• Marinade the beef tips in beer and wine mixture for a couple of hours to help tenderize the meat further and add flavor
• Dice/mince onions and set aside
• Mince garlic cloves or have jarred garlic on hand and set aside
• Wash mushroom slices and set aside
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

        Meat

• Add oil and butter/margarine to large skillet over medium heat
• Drain liquid off of beef tips
• Brown beef tips in oil and butter, while generously seasoning with Cavender's Greek Seasoning (can add salt & pepper, as desired)
• Reserve drippings in the pan, but remove beef tips from skillet and set aside in another baking dish (vegetables & sauce to be added later)

        Vegetable/Broth Mixture

• Saute onions and garlic in meat drippings (season w/ Cavender's, salt & pepper, as desired)
• Add mushrooms to pan and continue sautéing (season w/ Cavender's, salt & pepper, as desired)
• Add 1 cup of Burgundy/Cabernet wine to vegetable mixture and bring to a boil
• In a separate dish or cup, mix cornstarch with cold water
• Add cornstarch mixture to vegetable/wine mixture in skillet
• Heat chicken broth/bouillon and add to skillet with vegetable/wine mixture
• Bring to a boil
• Stir in tomato paste until completely dissolved and incorporated
• Pour vegetable/wine mixture over beef tips in baking dish
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until tender

        Pasta

• Bring water to a boil in a large stockpot, to which 2-3 Tablespoons of salt and olive oil have been added
• Add bow tie pasta and boil according to package directions
• Drain water from pasta
• Add a Tablespoon or two of olive oil, butter or margarine to the bow tie pasta, to prevent it from sticking
• Partially cover pasta until ready to plate (never completely cover a pan of pasta, as the steam will cause it to become starchy and gooey)

        Serving

• Place bow tie pasta on serving platter or individual plate
• Spoon beef tips in burgundy sauce over the top of pasta and serve

• In an extra large bowl, mix all the above ingredients well (I use my Tupperware or Rubbermaid Cake Cover)
• Fill a mug or cup 1/3 full with the dry mixture (use a generous amount, but may be adjusted up or down to your preference)
• Add boiling hot water to the mug or cup, filling to the top 
• Store remaining dry mixture in an air-tight container
• Optional topping suggestions...marshmallows, whipped cream, dash of cinnamon or peppermint sticks

Whether you have recently been introduced to online blogging and article writing or you are a seasoned professional or student, there may come a time when you will be faced with overcoming the problem of "writer's block".  For those of you who may not be familiar with this term, Wikapedia defines the problem as follows:

"Writer's block is a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity."

If this problem should occur with you, during your brainstorming and writing sessions, don't worry, because there is one specific technique, which I believe will work for you in overcoming this temporary issue.  This technique is called "Journaling".

Journaling is different from your standard writing because you are able, and encouraged, to break all of the formal rules of writing.  What I mean by that is that this is much like a personal therapy session between you and your paper or computer screen, where you should feel 100% free to write the first thoughts that come to your mind, without placing any judgments on what you are writing.

First, you should find a place where you can feel comfortable.  If you can't be in a comfortable location, don't worry, because that will probably give you more to write about in the beginning, anyways.

Next, buy a spiral notebook and grab a pencil (so you can erase, if you feel like it), or sit at your computer screen...whichever style is most comfortable for you.  I, like Oprah Winfrey, prefer to write out everything long hand on paper, but you may choose to type freely on your computer screen...that's okay.  Remember, the fewer rules you place on yourself, the closer you will come in achieving your ultimate goal.

At this point, you are ready to begin writing the FIRST thoughts that come to your mind, no matter how silly, useless or insignificant they may seem.  Write these words or phrases, without worrying about punctuation, spelling, margins or the content even making sense.  For instance, if you cannot think of how to begin, you might just begin by write something like the following:

"Wow...I can't think of anything to write.  I can't think of anything to write.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Why can't I think of anything to write?  This is so crazy!  I don't know whether anything will ever pop into my head because I have so many distractions around me causing me not to be able to think and write.  Oh, I wish I had some help.  Bummer.  I'm bummed.  This makes me sad.  What can I do next?  I need to think of something to write for my blog but I just don't know what.  I'm tired., etc..."

