Spaetzle. . .where do I begin? Spaetzle took my heart quite awhile ago . . .and has had my heart ever since I ate it for the first time. . . I believe it was on my German trip with my high school German class when I was a sophomore (1986). It's a yummy, doughy German-style noodle/dumpling that, to me, it so simple to make and you can turn it into so much goodness!

I have German heritage, I was born in Bitburg, Germany in September 1970 (yes, that's lil' ol' me when I was about a year old in the picture above in a German dress and fancy leather "walking shoes"!) when my parents were stationed there in the Air Force (they loved living there and fell in love with it and I latched on to their enthusiasm to learn as much as I could about the country/town they fell in love with), and I consumed myself with learning German all four years of high school and all four years of college (I lived in Heidelberg, Germany from fall of 1988-early summer 1989 while I was a freshman in high school, studying at an International University: Schiller International University). And living in Wisconsin and considering Wisconsin my home, Wisconsin has alot of German influence as well.

I would love to share a simple spaetzle recipe with you. . .The options on how you can serve it are ENDLESS!

Spaetzle

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 t salt

dash of pepper and nutmeg

To boil the spaetzle: 2 quarts water and 1 t salt

To serve, simply: 2 T butter, melted (I use European style, non salted butter!) and fresh chopped parsley (just a teaspoon or so to garnish)

Mix eggs, milk, flour, 1/2 t salt/pepper/nutmeg (batter will be thick). Heat water and 1 t salt to boiling. Press batter through a large-holed colander a few tablespoons at a time or place batter on a cutting board and "cut" the batter into the boiling water with a large, sharp knife. Stir once or twice to prevent sticking. Cook until noodles/dumplings come to the surface and are tender, approximately 5 minutes. Drain. Drizzle with melted butter and fresh chopped parsley to garnish.

*You can pan fry these noodles once they have cooked in the water and drained in butter in a saucepan, cooking until noodles become a bit crispy on the bottom! We have also served them with a yummy homemade mushroom sauce, you can use them like "regular" noodles in homemade macaroni and cheese and bake it in the oven to make it crunchy . . . YUM YUM YUM! See, the possibilities are endless.*

This is such an easy, foolproof recipe! I hope you'll give it a try!

XOXO,

Jen