Good-Bye Sydney

Almost two weeks after Sydney's surgery she died. Her blood levels are what gave us hope through the process that she would survive. Tony and I took her to the emergency hours at our vet's office. She had not eaten for three days and was throwing up water. Her blood work showed the worst. The cancer moved into her blood stream and she did not have much longer to live. Tony and I decided to put her down peacefully that night rather than her suffering for a few more days.


When we put Otis down over six years ago we did not stay with him and this is the biggest regret of our lives. We knew we had to stay with Sydney until the end. The vet's office did a very nice job making it comfortable and peaceful. They also sent us flowers and a card the following week. 


It is so terribly hard loosing her so fast. I think it was even harder loosing her than it was Otis. Otis was old and we knew his time was coming. Sydney was a completely normal dog and then in less than three weeks cancer took her. I still tear up driving home because she is not going to be there. It is a different feeling walking into my house. I am used to three dogs storming at me, each one pushing the other aside to greet me and whomever else visits. Jack and Oscar still greet us but my big girl is missing.


I don't remember how long it took me to get over Otis dying. My brother died a month after he did so my sadness turned to my brother. It is going to take a long time to get over her.


Mom and Dad love you baby girl. Take care of Otis and my brother in heaven.

Skin Cancer Sucks

Two weeks ago I found out I have basal cell skin cancer below my eye. This was traumatizing to me given they will have to cut out my skin below my eyelid and possible reconstruct my eyelid. This type of skin cancer is not the kind that transfers to the organs. That is melanoma. I went into the doctor thinking I had a skin tag. What I have is not what you think skin cancer looks like. This was not a mole. It was a very small skin colored bump not even a half inch below my eye. I thought it was a skin tag which is what I originally went in for. While it does really suck this is on my face I also am very fortunate it is on my face otherwise I would have ignored it. My surgery is scheduled for April 9.

The following day after finding out about my skin cancer I received deviating news. My dog Sydney has melanoma skin cancer. I took her in for a bump on her skin about the size of a quarter. Who would have thought dogs get skin cancer. The day of her surgery they found another spot of skin cancer starting. It also traveled to her lymph node. The lymph node in the groin on a dog is about the size of the tip of your pinkie finger. Hers was about the size of a soft ball. This all took only a matter of a week and a half. She was a normal dog before. I cannot believe how fast it grew.

The day we brought her home from surgery

She had her surgery to remove the cancer. It came back at stage three which gives her about 6 months to live. I have been so worried about her that I really have not even paid too much attention to my skin cancer. I am having a hard time getting her to eat. She looks so depressed. I just cannot stand seeing her like this. Right now I am focusing on getting her healed from her surgery and then keeping her comfortable for the remainder of her life. 

Jack realizing what is wrong with her

Cheesy Potatoes

Nothing says comfort food to me like Cheesy Potatoes. Just because they say Cheesy does not mean it has to be high in fat. I made some modifications to this classic Kraft recipe.

Cheesy Potatoes

Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4 oz) low fat condensed cream of chicken soup.
1 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 package (32 oz) frozen southern-style has browns, thawed
1 package (8 oz) reduced fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese
20 light ritz crackers crushed

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix soup and sour cream in a large bowl. Add potatoes and cheese. Stir until well blended.

2. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with crackers (original recipe calls for mixing the crackers with butter).

3. Bake for 50 minutes or until heated through.

Jamaican Jerk Roasted Chicken

This is one of my favorite roasted chicken recipes. It is from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine. The best thing about roasting chickens is you can make chicken salad sandwiches the next day. All you need to do is cut up the chicken and add some honey mustard, mayo, and nuts.

Jamaican Jerk Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt

¾ teaspoon ground allspice

¾ teaspoon dried thyme

¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1⁄3; cup chicken broth
1 (7 -8 lb) whole roasting chickens
1 small onions, cut into wedges Directions

Directions
1. In a small bowl, combine garlic salt, allspice, thyme, black pepper, cayenne, and cinnamon.  Add 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture to chicken broth, stirring well.

2. Fill a turkey marinade injector with broth mixture; inject mixture at 1-inch intervals into breast, thighs, and wings of chicken. Rub remaining spice mixture over chicken skin. Let chicken stand for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 375°. Place onion wedges in chicken cavity, and tie legs together with kitchen string. Tuck wings under, and place chicken, breast side up, on a V-shaped roasting rack set in a roasting pan. Bake for 2 hours or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion of thigh reads 165°; loosely tent with foil to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Carefully transfer chicken to a serving platter or carving board, and let stand 10 minutes before carving.

Potatoes with Paprika Sauce

This recipe is from Every Day food with Martha Stuart.

Potatoes with Paprika Sauce

Ingredients
4 medium golden potatoes cut into one inch cubes
1 tbs EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup mayo
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove minced
3/4 ts paprika


Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
1. On a rimmed baking sheet toss potatoes, EVOO, salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until potatoes are tender - about 35 to 40 minutes.

2. While potatoes are cooking mix remaining ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with potatoes.

Herb Roast Chicken

Tanya this is the chicken I made for you!

Herb Roast Chicken

Ingredients
1 4-5 pound chicken
1 1/2 ts salt
1 lemon half (or lemon juice)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1 tbs EVOO
1 tbs butter melted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove giblets and other crap from inside the chicken. Rinse chicken and cavity well. Pat dry with paper towel. Sprinkle 1/2 ts salt inside cavity. Place lemon half inside.

2. Stir together pepper, rosemary, thyme, and remaining salt. Brush outside of chicken with oil. Rub 2 1/2 tsp pepper mixture on skin. Sprinkle remaining mixture on both sides of the breast. Place chicken breast side up on a lightly greased wire rack in a shallow roasting pan. Add 3/4 cups water or chicken broth to the pan.

3. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 30 minutes. Baste chicken with pan juices and drizzle with melted butter. Bake 15 to 25 more minutes or until a thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Remove chicken from oven and baste with pan juices. Lest stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shimp

Tony loved this recipe!

Bacon-Corn Chowder with Shrimp
Cooking Light July 2011

Ingredients
6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
1 cup prechopped onion
1/2 cup prechopped celery
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan; saute 4 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown. Remove 2 slices bacon. Drain on paper towels. Add onion and next 3 ingredients (through minced garlic) to pan, and saute for 2 minutes. Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

2. Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape), and secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in the blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Return pureed corn mixture to pan. Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in half-and-half, pepper, and salt. Crumble reserved bacon over soup.

Seared Filet Mignon with Chive Butter

Things have been extremely crazy in my life this past month. You will soon find out why. Unfortunately I failed to take pictures of some of the recipes.

For Valentine's Day I made Seared Filet Mignon with Chive Butter from Paula Deen's magazine. I do find Fillet Mignon a hard to cook with how thick it can be. I am not particularly fond of rare meat either.

Seared Filet Mignon with Chive Butter

Ingredients
2 TB butter, softened
1 1/2 TB minced fresh chives
1 1/2 ts lemon juice
3/4 ts salt
3/4 ts black pepper
1/2 ts minced garlic
1 TB EVOO
2 6-oz Filet Mignon

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, stir together butter, chives, lemon juice, 1/4 ts salt, 1/4 ts pepper, and garlic. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

2. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with remaining salt and pepper. Add steaks to skillet and cook for four minutes per side or until the meat thermometer reaches 130 degrees.

3. Divide butter mixture in half and let melt over hot steaks.