Special Luncheon Under Heaven

Today was  an awesome day....   there is nothing  at all  like  celebrating  anything   with  your Christian  sisters..   earlier this week I wrote about a luncheon I  was planning for today   to  meet with  a group of  ladies from my church   who  are partnering with me to do a service project  on Monday... to  give a  fun Easter party to   kids at  an inner city mission, some of which are  transplanted refugees from  the Far East....  what a glorious opportunity to share the love of Christ, especially during this Holy Week!   Since this is  a life journal that I am blessed  that my daughter enjoys  following, I will share that   at 9:30 this morning I had an appointment  to meet with  Good Samaritan Hospice to discuss my mother's care which   wasnt exactly the  best time for me to  be discussing many  difficult topics and then rush home to  cook for   a luncheon for 6,  but  also, because one of those  6 is  a very   special friend, I had already called her to come and help  me,  and my  dearest Lynn helped  so much, too....   So there    was  one  very   amazing blessing of  my  morning..

The menu   was 

Sesame & Ginger Chicken

source

Ingredients

1  pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size strips

1/4 

cup bottled light Asian-style dressing with sesame and ginger

2 

cups packaged julienned carrots

1/8 

teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 

head butterhead lettuce, leaves separated

1/4 

cup honey-roasted peanuts, chopped

Lime wedges

Directions

Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir for 3 minutes or until browned. Add 1 tablespoon of the dressing and the carrots to skillet; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes more or until carrots are crisp-tender and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in red pepper. On a large platter arrange 4 stacks of lettuce leaves. Serve by filling leaves with chicken mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges.

From the Test Kitchen

Stack lettuce on plates. Top with chicken-carrot mixture. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Serve with remaining dressing and lime wedges. Serves 4

Deviled Eggs, roasted asparagus and  angel food cake topped with maserated strawberries and  whipped cream  rounded out the   lunch!

To maserate  strawberries:

1 pints (2 cups) fresh strawberries, sliced thick

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Thirty minutes to an hour before serving, combine the strawberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside at room temperature.

Because this was a planning meeting, I had  individual baskets from the Dollar Tree  with the items  the ladies would need at the party at each place setting.. I was particularly  pleased the  varigated tulips opened nicely for me   right before the gathering time!

Inside each basket  were  the elements needed to decorate  Easter cookies with the children,    and  some story projects helps     to  pass out to each  child assigned to each lady! Ratio,3:1

Walmart was  a great one stop shop  for  purchasing all the decorating supplies  along with the  disposable  icing  sleeves so we  can  each have  at least  4  colors of icing in our basket of tricks!

 My daughter, Amanda  inspired me to  decorate the deviled eggs  with  chopped  red pepper, onion tops, and  carrots  to  make it  extra festive,  I also instructed my friend to  follow Amanda's   idea to  fill a baggy with  the  filling,  snip a hole in the corner and pipe the  goody into the egg white  for a super attractive look.....I love  the  special   touch that little  step made... 

         

 The  grocer did not have the butterhead  lettuce,  which  would have made for much nicer    servings....    this Boston lettuce was just  too  stiff and wouldnt roll easily... but  these  marvels were   quite delicious and were a  huge hit!

Oops, I    snapped this shot  before I had   gotten my serving of roasted  asparagus,  but what a   lovely side veggie that is for   this time of year....

 We enjoyed our dessert with  robust cups of  Arabica coffee...  Quite a lovely dining experience  today,  but   more importantly, to share  good food with  Christian friends  is  the best gift  under heaven.... 
The conversation was saturated with  what I truly believe  were  Holy Spirit inspirations   of  ways   to serve in the  church,   Benevolent  ideas  to explore,   warming  experiences  shared  and some that  were  just deeply personal revelations  shared in  the purity of  the safe  environment of trust and  understanding   One friend  summed it up this way,   "Today was  the church  in action lovingly  doing the work of the Lord." Our  stomachs  and our hearts and spirits were  filled to overflowing  today!

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