there's a first time for everything!

today i did something i have never done before. i am not sure how many 38 year olds can claim that, but it's true with me!

if you have followed my blog for a while, you know that i do not like raw meat. i don't like to see it, hear it (yes you can hear raw meat), or touch it. especially touch it! i have never touched raw meat. i have never cut it up for a meal. one of the reasons the officer is the best husband around is because he has always done it with no complaints. i will handle the meat after it's cooked - thoroughly!

today the officer came home and he wasn't feeling well. he slept for 2 hours. he decided to go to tae kwon do and i didn't have time to ask him to cut up the meat before he left. i was planning on pepper steak. i didn't want to have to wait until he came back from tae kwon do to start dinner.

so i decided to bite the bullet.

i got out the top round steak. i got out the rubber gloves. yes i did! i got out my favorite knife and the cutting board. i didn't think it would be too bad because the meat was pretty thin and lean. if it was large, thick, fatty, and bloody, we would have had grilled cheese sandwiches.

i pulled on my pretty purple latex gloves and got to work. it wasn't so bad. i did gag once when i was trying to cut off a piece of fat from the side, but that's neither here nor there. it's to be expected, right? i realized when i was about 3/4 the way through that i was sweating. when did that happen? has anyone else ever gotten a cardio workout through cutting up meat for pepper steak? i checked the thermostat to turn it down, but it was already going. i finished up the meat and cooked it up!

after i was finished with the meat, i cut up all the veggies. onions, green peppers, and broccoli. yum! of course i had to use my second favorite knife because the other one had touched the meat and it went straight into the dishwasher. so this is the finished product. we served it over rice.

so don't think just because you are 38 years old you can't try something you've never done before. of course, i also informed the officer this wouldn't be an everyday occurrence and he will still have to cut up all the chicken. i do have limits.