5 cups mixed baby greens
1 cup baby Arugula
2 Clementine Mandarin Oranges peeled and sectioned
1/2 small Red Onion quartered and thinly sliced
1/2- 3/4 cup fresh Blueberries
1/4 English or European Seedless Cucumber thinly sliced
1 cup Grape Tomatoes

Gently toss all ingredients together in large bowl coating lightly with Raspberry French Wine Vinegar Dressing

Raspberry French Wine Vinegar Dressing

3 Tbsp Raspberry French Wine Vinegar
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp minced Shallots
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

In small mixing bowl, combine vinegar and oil, mince shallot and blend into mustard. Combine with oil and vinegar. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Bon Appétit!

]]> http://www.chicchatonline.org/?feed=rss2&p=106 0 http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=106 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicchatOnline/~3/It90q75V6ys/ http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=91#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:12:19 +0000 Carece http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=91 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
• 2 strips crumbled crispy savory bacon
• 2 beef rib-eye, t-bone or porterhouse steaks

Cooking:

1. Season the steaks liberally with salt and pepper and allow it to come to room temperature while preparing the grill.

2. Prepare the grill. While the grill is heating, mix the butter, blue cheese, green onion, parsley, basil and bacon together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Grill the steaks directly over the (coals) heat for 6 minutes on each side, with the tenderloin portion of the steaks always facing the cooler side of the grill. Move the steaks to the cool side of the grill with the bone side facing the fire. Cover and continue to cook until desired doneness (about 6 additional minutes for medium-rare), flip halfway through cooking. Remove steaks from the grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Top each steak with the generous dollop of Blue Cheese Bacon Butter mixture and serve.

Bon Appétit!

2 – 5oz cans Tuna
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles or dill relish
1 1/2 Tbsp. Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir until thoroughly blended. Serve on your favorite bread for a delicious sandwich or serve on a bed of lettuce greens and garnish with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and green olives.

Bon Appetit!

And then… I found it. It had been there all along. I probably moved it at least 5 times in my search. The problem was, the lid was a different color than I was looking for. I thought the lid was blue, but it was really red. I was relying on my default memory and generic information. You see most of my containers like this one have blue lids, but one is green and one is red. (I must have gotten them around the Holidays.)

When you are searching for the right solution to fit your challenge, there may be too much information and too many choices, like my plastic-ware cabinet. You may be relying, as I was, on default memory and generic information. We search and search for the answer. We search and search… We waste time and energy. We get frustrated and confused. We begin to question the things we know to be true.

The way I finally found the lid was to change my way of looking at the problem and the way I looked for a solution. The solution, although a perfect fit, did not match the preconceived idea in my head. It was red; I was looking for blue. Here’s what I did. You can use the same steps when you are looking for the right solution to a challenge.

I stopped “rummaging,” and just moving things around. I started organizing by separating lids from containers and then organized the lids by size. Notice I organized by size not color. Although I originally “rummaged” looking for a lid of a specific color, color was not pertinent information for my solution. In fact looking for a color was the key factor in “blinding” me to the right answer.

• Application:

1. Identify specific criteria required to meet the needs your challenge.
2. Organize your information and options by this specific criteria.
   
3. Eliminate the obvious wrong choices.

I stopped making assumptions and prejudging the lids by appearance, and got specific about the exact fit by using the container to check each lid.

• Application:

1. Clear you mind of preconceived ideas of what the solution will look like
2. Examine the choices with real data and experience – Don’t make assumptions
   
3. Don’t discount the obvious choices and in the same respect don’t overlook the obscure.

So in short, get organized and be open minded when it is your job to find the right “lid” for your challenge.

BTW: For those of you who are feeling the urge to come organize my kitchen cabinets, read my post tomorrow for the rest of the story…

As I was growing up my family moved around a lot, in fact I did not go to the same school with the same friends for more than 2 years. I learned to make new friends all the time and felt very blessed that I had so many friends. But as I grew older I realized there is more to having a friend than just going to school together and knowing their name and sharing fun and games. Most of my friends were really acquaintances.

As I got older I wanted girlfriends that shared secrets and were there if I was happy or sad, that knew me and accepted me for who I was.

After I got married and settled down with a family, I again began to look for those special friendships. Although I was not moving from town to city to farm to new city… as I had done growing up, I found most of the women I knew were very busy with family and career… Once again most of my friends were acquaintances, our kids went to school together or we went to the same church or lived in the same neighborhood. We had things in common that caused our paths to cross, but we were not really connected, there was no real bond.

One day as I sat thinking about and wishing for great, inspiring, trustworthy girlfriends, several things occurred to me.
1.) I needed to define what I needed in a friendship (I wrote in my journal in the form of a prayer what I needed in a friendship.)

2.) I needed to be the friend to others that I wanted them to be to me. (I started being the person I was praying for.)

3.) I needed to initiate the relationship. Be intentional and make opportunity for the friendship to grow. (I began to create listening times over coffee or shopping trips or Bible study phone calls, etc)

Over the years as I have put this into practice, I have more acquaintance type friendships than ever, because I still love connecting and making new friends. But I also have lifelong enduring friendships that are not just based on some common interest or location.

Once I defined what I needed in a friendship, began to give that to others and intentionally created opportunities for the relationship to grow I found those special inspiring, secret sharing, friendships with girlfriends all over the world.

I would love for you to share what you need most from your Girlfriends. Share how you found ways to be that kind of girlfriend you need. Share how you create opportunities for your friendships to grow.

You can share here with your comments or join the discussion on Facebook in the CHICchat! Group

]]> http://www.chicchatonline.org/?feed=rss2&p=5 0 http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=5 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicchatOnline/~3/N59bwdQK_0g/ http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=1#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:02:39 +0000 Carece http://www.chicchatonline.org/?p=1 OK, Ladies this is the place! This is where it is going to happen! We are growing, changing, making it happen and having fun!

Are you ready to Chat? Have a question, got recipes to share, productivity tips, ways to get it all done and stay sane? Maybe you have found a bargain or a great place to shop, maybe you need ideas on raising your wonderful children. You may want to discuss career/ home balance issues. Maybe you just need to chat and share with other women. We are online here and on Facebook! http://groups.to/chicchat .

We share ideas and helpful insights from experience, and Godly advise for everyday living as Moms, Daughters, Sisters, Wives and all the other roles we play in life. We pray for each other and laugh a little (or a lot!). We have fun!