Breakfast Noodle Nests {Using Leftovers}

Breakfast noodle nests are a kid-friendly breakfast, perfect for times that you don’t want to think about eating another bowl of cereal, oatmeal, or a plain omelet.

My holiday break has been busy and non stop.  Not just with housework, errands and family functions but with day to day craziness, and being sick on top of it.  I know what you are thinking:

Waa..poor you.  Normal people don’t get a winter break to be off and at home with their kids.

OK, I feel your angst, truly I do. What I mean here is, can’t I just have a week that goes off without a hitch? Without something interrupting the flow?  OK, I have it out there, I feel better. ????

We did have fun though. We shopped a bit, visited family and friends, traveled a bit, and worked around the house. And of course, we made breakfast noodle nests!

My kids and I spent 1 whole day doing something that they do not do often and I rarely do: we watched TV. All day. That is NO exaggeration.  We had noodle nests for breakfast and for the next 8 hours, we watched movies together. All 3 of us, wrapped up in blankets on the couch. We took breaks to do the usual things like have snacks and such. We stopped to have dinner, then continued our marathon after dinner, up until bedtime.  I don’t think I have ever done this before and the funny this is, my kids kept saying,

“Are you sure you want to watch this Mom? Don’t we need to DO something?  Get up, go outside…SOMETHING?”

Somehow I think we needed this day.  We were all close together, getting along, quiet, and relaxing.  I have pneumonia so it really helped me breathe better to be still and not talk. We mostly watched cooking shows, Man V Food and a few new shows on Discovery Channel that I had never heard of.  Pawn Stars, Some animal show and one of the strangest things I have ever seen but it’s like watching a train wreck: Hillbilly Handfishin’.

Yes, you read that right.  It is a show where people stand in rivers and stick their toes in mud holes in the water and LET fish nibble on them.  Then they reach down and snatch up the fish.  Really.  People pay to do this.  For fun. I mean, who in their right mind would stick their toes in some random hole that they can’t see into and wait for a LARGE fish to bite down on them? Hello, Not me!

So last night, after I tucked my kids into bed, got our things ready for the morning and headed to bed, my oldest son called to me from his room.  He should have been fast to sleep but he was still awake.  He wanted to know if I would make the breakfast noodle nests for him for breakfast in the morning.  So he did like it! Score one for Mommy’s quick thinking!

Breakfast noodle nests are a concoction of refrigerator leftovers plus a need to make something unique.  I mean, why not find a creative use for leftover spaghetti and use it for breakfast?! It was like my kids own little food challenge and I was happy to oblige. ????

I hope you enjoy the breakfast noodle nests, too!

To make them, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add a small ‘nest’ of cooked, cold pasta, making a small hole in the center. Dust with salt and fresh pepper. Allow the pasta to get a bit crunchy. Trust me, it’s good.

Add either 1 broken egg or 1 beaten egg to the center. My kids DO NOT like runny yolks, so I whipped theirs a bit. Egg will run down into the pasta a bit, but that’s OK, because it holds the nest together.

When eggs seem to be cooking on the bottom, give the nest a careful flip to cook any egg that has not set yet. Flip back over and dust with Parmesan cheese. Breakfast is ready!

This may seem like one of the more strange things you have ever seen me post, but let me assure you that kids, like adults, get tired of eating the same old thing.  Maybe my kids are picky and maybe I offer them TOO much variety. I am a food blogger after all…that’s what I do! But my kids love the breakfast noodle nests!

Not to mention, this will be a great breakfast for my oldest son before swim meets. To switch things up even further, add diced ham, peppers, mushrooms, or any other omelet fillings that you enjoy.  Think of the pasta as a vessel to hold your endless possibilities!

Serve the breakfast noodle nests with fresh fruit, cottage cheese, or fruit salad to balance out the meal.