Pesto Pasta One, Two, Three!

Pesto Pasta One, Two, Three is something I invented a few months ago. It came about as I could not be bothered to spend ages cooking with different pans and then have to wash them all up. Washing up...the one thing I hate more than early mornings.

I needed to use the chicken and vegetables that were in my fridge as they were going off. I decided to see what would happen if I just threw them all into a frying pan and covered it so it would cook as well as steam the vegetables.

It got to the point where I no longer cared how my food turned out and I would eat it anyway. When I came to that realisation, I suddenly found that cooking was easier than it had ever been and that it actually tasted good. Generally... If only I had known years ago that all I had to do was stop caring how food turned out and just accept what it becomes!

So, back to the recipe! The idea of this is that you can use ANYTHING. Literally. I have done it with broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, sprouts, onions, carrots, asparagus, baby corn, and beans/peas of different varieties. I've only ever done it with chicken but I guess different meats/no meat would work just as well. It's become my staple "oh no, my food is dying and I need to use it up" recipe.

I made this on Wednesday 12th March 2014 for Sister Ylisaari and Sister Watt and it went down well with them! Although they are missionaries so I guess it isn't too hard to impress them. It took me 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook. So, here we have another meal in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients
Chicken or any other meat (amount doesn't really matter) For this meal today I used two medium sized breasts.
Vegetables (whatever you fancy, and once again amount doesn't really matter) For this meal today I used one medium sized broccoli and half a medium cauliflower.
Vegetable Oil to cook chicken and vegetables.
Spaghetti
Green basil Pesto

Method
Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil.
Cut up the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it to the frying pan to cook.
Cut up the vegetables into bite sized pieces and add all to the frying pan once the chicken is no longer pink and put a lid on the frying pan to allow the vegetables to steam as well as cook.
Whilst this is cooking, put a pan of water on the stove to boil.
Once the water is boiling add enough spaghetti for the amount of people you are feeding. The pack gives guidelines; or you could be like me and just guess.
Keep stirring the chicken and vegetables to ensure they get cooked equally.
When the spaghetti is ready, drain it in a colander and pour boiling water over it to remove any leftover starch.
Put the spaghetti into a serving bowl and add the chicken and vegetables once they are cooked. As with all meat, make sure it is cooked! 
Add in green basil pesto (as much as you want, it's personal preference) and mix all together. Then it is ready to serve!

Nicki's Pesto Pasta One, Two, Three!

So now you have read the ingredients and method, why did I call it Pesto Pasta One, Two, Three?

Because, there are only really three steps. 
1. Cook the chicken and vegetables.
2. Cook the Spaghetti
3. Add the Pesto, mix and eat!

There you have it; another missionary friendly meal that can be cooked in under 30 minutes.

Snow White and the poison apple I brought for 'dessert'

Dinner Appointment Message - Sister Ylisaari and Sister Watt

The dinner appointment message today was taken from the scripture in Alma 13:28-30 which talks about how we will not be given any trial that Heavenly Father knows we cannot handle. We must have faith, always listen to the quiet whisperings of the Holy Ghost and repent whenever we do something that requires repentance. Even though the trials we have will be hard and we may feel that we cannot bear them; we will be able to as long as we remember that Heavenly Father never gives us more than we can handle. Satan will tempt us but we must keep our faith and stay strong to what we know is true. 

It is so important that we do the things that Heavenly Father has told us to do. He has shown us the way and He tells us that we must become humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and long suffering. If we ensure we strive to be humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and long suffering, we will be able to come out of the tunnel during our trial. 

Sister Ylisaari then shared 10 points from an Ensign article called Living a Life of Peace, Joy and Purpose which was written by Elder Richard G Scott. They are as follows:

To Succeed in Life:

1. Establish principles to guide your life.

2. Don't make exceptions to your standards.

3. Be loyal.

4. Live so that the Lord can guide you.

5. Serve others.

6. Smile.

7. Don't complain.

8. Always have a Church assignment.

9. Worship in the temple.

10. Follow the Saviour's example.

This is so important, and you don't have to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to do 6 of the 10. So there is no excuse; even for those who do not believe in any kind of God. It is just how to be a good person.

There is no trick or magic thing to do to enable us to have successful lives. We have to do the little things that then amount to big things.

Whatever our trial is, we can overcome it. We are never expected to do it alone. There is no cookie-cutter perfect way of overcoming trials, but we will do it in our own way with the Lord helping us along the way; as long as we let Him.

Challenge. 

As the missionaries challenged me, I challenge you to write a list of 10 things that can help you in your personal life to help you achieve your full potential. It can be for anything; to get you through the tough week you are having, to get you to that job interview you have been longing, or to help you become closer to God. 

As I said earlier in the post, you do not have to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to do this. We are all good people who want successful and meaningful lives. Making a list of 10 things to help you will not do you any harm. You never know; it may be the building blocks you have been looking for.

Sister Nicki x