Thought I'd answer Misty's questions here instead of just to her. Just in case anyone else has the same questions.

As far as the baked ziti, here is the recipe I use. It is extremely popular with all of Matthew's friends and I am constantly asked when I'm going to make it next. (This also works very well with Tinkyada Gluten Free pasta --they'll never know the difference.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
• 24 ounces ricotta cheese (more or less, our friend Josh LOVES ricotta so when he's eating with us, I always tend on the side of more--just be sure and add more spaghetti sauce if you're going to do this or it won't taste right)
• 1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil (I don't necessarily always salt it). Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
2. In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Ok, so as far as how do I get Hope to try new stuff. Truthfully, I can't honestly take credit for all of it! She's just always been willing to try new stuff! However,  when I am introducing a new food to her, I *do* always try to "dress it up" a little bit. I have been also using what is called bento to help with putting together her meals. I know, you're thinking what on *earth* is bento? LOL Basically you take something like a sandwich box, use small portions of (generally) healthy food,  and serve it in a way that's fun. You can use cookie cutters, fun toothpicks, food-safe items that dress it up and make it fun. Bentos originate in Japan and, from what I understand, it is considered a "top want" in a wife for her to be able to create appealing lunches in this way (who woulda thunk it) I have done a few meals like this and they have been a hit so far, though my last few weren't "aesthetically pleasing" persay. We were in a hurry those days, so I wasn't able to take the time to cut things up. However, I have learned that my meals are not very colorful through doing this, so I know what I need to work on! A lot of my meals tend towards the "white" if you kwim. I also have learned that I always did WAY too big of portions for my little miss. Here are the supplies that I use so far:

From left to right:
3 pc. locking set ($5.72)
2 ice cream sandwich molds to be used for sandwiches and what have you ($2.00)
9 square containers w/ lids ($1.48/3 pack, total of $4.44)
2 Crayola thermal containers for soups, oatmeal, etc ($3.94 a piece, total $7.88)
4 condiment cups ($0.64 a piece, total $2.56)
(Total: $22.60 ....I'm "guess-timating" that this will be enough for all three meals....we'll see)

However, today I picked up two more snap n lock boxes that have 4 little dividers in them, and also bought these storage containers by Homz. It's a box w/ seperate places for a sandwich, then under that, three compartments for whatever else. I thought those would be good for picnics and days that we're out of the house. The snap n locks were $3.49 and the Homz ones were $3.99. I also got some fun colored cocktail stirrers and some sword toothpicks. they can be washed and used again until they break. Or if they do get thrown away accidentally, it's no big deal. Oh yes, and with the ice cream sandwich molds, I have seen pictures of people using them for hard boiled eggs, as well. There has been a discussion about using them for rice, but I'm not sure anyone has done it as of yet. I also bought some purple and pink silicone cupcake holders to use. Ok, so now I guess you're wondering what on EARTH a Bento looks like. Here are mine, but then I'll include some links of some nice ones I've found, as well. Keep in mind that on the days I was running around like a crazy person, my bentos aren't in a box like they should be. I just didn't take the time to do them, but I did still use my supplies, anyway. Ok, on with the pictures!

Breakfasts:

Pear hearts and cheese stars (w/ the "scraps" underneath), heart waffles, honey to dip & sunflower seeds

Toast w/ grap jelly, raspberries, raisins & cashews

Lunch

(I didn't have a box big enough at the time for all these, but now I do!) Squash & zucchini, leaf & clover apples dipped in cinnamon, 1/8 of a bagel w/ cream cheese & blueberries, dinosaur chicken nuggets & ketchup to dip.

Annnnnnnd this is where lunches REALLY start getting sloppy and not so "bento-y".

Laughing Cow Babybel cheese, carrots, hummus & crackers, fruit w/ toothpick to pick it up (she loved the hummus so much she had it for lunch yesterday, too).

Crackers & Laughing Cow Babybel, plums (she didn't like these, either---but we'll try again later as I bought 3), chicken noodle soup, hummus & crackers.

Ok, now for some BETTER bentos! LOL

An entire page of them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lunchinabox/sets/72157594229902766/ (I really need to work my way through this page to get some ideas!)

A blog: http://www.lunchinabox.net/

More toddler Bento: http://www.bentoyum.com/?cat=6

Annnnnnnnd for some of the supplies I would LOVE to have, just don't want to order them from stinkin' JAPAN:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BENTO-LUNCH-BOX-SANRIO-MY-MELODY-DIE-CUT-FACE_W0QQitemZ270109953764QQihZ017QQcategoryZ4003QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330131909846&rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150126263620&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=005

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330141010215&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=014

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hello-Kitty-Divided-Dish-Lunch-Box-Bento-Box-Pink-B816_W0QQitemZ250147673525QQihZ015QQcategoryZ5204QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bento-Sealife-Food-Dividers-Barran_W0QQitemZ190136408549QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4003QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anyway, I have things to do around the house. If there are anymore questions, let me know!