You see...the whole point of the exercise is to release any tensions you may be feeling or placing upon yourself.   Sometimes, you may feel that your thoughts and words are not significant enough in order for you to put them down on paper.  Because of that, you may tend to "freeze up"causing your mind to shut down it's creative processes.  However, once the boredom, distractions, etc. are all acknowledged and written about, your thoughts will then begin to open up and allow your pen to flow freely again.

Just relax during your journaling and release yourself from the burden of having to be creative.  This is not a diary or a story, so all the structure can be forgotten.  The content doesn't need to make sense to anyone.  This is all just for you!  So, breathe and realize that EACH and every one of your thoughts is okay and that EVERY single word is important and worthy enough to be written down.

This exercise should be done for 10 to 30 minutes each day, for about 30 days.  Once you begin this technique, you will once again learn to appreciate the writing process and not feel so bound by limitations and intimidated with the lack of creating content.  It will increase your imagination and creativity, by opening your mind and freeing it from the blocks that restrict you.  It will also help boost your self-confidence level, enabling thoughts to easily stream in and out of your mind, allowing you to become more aware of interesting topics.

This technique was first introduced to me by one of my college professors.  I, too, dealt with the problem of Writer's Block, and would continually "freeze up" at the moment of test taking.  When it was time to write our test essays, my mind would go completely blank and I could think of nothing to write.  This was frustrating, to say the least.  But, by taking my professor's advise and journaling, I was able to overcome my problems.  Once I applied this technique, thoughts were overflowing and made the process of writing papers and essays a breeze.  When I returned to class, I achieved straight A's and was told by my professor that a panel of judges had graded and chosen my final essay as the best written essay among all the students attending summer classes. 

• In a small sauce pan, cook the first 3 ingredients to 234 degrees (or soft ball stage)
• Stir frequently
• Remove from heat
• Stir in vanilla and water
• Add pecans
• Stir pecans, fully coating with sugary mixture 
• Spread pecans out on a piece of wax paper, separating them individually
• Cool completely
• Break off any excess "sugar puddles" from around the edges of the pecans
• Serve

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Spray 9" pie plate with non-stick cooking spray
• Place unbaked pie crust in a 9" pie plate, flute the edges and set aside
• In a medium sized bowl, stir together with a whisk...light & dark corn syrups, eggs, sugar, margarine & vanilla
• Mix in the 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans
• Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust
• Place remaining cup of pecans on top of pie, with rounded sides facing upward
• Dab the tops of the pecans with a syrup coated brush, to lightly glaze
• Optional:  With a pastry brush, lightly brush crust with heavy cream or milk
• Place foil pieces or silicone pie ring around edges of crust, to prevent over-browning
• Bake on center rack of oven for 50 - 60 minutes, or until center of pie slightly springs back when lightly touched
• Remove pie from the oven and cool for approximately 2 hours on a cooling rack or stove top

Serve and enjoy!

Note:  May store at room temperature for 4-5 days on counter, lightly covered with foil.

As many of you may know, I recently wrote an article entitled "Are You Paying Attention To The Relationships That Matter The Most To You." Well, much to my surprise, I received several comments and emails regarding the article and how it touched people's hearts and made them reflect upon their own lives.  This thrilled me!  One of my favorite comments, however, which the reader felt was too long to include in the comments section of my blog, was sent to me via email.  With her permission, I have reprinted it for you below, exactly as she sent it to me (with the exception of a couple of name changes), because I felt that it had important significance and truly touched my heart.

