Thursday, March 27, 2008

Better Than Spaghettios

When I was a kid Spaghettios were da bomb! The only thing better than Spaghettios were Raviolies. Mom didn't buy them because with as many kids as she had it was just cheaper (and healthier) to make a big ol' pot of spaghetti. So, for every birthday till I was 15 I would ask for Spaghettios and Raviolies for dinner. Chef Boyardee was good to me all those many years ago.

I have tried several times to buy my children's love and affection with Spaghettios. The first time I heated them a can and served it I sat back waiting for the praise and adoration. Instead all I got were whines. "This doesn't taste good." "Can I be done." "Whah is distuff?" So I say, "I made it, you eat it." "But we don waaaaannnnaaaa." "FINE, go play. I will eat it. I love it!" Then, with my nose in the air I sit down to enjoy 4 bowls of yummy goodness all to myself.

The only problem is that the kids are right. This stuff is NASTY! I force myself to eat an entire bowl and then I just wash the rest down the sink. The saddest part of this, though, is that I still will occasionally buy them again and try to get the kids to like them again. This last time I even bought Dora The Explorer shaped Spaghettios. I mean, come on, anything Dora has got to be good, right? Sweet Terror and Monster Man had fun cooking them, playing with them, and looking for all the different shapes, but neither of them could stomach more than a mouthful, and neither could I. They seem to get grosser every time we try them. *SIGH* I guess I will finally have to accept that I will not be able to buy my way into the heart of my children via canned noddle Os. Luckily for me I still had a smidgen of Lasagna left over from last night.

What? Lasagna? How could I, who have been complaining about my lack of energy, who's house is a total disaster, who spends WAY too much time on the computer, how could I have time, desire, or the ability to make lasagna on a weeknight? Well if I must share my secret... I made my awesome Lazy Lizzy Lasagna. Now, all you amazing lasagna makers (Yes, sis, I'm talking to you), this is NOT a lasagna meant to impress. It isn't even healthy enough to serve without vegetables. There is no bechamel sauce, there are no vegetables, and my kitchen is clean by the time we sit down to eat because I have only used 2 bowls, 2 spoons, and the pan I cooked it in. But I don't care because every single stinkin' one of my whiney picky kids asked for seconds. My husband had seconds and then had to leave the table to keep from eating more. And because it was eaten so fast I could only manage to salvage this pathetic, dilapidated corner piece for a picture after dinner was over.

Lazy Lizzy's Lasagna
Ingredients: This is for an 8x8 pan (Any bigger and I gain too much weight) but you can just double it for a 9x13 pan
~1-1 1/2 jar(s) Prego spaghetti sauce (No mushrooms, veggies, meat, or anything else that will make the kids think you are poisoning them. Last night I used Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic flavor)
~A bunch of shredded Mozzarella cheese. I think I maybe used 1-2 cups. I just sprinkle to cover.
~Some Lasagna noddles. I do not buy the oven ready noodles. I laughed when they first came out with the oven ready because I have been using the regular noodles as oven ready since my 8th grade HomeEc class.
~Ricotta filling (mix 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 C. Parmesan cheese, 1Tbslp dried parsley, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp nutmeg or dash of pepper)
~Water
Assemble as you would regular lasagna. Sauce, noodles, ricotta, cheese, sauce, noodles, etc. I do at least two layers or until I run out of ingredients. With each layer of sauce I sprinkle a Tblsp of water. At the end I also pour a tsp of water in each corner of the pan. Rap tightly with foil and bake in oven at 350 for an hour or until you can poke a sharp knife all over the lasagna without resistance from the noodles. Don't poke the knife through the tinfoil. You don't want bits of foil in your food and if it isn't done you will need to rewrap it because the tinfoil holds in the steam which cooks the noodles. I also stick my lasagna in a cold oven and then turn it on (but I don't set the timer till the oven has reached 350).
It takes a long time to cook but it goes together in 15 minutes and leaves me time to chop veggies, make a salad, wipe down the counters, check a few blogs, and have the kids set the table. And if I make a 9x13 pan I will thow in raw spinach and sauteed onions and zucchini between the layers on one half for the adults to enjoy.
Now, I'm off to wash two bowls of Dora down the drain. Bon Appetite!

