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9.28.2012

When life gets crazy busy, make pasta salad

These last two weeks have seemed so busy.  
With teaching everyday, JSLB meetings, Frontlines, planning our Adult Bible Fellowship social, contacting a ton of spouses as the Family Readiness Assistant for Ben's unit, and being a wife, I feel like the the days are flying by! What's so awesome about this busyness, though, is that it means our time is filled with doing things that we love.  
I am really enjoying substitute teaching this year..although making a barometer in 4th grade science class was embarrassing/challenging (my nails ripped the first 3 balloons that I had to stretch over a plastic cup, the experiment ended with worried looks turned relieved faces and applause).  I am especially appreciating getting to come home on Fridays knowing that my weekend is my weekend, without having to grade papers, lesson plan, or worry about so-and-so's behavior.
As you know from yesterday's post, I am loving JSLB.
Frontlines is our church's youth group for teenagers that meets weekly for games, worship, a lesson, and discussion.  Ben and I are so happy to each be able to lead our own discussion group and can already tell it's going to be an amazing year with these teens and leaders.
I was pretty nervous about being involved as a Family Readiness Assistant since it means I have to contact a bunch of spouses that I have never met, but the idea that these spouses might feel more involved and find a place to fit in is what motivated me to volunteer.  
And for the 'being a wife' commitment....it's the best one of them all!! It's what drives me to give 100% in every other area of my life.
We all know that when our schedules get crazy busy, the quality of food that we eat often takes a nose-dive and we opt for quick and easy.  Trust me, I can relate.  Ben was on the range last week, which meant he had to wake up by 3am so he could be out the door by 4. Talk about a long day!! I knew that if I didn't pack healthy food for him to take he would either starve all day or eat the unhealthy food offered on base.  

 This is what I packed most nights for Ben to take to work:


 
The pasta salad in the picture is something that I always try to make on Sunday if I know we are going to have a busy week. It's so easy to make a big batch and then we can both take some for lunch all week. And it's delicious! It's also our go-to dish for most potlucks that we attend, and people are always asking for the recipe.

What are some things that you make ahead of time when you know you are going to have a busy week??

Pasta Salad
adapted from Allrecipes.com
Ingredients

1 pound pasta (penne, seashell, whatever you desire!)
1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1.5 tbsp of your favorite Italian-style seasoning
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
Directions
  1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water according to package's instructions. Drain and cool under cold water.
  2. In a large bowl, combine pasta, meat, cheese, peppers, and tomatoes. Stir in the Italian-style seasoning.
  3. To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Pour dressing over the pasta salad and mix well.
  4. Makes about 12 servings



2 comments:

  1. ooooh, that pasta salad looks so good! and yes, life has just been so busy lately! i'm glad i get to spend some of that busyness with you on Thursday nights. love you, friend!

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    Replies
    1. aw you're so sweet! :) love that part of my busyness is due to a suggestion made by you!

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