Kim McDougal, the writer of the comments and creator of the food blog, Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet, is a virtual friend that I met a few weeks ago on Twitter, the social/business networking site, where people can search for and locate individuals with like-minded interests in business and/or hobbies and share ideas together.  Kim and I quickly began communicating back and forth over the internet about our mutual passion for cooking and decided to take a look at each other's blogs to get to know each other better.  While Kim was reading and commenting on my relationship article, I was busy printing out her Raspberry Yogurt Cake recipe to try.

Later that evening, my children and I headed for the kitchen with Kim's recipe in hand.  We all pitched in, mixing up the cake in about 15 minutes and carefully placing it in the oven to bake.  45 minutes later, we removed the delicious cake you see pictured below.  Since it was so late that night, the kids and I left it covered under our glass cake stand for the night.  The next morning, Kim's Raspberry Yogurt Cake became the perfect compliment for my morning cup of hot coffee.

Once everyone tasted it, we unanimously decided that the flavor of the cake closely resembled Otis Spunkmeyer's Blueberry Muffins (which we all enjoy), except it tasted fresher and denser.   This led me to the thought of substituting blueberries, strawberries, or possibly even cranberries to this cake, as a variation.  Blueberries would be magnificent!

The cake, itself, is flavorful and dense, moist and sweet.  The slight tartness of the berries gently offsets the sweetness of the cake.  The top surface of the cake is a beautiful golden color, which really needs no decoration at all.  However, for a variation, we decided to top it off with the sprinkling of some powdered sugar.  Another serving suggestion would be to gather a few fresh raspberries, cluster them in the center and accent with one or two mint leaves before serving.

The original recipe for this delicious Raspberry Yogurt Cake can be found here, at Kim's link.  In addition, however, I've written the recipe out fully below, just as my family baked it, so you could see the brands that we used, as well as the methods and minor changes we made to achieve our final results.

Before you sit down with your cup of coffee and slice of Raspberry Yogurt Cake, though, I hope you will remember Kim's story below and the life-lesson her grandmother taught..."Give People Flowers WHEN They Can Smell Them."  Something she has obviously had to learn the hard way.  But, from her lessons and communication with us, we all benefit. 

Thanks, Kim, for sharing your sweet "bouquet of flowers" and Raspberry Yogurt Cake recipe with me! 




INGREDIENTS

2-eggs (I used 2 Extra-Large Eggland's Best brand)
1-cup plain unsweetened yogurt (I used Dannon brand)
1-cup granulated sugar
1/2-cup vegetable oil (I used Crisco brand)
2-cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Flour, Unbleached All-Purpose brand)
1-Tbls. baking powder
1 or 2-tsp. vanilla extract, to taste (I used 2 tsps of Adam's Best [twice as strong] brand)
1-1/2 to 2-cups fresh raspberries, rinsed and patted dry
Optional: powdered sugar for decorating top of cake

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil.  In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.  Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture and blend together.

Pour half of the batter into a greased ten-inch cake pan (for 9-inch pan, add 10-15 mins to baking time)*, then pour half of the raspberries on the surface.  Cover the berries with the remaining batter and top with remaining half of the berries.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.  Let stand for ten minutes and transfer onto a rack to cool.

*Optional - Soak Magi-Cake Baking Strips in water and wrap around outer side of cake pan, to help cake bake more evenly.

********************************

Kim McDougal's Story

Ok Rhonda, here it is...grab a cup of coffee, sit back and read my novel!!! LOL

Let me start off by telling you that I was brought up to believe I was black. Yet I looked differently than all my family, my classmates, my neighbors. I had long dark hair, light skinned, high cheek bones, etc. I got teased all through school for it. But somehow I didn't notice the color differences not till I moved to the south at age 25. I grew up in Chicago in the worse neighborhood - the south side - gangs, prostitution, drugs, killings outside our apartment, you name it. It was just me, my little brother, and my mother. I lived with them till I was 18 when I left to live with my grandmother and my step-grandfather in Indiana to go to college. That's when I learned the truth about my heritage.

