He’s Coming Home!

I got the call right when I was making dinner that Tony has been given the green light to come home!  While that doesn’t mean all is well just yet, we do have a plan – I just don’t have all the details yet.  All I know is that Tony will be home where he belongs.  He had to have a test yesterday where he couldn’t eat after midnight.  He was trying to talk the nurse into having a gravy party at 11:00 p.m. – she wanted to know what he wanted with the gravy and he said, just gravy!  He actually realized that there was a KFC about 3 blocks from the hospital, but I have his wallet, and well, let’s face it – I believe the hospital would frown on the sodium content of KFC!

Yesterday morning he must have seen a watermelon cake on t.v., so I give you another episode of texting with Tony:   For the record – dsmn is supposed to be damn!  I have actually never even heard of a watermelon cake, have you??

It’s weird being home alone.  I actually am like a Tasmanian devil when he’s not here.  I never go in the front of the house at all, which is where our living room and big t.v. is.  I stay in the back of the house where the kitchen and the family room is off the kitchen, and I don’t really even turn on the t.v. until maybe 30 minutes before going to bed.  You see, I love music!  While Tony loves his t.v. – John Wayne movies, etc., I am very content with just listening to music while I cook and do computer work.

I ended up doing a Sam’s Club run for work on my way in.  I ended up picking up a protein box at Starbuck’s thanks to my friend and blog reader Heather who sent me a very generous gift card to Starbucks – the only thing I added was 1/2 of one of my granola bars.  Thanks again Heather!

I actually decided to run errands at lunch and planned on working out right after work at the gym.   I threw a serving of my Cincinnati Chili in my lunch bag, and actually was going to add a can of black beans and some cheese in my bag to accessorize my lunch.  Um, somehow that didn’t happen.  My mind is weird.  I am kind of like the dog in Up.  I will have my train of thought interrupted and it’s as if I didn’t even know what I was doing if I get distracted.  It drives Tony nuts, but I am used to it!

So when I went to the grocery store, I hit up the salad bar.  I actually thought I might see some black beans or corn, but no such luck.  So I ended up with fresh spring peas, chick peas and some cheddar cheese.  I actually really liked the peas added to the chili!  Oh, and I happened to stop by Goodwill and got that thick bowl for .99 cents.  Love it.

I checked my blood sugar when I was leaving at work and it was 91.  Damn.  Perfect, but too low to work out, so I just ended up heading home.

So the night before last I thought I could cook a beef shank on high heat like a steak.  Um, no.  I read that you really have to cook a shank low and slow because the meat is so close the muscle and it would end up being tough.  So I ended up braising it for about 90 minutes the night before last.  Basically I just added 2 cups of beef broth to a pot, and cooked it low and slow for 90 minutes.  It was about 10.5 ounces raw, so I got 6 ounces of meat once it was cooked.   After it cooled I just ended up putting it in the fridge.  I had plans of making a ragu!

I ended up adapting this recipe from Epicurious.   One of my favorite seasonings is fennel seeds.  While I am not a huge fan of raw fennel, I love the seeds, especially when toasted.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:74]

This made 8, 1/2 cup servings – each serving of ragu comes in at 221 calories, 10 fat, 9 carbs, 3.3 fiber and 16.6 protein.

This was so good – it actually tasted as if it had been cooking on the stove all day long.  I made some whole wheat pasta (which Tony doesn’t like) and added in some fresh chopped spinach.

I feel like this post is very disjointed, but I started writing it last night before I knew Tony was coming home, and the thoughts of brining him home are all I can think about.   HE’S COMING HOME!  Yep, I am shouting, because I can!

Thankfully since it’s the middle of the week and I am going to get on the road early, I hope there won’t be too much traffic.  So this is my fourth trip back I think?  I am beginning to lose count.

And yes, I can’t forget to link to the recipe contest I am in – thanks again for voting!

Wish me luck on safe travels!  Make it a great day!