Because the thin vegetable strips resembled colorful pasta, we didn’t even know we were eating veggies.

This warm, creamy casserole appeared at Grandma’s brunches almost as often as at her suppers.

When the peas nestled inside the cooked pasta shells, Grandma compared them to pearls inside oysters.

Grandmother’s Italian mother made the most distinctive meatballs-they were very big, and everyone got just one.

Grandma had so many inventive ways of fixing pasta. This one was a nice change from red sauce. I fix it often.

We always asked for seconds, and thirds, of this cheesy and creamy pasta dish.

Crusty bread was always on the table, and we used it to scoop up any extra sauce.