C is for Chicken Pasta Grape Salad

Happy Monday to my already-followers, new followers, crusaders and A-Z challengers!! Welcome to Mood Munchies Monday at The QoP ~ :)

And sticking with the A-Z challenge letter "C", my recipe today is for a great, springy, picnic pasta salad that in my humble opinion, is DE-LISH!

Here you go:

Chicken Pasta Grape Salad

Ingredients:
1 box bow tie pasta
chicken breast, cut up bite-size
red-seedless grapes
2 bunches green onions
small can cashew pieces
1 bottle Hidden Valley ranch coleslaw dressing
1 bottle Kraft coleslaw dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
sugar

Cook the pasta as instructed.  While pasta is cooking, combine the 2 bottles of coleslaw dressing, the mayo and a sprinkle of sugar and mix well.  Add the cooked chicken pieces (I'd say about 2 cups), the sliced up green onions, the sliced up grapes (as many as looks good to you - 1-2 cups), and 1/2 to full can of cashew pieces.  Drain pasta, cool with cold water, drain well.  Add to dressing mix.  Let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour.  Mix and serve!!

So, what does this recipe have to do with writing?  Well...not much.  Except that it's so yummy that after eating it, you'll likely feel so euphoric that pure genius will flow right from your fingertips!  Worth a try, right?  :)

Find the Story Friday! Giving you the Bird ~ :)

I think there's a way to type "the bird"...a couple of m's...a 1 in the middle...something, something.  But, COME ON, now!  Would I really do that to my lovely blog friends??  Perish the thought.  PERISH it!  :)

Actually, I'm taking a cue from Jen Daiker, who recently blogged that "fun" blog titles draw in the readers.  And as I just didn't feel right about posting a pic this Friday that involved anything to do with "naked" or "balls"... I thought I might be able to get away with this one:

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Now, look closely.  My little bird friend wanted to pop by today and tell you that we have a lovely spring coming soon this year.  In three short days, March 21st, the first day of Spring arrives (per my calendar, anyhow.  Does this differ outside of the U.S.?).   I must be channeling my inner Mary Lennox today.  Just had to post a pic of this "cheeky little beggar".

Please tell me ~ your MC comes across this fine feathered friend on the first day of spring.  What happens next?

Wishing you warm showers, flowers, and sunny weather soon!  Happy Friday!

Find the Story Friday!!!! Puttin' a little Spring in your Winter....

Happy Friday - all!  Soooo.  Is anyone reading this on your phone/laptop as you freeze to death in line and outside your favorite department store for the Black Friday shop-a-ganza mayhem??  Not me!!  Seriously.  You couldn't pay me to stay up all night in the cold with a bunch of strangers only to stampede through random-store doors in hopes of fighting, grappling, stealing, wrestling  getting a deal on something I probably don't need anyhow.

But if this is your bag (baby), I hope you're staying warm, you don't get trampled, and you steal the deal of a lifetime!  :)

And also hoping your Thanksgiving was fantabulous!  Mine sure was.  Did I mention that Thanksgiving dinner is my all-time favorite meal of the year?  My sister switched it up a little this year (I'm generally a traditionalist with my T-day meals....turkey, cranberry sauce, mash taters and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls...) and made a butternut squash souffle.  Yum!!  And then we played games while (some of) the boys watched football.  Games = Spoons (we only saw a few injuries) and Phase 10 (I won!!).  I love long days with great food, great conversation and fun with the people I love.

But, after all was said and done, we left a great day and each other in a freezing cold night.  I've been home for a few hours now, but my teeth are still chattering!!  So...as I sat here thinking of what photo I'd add for Find the Story Friday - I realized that even if you're not as cold as me...it's still winter out there, everywhere!  So - here's a little spring to your winter.  Let me know how it inspires?  I'm giving you a few choices here, so hopefully one of these lovely spring pics will spark a story idea in you:

Ahhh....lovely.

Beautiful!

Little slice of Secret Garden here....

Gorgeous, no?

Hmmm....I'm visualizing #1 -  a scene set for a lover's quarrel  and/or  #2 -  a clandestine meeting of two old high school friends at the Tulip festival in Amsterdam.

Anything budding in that brain of yours?  Hope so!  Now grab that pen and write!  :)

(oh - and P.S.!!  If you haven't entered my GIVEAWAY yet, there's still time.  Accepting entries through Midnight, Dec. 4th)