I’m not a math girl by any means but as Ninja says, “math is life” lol so let’s take a look at the numbers that make up 2025 so far…
I started this blog on Feb 1, 2013. I had no idea what was coming LOL. This month will be my 12 year Blogiversary! I have published 689 posts, although I know there’s more but some of them went missing when I transferred platforms last year and I haven’t figured out how to get them back yet.
I was diagnosed with MS January 13, 2022. This past month was my 3 year “MSiversary”. I have 20+ lesions on my brain and on my spine down to my c5 vertebrate. This April 2025 will be my 7th infusion of Rituximab. 4 and 7 have always been my lucky numbers so I have a good feeling about this one Lol.
Over the past 2 weeks my friends and family got hit with 3 HUGE losses. A friend from high school had a fatal heart attack leaving behind a wife and daughter. 4 days later my SSIL’s younger Sister had a medical emergency and got rushed to the hospital, 24 weeks pregnant. The baby was saved weighing 1 lb 4 oz but sadly Mom did not. She was 32 years old and newly engaged.
Then 3 days after that my Sis’s high school Besty passed out at work where she lives just outside of London and was taken to the hospital with a tear in her aorta lining. After a massive stroke she was left in a coma with no function on her left side. Her family flew the 7581 kms from Canada to be with her. 3 days later she passed away with her Sister and MIL by her side. She was 41 years old.
Numbers.
January has been 31 LONG days and we are finally entering the 2nd month of what will be my 46th year. If the numbers have shown me anything, it’s to never take anything for granted. For so long I have been scared of disease, but this past week has shown me that anything can happen. Life can be snuffed out just by chance, not only from cancer and disease. Do what you love, savour every moment and hug your loved ones because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
We own a snow clearing company and the first time Ninja had to go out this year was, yesterday. So because of that and the windchill factor lol I am declaring it, STILL soup season!
These 3 soups were amazing. I love a steak and ale soup! This Steak and Ale Soup with Mushrooms was comforting, super flavourful, and incredibly filling. We added some crusty bread and a pint to this dinner, and I felt like I had gone through the stones of time and was at a ancient pub in England slurping up delicious broth with big meaty chunks of beef with mushrooms bursting with flavour lol. So good!
In this Chicken Tortilla Soup, you actually put corn tortillas in the soup! I mean, I guess that makes sense, it IS called tortilla soup, but I had never done that in the past. Spoiler alert, that is the only way we will be making chicken tortilla soup ever again! The corn flavour is outstanding and it gives the soup a richness and texture that moves this simple soup into gourmet territory.
I am a sucker for a cream soup. Adding bacon and gnocchi and cheese is just icing on the creamy cake or in this case the Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Crispy Bacon & Cheddar Cheese. This soup wasn’t blow my mind because we have had soup similar to this before however, this was super easy super tasty, and the Kids loved it!
Steak and Ale Soup with Mushrooms
4-6
servings10
minutes50
minutesIngredients
2 lbs rib eye steaks, trimmed of excess fat and cubed
salt & pepper
4 tablespoons flour, divided use
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 white onion, quartered and sliced
16 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup ale
6 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
Directions
Add the cubed steak to a large bowl, sprinkle with a couple of good pinches of salt and black pepper, as well as 2 tablespoons of the flour, and toss to coat.
Place a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add in the butter and the oil, add in the steak cubes and brown on all sides, about 3 minutes or so (steak should be rare on the inside, you only want color on the outside); remove from pot and set aside.
Add the onions and the mushrooms, along with a pinch or two of salt and pepper, and saute for about 10 to 12 minutes, until slightly golden.
Stir in garlic, and once aromatic, stir in the Italian seasoning, and ale; allow the ale to simmer vigorously for about 5 minutes or so, until it reduces and thickens slightly.
Sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons of the flour and whisk to blend, followed by the beef stock; stir together and then bring to a simmer over medium heat, allowing the soup to simmer uncovered for about 20-22 minutes so that it slightly reduces.
Turn off the heat and return the browned steak back into the pot with the juices; allow the soup to sit for about 5 minutes. Finish with parsley and the thyme.
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
8 cups chicken stock
1½ teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
Garnish: crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, cilantro
Directions
Heat olive oil and butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add cut corn tortillas, chili powder and cumin; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, a few minutes more. Add chicken stock, salt and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and puree until completely smooth. An immersion blender is easiest for this or blend in batches in your blender.
Stir in chicken, then ladle soup into bowls and garnish.
Creamy Gnocchi Soup with Crispy Bacon & Cheddar Cheese
4-6
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
8-10 slices bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced into small pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 package gnocchi
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups cheddar cheese
Directions
Cook bacon. Set aside. Once cooled, cut into small pieces.
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the butter. Add onions and carrots and cook until until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add chicken broth and let simmer.
Once the vegetables are soft and tender, reduce heat to medium-low and add heavy cream and all of the spices. Let simmer until it starts to reduce slightly. DO NOT let it boil or it may clump when the cheese is added.
Add the grated cheese in increments. Let the cheese completely melt. Stir in gnocchi and cook for 2 minutes. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Add the bacon pieces. Serve with green onions, grated cheese, and bacon.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #415 Tariff This. This week we get together to discuss the craziness with our Southern Neighbours. Topics: weather changes, RIP family and friends, new car, Titanic Lego, kitchen organization, SOW, Tariffs, and….WTF?!
This week was SO cold I barely left my bed! I asked the Kids to start sending me pictures of their lives lol, if they want them put into our family digital storage, they have to get them off their phones and onto our family hard drive! I drop all of our photos and videos into our digital photo album, every week. Now, I get to see pictures of HBear with her Besty, being cute with her boyfriend, shopping, and at ballet. SBean even sent me pictures from her Besty‘s birthday party, but unfortunately not of her class tubing up at Apex or with her Bestie at the Vee‘s game on the weekend. I’ll work on her lol. Speaking of working, Ninja and SBean are working on an almost 10,000 piece Titanic Lego set that my MBesty lent them. Good luck guys lol! I went out for coffee with a girlfriend but messed up the dates so ended up just having a scone by myself lol, went to therapy and hung out with Oliver. SBean had her fine arts concert and Ninja and I re-organized all the kitchen cabinets! It was long overdue and much needed.
