Most of us are about 5 days into our New Year’s resolutions. Some are still going strong and others have already tripped up. I read a New York Times article on how to make your New Year’s resolutions stick. One of the things the article mentioned was finding someone to hold you accountable. When choosing the person who will be responsible for holding you accountable, Doc has some great advice. He says pick the friend you don’t mind losing because when they call you out they won’t be your friend for long! He then laughs and says, “Picking a family member is a better choice, cause you can’t get rid of them”.

My New Year’s resolution is to focus on the positive instead of getting rid of a negative behavior. It goes something like this: Laugh more often, sing like it’s my last performance, and have fun! Happy New Year and good luck with your resolutions!

Vegetable Beef Soup

1 pound stew meat cut in 1 inch cubes
1 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
30 ounces V-8 juice
One 10-1/2 ounce can beef broth
1 cup sliced celery
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
One 14-1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies
One 16 ounce bag frozen vegetables for soup.

Season beef cubes with salt and pepper. Dredge meat in flour. In a Dutch oven heat oil then brown beef cubes in hot oil. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Add garlic and next six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and green chilies, and frozen vegetables. Return to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve with cornbread.

Published in The News and Neighbor on January 5, 2013