Noodlemania! 50 Playful Pasta Recipes Cookbook Review

Disclosure: Mom Central received a copy of the cookbook in order to facilitate this review. The views expressed here are entirely our own.

For Moms with picky eaters, housing a stash of pasta boxes proves to be the only way you’ll make it through dinner each night. For palate-compromised family members who squeal at the site of steak or wince at the smell of vegetables, noodles often prove to be the only option—but they needn’t be boring.

Noodlemania! 50 Playful Pasta Recipes boasts a multitude of fun, delicious pasta recipes that dress noodles in yummy ingredients that take pasta from bland to beautiful in just a few simple steps. Food writer and editor Melissa Barlow gives Moms the lowdown on how to spruce-up plain pasta with ingredients that are sure to expand your child’s palate through these delectable dishes. From farfalle and orecchiette to penne and rotini, Barlow makes pasta fun. From creative ways to present a pasta dish, to fun, silly recipe names, noodles have never looked or tasted this good.

Try this fun recipe!

Big Fat Cheesy Shells

Ingredients:

• 12 to 15 jumbo pasta shells
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 1/4 cups marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions and set aside to cool.
2. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and parsley. Scoop the cheese mixture evenly into the cooked shells.
3. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
4. Spread about 1/3 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of the pan.
5. Spoon the remaining sauce over each shell to cover.
6. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over top. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.