What is this a post and recipe???

     So yeah the last time I posted was December of 2016. I was in a very very low point in my life. Since then my aunt has died. Aunt Brenda was a huge shock and we all miss her dearly but I don't want to talk about that. I'm still grieving. I will forever be grieving all the loss my family has had; however, I can't stay in that grief and let it consume me like last year. Yes, our family has been hit with a lot but we've also grown stronger and closer. We even have a new addition and he's too precious for words. My nephew was born in December and I can't express how much I love that little guy. They have moved out to Colorado so I only get to facetime with them but he is growing so fast and he seriously has my heart. As someone who has come to terms with the fact that she will never have children a lot of it is because of him. No, I may never have kids and that's ok because it feels like he is a part of me. I can't explain it but I love that kid more than anything. I love Ron more than anything but there is something about the nephew that I just can't help but love him. How can you fall in love with someone who's only been on this earth for 6 months? Seriously, this little guy is going to be spoiled rotten by our family.

     My folks are embracing the grandparent role whole-heartedly, they just came back from visiting and let me tell ya they got some good pictures of that little bugger. My brother is loving CO but he misses everyone and I definitely miss them. I can't wait to see them all again. This is military life but the nice thing about internet is you can stay connected so much easier than before. I love that my brother and I can still play video games together, and I love that my sister in law calls me during the day to chat and facetime with her and the nephew. She's a great mom and I love her like a sister.

     So enough gushing time to chat about all the other awesome stuff that's been going on. Streaming is getting bigger and bigger and I'm a part of the Twitch affiliate program, if you don't know what that is google it, but its basically a way for Amazon/Twitch to make money off of the smaller streamers as well as giving the smaller streamers the ability to make a little money. I don't do it for the money, I honestly started streaming just to have something to do but the more I get into it the more I really love it. I'm enjoying the interactions I have with everyone and I love being a part of the Girlstreamers community! The podcast is growing immensely and while I've left The Omnic Fallout, I've joined another podcast with my awesome friend Mary and its about Mental Health called Mind Games. We discuss mental health and coping skills from the patient's perspective and I love it. I love being on this podcast with her and Phil, they're so amazing and I highly suggest you guys checking it out; not that I'm biased or anything.

     Life is definitely getting better, the hubby and I went through some marriage counseling to help us grow stronger and get through the roughest year we've ever had and we celebrated 5 years of marriage this year, 7 years together. We've known each other almost a decade and that's a lot to think about but I wouldn't want to be with anyone else. I know this is mostly a summary of what has been happening but honestly I've been writing in a regular journal because some things I simply didn't want to put out on the internet, suffice it to say I've had a rough year but I'm coming through it.

     What's really awesome for you guys is, I HAVE A RECIPE TODAY! I found this recipe on pinterest of course but I changed it up just a little because I didn't see the need in some of the extra ingredients they suggested. This recipe is a Salmon recipe and its done within 15 minutes so when you need a quick meal this is definitely a good go to. The recipe we'll call Balsamic Salmon; and it's south beach friendly! This recipe only needs 5 ingredients including the salmon.

Balsamic Salmon

Ingredients:

2 Salmon fillets (about 6 oz each)

½ cup of Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing (we use the sugar free version in most diabetic sections of the grocery store)

1 tsp lemon juice

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees
2. Season salmon with salt & pepper and place in baking dish, make sure to spray the dish before placing salmon in.
3. Cook salmon in oven for about 12 mins or until cooked through
4. While salmon is cooking, reduce the salad dressing in small saucepan over medium high heat (roughly 10 mins)
5. Remove reduced salad dressing from heat and stir in lemon juice. I squirt more than ½ tsp so it's to taste and how you'll like it.
6. Place cooked salmon on plates and drizzle the reduced salad dressing onto the salmon

Preheat oven to 450

Salmon, Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, Lemon Juice, Salt & Pepper 

Salt & Pepper salmon

  

Finished Product

Let me know if you enjoyed this simple recipe, original recipe calls for oil and balsamic vinegar I just got the sugar free salad dressing to cut out extra stuff, made it much simpler.