Taziki's Friday Special Recip {Guest Post}

Hi bloggy friends! Today I have something special for you! Since I am on vacation this week, my sweet friend Lauren is gracious enough to be sharing one of my all time favorite meal recipe on the blog! So come read, stop by her blog and show her some love!

Hey! I'm Lauren and I blog over at Simply Free. I'm a southern newlywed trying to live out this life as simply & creatively as I can while serving Christ, loving others, and finding an abundance of joy & laughter along the way! I write about life & love, as well as recipes & other crafts I've really enjoyed creating. I am so excited to guest post over here with the lovely miss Clara. I have known Clara for - wow - eight years now! We met in Auburn through our campus ministry and the world of blogging and both being the same city again has brought us back together. She is quite wonderful (as I know y'all already know!) so I was delighted when she asked if I wanted to do a guest post :)

As cooking is something both of our little families enjoy, I wanted to share with y'all one of my favorite simple recipes which is one of Clara's favorites as well! The Taziki's Friday's Special. Now if you've never heard of this - it's AMAZING!  ANd very simple to make which is great especially if you don't live near one. It's actually really good without the chicken as well, so it's a good vegetarian option too - just add more tomatoes at the end!

Ingredients:

1 handful fresh basil (chopped)     1 tablespoon shallot (minced)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar                 Juice from one lemon

1 teaspoon sugar                            1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (we omitted this)

1 1/2 cups blended olive oil            Salt and pepper to taste

6 cups mixed lettuces                    1 1/2 pounds penne pasta (cooked)

2 cups feta cheese crumbled          3 tomatoes (seeded and diced)

3 tablespoons fresh thyme (chopped)

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (grilled and cubed)

Directions:

• To make vinaigrette:
• Mix thyme, shallots, balsamic vinegar, lemon, and sugar (and Dijon mustard if desired).
• Slowly whisk in oil.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Place about 1 cup mixed lettuces on each plate.
• Toss cooked pasta with about 12 ounces (or to taste - we used a tad less) vinaigrette.
• Toss grilled chicken with about 6 ounces (or to taste) vinaigrette.
• Spoon about 3 cups pasta onto lettuce
• Top with chicken, then diced tomato, feta cheese and fresh basil as you like

And there you have a copycat of Taziki's Friday Special! I actually think ours looks even better than original :) Enjoy!

I would love to connect with you so come on over to my blog & say hello, follow via GFC, or connect via the other buttons below  :)

  

  

Guest posting at From Here to There blog AND Coffee & Conversation

Come say hi to my Mississippi gal pal Heather at From Here to There. Heather and I have now officially hung out together two times and I'm not joking when I say I love this lady!!!

I am guest posting for her today and its all about meal planning! If you have trouble making lunches everyday and end up eating out spending more money than you want, here is a simple solution....

Last week started Coffee & Conversation with two of my other dear friends, Lauren and Kalyn. I am linking up with them again this week...

QUESTION:
What is one of the most valuable lessons you have learned this year so far?

This might not make sense, but I have a horrible tendency to want to do everything that comes my way - whether volunteering for something, going out of my way to please lots of people, etc. When I take on the world, I accidentally hurt or leave others in the mud. I can't continue to stretch myself so thin that I don't have time for those relationships that are most important to me.

 Didn't Jesus himself pour into only 12? And each of those 12 pour into a small group of others?

So why on earth do I think I should always be at the side of a million people?

Our bible study group talks about it often - live life together, share joys and sorrows with each other, and invest in each others lives. I don't want to be a surface level friend to these 12/14 people I spend each Monday with and not see or hear from them til the next Monday because I'm so busy doing a million other things for a million others.

I'm not saying I can only share life with these twelve or ten or fifteen, but what I am saying is I am learning to invest in those lives, build our relationships, encourage them in their marriages, walk with God, pray fervently for them, and just grab lunch with them to catch up on life.

They too, will pour into others and the cup with overflow with God's goodness and grace. I don't have to give everything to all the people I'm friends with on Facebook or have their number in my phone, but for those God has given me a relationship with, why don't I pour into them so they can pour into others?

Its a good lesson to learn.