Daily Journaling

I often think of how I wish I would remember to keep a simple journal of a just few things that happen in my life each day. When I was a little girl, my Dad had some old journals his father had kept, in which he had just recorded the mostly mundane things that had happened each day. Most days he wrote only a sentence or two, but he was consistent in writing daily. I loved glimpsing into his life from years before I was even born. I found it so fascinating. I do love looking back on old calendars and datebooks I have kept in the past. It occurred to me that I could do that here on this blog that nobody reads except me! Of course, my problem is that if I start writing, I can't stop at one or two sentences like my grandfather did. And I doubt I can be consistent like he was, either.

But I'm going to at least try to start writing about my days here for myself. I most certainly can't keep it down to one or two sentences, but I'm going to try to at least tell myself it's okay to do that. Maybe I can include a picture for each day, too. I think that would be cool. But my goal to at least write one or two sentences each day is really pretty simple, so maybe it's something I can stick to.

Today's entry is definitely more than that. HA!!

I will preface my daily entry by saying that I have been sick with RSV for over 2 weeks. It started during AJ & Hallie's visit from Washington State, which really sucked. They haven't been here since 2019 because of the pandemic. Of course, we saw them last summer for their wedding when we flew out to Washington, but it was nice having them here this year. We had such an enjoyable visit with them!! Unfortunately, my symptoms started half-way through their visit with the absolute worst sore throat I could ever remember having. In addition, I was fatigued, had a fever, body aches, a horrible headache - it was awful. I caught Covid in February (and I was not even that sick), and then was vaccinated in May. I honestly thought I had a so-called "breakthrough" infection. I went to Wellspan Urgent Care last Monday and was tested for Covid, which came back negative. The PA I saw was pretty sure I had RSV. Today was the first time for 2 weeks that I felt almost completely normal. No more fatigue, no aches or pains or headache. Just a lingering cough, but not too bad. 

So when I got up this morning, I was happy to realize that I felt pretty good, was not feeling achy, and not even coughing much. I bounded downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee, then seasoned some pork loin with fajita seasoning and thew it in the oven at 225 degrees to cook all day for dinner. The house started to smell amazing!

For the first time in 2 weeks, I finally went out for a walk. Andy and I normally walk every day, between 3-6 miles, depending on the weather and the time we have. Most days it's 3 miles. Weekends we may walk up to 6 miles, although we probably haven't walked that far since last fall. I really missed walking when I was sick, but I just didn't have the energy. It felt great to be out! The weather was so nice, in the upper 60's, with no humidity!

We went out to the Heritage Rail Trail today and walked out 1.5 miles, then turned around and headed back to our starting point to give us 3 miles. I felt really good, did not get worn out or fatigued. So happy about that! Then we stopped by nearby Finley's for a beer and cheap pizza.

After we got home, I washed & put away everything in our dirty-clothes hamper (long overdue since I've been sick!). Then I chopped up some veggies to make pico de gallo and made some guacamole. Took the pork out of the oven and chopped it, then fried it in a skillet to get it a little crispy. Served pork tacos for dinner - corn tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, and shredded sharp cheddar. Yum!

After dinner, we visited our neighbors Tony & Tonya for "Whiskey Wednesday." They have a standing invitation, but we haven't been able to make it for a while - always something, including a very bad string of heavy rains every Wednesday for about 6 weeks! We had a nice visit sitting around the firepit and enjoying good conversation with them, their daughter-in-law, and a couple glasses of whiskey.

My picture, at top: not taken today, but a couple weeks ago. It is a view of my little garden that I started early this summer. I had no idea what I was doing, but it has just blossomed, and I'm so excited about it! This was a blank slate to start. The only thing that existed was the rosebush that is located beyond the left corner of this picture, unseen. All the rest was just...well, dirt. Mud. I randomly bought little pots of annuals I found at Lowe's, planted them, made the little path with stepping stones and decorative rocks, and threw down some mulch. It looked so pathetic when I started that I was embarrassed! LOL. My parents visited in July and gifted me that adorable little bird chair. And now, I can't believe it! My garden has grown. The marigolds have grown way bigger than I ever thought possible. Maybe it's obvious, but I am NOT a gardener. I look at my garden and I see a miracle! I love flowers, but I do not know how to make them grow, nor do I really know how to plant anything. I just feel so happy when I see these beautiful flowers!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love tortilla soup! I've actually been craving it all summer, but kept telling myself I needed to wait for fall - or at least until we weren't getting an unbearably hot or sunny day. Well, thanks to Hurricane Ida, we are having heavy rainfalls today along with fall-like temps. I ran out to the store this morning before the rains got too crazy and picked up ingredients for chicken tortilla soup. It really hit the spot for all of us!

Ingredients for the soup:

3 TBSP butter

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups cooked, seasoned chicken*, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

1 can Rotel tomatoes

1 TBSP tomato paste

4 ounces cream cheese

3 cups chicken stock

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 can yellow corn, drained

1 1/2 tsp Knorr chicken bouillon powder

2 TBSP chili powder

1 tsp cumin

For the tortilla stips:

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips

Lard or oil for frying

Suggested toppings: 

Chopped cilantro

Shredded cheddar cheese (or Mexican cheese blend)

Diced avocado

Sliced green onions

Directions: 

1. Melt butter in a large cooking pot or Dutch oven, then add onion and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add chopped chicken, diced jalapeno, beans, corn, seasonings, and chicken bouillon powder. Give it a good stir.

2. Add cream cheese, tomato paste, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

3. While soup cooks, prepare tortilla strips. Place lard or oil in a skillet and heat for about 5 minutes. There should be about 1/2 inch of melted fat. Add tortilla strips in a single layer and cook on both sides until lightly browned. You will probably have to cook them in 2-3 batches, but they cook quickly so it won't take long. Move fried tortilla strips to a plate lined with paper towels to cool.

4. Serve soup with fried tortilla strips and other toppings as desired. Enjoy on a cool, rainy fall day.

*NOTE about the chicken. I wanted to buy a rotisserie chicken to use for the soup, but I was at the store too early and they didn't have any ready. Instead, I bought a package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and baked them. 

Seasoned Cooked Chicken

To bake chicken breasts for using in recipes like this one that call for cooked chicken, here is how I do it. This makes a total of about 6-7 cups chopped, seasoned chicken. 

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts

4 TBSP butter

1/2 cup dry white wine, like pinot grigio

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, trim fat off chicken breasts and cut each breast in half (they are usually so big, and cutting them in half helps them to cook faster).

3. Place half of the melted butter in a 9x13-inch glass baking dish. Lay the chicken in the melted butter and sprinkle generously with Lawry's seasoned salt and pepper. Turn chicken over, seasoned side down. Pour the white wine over all the chicken breasts. Pour the remaining 2 TBSP melted butter over the chicken. Season with seasoned salt and pepper.

4. Cover tightly with foil and cut a couple of small slits in the middle of the foil to vent. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool, leaving foil on the pan, for about 15 minutes at room temperature. Chop or shred to add to dishes calling for cooked chicken. You can also use the liquid left in the pan for broth in your recipe. It's delicious!