I went into work late yesterday because Tony and I had an appointment here:

After an ultra sound and a CT scan, they have decided Tony needs one more surgery.  The bottom line is his wound is just not healing as fast or as well we had hoped.  So on Monday he’s going into out patient surgery to have a wound vac put in.  It basically will speed up the healing process.

So why do I say there is still good news?  Because Tony feels better than he has in a couple years.  He’s sleeping.  He has an appetitie.  The prednisone he’s on makes walking so much easier.  And as a glass is half full kinda gal I am, I am hanging my hat on that for now. šŸ˜€

I had just a quick English muffin before we went to the hospital.  Tony couldn’t eat anything so I didn’t want to eat in the car.  A quick 4 point breakfast.

Then I got to work and it was busy busy!  I made my boss and I lunch – we split a serving of the Indian meatball soup and made us a salad with mixed greens, blueberries, apples, carrots and cucumbers with light balsamic – lunch comes in at 7 points.

Late in the afternoon I had to check back on my blog to see what was on my menu!  I quickly realized that I was going to make a short rib ragu to serve over pasta or polenta, but I never made it.  Most of the recipes I looked at called for braising the meat low and slow.

I thought, “what if I cooked it quick over high heat?”  I just seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and added about 1 tsp. of olive oil to my cast iron skillet.  While my potatoes cooked for mashed potatoes, I seared both sides of the boneless short ribs for about 3 minutes a side.

Here is a quick tip.  You don’t need to have canned or packaged gravy on hand if you have beef or chicken broth.

Super Simple Gravy (2 servings, 1/2 cup per serving is 2 WW points, 74 calories, 6 fat, 3 carbs, 0 fiber and 1.8 protein)

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup broth (I used beef last night)
  • salt and pepper

Melt the butter.  Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly add the broth and stir – cook about 5 minutes until thickened and then add salt and pepper to taste.

It actually reminds me of Kentucky Fried Chicken gravy!

The verdict?  The meat was medium rare, super tender and delicious.  In fact, Tony said “I’d eat this again in a heartbeat!”  Dinner comes in at 13 points.

I didn’t have a chance to enjoy our almost 60 degree weather yesterday, but love that it melted all the snow.  Today’s high is 44, so I’ll definitely get my lunch run/walk in.

So this next surgery is just another chapter to our life.  We are a team and will get through it like we always do.  If I could change places with Tony I would!  I love you Tony!