Mexican Steak Skillet - And More Winter!!
It's amazing how this spring has kind of put a hamper on my blogging. In a perfect world, I would get to sit down every morning and blog away. However, I live in reality so this is the way it is! It makes me that much more thankful and appreciative when I do get to sit down to write. :)
I've had quite the week. I felt a bit strange about a week and a half ago, but I didn't think much about it. A couple of dizzy spells and upset stomach, but nothing major. Last Friday (May 2nd) rolled around and holy cow......I was in a bad way. I let things go until Saturday morning (the day my folks were branding) mostly because I was hoping it would go away and I didn't want to pay for emergency room fees. Well, the pain didn't go away...it got worse. So Saturday morning I ambled into the walk-in clinic in Chadron, which is 30 miles from our house. It was determined that I had a severe bladder infection.
I haven't had a bladder infection in well over 10 years and when I did have one it never felt like this, but I'm not a doctor so who was I to question their diagnosis. Well, things didn't get much better. I trudged around in sweats all weekend and Monday. I was hopeful that the meds were just taking their sweet time. Tuesday morning I woke up in worse shape than ever so I decided it was time to change doctors and go to the gal we normally do (she was unavailable over the weekend). So, off I went. Much to my surprise I didn't have a bladder infection....and I never did! How can a clinic misdiagnose something so simple? Hmmmm.....well, whatever. I found myself in the middle of an exam and then a CT Scan. Have you ever had to drink the Barium they give you so they can see your organs during a scan? If you haven't thank your lucky stars. UGH!!!!!!! After the tests were completed I was informed that I had just been through an Ovarian Cyst rupture. Unbelievable!! The pain was excruciating....and quite odd! No symptoms existed except a lot of pain and pressure down below. How crazy! Well, thanks to our lady doctor, she got to the bottom of it and I'm now almost back to normal.
We have been going through some harsh weather conditions as of the last two weeks also. In that regard I'm a bit thankful as I didn't have to beg to be in the house on bedrest.....it was a given with our lovely gumbo out here. In the past two weeks, we've had around 6" of rain and close to 12" of snow (it didn't accumulate much). I'm sure you can imagine the run off around here. Our creeks are out of their banks and it's roaring! We went without power for over 7 hours on Wednesday. Shane had to go haul the lineman in so we could get the lines back up. He even helped them finish the job. What a guy!
Doc and the other horses weren't amused by the storm.
Check out all of the water!
We are thankful for the moisture! I am a bit irritated at Mother Nature though and I will admit it. Tomorrow was supposed to be our branding day, but due to her temper it has to be rescheduled to Wednesday. After looking at the forecast, it may need to be moved again! Frustrating, but nothing we can't handle! We are under a Winter Storm Watch tonight....again.....I can't believe it (it's May for crying out loud)!! I'm not happy about it, but what can I do? I guess pray that it isn't severe and that all of those baby calves and their mamas hunker down out of it until it passes. I know that this too shall pass (as my Gram used to say). It's sometimes hard to remember that when you are in the middle of things. One thing to look forward to is LOTS of green grass and fat calves this fall. Our reward for enduring the difficulties.
Onto other things.....I do finally feel well enough to be back in the kitchen at least! Here is what I made last night and it was yummy!!
Mexican Steak Skillet
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1 Large Onion, Chopped
2 cups Minute Rice
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 can Rotel Diced Green Chilies And Tomatoes (10 Ounce Can)
1 can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 Ounce Can)
2 cups Chicken Broth (more If Needed)
2 teaspoons Cumin (more To Taste)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
2 teaspoons Cilantro
2 teaspoons Oregano
Steak (cut into thin bite-sized pieces) - *whatever amount you want – pre-cooked
2 cups of Mexican Cheese (or whatever cheese you like) - shredded
Preparation Instructions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add rice and garlic. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t burn. Cook over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes. Add Ro-tel and tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes.
Finally, add broth and stir together. Add some salt/pepper and the cumin, cilantro, and oregano. Bring to a boil.
Add the sliced up steak pieces and mix it all up. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 additional minutes or until rice is done.
Add more liquid as needed; rice shouldn’t be sticky. Top with cheese, stir to ensure it is all mixed.
When melted, serve immediately.
Top with fresh chopped cilantro is you want to (or dried cilantro....it's all I had...don't judge!) :)
Give this recipe a whirl....it makes quite a bit so we are having it for lunch today. Enjoy!! ~Cheyenne