Sunday, July 24, 2022

Saturday with My Sister Lisa and Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls Recipe

     Yesterday I went over to my sister Lisa's house to help her organize a room that she is going to be using for her husband while he recuperates from an illness he is going through. She's having a hospital bed delivered tomorrow and we cleared out an extra bedroom. We could not move the treadmill or the couch she had in that room, but we did move a dresser and today my son and hers are supposed to get together and move the big stuff.

    Once we finished cleaning that room, while Lisa kept organizing stuff, I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed her floors and did basic tidying up, then she made us some delicious Chocolate Iced Coffee and we had some of the lemon cake I had taken over to her.

    She wanted to order a new robot vacuum cleaner as their old one had broken several months ago and while we were searching she found a recipe that she had posted that she wanted to try out. She had most of the ingredients and I had a bag of coleslaw mix at my house so I went to go get it and we started cooking.

    I am a recipe girl, I've said that several times on the blog. I can't just pull ingredients out of the fridge and pantry and come up with a meal, I have to have a plan. Lisa and my mom are magicians in the kitchen, give them 8 items and they will make a fabulous meal with it. Yesterday we used a bit of my system and a bit of Lisa's.

    The recipe was for a Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowl, you can find the recipe and photos HERE. We had most of the ingredients except for the fresh ginger and eggplant, so we improvised by adding frozen cauliflower rice and coleslaw mix.  Coleslaw mix is a mix of shredded green cabbage and carrots. 

    Lisa browned the ground beef while I chopped the red bell pepper and onion. She doesn't cook with salt, so she added a spice blend of Roasted Garlic and Red Bell Pepper from Dangold, you can find the spice HERE. This has zero sodium and was so good.  She also added lots of coarse black pepper and the onions. Once that was browned she removed it from the pan and added a little olive oil and sautéed the bell peppers and zucchini, cooked that for a couple of minutes, we both like our veggies with a little bite to them.

    Then she added the whole bag of the coleslaw mix and some Asian Salad dressing which has a peanut flavor and a bit of the low sodium soy sauce and sautéed that just enough to wilt it a bit, added the frozen cauliflower rice which she had put in the microwave just long enough to have it break up and then put the ground beef back in.

    Then it was time for the taste test...


    Winner Winner! We both love it. We both added Sriracha Sauce to the top because we love spicy. You can see all the lovely veggies. This is low sodium and low carb. Because of her husbands illness she has been trying to find recipes that will she can make with the specifications given to them by the doctors and this is one that he can eat.


    As I write this, she is at the hospital, hoping to get some news on how he's doing and when he can come home. Because of new Covid restrictions, only one person can be with him, so we can't visit him. This is a serious illness and I am hoping for the sake of my sister, their sons and grandchildren that he is able to get through this and make a full recovery. 

    If you can say a prayer for him and Lisa and their family, please do so. If you can send them positive vibes and energy, please do that as well. I'm a strong believer that everything that comes from love and concern for others can help.





Thursday, July 21, 2022

The BIG 64!

     Yesterday was my 64th Birthday! It's hard to believe! 

Champagne Cupcake and Smith's Bakery Cookies from my daughter.

    Where has the time gone. One minute you're 18 and graduating from high school and in the blink of an eye you are 64.

    But I'm fortunate to have people who love me and took time out of their day to help me celebrate yesterday.

    The day started out with a special celebration with this little girl, my daughters dog Chorizo. 


    Since it was my birthday, Starbucks sends me a notification that there is a free treat waiting for me at their store. There is nothing Chorizo loves more that the free Puppuccino that Starbucks offers their little puppy customers.

    So we made the drive to Starbucks and I got a free Latte, purchased some Egg Bites and Chorizo got a Puppuccino!!!

Starbucks Latte, Bacon and Gruyere Egg Bites and a Puppuccino!

    She could barely wait for me to take the picture above she was so excited about her puppuccino! You can see all the whipped cream on her little beard in the photo above. 

    Later that evening my daughter told me she had a surprise planned for me and did she ever! She finally let me come into the kitchen and she had a whole table of delicious treats laid out. Just look at this spread!

Charcuterie by Charcuterie by M

Pepperoni and Salami Roses, Chocolate Nonpareils, Olives and Pickles, Baby Grapes, Cashews, Dried Apricots, Pistachios, Fresh Apricots and Strawberries, Various Cheeses including my favorite a Blueberry Boat cheese Log, you can't see it, but it's there and it was all so declious!

Garlic Crisps, these were so garlicky and crispy and delicious!

A bottle of Pinot Noir from my sister Lisa, this was such a good wine!

    My daughter and son were there, my mom and my sister Lisa, all my favorite people!

    We sat and just tasted all the different goodies on the tray and I opened my gifts, a ring and bracelet from my mom, a pair of sneakers from my sister, a Starbucks card from my son and all the deliciousness above from my daughter.

    And the birthday is not over yet, tonight I am having a celebration dinner with my coworkers and tomorrow night I'm have another dinner with my sister Lisa and our friend Lupe. 

    I guess it's not so bad turning 64 when you realize how many people love you and remember you and want to make you feel special. 

    Happy 64th Birthday to me! I'll finish with pictures of the beautiful Pop-Up Birthday bouquet of butterflies from my daughter.

Paper Pop-Up Birthday Card from my daughter.
    



Close up from the top!





Monday, July 18, 2022

Carrying the Weight of the World

    Recently (today) I've started listening to a Weekly Reflections guided meditation. They're not a long meditation, this one was five minutes, but it really made me think about the things that I carry around that weight me down.

    The meditation starts out with some deep breathing, then asked me to close my eyes and imagine that I am about to take a walk. I know that I'm going to see beautiful sites and have new experiences and I'm looking forward to going. First I make sure I'm prepared, I have on good walking shoes, some water in case I get thirsty, perhaps a sweater in case it gets cold.


    I notice that in each of my pockets, I'm carrying rocks each signifying a past experience. Each one holds meaning and was picked up for a specific purpose, but for now these rocks weight me down, they keep me from stepping lightly and I will get tired carrying them around.

    I start taking each rock out and setting it down and take a step, another step another rock, each time releasing the weight that I've been carrying until I feel lighter and I realize that what we carry with us can serve a purpose, but sometimes it can weigh us down and hold us back. I'm prompted to examine the weight I carry and set aside what isn't useful to me in my life right now. 

    Sometimes I carry these rocks around like a badge of honor. No one can carry these rocks the way I do. I can't allow anyone else to help me carry these rocks because they won't care for the rocks as I do, they'll allow them to fall out of their pockets and break on the ground, or they will lose them along the way. 

    But the longer I carry these rocks, the heavier they become until I can no longer stand from the weight and I can no longer walk or enjoy life. I'm so busy worrying about these rocks that I don't see the beauty around me and I start feeling anger towards the carefree people I see floating through life without the weight of any rocks.

    What I learned through this meditation is that I need to let go...

Let goooooooo.

    I need to remind myself this week to "let go". To take notice of the things that weigh me down and write them down and get rid of the things that aren't useful to me in my life, the things that make me angry and bitter and make life heavy.

    How heavy are the rocks that you are carrying and why do you carry them?