National Pasta Day

When I’m stuck on a topic I like to look through my photos or check the National Day Calendar. How perfect that today is National Pasta Day! There are may different pasta dishes and today I’m sharing a few of my special ones.

One of my favorites were when Rich would make up a huge pot of meatballs and let them simmer and sit in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 days. The sauce would soak into the meatballs and they were so delicious! Lia loved helping pop roll the meatballs and carefully put in the pan. Our favorite pasta was Penne or Rigatoni but I also love the spaghetti or linguine. I guess you could see we loved all pasta with meatballs and sometimes we used cut up chicken and sauce with our pasta.

Watching Lia eat her spaghetti was so much fun. Ever since she could feed herself she would wrap the spaghetti around her fork and suck it in. When she started cooking her own pasta, she would pull one piece out of the strainer and give it a try before dishing it up.

Another favorite dish is Pasta Fazool and my mother-in-law made the best! I never had her recipe because like me she didn’t use them, just add a little of this and a little of that. While it’s simmering on the stove it smells so good! It’s easy to make and you can get her Pasta Fazool Recipe here

Who doesn’t like mac and cheese! My favorite is using elbow pasta and mixing it with cheese and tuna before baking. But my secret ingredient is crushed up potato chips! Yes I save all the crumbs from the bottom of the chip bag, put them in a baggie and roll to make sure they are all crushed then sprinkle on top of the dish before baking. If you don’t have chips you can do the same thing with crackers. You can check out my Don’t Toss the Crumbs here!

Since today is National Pasta Day I had my meatballs already started the other day so by today my dinner will be ready! I have neighbors that are so caring and today is payback day! I make up pasta and meatball meals and surprise them with lunch. If they already have their meal planned this can go in the freezer for another day.

Is there some type of pasta on your plate today?