My grandma, "Grammy" sat me down and told me I am actually 1/3 White, 1/3 Native American, and 1/3 Black. My true grandfather on my mother's side was Indian. I don't remember what tribe, I guess at that time I was just shocked but it answered a lot of questions for me. My father's side was white while my mother's side of course with the Indian but mixed with Black. So I tell people I am simply Neopolitan!!! LOL

My real father met my mother when he was already married to someone else. I was the result of their affair. He promised my mother he would marry her, but you know how these stories usually go...he never did. Worse, he left his first wife, my mother and me and went off and married another woman. He did not want me but he fought my mother in court to change my last name. That's all I have of him. It has hurt me all my life, but I thank God anyway. My step-grandfather was extremely angry that my father rejected me like this and so he became my father. Landon was his name. I still remember him telling me one day, after I had tried to visit my father and he turned me away, "I'll be your father, you don't need him." Well, partly no and partly yes. A man, a father defines his kids. He shows the boy what kind of man he should become while he is his daughter's first date. He buys her her first dress and he defines for her the kind of man she should marry. Without that, a girl falls for all the wrong men, which I did.

Landon could not take his place but he did love on me. Anything I needed for college or wanted, he got it for me. While I was living with them he loved to spend time with me. We'd watch sports on TV, I'd cook for him. He'd give me money even when I didn't need any. He was kind to me. He made me laugh. I loved him a lot Rhonda, but only one thing was wrong...I never told him so. Circumstances happened which forced me to leave and go back to Chicago to my mom and yet he still cared for me long distance.. We'd talk on the phone all the time. Still..I never told him I loved him. One terrible day I came home from a date, my mother told me we had to leave to go to Grammy. Landon had had a massive heart attack and died. He was DOA before the paramedics got there. I was in shock. It was a bad dream I thought. A bad dream! He couldn't be gone! But he was. I realized at that moment that I had never openly, audibly shown my love and appreciation for him. He had tried to do for me what my father failed to do. And now he was gone and I'd never get to tell him all that he meant to me. Immediately the guilt came and for years later, not only was I grieving, I was lost. 

I vowed I'd never let another soul in my life leave this world without me telling them and showing them how I feel about them. We take our relationships for granted too often. We're so busy coming and going that we pass each other without a single caring word. And we're not being mean but just in our own world... I took Landon for granted and I paid the price for that. All I could do was tell God I was sorry and ask for forgiveness from Him since Landon not here. Other people would tell me, "Oh honey, I'm sure he knew how you felt before he died..." He may have but nothing compares to hearing your child, adopted or born from your loins, telling you, "I love you Landon", "I love you Daddy". Nothing. I've lost my Mom and Grammy now but you can believe they not only knew I loved them, they heard me tell them several times a day everyday. I truly do believe in giving people flowers WHEN they can smell them!

I'm glad to share this story with you. Thank you for being my new found friend.

Love, Kim

 _______________________________
Kim McDougal, creator Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet

• Begin by copying and pasting a photo, picture, stickers or clip art, related to your theme, onto a strip of medium-weight paper, which has been measured to fit around the outside of the cup.  Because most cups are not straight up and down, you will need to overlap the corners toward the bottom of the cup and trim the edges, in order to achieve a tight fit
• Wrap the paper around the outside of the cup
• Use double-stick tape to adhere the paper securely to the surface of the cup
• To help children identify which cup belongs to them, throughout the remainder of the party, you may want to use different colored strips of paper for the background or vary the pictures
• Print out a name label or write out their names on each cup

• "Blood Red Punch"... for a Scary Halloween Party
• "Twilight Red Rose Punch"... for a "Twilight" Themed Party
• "Ruby Red Passion Punch"... for a Valentine's Party
• "Clifford's 'Ruff' Red Punch"... for a "Clifford The Big Red Dog" Birthday Party
• "Lightening Red Racing Punch"... for a "Cars" Birthday Party