Recipe of the Week - Paprika Pork

 I often find pork on sale at the grocery store and normally the deal is too good to pass up.  So, I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try with pork. I found this one from Taste of Home.  I thought it sounded interesting and gave it a try. Plus, I had all of the ingredients so that is always helpful.  I ended up really enjoying this one and look forward to making it again.  It's good comfort food for winter, that's for sure!  Enjoy!

Paprika Pork*

1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes**

1 tsp all-purpose flour

4 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup heavy cream

Toss pork with flour and seasonings.  Heat butter in pan over medium heat.  Sauté pork until lightly brown. Add cream.  Bring to a boil, stirring to loosen brown bits from the pan.  Cook, uncovered, until cream is slightly thickened, 5-7 minutes. 

Serve over rice, egg noodles or pasta

*when I made this, I used a 2 lb tenderloin so I doubled the recipe and it worked just fine.

** any thick boneless cut of pork will work

Quote of the Week

 I connect to this one on many levels 

Some diet change

 

One of the goals I have to work on this year deals with some of my health issues.  I had a blood panel done on my last doctor's visit several weeks ago.  Most everything was fine but there were definitely two standouts.  My triglycerides are very high as is my a1c. So, what I want to do is get those levels down to something manageable.  The doctor gave me a new prescription as well so I hope that will assist me in this journey. 

Since I am already working on aerobic exercise this month, I need to focus on my diet as well.  If you have been paying attention to what I cook, you will know that this is not going to be easy for me.  But I can do it.  I have already started incorporating healthier foods into my diet with more whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Another big thing for me, as far as my diet goes, is portion control.  I am very bad about filling my plate to the point of overflowing and making sure I eat every bite because I do not want to waste food.  Now I have been paying very close attention to how much I put on my plate, and I can tell it has made a difference. I am also not going back for seconds nearly as much.  I would say I'm not doing it at all, but that would be a lie. 

These little things, hopefully, will begin to add up.  I go back to see my doctor in six months for another blood panel.  If I stick to what I am doing and increase my efforts, I am confident that I will get my levels down and feel much better.  Losing weight will help with my back pain as well but that's another story for another day.  I'm going to focus on one thing at a time.  Wish me luck!

New Recipes for Fun

Bloomin' Onion Dip

 I always enjoy trying new recipes.  Sometimes they work out great, sometimes not.  But that is part of the fun in trying something.  If it isn't something I want to make again, at least now I know.  Last week, I tried two new recipes, and both were very spur of the moment. Saturday, my roommate Jason sent me a reel with a recipe for Bloomin' Onion Dip on it.  Well, it just so happened that I had everything needed to make the dip so that worked out perfectly. I liked the results and will post the recipe on my blog sometime down the road. 

I knew that I was going to make a pot roast this weekend, so I wanted something new to go with it.  While I was initially looking for a new vegetable side, I came across this recipe for a cool whip salad.  That one stuck in my head and I head most of the ingredients for that one, too.  And since I was already planning a trip to the grocery store that morning, picking up one more ingredient would not break the bank.  I through it together Saturday afternoon but I have yet to try it.  I realized that I had other things that I needed to eat up first.  But I will be trying it soon and will let you know how that one goes.  I pretty much love anything made with a base of cool whip, so it should be good.

That was my fun for last week.  While it was not much in the long run, trying the new recipes is something that I very much enjoy, and I will take that joy wherever I can get it.  And if that salad is any good, I will post that one too at some point!

Using YouTube for Exercise

 

The cold weather has not been my friend this week as far as my January challenge goes.  For about 2 weeks now, I have gotten out each day after work and going for a walk.  I enjoy getting out and just being in the fresh air.  It does me good.  But winter is here, after all, and it's not going to stop just because I want to get out and walk.  I realize that cold temperatures are relative depending on where you live.  Last week we had several days where the highs were in the low 30s. That may not seem like a big deal to some people but to us here in NC, that's cold.  I will never get used to it LOL That, in combination with wind and accompanying rain has delayed my outdoor walking pursuits. 

