WEEK 10: Pasta

The boys continue to eat well and are becoming cleaner and neater at doing it every day. We haven't really introduced the spoon yet, but I can see that on the horizon.

FOOD DESCRIPTION
Well, I say it in the header, but this adventure would fall under the "ugly" category. I decided to actually prepare and bake something yummy for them this week and it turns out, it wasn't much of a success, at least so far. Pasta is one of my favorite things to eat. Maybe it's because I can load up on garlic. So, I combined some ideas that I had read about and made some pasta rollups.

The boys have also been eating the cooked carrot and apple pieces that I made in the crock pot and they have been a great hit. It's nice to have some healthy finger foods for them to eat at meals. The carrots are a personal favorite as they are not as messy.

PROCESS

• Pasta Tofu Rollups Nothing about this recipe is difficult, but it does take some time, maybe more than I had anticipated. You could make it simpler by buying your own pasta sauce and maybe less messy by using shredded cheese for the stuffing instead of cottage cheese.

• 8 whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 cup mashed tofu
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2-1/2 cups tomato sauce (or the ingredients below)

• 3 organic tomatoes
• 1 organic zucchini
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Cook the lasagna noodles, following the directions on the package.
2. If you are making your own tomato sauce, then wash and cut your tomatoes and zucchini into pieces. You can simmer with the oil and spices, or steam. I used my Beaba Babycook and steamed the veggies together, then added my oil and spices and pureed.
3. Lay out your noodles and cut them half.
4. Spread thin layers of the tofu, sauce, and cheese (in that order) on top of the noodle. I would suggest leaving one end plain to use as the tail. When wrapping, your stuffing will ooze to the end and you will also need an open piece without filling to close the rollup.
5. Place them spiral-end up in a baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce and parmesan cheese.
6. Bake covered in a 350° oven for 30-45 minutes.

I let them cool, them wrapped them individually and froze them in a freezer bag.

WHAT I LEARNED
The rollups were super messy. I attribute this to the runniness of my homemade sauce and the cottage cheese. I would suggest adding paste, making a thicker sauce, or using one that you buy. Also, you may want to use shredded mozzarella instead of cottage cheese.

I also found the rollups hard to keep rolled up. So, you may want to use a toothpick to hold them together.

REACTION
My boys haven't eaten them yet, as they went straight to the freezer. I did pool together a bunch of the sauce that oozed out from the preparation and leftover cheese and noodle pieces and made a mixed pasta. They ate it and loved it. The sauce did have a yummy flavor.

SUMMARY
I'm not giving up on these as I'm anticipating pulling them from the freezer in a month or so. I also plan to try making them again with a thicker sauce and shredded cheese.

Please share your thoughts or ideas.
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