Spaghetti Pie

Do ever end up having leftover noodles from a dish you made the night before OR just need to add some veggies in a dish so your picky eaters will eat them? This recipe was inspired by a book called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. Simple secrets to get your kids eating good food. I know I've been wanting to steer away from hiding veggies but for simplicity and gratification from my picky eater it's a win win.

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 3 ounces of whole wheat noodles or angel hair pasta ( or 1 cup of leftover cooked pasta)
• 1/2 pound of lean ground turkey or sirloin ( organic if possible)
• 1/2 cup broccoli purée
• 1 large egg white
• 2 tbs grated Parmesan 
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups of tomato sauce
• 1 cup lowfat (1%) cottage cheese ( or you can use ricotta cheese)
• 1/4 cup carrot purée
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray or use disposable foil plate.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain in colander. (Skip this step if using leftover pasta).
3. In a small bowl, mix the ground turkey or sirloin with the broccoli purée, egg white, Parmesa, and garlic. Form into 1/2 inch balls.
4. In a large bowl, stir the cooked pasta, tomato sauce, em cottage or ricotta cheese, carrot purée, and salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the pie plate and smooth the top.
5. Scatter meatballs on top and sprinkle mozzarella.
6. Bake, uncovered, until the center is firm and the cheese is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

So yummy and fun!

Verdict: so even though my sweet picky eater didn't eat many meatballs, he enjoyed the baked cheesy, saucy noodles with carrot!