Beef Stew

Thanks Mom for the ‘recipe’ – it turned out to be delicious! Possibly too delicious .. . difficult to stop eating!

Chopped Beef Stew Meat – pat dry with a paper towel
flour, preferably Wondra
beef broth/stock
canned diced tomatoes
potatoes
carrots
onion
frozen peas (or green beans if preferred)?
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Heat oil in bottom of big pan where stew will cook. Coat beef (patted dry) in flour. Season if desired – salt, pepper? When oil is hot, put beef in pan (in batches if necessary so as not to overload) and brown on all sides. The bottom of the pan will be coated with bits of stuck flour/beef/etc – leave this on the pan! Remove beef to another dish as it is browned – do this with all pieces.

Once beef is cooked, add broth / stock to pan (I used about four cups), also add can of tomatoes if desired. Scrape dripping from bottom of pan and bring to a boil and then let simmer for a while. Add more seasoning if desired.

Chop veggies to size desired (use other too if you’d like – sweet potatoes? turnips? celery? whatever you like) and add to broth (don’t add peas). Add meat back in as well. Bring to a boil again and then let simmer on medium low for at least 30 minutes or until veggies are cooked through. Cooking longer builds flavor.

If you prefer thicker broth, mix a little flour and cold water or broth in a cup and add to the stew, mixing as you add it to thicken.

Add frozen peas shortly before serving and ensure they are warmed through.

Enjoy!

Still trucking along!

Life is .. chaotic, but great!  I start a new position at work at the beginning of April.  And we move the week of April 13!   Our house sold and everything is moving fast.   BUT, I’m still reading and cooking – just not getting a chance to blog.   Before I forget them, a couple recipes I’ve tested recently –

Crock Pot Split Pea Soup

from http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/easyrecipe-print/249-0

  • 1 pkg (about 2½ c. or 1 lb.), dried split peas
  • 9 c. chicken broth (if you like it thick, use 8 c.)
  • 4 carrots, coarsely chopped
  • 3 medium potatoes, diced small
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 c. diced ham
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp. pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  1. Combine all ingredients in a LARGE Crock Pot and cook on low for about 7-8 hours (or on high for about 4-5 hours). Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve with sliced french bread.
  2. *This makes a LOT (serves 8-10) so if you don’t have a large crockpot you may consider halving this recipe.

Yummy and easy!   Very filling too.   Highly recommend!

Silver’s Savory Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Silvers-Savory-Chicken-and-Broccoli-Casserole/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=silver%27s%20savory%20chicken%20and%20broccoli&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=%2frecipe-tools%2fprint%2frecipe.aspx&soid=sr_results_p1i1

Ingredients:

6 ounces egg noodles

3 tablespoons butter

1 yellow onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 cup milk

 salt and pepper to taste

5 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

meat

1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen

broccoli, thawed

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded provolone cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.) Grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in flour. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Slowly stir in milk, and cook, stirring, until sauce begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place cooked noodles in the bottom of casserole dish. Arrange cooked chicken in an even layer over noodles. Place broccoli over the chicken. Pour sauce evenly over the broccoli. Combine cheeses, and sprinkle half over the casserole.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove from oven, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Allow to set for 5 minutes, until cheese melts.

Again, yummy!   Not the world’s healthiest, but some yummy comfort food that can be prepared quickly and easily.

And, a favorite of mine (though my kids weren’t into it):

Garlicky Beef-and-Bean Stir-fry, from Southern Living, Feb 2015

4 tbsp sugar

6 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp dried crushed red pepper

8 tsp minced garlic

4 tbsp peanut oil, divided

1 10oz sirloin steak, thinly sliced across the grain

1 lb fresh green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

2 red bell peppers, cut into ¼ to ½ inch wide strips

2 tsp cornstarch

3 cups hot cooked rice

Combine first 5 ingredients. Gradually whisk in 3 tbsp oil; transfer to a large zip-top plastic bag. Add steak; seal. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

  1. Pour steak and marinade into a bowl. Transfer steak to a wok, reserving marinade. Stir fry steak in 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat 1 ½ minutes or until browned. Remove steak. Add beans and bell peppers to wok; stir-fry 3 minutes.
  2. Whisk cornstarch into reserved marinade. Stir cornstarch mixture into vegetable mixture. Stir-fry 30 seconds or until sauce thickens. Stir steak into vegetable mixture, and stir-fry 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and serve over rice.