14 comments:

Tama said...

My kids have begged me to buy Spaggettios over the years and I have given in once or twice. Sure enough, they just wanted the stuff because there were dinosaurs or barbie or something on the can. They refused to eat the contents after one mouthful of the stuff.

Great Lasagna recipe! I have a really simple one I use and I always get rave reviews--more than the time consuming expensive ones.

Annie said...

LOL we had that exact conversation!

I'm adding you as a link because I love your blog dahling!

3 for school said...

What have they done to the Spaghetti-o's? I used to love them too and now think they're soft and mushy. My kids tried it once and thought they were disgusting. How do they sell them?

Richelle said...

That lasagna sounds yummy!
I must have been deprived in the Spaghetti O's department. When I was in college I ate with one of my friends for lunch at her apartment (I was still living at home) and she mad us some. She mentioned that I bet I hadn't had them in forever. And I really hadn't, as in EVER, but didn't have the heart to tell her that. :)

cindy kay said...

Spaghettios were one of my childhood treats, too. Funny, my kids don't like them, but I still do. Once or twice a year I will buy some, as comfort food.

The lasagna sounds good, but you only make an 8x8 pan of it?! Oh, that's right, I forgot your kids are younger than mine. (I have to make an 11x16 pan...so I don't make it very often. Do you know how many ingredients that takes?!)

Jeanette said...

My super skinny, scrawny son's pediatrician told me to feed my son the Chef Boyardes that come with meat in an attempt to get him to eat some meat. I bought a few cans but he never got past a first timid taste. So now I have three cans of the stuff in food storage that no one will touch.
I love to cook but hate making lasagna. I am all about easy lasagna recipes. This one looks great!

Packer Family said...

Seriously! What happenend! I used to love that stuff and I got some for lunch about 2 years ago and it was so gross! Yummy Lasagna!

Ally said...

Oh my goodness, that happened to me a few years ago. I remember eating Spaghettios when I was young, and I bought some hoping to 'share' the love with her. She tried one bite and never touched them again. (And I was so happy when she didn't, cuz I got to eat the rest of the bowl myself!! hahaha) Then when I ate them, I realized how crappy they taste. No wonder she wouldn't eat them. And I haven't eaten them since, either!

Thanks for sharing this lasagna recipe. I like lasagna, but am sooooo unmotivated to make it, the HARD way. I'm actually going to give this one a try! ;)

Becky Frame said...

I've had the exact same experience with spaghettios! Loved them as a kid, never got to have them because there were so many kids that real spaghetti was cheaper, tried to get my kids to eat them, ended up eating them myself, gagged, sent them swirling, whirling down the drain.

It must be the sauce.

An Ordinary Mom said...

Never once have I liked Spaghettios, even as a child, but bring on the lasagna :) !!

Anonymous said...

Spaghettios I can do without, but I love Raviolies!!

Lei said...

LOL - I tried the spagettios experiment with my kids too and it was a very big NO GO!

Did you get my recipe forlazy manicotti last month? Love the lazy versions... thanks for sharing!!!

Wendy said...

I am SO going to try that recipe this weekend. We love pasta. Love it.
I have to admit, my kids like canned Raviolis. I'm a pretty health freakish person, but we buy the junk for camping trips. It just makes life easier.
And anytime Mommy can't cook (flu or whatever), Daddy resorts to ALL prepackaged or canned foods, when he runs out of leftovers. Bless the man, he can't cook worth a lick.

Michal said...

it's not even seven am yet and that lasagna looks good. especially with the spinach, mushrooms, and onions added. i might need to add that to my menu.
i don't think i've ever even tasted spaghettios. i guess i haven't missed out.