Now here is where technology is useful to me.  Since I could not get out and walk, I used YouTube to find some good exercise videos to work on my cardio. Let me tell you, there are lots of things out there to choose from.  And that is great for me because it will keep me out of the exercise rut.  I want to keep things interesting and varied. If my exercise routine becomes boring, chances are I will stop.  Or at least I will skip more days than I need to. But I have found good chair exercises, yoga for beginners, tai chi, aerobics, shadow boxing vids.  And it's helpful to have someone in front of me guiding me.  I find it motivating. So, while the weather chooses to remain wintry, I will work up a sweat indoors!

Phones

 I know that some people think that I am just being rude when I don't answer a text or a message right away.  Sometimes I will do that after sending a few texts back, I will just put my phone down for a while.  And yeah, I guess it is rude but I'm not doing it to be rude. And the same applies to being on my computer.  I'm not necessarily going to get right back to you. Part of the reasoning is because of my job.  I work at the front desk.  I spend my entire day on the phone and on the computer.  I have no desire to take that home with me. I like to separate myself from technology when I'm home.  That is not to say I don't look at my phone, or I don't sit at the computer, like I'm doing right now writing this.  But I am simply not spending all of my home time communicating with people. 

I often miss having a landline phone.  Growing up, like so many households, our yellow phone was on the wall in the kitchen.  It might actually have been a green phone but my mind is telling me yellow! You could take it as far as the kitchen table.  Otherwise, you sat on the stool at the counter to talk on the phone.  And anyone coming into the kitchen had to duck under the cord - that long coiled cord that often would get tangled in itself. OF course, the phone matched our kitchen colors of yellow, green and orange.  Standard 70s fare! I remember getting our 2nd line installed.  It was in my parents' bedroom. Finally, if we needed some privacy, we could go into their bedroom and shut the door to talk.  Of course, it did not mean that they couldn't come in at any moment.  It was their bedroom after all.  

Then came the new waves of phone technology:  the cordless phone and the answering machine. Our cordless phone replaced the cherished yellow phone in the kitchen.  But now we could walk around anywhere and talk on the phone.  Who knew at that time that would become the norm? Ah, well.  And our answering machine took up residence in my parents' bedroom alongside the 2nd landline.  There was something exciting about coming home and seeing that red light blinking and wondering who the treasured message was for. It made me feel important when there was a message for me! And if you have ever tripped over something and fallen flat on your face because you're running to get to the phone before the caller hangs up, you know how wonderful having an answering machine was at that time. 

I miss those times when our phones did not control our lives, it only enhanced them.  People may argue that phones today do enhance our lives and I would not necessarily disagree.  But there are times when I don't want the world at my fingertips.  I don't want to be looking down at a screen for hours at a time.  I just want to put my phone down and walk away and live my life.  If it rings, I'll do my best to get to the phone before the caller hangs up.  Hopefully without tripping over something!

Looking for a church home this year

 I want to make a more concentrated effort to find a church home this year.  It was on my list last year but like so many things on that list, it never got done.  I'm ok with that but I would still like to find some place to worship.  I miss having that kind of community in my life and, honestly, I am tired of letting myself stand in the way of finding a church home.  I can come up with all kinds of excuses not to go.  Some legitimate, some not.  That's human nature though.  At least that is my human nature LOL  As much as I long for that sense of community, I often let my social anxiety stand in the way.  The older I get, the harder it seems to be for me to meet people or feel comfortable in a new setting like that. I think that I just need to get over that and go. It all has to start somewhere, right?

I have a church in mind that is at the top of my list. I feel some apprehension about it because it is not the denomination that I grew up with.  I don't really think that it matters in the end.  As Dolly Parton's character says in Steel Magnolias "God doesn't mind where you go to church as long as you show up." or something akin to that!  But I do feel like, in the back of my mind, that the people who were such an important part of my church upbringing would be disappointed in my switching.  I know it's silly but that is where my mind goes.  I need to stop justifying reasons not to go and make myself do it.  I know that once I get over this first hurdle, I will feel much better about things.  So, that is my plan.  Hopefully I can make it happen sooner or later.

It will be good for me.