Delicious – fresh and tasty!

More Cooking!

Life is never dull around here.  In the last month, I happened to find a listing for a home that seemed like a perfect house for us.  Even though we weren’t house shopping.  We took a look a few days later, made an offer that afternoon, and now have a contingent contract.  Contingent because we need to sell ours.  Pronto.

So, though we weren’t preparing to sell, and in fact were making some changes that made it a bit more messy than usual, we high tailed it to get it all fixed up, cleaned up, and ready for market.  And, now it’s been on the market for about 10 days, and had 6 looks.  I’m hoping one of those looks might turn into an offer.   If not, hopefully the right person is waiting in the wings and we can make this happen.

There are other adventures, afoot, but those are to be saved for another day.   Anyway, despite our newfound whirlwind of activity, I’ve managed to keep cooking!   Woo hoo!   I just haven’t had a chance to post.  So, all at once, some of what I’ve made:

This first one was yummy & not difficult or time consuming.  I made it on a weeknight when it was just the boys and I.  Some steamed broccoli and Trader Joes’ Mashed Sweet Potatoes (from the freezer case – just potatoes – nothing added), a salad for me, and we have dinner.  Leftovers made great salad protein too.

Crispy Honey Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin, about 1.5 to 2 pounds

½ cup honey (preferably raw)

Couple teaspoons of garlic powder

Couple teaspoons of salt

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  3. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towel.
  4. Sprinkle with the garlic powder and salt, and then baste the tenderloin the tenderloin generously with honey.
  5. Bake in oven for about 15 minutes, then lower the oven rack and turn the broiler on.
  6. Broil for about 10 minutes, until juices run clear.
  7. Let sit for about 5 minutes before carving.

Recipe by Life Made Full @ http://www.lifemadefull.com/2014/01/28/crispy-honey-pork-tenderloin

 

Next up is not actually a “new” recipe, but I love these enchiladas! They are so versatile too – you can make them without the chicken for a vegetarian meal. You can make them with more salsa. You can leave out the beans or corn.   You can sub flour tortillas.   I have made them for 5 other families and everyone enjoyed them. They travel well, and just have good strong flavor.

 

Favorite Chicken Enchiladas

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded & finely chopped   (adjust as desired for spiciness)

1 teaspoon olive oil

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons sugar

2 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large)   (maybe a little less – )

½ – ¾ bag frozen sweet corn

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

½ cup minced fresh cilantro, plus more for topping

12 (8 inch) soft corn tortillas

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the onion, jalapenos, and oil in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions have softened, 6 – 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin and sugar, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.   Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Nestle the chicken into the sauce.   Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 12 – 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside to cool. Strain the sauce through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible.   Place onion mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the chicken is cooled enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces.   Add to the bowl along with the onion mixture. Add in ¼ cup enchilada sauce, black beans, corn, ½ cup of each cheese and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

Place ½ cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them seam side down in a 13×9 inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with cooking spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes until the tortillas are starting to slightly brown on the top.   Reduce oven temperature to 400. Remove enchiladas from the oven and pour remaining sauce over to coat them thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining ½ cup of each cheese down the center of the enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.   Garnish with the extra cilantro. Serve with guacamole, sour cream ….

Adapted from a website that adapted it from another called Pink Parsley

 

This next one was quick and easy for a good weeknight meal.   I made it vegetarian friendly by subbing the sausage. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes, so used diced, which probably made it a bit “chunkier”, but was ok.   I’d try to use the crushed next time.   I subbed half & half for the heavy cream.  I used plain ziti, but you could use any pasta type, and it might be a good chance to slide in a wheat pasta as it’s pretty flavorful.

 

One Pot Baked Ziti

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed ( I subbed an Italian vegetarian sausage which is really excellent – Field Roast, Italian sausage)

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

12 ounces ziti pasta

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup basil leaves, chiffonade

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.   Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3 – 5 minutes (the veggies was just about 2 minutes), making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks.   Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute; season with salt & pepper, to taste.

Stir in tomatoes and bring to a simmer until slightly thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in pasta and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13 – 16 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Top with mozzarella and cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.

http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/20/one-pot-baked-ziti

 

This was a surprisingly good experiment.   I like cauliflower, and though I could identify the flavor, I didn’t feel like it detracted from the soup.   I enjoyed it and felt relatively good about the healthfulness, unlike so many Potato Soup recipes.   A great warming soup for a cold day.

