Mary McLoughlin LLC

Young Life Pasta

 

Several boneless chicken breasts.

One pound of kielbasa sausage

Olive Oil

2-3 cloves of garlic

1-2 red peppers (or a jar of roasted red peppers)

1 onion – sweet is best

1 can of olives, sliced

1 pound of pasta. Bow ties are our favorite

8 ounces feta cheese

Grated Parmesan cheese

 

Start one pound of your favorite pasta cooking in boiling water.

 

Cut several boneless chicken breasts into bite size pieces.

Cut one pound of kielbasa sausage into one inch slices.

Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a wok or stir fry skillet. (substitute a large frying pan if you must.)

Add 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic.

When garlic is lightly brown, add the chicken and stir fry just until pink disappears.

Toss in the sausage at the same time as the chicken.

Remove the meat from the pan.

While the meat is cooking:

Cut up a red pepper or two (or open a jar of roasted red peppers)

Cut up an onion – sweet ones are best.

Slice up the olives.

After removing the meat, toss in the vegetables. You may want to add a bit more oil.

Stir fry just until crisp tender.

Toss the meat back into the pot.

Add spices. The easiest is a good Greek Blend, like Pampered Chef Greek Rub.

You can substitute, basil, oregano, salt & pepper.

Add crushed red pepper to taste. We like it hot, so I add quite a bit.

Drain the pasta and add to the stir fry skillet.

Toss together, adding extra olive oil to taste.

Just before serving, toss in a container of feta cheese.

Top with grated parmesan.

Yumm!!

(This makes enough to feed the neighborhood!)

 

This recipe was created to serve all the Young Life leaders who hung out at our home. (College students with little money and big appetites!)

 

Life has possibilities. Choices. Mine might be like yours or they might not. It’s all good. I love the power of choice. The option to try something new. The challenges of new beginnings. As life gets stale, I begin to realize that I haven’t begun something new.

 

My life is full of past new beginnings: The unfinished quilts in my sewing studio. The books with bookmarks still somewhere in the middle. The piles in the basement where I began sorting all the clutter. The pages of pictures that are laid out  and ready to scrapbook. The somewhat limp vegetables that never quite made it to that new recipe. The bible studies that only have half of the chapters completed.

 

I used to choose guilt about all these unfinished new beginnings. Then I began to think about what I would never have learned had I not begun. I wouldn’t know that star blocks (they have a name, but who could remember!) and snowball blocks really don’t look great next to each other in a quilt. I wouldn’t know that I don’t like to read fantasy fiction books. I wouldn’t have experienced joy on remembering all the precious moments in the lives of my children as I sorted the pictures. I would never have discovered the recipe for Mary’s famous Young Life pasta and begun the tradition of ‘cooking with scraps’.    

 

I have learned that I restore my soul by working with fabric, whether I ever finish the project or not. I love to read, and cherish the time and opportunity to read a wide variety of genre. I can decide after a few chapters not to continue, but I learned what I don’t like!  God speaks to me through many ways. Sometimes it’s just a chapter in a devotional, one verse or an entire study. I love to play in the kitchen, starting with whatever ingredients I have on hand. It’s more fun if I have good choices, even if that means a few rot before they make it into the pot.

 

New beginnings unlock my creative spirit. New beginnings challenge me to risk. New beginnings open my soul to possibilities. New beginnings make me feel alive.

 

This blog is part of my new beginning.