Mock-Spaetzle and Mock-Cheese-Spaetzle

Boil and strain any kind of egg noodle/pasta. Add a teaspoon or so of vegetable oil, and stir.

Note: This works best with broken fettucini, but rotini or standard egg noodles work too. If you can find it, use actual Spaetzle, which sometimes can be found in the foreign foods aisles of some grocery stores.

While the noodles are still hot and slightly wet, put them into a bowl. Mix in a few dashes of nutmeg, ground black pepper and salt - use as much or as little as you like. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed

Add a few tablespoons of softened butter, and stir. The noodles will become slightly sticky, and serve well with a spoon.

I like to add a dash of dried parsley for looks at this point, but it's totally optional.

For Mock-Cheese-Spaetzle, mix in some glassed onion bits. Put it in a bread pan, and top it with some mozzarella and/or cheddar. Heat it in an oven until melt.ed.