Baked Potato Soup

 2 russet potatoes, washed & dried

1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed & cut into florets

1 ½ cups fat free chicken broth (I used veggie so it would be veggie friendly)

1 ½ cups 1% reduced fat milk

Salt & freshly cracked pepper

½ cup light sour cream

Shredded cheddar cheese

6 tbsp chives, chopped

Bacon, crumbled (if desired)

 

Pierce potatoes with a fork and “bake” – either in the oven (400 degrees for an hour or until tender) or the microwave (high for 5 minutes, turn and another 3 – 5 minutes).   I had plenty of time, so baked mine in the oven (and did a few extras). I actually used 4 small russets, instead of 2 (since I felt like many are large).   Cool. Peel potatoes.

Meanwhile, steam cauliflower with water in a large covered pot until tender. Drain and return to pot. On medium heat, add broth, milk, potatoes and bring to a boil. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth (I dumped it in the Vitamix).   Add sour cream, half the chives, salt & pepper and book on low another 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat. Serve with cheese, chives, and bacon.

 

From skinnytaste.com

 

There are a couple more, but it’s late, I’m tired, and this keeps the post from getting unwieldy.   Silvers’ Savory Chicken & Broccoli Casserole and Crock Pot Split Pea Soup coming soon!

2015 New Recipe #4 cuban-style black beans & rice

Another from the American Heart Association’s healthy slower cooker cookbook …

Cuban Style Black Beans & Rice (with modifications since I can’t follow a recipe to save my life)

serves 6 – 1 cup beans & 1/2 cup rice per serving

1 lb dried black beans, sorted, rinsed & drained
4 cups water (I used a little extra because I didn’t boil my beans first)
1 14.5 ounce can no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained (I used fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried minced garlic (I use minced refrigerated garlic)
2 medium dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 drops red hot pepper sauce (I went light on this to make sure it was kid-friendly)
1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this because I forgot, but it needed it, maybe a little more if you aren’t actually watching your sodium intake)

1/2 cups uncooked instant brown rice (I ended up just making coconut rice to serve with it – I used a can of light coconut milk, water, and regular white rice)

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1/3 cup chopped red onion (I omitted this since I had some fresh pico de gallo to serve with it if desired)

I skipped this step, but …
Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the beans. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Pour the beans in a colander and rinse. Pour into the slow cooker.

I just sorted & rinsed the dried beans and dumped them in the slow cooker.

Stir in the water, tomatoes with liquid, bell pepper, onion, cumin, garlic, bay leaves, oil, hot-pepper sauce, and salt. Cook, covered, on high for 4 to 6 hours. Discard the bay leaves.

About 20 minutes before serving time, prepare the rice according to package directions, omitting the salt & margarine. Spoon the rice into bowls. Ladle the bean mixture on top. Sprinkle with cilantro & red onion.

Again – I did my own thing for the rice & then served the beans on top of the rice.

All in all, and inexpensive, healthy vegetarian meal that even most kids will eat. I’m excited to have already tried 4 new recipes by January 19!

2015 New Recipes #2 & #3

Crockpot Whole Chicken

I set the whole chicken in the crockpot, sprinkled liberally with Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute, and added a few sprinkles of paprika. Covered the crockpot and cooked on high for about 4 hours. The chicken was good, and probably could’ve been cooked for less time, but it was still moist and flavorful. I didn’t add anything to elevate it above the drippings, so it was not crispy or anything, but the healthy thing to do is throw the skin away anyway, so this strategy kept things moist and removed any temptation I might have to eat the skin. We ate the chicken tonight and easily put away lots of chicken for the next few days. This would be a good way to get chicken for a casserole or another recipe calling for cooked chicken, and I foresee eating lots of salads with chicken on them using the leftovers. Easy, healthy, good, AND leftovers. An all around win.

