Spice, Spice, Baby is Ready to Go!

This blog is dedicated to my dear sisters, Stephanie...AKA, Aunt Pooh and Marrissa. My sister, Steph, and I grew up with the love "pull her hair out" relationship. Marrissa was the "baby" and therefore I felt the need to take care of her. To make a very personal story short, Marrissa lived with me up until I was nine months pregnant, and Stephanie came to live with me a month before Tony was born. I hadn't been around Steph for quite a while, so this time with her was extra special.
So here it was, late August, record heat month in Virgina, and I was three weeks past my due date. I did everything...jumping jacks, toilet squats, praying to the Rain Gods, but damnit my baby didn't want to come until he was good and ready! That was until he met Steph's Spicy Crock Pot Beef Stew. :0

It was a Friday afternoon, and I am at my weekly OB appointment to schedule a C Section, but much to my surprise, my doctor had gone on vacation, and I was told not to worry, that I should go into labor over the weekend and would be in good hands (this is another blog!). With the shock that my doctor wasn't going to be the one delivering my baby, AND I had no idea how much longer it would be, I demanded Marty take me to the closest grocery store and let me jog up and down the isle. We did this for all of about five minutes and I was exhausted. No sign of baby tonight...I thought.
We came home to find my sister, Stephanie, had cooked a heavenly pot of beef stew for dinner. The aroma and anticipation had me filling my plate to the rim with the hearty chunks of beef, carrots and potatoes! To my surprise, Steph, had seasoned the stew with what seemed to be at least a half cup of black pepper!!! My eyebrows were sweating like crazy! It was good, but damn was it spicy!
I finished my bowl of stew and was headed to the kitchen to wash my plate and take my tums, when all of a sudden I felt a gush down my leg. I cried out "Steph, Marty!" and there they were in record time with the "Deer in the headlight" look on their faces. I had no pain, so I thought...oops, I must have peeded my pants from that stew being so damn hot! I laughed it off and told Marty and Steph that I must have had an accident, and I was going to the bathroom to make sure. They waited....I emerged from the bathroom..false alarm...for about three seconds! Whoosh, there it was again! Yep, it was time.
Seven hours later, with my sister, Stephanie, by my side, Tony took his first breath. There he was :) I was in such shock (natural child birth can do that to ya!) I couldn't focus on just one part of his body. There he was..tiny hands, toes, legs and arms jerking with every beautiful cry. There he was...My life changed forever at that very moment.

My life changing moment I dedicate to "Steph's Hot Damn that Baby's Coming Tonight!" Beef Stew recipe!

A Not too spicy recipe that I follow is:

1 1/2 lbs. stew beef
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 chopped onion
1 2 oz. can chopped green chiles
3 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon salt
Dash of garlic salt, lemon pepper, dry mustard
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1 can beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup (or if you don't like mushrooms, use a can of cream of beef OR chicken)

Heat your crock pot for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl combine beef, diced green chiles, onions, olive oil, and flour until well coated. Add beef mixture to crock pot. Let the beef cook for about 25 minutes on the highest temperature. Pour in seasonings, and beef broth. Stir, cover, and let cook for six hours. Remove lid, stir, and add one can of cream of mushroom or beef / chicken soup. Stir, and season with salt and pepper...or if you're wanting a baby tonight, make it extra spicy and add a few dashes Red Devil Hot Sauce and 1/4 cup cracked black pepper!

Mom, Stephanie, Marrissa,....you all were there to see me through. Steph, you will always be a part of the most precious memory I will ever experience in all my life. I will never be able to find the right words to thank you for what you did for me that night, but what I can say is, you should market your recipe for " I Need a Baby Tonight Spicy Beef Stew!"


Hot in the Pueblo Tonight, Goodnight!

Bon Appetit!