Pachy pasta nests kids will love (AKA How to make spaghetti muffins)

I have been teaching our LDA to cook.

The aim is not for her to make her favourite dinosaur recipes – though these are great for both incentive and training – but for her to be able to execute some simple dishes if I have to be away for a longer period for any reason.

She is getting quite proficient at toast, can boil pasta and rice, and makes delicious scrambled eggs (unless egg shell falls in the bowl).

Unintentionally, these simple Pachy pasta nests (AKA spaghetti muffins, made to resemble a nest) allowed her to showcase her new skills.

She was the chef. And loved it.

My job was limited to removing the hot muffins from the oven. I was also given permission to place some of the sausage slices on the nests.

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Who was Pachy?

Pachy, or Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period (approximately 70-65 MYA) in what is now North America. The herbivorous dinosaur has one of the longest names of all dinosaurs – though that prize goes to a dinosaur that shares the name.

Pachycephalosaurus is easily identified by its thick boney dome on its skull (up to 25 cm thick), like a helmet, with a ridge of bones around the outside. This helmet is also the inspiration for the name, which means “thick-headed lizard”.

Pachycephalosaurus probably lived in forests and woodland environments. Their diet consisted of ferns, cycads, and other vegetation. It had relatively short arms with sharp claws, which may have been used for foraging for food.

Some palaeontologists think that Stygimoloch and Dracorex may be juvenile Pachycephalosaurus (but that is a can of worms for another day).

Why call them simple Pachy pasta nests?

The alliteration (one of our 7 tricks for naming dinosaur party food).

Spaghetti resembles twigs or straw most birds use to make nests (though you can use any pasta you like).

Did dinosaurs make their nests the same way? Probably not. Most dinosaurs probably made mounds of soil, which they covered with plant material to keep the eggs warm and incubate them.

We’re taking some artistic licence.

We added some fresh herbs – parsley and basil. Herbivorous dinosaur mums would have had some fresh food ready for their babies when they hatched. Our LDA does not like anything green, so we only added herbs to some of the nests.

We tried to cut our hotdog sausages diagonally to make them look like eggs. It did not work well (though that reflects the skill level of our LDA). But it did not matter: many dinosaur eggs resembled balls and not birds eggs. BTW, our LDA uses this junior chef knife to learn safe kitchen skills.

Our “sauce” was a combination of carbonara and alfredo. We left out the bacon – our LDA does not like bacon – but included eggs and cream to help the nest stick together.

Would we change the name if we had included bacon? Possibly. Perhaps Megalosaurus muffins?

And they’re so easy to make – they’re simple Pachy pasta nests.

Why you want to make these simple Pachy pasta nests

Apart from the fact that this is the perfect recipe for your little dinosaur fan to display their newly gained cooking skills, the beauty of these Pachy pasta nests is that kids love them. They are familiar but fun and easy to eat.

You’ll like them because you can hide vegetables in them and easily adapt them to suit your and your child’s diet. They’re a great use for leftover spaghetti (or any pasta), too – unless your child baulks at toasted pasta.

Pachy pasta nests freeze (see below) well and can be made in advance.

And which kid would not like a Pachy pasta nest in their school lunchbox? They are great for parties (again, because they are adaptable and can be made in advance) and are the perfect snack food, too.

Tips for making these simple Pachy pasta nests

1. Let your little dinosaur fan do most of the work. This is a simple recipe that lends itself to novice chefs.
2. If you have (small) leftover pasta, you can substitute it for spaghetti. You can also use spaghetti that is a day old, as long as it has been covered and has not gone hard.
3. Get some safety scissors and let your little dinosaur fan use them to cut the cooked spaghetti into smaller pieces. This makes it easier to fit in the muffin forms. This is a great fine motor activity for little hands.
4. Let your child crack the eggs into a separate bowl. This will make it easier to remove the inevitable bits of shell. If your child is a more advanced cook, you can separate the eggs and just use the egg yolks. Our LDA is not there yet.
5. While your spaghetti is cooking, get everything else ready to add to it.
6. If you have one, use a silicone muffin pan. It will make it easier to remove them once they are cooked.
7. Use fingers to transfer the spaghetti to the muffin pan. And arrange the eggs on top. It is easiest.
8. Adapt this recipe as appropriate. Add or omit bacon, use vegetarian/vegan or poultry sausages to suit your diet, and use whatever cheese you have on hand. You can add or omit onions, brown them before adding them, or use fresh spring onions. If you like to hide vegetables to increase your child’s intake, try baby spinach, tiny broccoli florets, peas, or other vegetables. Alternatively, you can leave them out if your little dinosaur fan is like our LDA and is allergic to anything green.
9. Depending on what your little dinosaur fan thinks of herbs, you can add them to your mix or just sprinkle them on top (or not, as the case may be).

Can I make these spaghetti muffins vegetarian or vegan?

It is easy to make these simple Pachy pasta nests vegetarian. Replace the bacon with peas, grated carrot and add freshly chopped herbs. Or make your favourite Alfredo sauce and add one or two eggs to help the mixture stick together in its muffin form. Use your favourite vegetarian sausages.

It is a little trickier to make these spaghetti muffins vegan as the eggs help give the muffins their form. Try replacing the bacon with finely chopped smokey tofu and/or peas. Use your favourite soy or other vegan cream (250mL) and water (100mL). Blueberry Vegan suggests adding a pinch of Himalayan black salt (Kala Namak) to give it a subtle “egg” taste without adding eggs. Use your favourite vegan sausages to make your “eggs”.

If you don’t eat pork, used turkey bacon and hotdog sausages made with chicken or turkey.

What should I do with leftovers?

Ideally, you should refrigerate any remaining simple Pachy pasta nests and eat them within a few days. As they have eggs and dairy products in them, they need to be kept refrigerated.

If your kids don’t devour them within seconds and they don’t want them in their school lunchbox, you can freeze these Pachy pasta nests in an airtight container. They’ll keep for up to 3 months.

To reheat, take them out of the freezer and let them defrost. Pasta is best reheated in the oven, at 150 to 170°c for 15 to 20 minutes. Put them back in your muffin tin if they are not too firm. You can also cover the top with aluminium foil if you don’t want them to get any darker.

Of course, if your little dinosaurs are threatening to eat the doors of your pantry, you can warm your Pachy pasta nests in the microwave.

Pachy pasta nests – not just for dinosaur fans

If you’re teaching your little dinosaur fan to cook, this recipe for dino-fied spaghetti muffins is perfect for showcasing their newly acquired skills.

This simple and fun recipe combines three favourite kids’ foods – spaghetti, hotdogs and muffins – and dino-fies them into one delicious treat. Whether you’re looking for a creative appetizer, a fun lunchbox addition, or a crowd-pleasing party snack, our simple Pachy pasta nests are sure to be a hit, especially with little dinosaur fans!

Would this recipe allow your little dinosaur fan to be the “chef”?

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