Homemade pasta is one of those things you want to make when life needs to feel a bit more luxurious. Because when your four-year-old is coming off of his only-cake-and-only-sugar high from yesterday's birthday party and today's agenda includes power struggles and threats, you need to reward yourself somehow. 

The decision to make this luxuriousness was actually just inspired by the clearance bin at the grocery store. I saw a big bag of spinach and thought about the last time my kid actually ate any type of green food and then decided that it was probably time to sneak some veg in. I'm the biggest veg lover in my family and even so, many bags of greens come to my fridge only to decay.

But this bag was on sale for 99 cents and I knew that I would be a better person this time. While racking my brain with ideas I decided on pasta. 

If you've ever had homemade pasta you know that it's worth the monumental effort. And by effort I mean standing in your kitchen for one full hour. So wear good shoes. The recipe preparation is pretty simple but it all depends on how you cut it. I use my handy-dandy Fox Run pasta machine. I love it and so does my kid. Especially because it works so well with Play-Doh. As demonstrated by the neon red bits in my green pasta.

Here's how:

4 large eggs

4 cups flour(I use whole wheat flour which makes a sturdier pasta)

1 10 oz bag fresh spinach

2 tsp salt

water as needed

Finely chop the spinach in a food processor, set aside. In a large bowl add the flour, eggs, salt, and spinach. Stir and then knead into a ball. Add water, a tablespoon at a time until it's damp enough to hold together.

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Lay on counter and rest under plastic wrap for at least 15 minutes.

Set up your pasta maker (or roll with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch and slice into small strips with a pizza cutter!).

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Cut 1/8 of the ball off and shape into a disc, patting it with flour until there are no moist spots. Run through the pasta machine on the widest setting. Pull it out, lie it flat and cut in half. Then roll it through on a slightly thinner setting until it's rolled to your desired thickness. I don't get it too thin because it gives me anxiety dealing with it too thin. Roll it through the cutter attachment and remember to add LOTS OF FLOUR. Flour is your friend when dealing with homemade pasta. 

Pull out a sheet of wax paper and separate the strands of pasta and lightly sprinkle with more flour so they don't stick together while they dry.

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Repeat with the rest of the dough. After it's all cut and dried make little "nests" by carefully making small and light piles of dough. Pop into freezer for an hour. After they are all frozen then place in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

Save some for your dinner tonight! Fresh pasta is amazing enjoying the day you make it!

Buttery pea and pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Simultaneously add in 2 cups peas and 2 nests of pasta and let cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is soft.

Drain and combine in a bowl with two knobs of butter and salt to taste!