Cleaning Out the Fridge

This morning I opened the refrigerator to find a few too many straggling foods. These "hangers on" just needed to be finished. There's about a third of a can of black olives, half an onion, half a red pepper, about two cups of mozzarella left of a four-cup bag that's been around for nearly a month, and maybe half a cup of grated parmesan cheese that I only use for a specific recipe, so it just really needs to go because I only make that recipe once a year -- at the end of the year, and it's now the beginning of the year.

Okay, the wheels are turning, what shall I concoct? The mozzarella screams baked pasta dish. A quick check of the pantry solidifies my decision: canned tomatoes, a jar of red pasta sauce, and a box of whole wheat spaghetti. Baked spaghetti it shall be! Wonder if I have any of those fully cooked meatballs I like to keep in the freezer? Sure do! Now, I know I've got olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper so all is well, and I'm ready to throw this thing together.

I toss 15 meatballs in a sauce pot and add the jar of pasta sauce, can of diced tomatoes, and a handful of chopped garlic. The meatballs thaw in the sauce. I cover the pot and let its contents blend on medium-low heat. While the sauce is coming together, I boil some water, add salt, and the box of spaghetti. As the spaghetti is cooking, I pull the now defrosted meatballs from the sauce, quarter them, and return them to the sauce to simmer.

Normally I would clean up the edges of this pot prior to snapping the photo, but I'm in a hurry.

I drain the pasta, rinse it under cold water, and transfer it to a mixing bowl where I coat the pasta with olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper before adding the sliced black olives, onion, and chopped red pepper. Humm, it's looking pretty good. I could probably add a little more oil with balsamic vinegar for pasta salad, but I won't this time because I'm committed to my baked spaghetti.

Coat a baking dish with a little olive oil , and transfer the pasta and veggies to the dish.

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Cover with meat sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

The finished product...

Let cool then cut into 9 large to 12 regular servings.

Serving Tips:

What I like about this dish is, one, I know it's gonna be tasty because when is a cheesy, baked pasta dish not delicious? Two, I can freeze several servings and pull them out when I don't have time to cook during the week. Served with a salad and bread the meal is complete with little effort.

Again, normally I would trim to a more perfect  rectangle for the presentation, but I'm in a hurry to get outside today!

Ready for the freezer!

2012: Prepared to Succeed

Today is that magical day that begins the new year when I am already deeply entrenched in contemplating my hopes, dreams, and intentions for 2012.  What will I change?  What will I keep?  What will I toss?  What needs tweaking? What are my big, bold, audacious goals: personally, professionally, financially, physically, spiritually?  Am I on target with my 5-year plan?  This pensive thought takes place as I reduce clutter and organize various spaces -- a process that usually begins December 26th for me. I begin to clean out and organize drawers, closets, files, my car, cabinets, bookshelves -- all in what used to be a more conscious effort to get a jump on preparing to meet the opportunities that are bound to surface on a moments notice, quite possibly, at the very dawn of the new year. Like Henry Hartman, Zig Ziglar, and several others have stated, "success is when preparation meets opportunity." Then there's the 13th century proverb that one of my mentors lives by, (be prepared to) "strike when the iron is hot." These ideas certainly clarify my role in creating my own success. I am to simply be prepared to act decisively when my opportunity arises.

Now, I've been practicing this method for a few decades, and I'm here to attest to the validity of this notion that  the name of the success game is preparedness. Here's why. We control neither the nature of opportunity nor its' timing. Opportunity presents. We are either prepared to grab it or not. It typically does not linger long enough for us to become prepared after it presents. When it does, I call that crazy lucky! More often it's sort of like when a butterfly lands, and I not only have my camera, but the right lens is attached and settings are good enough to grab the shot before it flies away. That's happened once in my life.

"Prepared to Succeed" at Hawk's Cay on Duck Key, Florida

Getting this photo probably wasn't on my list of things to accomplish back in 2002 when I took it, and my annual projections usually do not include things of this sort, however; all of the elements required to achieve this photo apply to the more significant goals that I do set. To capture this butterfly, I had to "be" in the moment, acutely aware of my surroundings. "Being" is a huge factor in recognizing fleeting opportunity. Sometimes we wander through the day inattentive to the present. We overlook opportunity because we are not in the moment at hand. We are, all too many times, dwelling in the past --revisiting resentment, pain, or the joy of past successes. While back there we are missing the opportunity that settles within our reach in the present. To succeed I was prepared. I knew how to use my camera and showed up with it. I had to be in the present, but if I had stopped there I wouldn't have the photo. I had to take some action-- do something. Position the camera, focus, and shoot. And by this combination what I have is a photo, or success.