Where did the year go?

What is it about the end of a year that makes one reflective. Not sure if I am actually going to start blogging again, but I just felt the need to write.

2013 was supposed to be better than 2012, but it has been a crazy year. In January my mom found out she had bladder cancer. She had surgery and was doing well then found out she had breast cancer. She finishes her last radiation treatment next week. Thankfully she is doing well, but it was quite scary, and the chemo was really rough on her, but she always kept a sense of humor about it all.

My sisters and I kiss my mother's freshly shaved head.

I moved my store into a new location and business has been crazy busy since October. I've been working 7 days a week most weeks, but have now closed for Christmas and end of year inventory.

This is my store.

Basically that sums up my year: cancer and store. At the end of last year I couldn't have imagined I would be where I am today, so I get both a trickle of fear and thrill thinking where I will be this time next year!

Chicken Alfredo

TK loves pasta. He could probably eat it for every meal. So one night last week I made Chicken Alfredo. I am picky when it comes to chicken, so I ate just the pasta and sauce and oh my goodness it was yummy!  I actually scraped the pan clean to get the last bits.



The recipe is simple:
You melt a half stick of  butter in a saucepan add a half pint of whipping cream and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and a cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk quickly. (The cheese tries to stick to the whisk). Stir in 1/4 of chopped fresh parsley and pour over your chicken and pasta. I also sauteed mushrooms in butter to ladle over the chicken first. That's it! Super simple and quick! Delish!

P.S. Tonight I am cooking another of his favorite dishes: Chili. Since Frodo doesn't like chili I am making potato skins for us. I'll post both recipes soon!

Photo Friday

A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away.  ~Bil Keane, "Family Circus"

No News is....

....just me being lazy. :)

So a quick update and keeping with the laziness theme I will be doing bullet points.

• We celebrated Frodo's 16th birthday earlier this month. Can't believe my baby boy is 16!
  
• A few days later we found out my mom has bladder cancer. Surgery went well and they seem to have gotten it all. She is doing fine right now.
• I  took a trip to Florida with TK. He had a conference so I tagged along for the free hotel (and basically free airfare as I used my voucher from my cancelled trip this summer) and hung out by myself at Disney World. Best vacation ever and very much needed!
• I started back to school!  I am taking World Literature and Government. I have an associates degree in nursing and am a licensed RN, but would like my BSN or some other bachelors degree eventually so I am working on my pre-reqs for that.
• In between all of that I am working hard on my soap business trying to promote it and get more customers. I'm afraid I might have to start kidnapping people and forcing them to stop by my store. :) (Shameless plug)
• And drum roll....I think I am about to have a period...all on my own. My breasts have been sore for several days. This is monumental. I haven't had a real, non drug-induced, non loss-induced period since 2011 I believe. I keep touching my boobs to make sure it's real. Not my boobs...those are definitely real...my pain.
  

That's it for now! Hope you are all well...I've not been so good at reading blogs lately either..yup...laziness. :)

Love...

Steaks and Games

We rang in the new year at home. We three. TK and I cooked dinner together. Steak. YUM!

Growing up I hated steak. Ugh! Seriously hated. Loved hamburgers and other meats, but steak was just nasty. What I actually found, once I moved to Sweden, is that I didn't hate steak itself...I hated "well done" steak. A nice medium rare steak with a bit (okay a lot!) of Bearnaise sauce and "pommes" as the Swedes like it, became my favorite dish! It was on my short list of things I missed the most about Sweden. Steak I could get here, but steak just wasn't the same without and beloved Bearnaise.

The Quest began. The dried mix was ok, but didn't have that wonderful buttery tang to it. So a few years ago, TK, who cooks nothing more than a microwaveable dinner or pasta took it upon himself to learn how to make Bearnaise sauce from scratch. OH HEAVEN!!  We tried steaks a couple of times but just couldn't get that same yummy restaurant taste, but on New Year's Eve I went on a research trip around the web. That night I achieved the perfect restaurant steak.

I wish I had  taken a photo without the sauce to show the awesome sear I got on this delicious steak.  But let me assure you it was orgasmically good as was the sauce! Ah! What a great way to say goodbye to 2012.

At midnight we toasted with champagne and went to bed a bit later.

The first is always Game Day in my family. Not bowl games though, but rather board games. We gather at my moms and play, laugh and eat the day away.  Literally. We were there from 1pm until almost midnight!

My mom laughing so hard she had to hide her face.  

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

 

My tips for the perfect pan fried filet:

• The most important tip is room temperature steaks.  If they are cold, the cook slower and end up tougher. Never pull a steak straight from the fridge and slap in the pan or on the grill. 
• I seasoned mine with sea salt and cracked black pepper
• Start with a searing hot sillet. Cast Iron is preferred, but I used a regular skillet and it was fine.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of oil. 
• Put the steak in and leave it alone for 2.5 to 3 minutes. Don't touch it! 
• Turn steak and leave it alone for another couple of minutes.
• During the last minute, throw in a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter and baste while the steak continues to cook.
• If you like your steak medium rare as I do, you are done with cooking. Take steak out and wrap it to let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Very Important step! Resting redistributes juices making a more tender steak.
• If you like it more done, you can finish it in a hot oven for a couple of minutes. 

This is not an exact science so you may have to play around with the times and temps, but it will give you and excellent seared on your steak. 

2013

Me on this New Year's Eve 2012

 

Happy New Year!
Happy New Path!
Happy New Blog!

Anyone joining me from my old blog will know that 2012 was not my best year. There are no guarantees 2013 will be any better, but having hopped off the crazy infertility rollercoaster/runaway train, I probably won't have the same kind of bad year. So that's a bonus.

I am not sure where this year will take me, but I am going to be working on healing from my losses both physically and emotionally and figuring out where my next path leads.