Warming Minestrone Soup

Warming Minestrone

This recipe was a hodgepodge of a few different recipes I found on line, so ended up being a creation of my own. I don’t know exactly what I did, but I hope I can recreate it, because I really liked it! This is the best approximation I can come up with:

olive oil to cover bottom of pot
1 yellow onion, medium diced to chopped
2 celery stalks, medium diced to chopped
4 carrots, sliced (with large parts of rounds sliced in half)
2 – 3 cloves of garlic
2 zucchini, quartered and sliced (small bite size pieces)
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped in bite size pieces
approximately 5 cups of veggie broth (I am fairly sure I ended up using more) (I’m a big fan of Trader Joe’s Hearty Veggie Broth – in a box, flavorful)
1 cup quinoa
1 28 oz or 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, with juice
1 15 oz can cannellini beans (rinsed & drained)
1/2 15 oz can chickpeas (rinsed & drained)
2 cups kale, stems removed
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan to taste

1. Heat oil over medium heat, and add onions, carrots & celery. Cook about 5 minutes or until softened.

2. Add the garlic & a pinch of red pepper flakes and cook about one minute or until garlic begins to color (more red pepper flakes would suit me, but not the kids …).

3. Add about 3 cups of the broth and the tomatoes. Add the zucchini & the bell pepper. (I think you might be able to cook the zucchini & pepper some before the liquids if you have everything ready – I’m kind of a chop as I go chef and I needed to get the liquid in the pan before they were chopped.) Bring to a gentle boil (uncovered) and let simmer at this level for about 20 minutes.

4. Add the quinoa, cover and cook for 15 minutes (be sure you have enough liquid at this point – add more broth if needed).

5. Remove the cover, add the beans, more broth (or water) if needed, bring to a gentle boil, and cook for another5 minutes or just until the kale is tender. I would hold off on the kale until right before you are ready to eat – I prefer it just wilted. I also might add less at first if planning to have leftovers, and add more as I heat the leftovers.

6. Stir in the basil, salt & pepper, and the grated parmesan to taste.

Serve with more red pepper flakes, s&p, or grated parmesan if desired.

bon appetit!

This is the recipe I ended up following most closely  (funny, I was going back & forth and didn’t realize how frequently I ended up following this one) – http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/warming-minestrone-soup-with-quinoa-kale-free-recipe – I didn’t have green beans or would’ve likely thrown them in too.   I chopped everything bigger, used broth instead of water, used diced tomatoes … omitted the turmeric, added dried basil …

SO yummy, and so healthy.

2015 New Recipe #1

Turkey Sausage & Lentil Soup
from American Heart Association’s healthy slow cooker cookbook

serves 8
1 1/2 cups per serving

2 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces mild or spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings discarded & sausage crumbled (could sub a flavorful veggie sausage alternative)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth (could use a veggie broth)
1 pound dried brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups), sorted, rinsed & drained
1 14.5 ounce can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium rib of celery, chopped
1/4 cup no salt added tomato paste
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat, swirling to coat the bottom. Cook the sausage and onion for 5 minutes, or until both are lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Transfer to the slow cooker.

Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook, covered, on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.

Review: Yummy! I used mild sausage because I was trying to make it spice averse kid-friendly. Cooked it on low while I was at work. It was easy to make and had good flavor. It had even better flavor the next day. A salad and a loaf of crusty bed made a delicious meal. I think you could stir some spinach or kale in at the end before serving to add a little extra healthy touch.

So Appreciated

Such an important week.

Nurses Appreciation Week is this week. Oh, if I didn’t know before, I learned in 2013, how important nurses are. If you have a hospital stay, they can make or break your stay. An amazing nurse, in addition to providing important medical care can make you FEEL better. Really. I have fond memories of some of the amazing nurses I had during both of my hospital stays. Nurses take good care of us at the doctor’s office. I saw one yesterday to help me hurry on my path to healthy. Here’s to all the nurses out there – your job is so difficult – so many balls in the air (or patients on the floor), so many things to remember, rules to follow, so many ‘yucky’ jobs, and so many hours helping / caring for someone other than yourself or your own family. You are appreciated – thanks for all you do. I go on longer on the next topic – not because it’s any more important, but because it’s one I know even better and it’s SO close to my heart and all people everywhere have these people in their lives (though most of us encounter a nurse at some point).

AND,

It’s also Teacher Appreciation Week. I guess it’s appropriate that Teachers & Nurses share the week because much like I described a nurse, a teacher’s job is so difficult in many of the same ways: so many balls in the air (or students in the class), so many things to remember, rules to follow, so many ‘yucky’ jobs, and so many hours helping / caring for someone other than yourself or your own family. I have been fortunate in life to have had so many wonderful teachers, to have worked with wonderful teachers during my brief, but much loved, stint teaching.

