January 3rd – Back to Normal

It is nice to have the holidays behind us and get back to a semblance of normal day to day living. It is not that we did that much, and what we did was nice, but I just find it good to be back to what is life as we typically live it.

It has been three weeks tomorrow since my hernia surgery. I am feeling fine, especially with the medication that the surgeon gave me for my brutal heartburn. In fact, I am feeling so good that I think it is time for me to start my winter workout regime – nothing outrageous, but some stretching, moving, and lighter lifting. (I don’t plan to start lifting my own weight anytime soon.)

We have another week of frigid temperatures this week and then we are supposed to be back to single minus digits (celsius). That will be a welcome change! I might even be up for a bit of a hike to try out the new boots Dan got me for Christmas.

Now that we are back to our normal lives, we are getting back to our regular diet. Dan worked yesterday so I went for something relatively quick and light to have for supper.

I am not fond of most small appliances,or of having to clean them, but one that is worth its weight in gold is my small electric grille. I probably use it at least once a week in the winter and more often in the summer.

Last night, I grilled a couple of spicy chicken breasts, made Spanish rice, and served with buttered and seasoned brussel sprouts.

Which was followed by a little dish of Rolo ice cream to cool things down.

• Spicy Chicken Breast
• Pat 2 chicken breasts dry on paper towel
• Season with seasoning salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning and a very little bit of Cayenne pepper
• Grille to well done (flip half way through cooking time as top tends to get dry).
• Spanish Rice
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 small cooking onion
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup chunky hot salsa
• Gradually bring to a slow boil (Note: it does scorch easier than regular rice). Stir with a fork, cover, and cook at medium heat (simmer) for twenty minutes without removing cover
• ** If you do burn the rice** – remove as much of the rice as possible, add water and a generous amount of baking soda to pot. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 3 minutes or so. This will loosen all remaining rice. Remove burnt rice and repeat boiling water and baking soda. (You may want to add cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon at this point to get rid of the smell of burnt rice and salsa from your kitchen.)

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