
There was this one time when Cooper was about 3 and I didn’t let him get up from the table until he had a bite of spaghetti. It was a spaghetti recipe a lot like this one….meaty/cheesy goodness. There was one small bite wrapped up around his teeny tiny kid fork. At the 20 minute mark (he’s stubborn/there might have been tears), he told me he had to go to the bathroom and I said he could do so when he took a bite. I thought it was that simple.
Sidenote—
I MEAN JUST TAKE A BITE. IT’S NOT GONNA KILL YOU, CHILD.

He still wouldn’t and then he just went to the bathroom….right there in his kid chair at the table. Like….all over the place. It was one of those out of body experiences. Mixed emotions. Feelings of guilt/bewilderment/utter confusion. What just happened??? I mean, when I was a kid my parents had to STOP us from eating our third helping of pasta…
All of this over pasta….

Stillllllllll not a pasta fan… but that doesn’t stop Casey and I from eating it on occasion. I had a craving for meaty pasta smothered with melted/crispy cheese on Sunday night. The weather was begging for it.
I know I’m not reinventing the wheel here. You probably already have a spaghetti situation in your life. BUT, let me tell you that when you twirl the pasta into little nests, cover them in cheese and bake them, it makes for an incredible dinner. Making the pasta into little mounds makes it really easy to spoon out and serve too!
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