Saying goodby

On Tuesday of this week, August 28, 2012, I had to say goodby to my beloved kitty Chloe. This is possibly the most difficult time of my life, and I will miss her terribly.

Chloe was almost 18 1/2 years old. She came to live with my daughter and Smokey and I when she was just 8 weeks old. We don't know her exact date of birth, but since it was somewhere around St. Patricks day, we just called that Chloe's birthday as well. (We celebrate Smokey's on the 4th of July - she turned 19 this year.)

As the kitties aged, I had a very hard time admitting that they were getting old. I just didn't want to face the fact until about 2 years ago. In May, 2010, my daughter came over to watch the Lost series finale with me. She hadn't been here in a while - she doesn't come over here often - with 3 young kids, she's not as mobile as I am. She took one look at Chloe and said, "Mom, she's blind." I must be a bit dense, because I'd noticed her eyes looked different, but it didn't dawn on my that she was blind.

She got around quite well without vision - I just made sure I didn't move the furniture, and she moved more slowly. She did still bump into walls and furniture, but I'd had a few people that were surprised when I told them she's blind - they said she really got around well considering.

Probably about 2 months ago, she really started to slow down. She started to age. About a month ago, she fell asleep on the arm of the couch, and when she woke up, I think she just didn't realize she was up higher than normal, and she fell off the couch. She's fallen twice since then while trying to get up onto the couch. She's had some problems walking since then, but it wasn't bad until Saturday.

Saturday, just out of the blue, she started moving like she was in a lot of pain. She mostly stayed in one place in the kitchen, on a towel that I put down for her, but when she walked, you could tell she was in a lot of pain. It got worse, little by little. Monday night she ate a little, and then started retching like she was throwing up. Tuesday morning, I put food in front of her, she stood up, hobbled away, and started that retching again. Then when she was done, she laid down under the coffee table and started meowing a very sad, painful meow. I called the vet, told them I think it's "time", but wanted to make sure I was making the right decision. Appointment time was 5:30. I got home at 4:30, I walked right past her, talked to her, but she didn't realize I was there till one of my sisters called me, and Chloe heard my voice then. She started meowing that sad meow again, but it was sadder than it was in the morning. She was in a lot more pain. My daughter got here at about 5 and drove us to the vet. He said she probably had a stroke, that the way she was lying indicated it. He said it's very common at her age.

I'm gonna miss her. She was the best spur of the moment decision I've ever made. There will never be another one like her.

Chloe - March 17, 1994 to August 28, 2012

Lime and Coconut Chicken

Do you "Pin"? I'm addicted to Pinterest! I've got I think about 800 recipes that I'd like to try, but don't have all that time!!! I tried one today, with granddaughter "Rye" joining me for dinner. O.M.G.!!!! We both went nuts over it!!! I made a few changes, due to her little 6 year old taste buds, and because I didn't have coriander on hand. And at the end, I totally spaced out adding the cilantro to it, which I love, and I have on hand, but it was soooo good even without it!!!

This recipe is originally from http://chaosinthekitchen.com, and it will go into my normal rotation! I've indicated the changes I made, in parentheses.

Lime and Coconut Chicken

serves 4, prep 10 minutes, marinade up to 2 hours, cook 15 min, adapted from Fine Cooking, Winter 2006
•2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•3 tbsp oil
•zest of 1 lime (used about 1 T. lime juice in the bottle)
•1 tsp ground cumin
•1 1/2 tsp ground coriander (omitted because I didn't have it)
•1 1/2 tsp kosher salt (used regular table salt)
•2 tbsp sugar
•2 tsp curry powder
•1/2 cup coconut milk (had 6 oz. remaining from a different recipe, so added the additional 2 ounces when I cooked the marinade)
•pinch cayenne
•1 small fresh hot chili, such as Thai or Serrano, minced (optional) (didn't use, due to tiny taste buds!!!)
•1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (spaced it out!)
•Fresh limes, cut into wedges (didn't use)

1.Trim fat from chicken breasts. Starting on thick side of the breasts slice the chicken breasts almost in half, then open each like a book.
2.Place each open breast between two pieces of plastic wrap, wax paper or inside a large, open, Ziploc bag.
3.Using a small heavy pan, bottle or smooth meat mallet lightly pound out each breast into even thickness.
4.Mix all remaining ingredients except fresh cilantro and limes.
5.Add chicken and marinade to a large bowl or ziploc bag and chill in the refrigerator for up to two hours.
6.Your chicken doesn’t take long to cook so you can use this time to get your dishes prepped and ready.
7.Once you are ready to cook the chicken, remove each breast from the marinade.
8.Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Boil continuously for at least 2 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn.
9.In a heavy skillet or grill pan, heat a splash of oil over high heat.
10.Cook the chicken in batches to prevent over crowding the pan.
11.Place the breasts in the hot pan and cook without turning for a couple minutes
12.Flip the breasts over and cook until the other side is golden, it shouldn’t take long depending on the thickness of your chicken.
13.Place cooked breasts on a plate in a warm oven or under foil while cooking the remaining chicken.
14.Sprinkle with fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve with sauce on the side.

If you typically have these ingredients on hand this is a quick, cheap main dish to throw together. It would be delicious on the grill or as kabobs as well.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Tuesday I cooked about 2 lbs. of chicken breast in my crock pot, along with a jar of mild salsa and a packet of taco seasoning. I've eaten some over rice, some in corn tortillas, will be freezing some tonight.

Driving home from work, I was thinking I want something quick for dinner, but I don't necessarily want to eat those again. So I made some tortilla soup, and it was GOOD!!!

I poured 2 cans of low fat low sodium chicken broth into a pan, added some frozen green beans, peas, and carrots (I should have added corn to it, oh well, next time). I seasoned it with cumin, chili powder, and a little cayenne. The beans that I used need to cook for 8 minutes, so while that was cooking, I preheated the oven, cut up 4 small corn tortillas into strips, sprayed them with cooking spray, tossing them to make sure they were fully covered, and then salted and peppered them. I put them in the oven for 4 minutes, tossed them again, and put them back in for another 3 minutes.

When the veggies had cooked for 8 minutes, I added probably about 3/4 cup of the shredded taco chicken, and returned it to the stove long enough to heat up the chicken.

After putting half of it in my bowl, I put half of the tortilla chips in it. Then I enjoyed every bite!!!! MMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!