post here as part of the Sony DigiDad Project you may have gleaned that food plays a big role in my family’s DNA.  I grew up in a world where it always seemed we were thinking about and planning our next meal before we were finished eating the current one.  Breakfast conversation often led to “what are we doing for lunch?”  At lunch we discussed the menu for dinner… You get the idea.  I guess I should not be surprised that my oldest son is a chef.

OPEN YOUR MOUTH, HERE COMES THE CHEW CHEW TRAIN….

As parents, teaching our kids to eat healthy balanced meals is always a challenge and we have all come up with creative ways to get our kids to sit down and eat well.  Creative names for meals, anthropomorphic presentations of breakfast staples (think “Smiley Face” and “Mickey Mouse Ear” pancakes), whatever it takes.  I’d love to use this post and the Dad-O-Matic blog to collect your creative and unusual family friendly recipes, and tips and tricks to get your kids to eat hearty and have fun at the same time.  I will kick start this challenge with one of the more memorable dishes my mom made and one of my favorite childhood meals: Spaghetti Pie.  The name alone always brought a smile to my face and a confused look on my classmates’ faces when I told them what my mom was making for dinner.  For me, as a young boy who shopped in the “husky” section, to eat “dinner” served like a slice of pie was nothing short of the perfect meal!  Here is my mother’s recipe for Spaghetti Pie:

SASSY SPAGHETTI PIE

6 oz. spaghetti
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
1 LB ground beef or bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
8 oz can tomatoes cut up
6 oz can tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti: drain (need 3/4 cups).   Stir butter or margarine into hot spaghetti.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and eggs.  Form spaghetti mixture into a crust in buttered 10 in. pie plate.

In skillet, cook ground beef or Pork sausage, onion, & green pepper until tender and meat browned. Drain off excess fat. Stir in un-drained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt.  Heat through.

Spread cottage/ricotta cheese as bottom layer on the spaghetti crust. Fill pie with tomato mixture.  Bake uncovered, 350 degrees in oven for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle mozzarella on top. Bake 5 minutes longer. Then ENJOY!

YOUR TURN

Please share your own unusual, family friendly meal ideas and recipe’s in the comments, and of course, if you try making Spaghetti Pie, let me know how it turns out.  My mom will be thrilled!

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

Photo Credit: © Mario – Fotolia.com