I know I have been lax in updating my blog, but nothing really exciting has been happening in my life.

Christmas came and went without any major events happening.  I can say this was the worst Christmas I have had in all my 55 years of life because of money issues.   There just wasn’t enough of it this year.  I know, I know…it was like that for a lot of people this year.  I understand that, but, it still made it no easier to take for me.  I did fix a lot of candy, cookies,  and treats for people this year but I still have a lot left to fix and here it is January 18th.   

I have been trying a lot of new recipes out and haven’t really found any that I would make again but a few.  My daughter loved the gumbo that I made, and, if and when I make it again, I will share the recipe with you and take a photo of it.   I made “The Neely’s” Sausage and Pepper Subs last night and those may be one that I will fix again.  They were pretty good and everyone seemed to like them but my friend, Daisy, and she thought they were to spicy. 

I made some hard cinnamon candy that everyone wants me to make more of, but now I can’t find the flavoring.  I made about 8 rolls of sugar cookies and froze them.  I still have 3 rolls left in the freezer that I fix once a week. 

I am still learning how to use and like garlic.  I just ate arugula in a salad I fixed the other night.  I have come to love Romaine Lettuce instead of Iceberg Lettuce.  I use a lot of fresh and frozen veggies now which has helped tremendously with my cholesterol.  I have always had low bad cholesterol but my good cholesterol was low.  Now it is where it should be.  My blood sugar has dropped as if I don’t have Type 2 Sugar Diabetes anymore.  My blood pressure was way low.  I had lost 10 pounds (which I probably gained back at Christmas) and all of my other tests came back great. 

The one good thing that has come from living in the “Boonies” is that there are no fast food places anywhere near me so I do cook almost everyone of our meals now.  I so love veggies and thank goodness my family does too or they would be up a creek.   Broccoli, Cabbage, Salads, Spinach…we love it all.  We are a meat loving family though and I have been trying to fix leaner cuts of meat.  Two of the spices that I now absolutely love are ground black pepper and smoked paprika.  I am using more cayenne pepper too, which makes things spicy and my taste buds have changed so that I love things spicy now. 

I have tried to keep my shelves stocked with all of the essential foods that I need to fix pretty much any recipe I see.  Both my fridge and the 2 freezers I have are stocked with all of the meats and frozen veggies I need.   I have cream cheese, sour cream, the best Parmesan Cheese, heavy whipping cream, buttermilk, everything I need food wise.  I still am trying to fix one new dish a day but nothing has really made me sing its praises but my Broccoli Salad.  

I will try to get back in the habit of taking photos of the dishes I make and sharing them with you again.

Hope to see you back here soon!