Blackout Beef Stew

That is what I'm calling todays recipe!

As I prepared for Hurricane Sandy to arrive w/her strong winds & horizontal rain, I wondered what I would cook for dinner in the event we lost power. Thankfully, we have a gas stove so a hot meal could be created. We were expecting guests & sandwiches just didn't seem right!

Our guests arrived. One little flicker of power loss & that has been the extent of Hurricane Sandy thus far. Our guests liked the beef stew & asked me to be certain to post it on my blog.
Almost bedtime so I think we have survived the storm! I was over prepared & scared it away!

 I knew I was asking for it when I wrote I had scared the storm away! 
... Moments later, I lost power & 20 hrs later, I can finally get back to the post!

Blackout Beef Stew
serves 4 - 4 cup servings with 648 calories & 63 carbs per serving

Marinate overnight:

• 1 1/2 lbs of stew beef
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

Next day... about 2-3 hrs before serving:

In a saucepan, bring to a boil & cook until just barely tender. Don't overcook! Drain & set aside

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3T honey
• 4 red skinned potatoes (baseball size) cut into 1" chunks
• 4 carrots, peeled & cut into 1" chunks

In a small bowl, mix:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2T paprika
• salt & pepper, to taste

What else you will need:

• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 1/2 T additional teriyaki sauce
• 1 chopped onion
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced thickly
• 1 bay leaf

Using an enameled 6 qt dutch oven pot w/lid for best results:

• Cook the meat w/its marinade until no longer pink (about 30 minutes)
• Add the green pepper, garlic & celery & cook a few minutes
• Sprinkle on the flour mixture & stir, generously coating the meat
• Add in the almost tender vegetables
• Add the beef broth, teriyaki sauce, onion, mushrooms & bay leaf
• Cover
• Cook on med-high heat for 1-2 hrs, stirring occasionally & adjusting the flavor, if needed

Could be served over white rice (rice adds in more calories & carbs, though)

What's Been Happening...

Nothing much.

I have finished painting the walls & floor of the 3 rooms in the basement as well as the hallway down there! Now, just biding my time, waiting for the paint to dry completely before I can put on a clear, sealing top coat. Then, everything has to go back into the rooms. Kitchen is my next project but don't be surprised if I don't start that until spring!

Hurricane Sandy is hitting us right now with some outer bands of wind & rain. Her full force is expected around dinner time & we are ready! Should our power go out, we have filled tubs w/water for toilet flushing, our electronic devices are charged up, food is in house & I've showered! All set.

Inghams are due to visit this evening. They intend on coming, but I wouldn't be surprised to get a last minute cancellation! All the more of my homemade, hearty "man-tested" beef stew for us! I sort of wish the power went out only during their visit. It's been a while since we've played cards by candlelight!

Carlotta & T will be here for Thanksgiving week! YAY! M couldn't make the trip since he had no more vacation time this year. He'll be missed but I'll be so busy & happy being w/his daughter (& mine!). Had he been able to visit, he'd felt ignored! This way, his mom & dad can spoil him!

See, told you nothing much was happening!

Low Carb Tasty Cookie (it's tiny!)

Very Low Carb, Peanut Butter Cookie Treats  

serves 60 (1 cookie each)

33 calories per cookie & 3 grams of carbs per cookie

What you need:

• 1 cup of peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 tsp baking soda

What you do:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Line cookie sheet w/aluminum foil or parchment paper
• Using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients until fully mixed
• Drop LEVEL TEASPOONFULs of dough onto pan, about 1 1/2" apart
• Bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies will be puffy & starting to brown on edges
• Remove from oven & let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes
• Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling

I know, they are tiny cookies @ about 1" diameter. 

It's hard to re-train my brain that this size cookie is the "norm" & 3 should be plenty, but I'm trying!

Progress?

It's been 6 months since I began a quest to eat a healthier diet.

I lost 20 lbs in the first 3 months! I've lost ZERO lbs in the last 3 months! 

Argh!

I suppose there is a silver lining... I haven't GAINED any weight in those 3 months either.

My recent blood work results have come back with their best results in a decade! 

Not perfect, but I'm not on deaths door either!

This week, I have not been eating healthy. 

I wasn't losing weight while B continues to lose.

I am very depressed about this. 

So, I splurged on some Halloween goodies & other foods I hadn't eaten in 6 months. 