So far my kids have had AWESOME teachers. I know, I know. They haven’t started “school” yet. BUT they love it where they are, be it preschool or daycare depending on their age. And they have learned, and they have been loved. Wyatt sings the Itsy Bitsy Spider with such gusto and enthusiasm and all the hand motions. He loves it. It is adorable. (I’m working on a video.) We didn’t teach it to him. Sure, we’ve sung it with him, but he learned it from his teachers. Malcolm has been pointing out rhyming words like a crazy guy lately. We haven’t spent significant time on this at home. He learned it from his teacher. Both of them know a plethora of Spanish words. “Te amo, Mommy” says Wyatt. Or, “la luna”. They didn’t learn that from us. They learned it from their teachers. They also know they are safe and loved at school. We walk in the door and before I’ve got it closed, Malcolm has run off to see his friends and his teacher and find out what they are doing that day. If he misses, he worries about what great activity and learning he is missing. He, at 5 1/2, has teachers that make him excited about learning, which I think is one of the BEST things a teacher can do for a student. Wyatt is always excited to see me in the afternoon, racing over to me, but before we leave, he needs to go find the teachers and give them a hug and say “Bye!” His teachers make him feel loved and safe. All of this makes me able to walk out the door of their preschool happy and comfortable going to work to do my job. They are safe. They are learning. They are loved. They have awesome teachers.

I appreciate all the fantastic teachers I’ve had. And as we wrap up Malcolm’s preschool experience this year, and start Wyatt’s preschool years … I look forward to both of them having many more really great teachers in the coming years. Without a doubt, our teachers help shape who we are as people. Our interests can be altered, or deepened, by them. When we are young, much of what our day is like is because is because or our teachers. It’s a huge responsibility they have. We make it hard by adding all kinds of rules & requirements. And we don’t reward them (financially, anyway) for it. There are perks, there are intrinsic rewards, and fortunately for the rest of us, for many of the best teachers this is begrudgingly enough. But if we can’t pay them better, we darn well better at least recognize them and tell them how much we appreciate them. So, teachers, I APPRECIATE YOU. Thanks so much for all you do for the world.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, I applied to renew my California Teaching Credential and have been looking into programs where I can earn my Masters of Education so I can consider pursuing a position in Administration. I looked into this a bit 5 years ago, but decided that with 2 babies in the house, it was not the right time. As Malcolm ‘grows up’ and even Wyatt … I’m excited about potentially being a student again, and new challenges. I am not certain yet, but it’s definitely something to think about.

For “our” teachers, we provided a single lottery ticket for Friday night to each teacher & staff at the kid’s school, with the pictured insert. I think it would be AWESOME if someone were to win big. : ) And, beautiful flowers for their current (or very recent) teachers for helping them grow.

Appreciation

Monday, March 3, 2014

(1st photo about 1 year old – what a difference a year makes)

Wyatt @ 11 months, a year ago
My Malcolm, ready for snow
My Wyatt, snowdog

Sitting at home, snowed in, with my 2 crazy little guys, on my first day “back” at work (and locked out of my PC, waiting for support to return my call).

Complaining a bit, and yet, gloriously happy with the ‘inconvenience’ of the day. It was a year ago today that I found myself in the ER, unknowingly kicking off a year of surgeries, sepsis, research, chemo, recovery. There were days that some people weren’t sure I’d still be here right now.

But, I’m here. And, I’m cancer free. Oh, and did I mention, I’m alive and well? If it’s possible, I have learned to appreciate my family and friends even more than before. I have definitely learned to appreciate my health even more than before. I have learned to slow down a little and ask for help (okay, I’m still working on these, but I’ve improved). It seems too good to be true that ‘all this’ could be wrapped up and done in a year, and that that year still had plenty of fun normal moments, but that’s today’s truth.

So, thank you again. Thank you for your support, help, thoughts and prayers over the last year. Wyatt has doubled his age. Malcolm has grown up what seems like more than a year’s worth and is ready to tackle Kindergarten in the fall (which starts in August so Spring better hustle up!?). Whatever minor craziness each day may bring, it’s a fantastic day.

So, if you are home, stuck because of snow (Easterners!), inconvenienced by a change in plans, or dealing with some other day to day irritation (or even a big, but surmountable one), take a deep breath, look around, and appreciate what you have. You never know what tomorrow will bring.