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They do make a dried spaetzle that you can cook like pasta, which I know I've used before (I want to say the box is yellow, but...it's been awhile. It's okay but definitely not the same as homemade). But it's pretty easy to cook! Here's a basic recipe: http://germanculture.com.ua/recipes/blmain9.htm ...this one calls for butter as its only dairy component, and you could easily sub a canola margarine for that.

Viel Glueck!

Homemade is really very easy. I am of Hungarian descent, so we had dumplings and spaetzle at our house all the time and we never used milk. Four ingredients only - flour, egg, salt and water. Start with 1 cup of ap flour and about 1/2 t salt. In a measuring cup beat 1 egg and the egg shell half full of water (I would say a scant 1/4 c). Blend the wet mixture into the dry mixture and adjust by adding more water or flour in 1 T increments if necessary until it is the consistancy of thick pancake batter. I hope I didn't make it sound too complicated because it truly only takes 5 minutes.

For spaetzle, have a pot of salted water at the boil. Push tablespoonsful of batter through a colander with a large spoon or spatula. When the spaetzle come up to the top, fish them out with a spider or slotted spoon. Voila - spaetzle!

Here is an interesting recipe for shrimp spaetzle:

Spaetzle is a German noodle dish that is usually served with a heavy cream sauce and some sort of fish or meat. In this dish, the spaetzle dough is made with pureed shrimp for added flavor.

Ingredients

8 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 C. heavy cream
1 C. flour
2 egg yolks
2 Tbs. mixed chopped herbs (parsley, basil, oregano)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 Tbs. clarified butter or canola oil

Garnish:
Basil-mint oil
Diced seeded tomatoes
Chopped parsley

Directions

Purée the shrimp in a food processor adding cream to make a smooth mixture. In a bowl, beat the shrimp with the flour, egg yolk, herbs, salt and pepper until smooth. Using a coarse sieve or colander, force the dough through the holes letting it drop gently into lightly-salted boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface. Drain and cool.

To serve, sauté the spaetzle in clarified butter until lightly browned and crispy. Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

Yield: 4 servings

Hillary
Chew on That

@dmcavanagh - Our dumpling/spaeztle recipe was from old middle European cooks; grandmothers, great grandmothers - from Czech and Hungarian descent. Nutmeg was a flavor that I'm sure would have been totally lost when serving them with a dish such as Chicken Paprikas. I have to be honest - I've never heard of adding nutmeg, however it could be prevalent in other European cooking origins.

@dmcavanagh - I must say that I don't make it often anymore. I just cook so differently than my parents and grandparents cooked. We try to be much more health conscious than they ever were. I can't remember my mom being concerned about using too much butter or sour cream in anything! In my family repetoire though, it does require homemade dumplings/spaeztle with chicken or veal paprikas - but I only make it about once a year to please the SO. If I were to make spaetzle as a side with a milder tasting protein (maybe like pork?), I might try it with the nutmeg - sounds good!