The Daily Rush

Make-and-Serve Your Own Homemade Pasta Noodles
What kid doesn’t like noodles and what kid doesn’t like playing with flour, and dough, and all that messy stuff! So grab your family, and let everyone get into the act—mixing, and rolling, and messing and drying. Be sure to have your camera handy for some memorable pictures—after a few batches. You’ll all be pros!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
A floured surface and a rolling pin

DIRECTIONS
Mix the flour and salt and form into a pile. Make a well in the center. Put the eggs, oil, and water in the well. With your hands, start pulling the flour into the well, mixing and pulling, mixing and pulling, until all is blended into dough.

Form the dough into a ball and knead for 5 minutes on a floured surface. Divide dough into quarters and work with one quarter at a time (keeping the rest of the dough covered).

On a floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough in rectangular form as thin as you can get it. Gently fold the dough in thirds; and using a sharp knife cut the layered dough into 1/4 -inch wide strips. Gently unfold the strips to their full length and lay them on a towel or hang them over a hanger, to air dry for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile bring your largest pot of boiling water to a boil; add a little salt; add in the noodles. Cook just until al dente about 3 to 5 minutes. (Remember, fresh noodles cook faster than packaged/dried pasta noodles.) Drain and toss with melted butter, a little chopped fresh parsley, and grated Parmesan cheese; or serve with a favorite spaghetti sauce.

If you find that you and your kids love making your own pasta noodles, invest in a pasta machine that will automatically roll and cut the dough for you! You can store freshly made, uncooked pasta (wrapped) in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for several months. It also might be fun to look into making different ‘flavors’ of pasta, by adding herbs and spices to the dough.

Example recipe using homemade noodles:

Noodles Napoli

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces broad noodles, cooked al dente and drained
2 cups chopped ham or chopped cooked chicken
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS
Grease a 9 x 13 –inch baking dish. Layer 1/3 noodles, 1/2 the cooked meat, 1/3 noodles, remaining meat, last third noodles. Beat eggs, milk, and cream well; pour over casserole. Top with bread crumbs and dot with butter. Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes.

8 ounces elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons fresh minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
4 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, minced garlic, and Italian seasoning. Chop tomatoes into bite-size chunks and stir to coat in oil mixture. Drain pasta and toss with tomato mixture. Add cheese and toss until just melted. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

This simple recipe is a “reader’s favorite” and goes over well with kids too. Be prepared-they will likely request seconds!1(16 ounce) package penne pasta
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup Mexican-style cheese, shredded
1 container part-skim ricotta cheese
4 ounces pepperoni sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. Spray a 9 x 13 -inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk eggs lightly. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drain pasta and add to mixture, tossing to coat. Transfer mixture to baking dish. Bake at 375º for 25 minutes or until edges are golden. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings

1 lb. lean ground chuck
1 medium onion chopped
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic (I use 2, love that garlic!)
2 cans (15 ounce) Hunts tomato Sauce
1 can (15 ounce) Hunts Tomato Sauce with Basil and Oregano
1 small can (6 ounce) Tomato Paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoons light Brown Sugar
16 ounces pasta

Brown beef, onion and garlic over medium-high heat. Drain. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT tomato paste and let simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Check for consistency - if you like a thicker sauce add paste by spoonful to reach desired consistency. (I add the whole can at this point in the cooking process.) If you add paste, stir and let simmer another 10 minutes. Sample. it should be delicious! If you like a sweeter sauce, add one more tablespoon of light brown sugar. Serve

Note: Although we only have a family of 3 and my daughter is going through her anti-sketti-sauce phase, I still make the full batch and sometimes even double it! This freezes easily and keeps for 3 months. Simply transfer from freezer the night before and then reheat in a saucepan. You can add fresh green peppers, mushrooms, garden tomatoes… to jazz up the sauce to your liking.

6 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons oil
2 green onions with tops, diced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (optional)
4 cups already cooked rice
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon each: soy sauce and oyster sauce, or more to taste
Salt and pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in skillet (or wok). Add the green onions (and peas if using them) and cook 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice and cook, tossing well, till heated through and coated–about 2 minutes more. Move rice to side of pan. Add beaten eggs to center of pan and cook and stir until scrambled. Once the eggs are scrambled, break them up and toss to mix with the other ingredients in pan. Season mixture with soy sauce and oyster sauce to your liking. Adjust with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste if you wish.

Note* Diced cooked meats (such as roast pork, ham, or chicken) may be added to this dish, to turn it into a more substantial entree, rather than a side dish. If doing so, add the meat and about 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth to further flavor and moisten the rice.