Yes, the items I ate were delicious & I've probably gained some pounds. 

Now I feel icky! Not sick. Bloated, tired and I have no energy. I need some energy because the basement project is very close to completion!

Tomorrow, I go back to healthy eating. 

This time around, I'll be trying to count calories in addition to the carb counting. 

I found a website where I enter the ingredients of my recipe & they figure out the nutrition label.

I'm not sure what else I can cut out or cut down on! 

No bread, pasta, rice or potatoes! No desserts to speak of & no juices!

I tried to eat a fresh mushroom today. It tastes like dirt!

Songs... forgotten

Today, the girls & I made "Aiken Drum" pictures using the words from a song I learned waaaay back in Kindergarden. I have sung this song to/with every child I cared for... beginning w/my siblings, then my daughters & now, each of my "nanny" families!

I thought it would be nice to send T a photo of the guy & remind her of our frequent singing times from her childhood.

Imagine my surprise when she claimed NO RECOLLECTION of this song! 

How could she forget this song?! 

It was a song we sung often in the car! It was different each time because we had to think of food for his body parts & then there was a chorus to sing between each verse so it was a long song! There was a hand motion to do while singing the chorus. You made a fist w/one hand & hit it into your cupped other hand, the "ladle." We usually ended up skipping the chorus until the end.

There was a man who lived in the moon, who lived in the moon, who lived in the moon. There was a man who lived in the moon and his name was Aiken Drum!

Chorus: And he played upon a ladle, a ladle, a ladle and he played upon a ladle and his name was Aiken Drum!

And his body was made of ______, of ________ of _______. And his body was made of ______ and his name was Aiken Drum.

And his hair was made of ______, of _______, of _______. And his hair was made of _______ and his name was Aiken Drum.

etc, etc, etc until you have "built" a body out of fruits & vegetables and other edible things.

Does T remember "Valder-ree" (the wandering along the mountain path song) I sang to her? Or "I Know a Man Named Michael Finnegan?" 

Surely she remembers more songs other than the basic kids songs like: Mary had a Little Lamb or Twinkle, Twinkle or ABCs! 

What about "The King of the Cannibal Island?" Or "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?" 

I hope she remembers our holiday songs starting w/"I'm a Mean, Old Witch", "Have You Seen the Ghost of Tom?" "Thanksgiving Day is Coming", "Mr. Turkey Gobbler"

Oh well. For the record... I DID sing to my children. They did sing WITH me often. 

It's sad for me to know that as they have grown into adulthood, they forgot the things I thought they'd never forget. Well, those singing times were special to me & I won't forget those times or songs! Even in my oldish years! 

A Child's Note

I love the times when a child begins to put words on paper & the note actually make sense, even w/ the misspelled words!

The other day, after getting on each others nerves, Connor & Colin were instructed by their mom to go for a walk down the cul de sac, 2 times & w/o leaving each others side! 

Such a mean mom to make them do this!

Later on, Colin wrote his mom this note explaining his "under the breath" comment that "she was being mean," on his way out the door.

Love it!

His little sister turned 6 last week! He turns 8 first week in November!

Run, Connor, Run!

I may not be in these kids daily life anymore, but I continue to love hearing about & seeing videos of their recent accomplishments.

Connor has always loved to run! He is very fast but doesn't like the attention that comes w/winning so I believe he holds back sometimes.

Here, if you can find him in the starting pack, he is in his city's 4th grade cross country race. Out of 127 entrants, he finished a respectable 40th place! Way to go, Connor!

And on a side note, his younger sister, Kaya, will be 6 (SIX) on Sunday! She was only 4 months old when I first began caring for her & her brothers! Time has flown by so quickly! 

Another CRAZY Cake Recipe

I'm not sure I have the courage to make or eat this cake but it caught my eye & thought I'd post it... just in case I (or someone else) get adventurous! 

If you do make this cake, it has been suggested that you tell no one of your secret ingredient until they have finished eating their portion!

