Southwestern Stuffed Puff Pastry...and Perspective!

"You and I do not see things as they are. We see things as we are;

because it is the "I" behind the "eye" that does the seeing."

~ Anais Nin

I can't remember who told me this true story, very likely Skip Heitzig and I think I was about 16 when I first heard it, but I remember the story well. It goes something like this:

"There was a man who was once robbed of his purse. He wrote in his diary: 'Let me be thankful. First, I was never robbed before. Second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life. Third, although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, let me be thankful because it was I who was robbed, and not I who did the robbing.' "

What a perspective!!!!!!

Webster's dictionary defines perspective as: one's "point of view", the choice of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences.

I LOVE how that's worded.

"the CHOICE of a context for opinions, beliefs, and experiences."

Every day when we wake up we have a choice.

We can choose how our attitude and perspective will be for that day!

It sure takes a concentrated effort though, doesn't it?

But WE have the choice...I love that!

What if we chose to have a different perspective then our usual stock response?

What if we purposed it in our hearts to deliberately see the joy over the pain?

What would change? Who would be impacted?

I'd like to leave you with one final thought today.

I know we're all experiencing the ripple effect of a tough economy.

And so in the spirit of perspective, this statistic that I came across in the Live Faithfully homework series by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose is worth reflecting on:

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep,

you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have never experienced war, imprisonment, torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million other people.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy."

Sweet Bellas, it all comes down to perspective...

What will YOU choose today?

On that note, I have the perfect dish to turn that frown upside down, and trust me, you don't have to slave in the kitchen all day to serve this elegant meal. This recipe is perfect to serve to guests and the presentation is fantastic. Enjoy, and keep shining Sweet Bellas...

Southwestern Stuffed Puff Pastry

*picture shown above

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

6 oz. of cooked chicken, shredded or diced

*shortcut: you can used rotisserie chicken or one of those prepackaged cooked and diced chicken packages that they carry in the lunch meat section of your grocery store :)

10 cremini mushrooms, rinsed, de-stemmed, and diced

1/2 small yellow onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp of olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

6 oz of cream cheese, softened

2-3 Tbsp of chopped green chile

1 tsp of garlic powder

3/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 egg

splash of water

Directions:

1)Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet out to a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Cut into six 4 x 4 inch squares.

2) In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, green chile, and garlic powder. spread appx 1 oz. in the center of each square.

3)Meanwhile, in a small frying pan over medium heat, saute olive oil, garlic clove onion salt and pepper for one minute, add cremini mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent. Turn off heat.

4) top each square with 1 oz. of cooked chicken

5)Spoon 1 Tbsp of mushroom/onion saute mixture on top of chicken on each square

6) Top each square with a good pinch of sharp cheddar cheese.

7) Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk to create an egg wash. Brush the edges of the pastry squares with the egg wash. Fold the corners of the pastry squares to the center over the stuffing mixture and press to seal. Place the filled pastries seam-side down onto a baking sheet. Brush the pastries with the egg wash.

8)Bake @ 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 6.

I like to serve this with a caprese salad and roasted asparagus.

Mangia!