Erin Phraner : One-Pan Mediterranean Bolognese

 Q + A

Tell me about yourself!

I am a BuzzFeed creator and video producer living in Brooklyn with my husband and 2-year old daughter Charlotte. I create fun tutorials, recipes and other projects for my YouTube and Facebook channels, as well as other lifestyle clients.

What do you love about this recipe, and how has it helped you with feeding your toddler?

I created this recipe by accident one morning before work. My mom was coming over to watch Charlotte and I realized that I didn’t have something prepped for her lunch. She was about 8 months old at the time and LOVED ground lamb; I’d buy it from a fancy grocery store down the street and cook it into teeny, tiny pieces that she could pick up on her own. She also loved pasta—what kid doesn’t?—so I decided to mix it all together and cook it in one skillet for my own sanity since I needed to race out of the door. It ended up being a delicious, not-too-tomato-y staple that she asks for by the name of “Yum Pasta” ever since.

I love this recipe because it’s easy to make and even easier to clean; one pan, that’s it. There’s no chopping, no mincing and it’s super forgiving. It’s a great way to use up the dregs of your various pasta boxes. It’s delicious reheated in the microwave if you store it in the fridge for a few days. And I also freeze little portions of it and just zap ‘em in the microwave for a few minutes with a splash of water if needed. It’s just one of those magic recipes that she’s always in the mood for, so I always know it’ll be an easy mealtime if this is on the menu.

It’s lunch, it’s dinner and sometimes it’s dad’s breakfast because there’s nothing he loves more than cold pasta in the morning (such a weirdo)! We actually love eating this for dinner, too.  For our portions, I usually add a ton of parmesan cheese, chopped herbs, a glug of nice olive oil and some flaky sea salt. Everyone’s satisfied & honestly that’s my whole goal getting into the kitchen these days.

Also, I know for a lot of people ground lamb is either unappealing or unavailable. This is 100% just as delicious with ground beef if you’d prefer. I usually serve it with roasted broccoli on the side.

What is your biggest tip when it comes to feeding a toddler?

Be cool. The few meal meltdowns we’ve had were totally my fault. I was holding on too tight to what I thought she needed and what she should be trying; it backfires every time! Make sure there’s something you know they love on the plate and then let go. Let them be in charge. I read a little quote graphic once that said something along the lines of “Kids are responsible for their own eating; you’re responsible for what you put on their plates.” In other words, let them follow their own cues and learn about their own appetite and hunger. So long as you’re consistently giving them good healthy options to choose from, it’ll all work out. I’m not usually this loosey-goosey with my parenting but this is the one place being hands off has really worked for us.

One other tip: Crunch contests! Whether it’s carrot sticks, slices of cucumber, roasted kale chips...we definitely do the “Let me hear how loud of a crunch you can make!?!” game over and over again until the pile is gone :)

What is your current mealtime challenge and how are you working to overcome it/how did you overcome it?

We’ve reached the point of toddlerhood where there are just too many exciting things going on for her to want to sit down for a meal. It doesn’t help that we’ve been staying at my parents’ house where everything is exhilarating (my parents are the “fun” grandparents) so I’ve been trying to be a little more creative & flexible when it comes to mealtime. We’ve had picnic lunches on the living room floor so that she can sit with all of the 3 million stuffed animals my mom saved from when I was little. We’ve had waffles & eggs sitting on the pool stairs when she’s itching for a morning swim. Dinner we always sit down as a family but it's fun and helpful changing up where she has breakfast or lunch some days.

How do you keep your children entertained when prepping a meal?

I’m going to be 100% honest, meal prep is Charlotte’s iPad time. We *usually* hold off screen time until 4:30pm and then she can watch whatever she wants while I clean up from the day and get dinner ready (*some days there are extra morning / afternoon videos thrown in because I’m a human and that’s just how it is).

Sometimes she’ll help me cook. Charlotte loves to measure, so she loves pouring ingredients into measuring cups—especially the pasta in this recipe if we’re using something small like mini elbows. She usually measures the 1 cup I need & then just keeps playing and measuring the rest of the box while I continue cooking.

We’ve been staying at my parents’ house this summer and she really enjoys calling everyone to dinner. I’ll enlist her to gather our various family members while I finish cooking and get everything on the table. She’s really funny about it. She marches around calling their names and gets adorably stern with them if they don’t follow her to the table right away. She’s a taskmaster!

Follow Erin at: @erinphraner