Chocolate Sauerkraut Surprise Cake 

(taken from: Heloise/Cakes)

What you need:

• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2/3 c shortening or butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c cocoa
• 2 1/4 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 c water or beer
• 1/2-1/3 c sauerkraut, drained, rinsed & chopped

What you do:

• Cream together sugar & shortening
• Add eggs & mix well
• Add vanilla, salt & cocoa.
• Mix together well
• In another bowl, sift together: flour, baking soda & baking powder
• Alternating, add the dry ingredients & water (or beer) , a little at a time, to the creamed mixture
• Fold in the sauerkraut by hand
• Bake in a greased & floured 9x13 baking pan for 35-45 minutes at 375 degrees
• Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before you tip it out. 
• When cooled, frost w/your favorite sour cream or cream cheese frosting!

note: You can use a box cake in place of the dry ingredients for a quick recipe!

Shoe Advice

I suffered for years w/foot pain while working on the furniture/bedding sales floor. 

I finally went to a podiatrist who diagnosed me w/heel spurs/plantar fasciitis & prescribed physical therapy, stretching exercises, cortisone shots. 

He made some custom orthotic inserts to transfer from shoe to shoe. If the insert didn't fit a shoe, I was to avoid wearing that shoe! Going barefoot was also a no-no. He suggested New Balance shoes since they seemed to put in good support in the arch.

He warned me my pain would be worse before it improved. The inserts were re-training my feet to be in the proper position which meant using parts of my leg & feet that I had never used before.

It took about 3 months, but sure enough, the foot pain was gone! 

If I went shoeless or had worn out shoes, twinges of pain alerted me that I needed to buy new ones.

Things were going well, for several years.

Then I made a dreadful choice. 

 In an effort to save $$$, I bought cheap shoes @ Wally's World. Looked good, felt good... for a while. Thirty days later, the shoe didn't fit me anymore. I thought it was my weight loss!

I kept on wearing them.

Then, the pain came back! I thought it was due to my increased activity like mowing or painting. 

So, I began using my night splint to keep tendons stretched & purchased "Strutz," an arch support to wear, when not wearing shoes.

The pain wasn't going away! Even when sitting, I could feel the throbbing!

After mowing the lawn today, in the cheap-o shoes, I could barely walk w/o crying out in pain.

ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH!

I took the extra babysitting money I made last week & drove to Olympia Sport. It was the closet store w/New Balance shoes! I bought a pair of leather shoes, inserted my orthotics & laced up. 

Ahhhhhh! Immediate relief! 

The shoe supported me where I needed. It was not loose yet not too tight either! I wore them home & kept them on until just now! 

I did not take any pain pills & am happy to report that I'll be pain free as I fall asleep!

My advice? 

Do not skimp on shoes! Avoid department stores or no name brands! Get the good, quality brands right away & avoid crippling pain! 

Yes, the good shoes will cost more, but they are worth every penny if it takes/keeps your pain away! 

Ghosts in the Belfry

Glue together a cone shaped styrofoam piece onto a round wafer shaped one. Paint entire thing, black

Add some ribbon. I suggest using wider ribbon, but this was all I had today!

Glue on some candy corns on the brim.

Make some lollipop ghosts ( I found coffee filters work better than Kleenex)

Make more ghosts & stick them into the witches hat!

Halloween Triangles

I must thank C for sending me a photo & some ideas of dorm door signs she saw while @ college. That photo inspired these hand drawn pictures I made into a Halloween picture book, featuring TRIANGLES for Carlotta's "fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving" box I'm getting ready to ship. The girls each made there own version of the book w/so fun results! You'll have to trust me, I neglected to photograph their books! Then, they took turns "reading" a story to me, using the pictures as a guide.

Dessert, Anyone?

Finding desserts to enjoy, ONCE IN A WHILE, has been very hard to do since our quest to become healthy eaters began in the spring of 2012. Tasty, low carb count treats are virtually nonexistent!

So when I do find one, I'm going to post about it & share the recipe! 

I've also learned that whether you are on a low carb diet or not, dessert should only be 3 bites big!

Pie Tartlets 

(serves 5, 3 tartlets each w/only 5 grams of carbs per tartlet)

What you need:

• 1 (15 count) package of frozen, baked fillo (phyllo) mini cups
• 1/3 cup of canned pie filling (I use Strawberry as it has the lowest carb count)
• Cool Whip (I use the sugar free variety, fat free would also help w/being healthier)

What you do:

• Using kitchen shears, cut up any big pcs of fruit in the filling
• Place about 1 tsp of pie filling into a fillo dough cup
• Top w/a small dollop of Cool Whip (sprinkle some cinnamon for extra flavor)
• Eat 3 of them & STOP! Three bites big, remember!