I’ve been telling people about our holiday traditions lately and I thought it would make a good post.

Some people decorate their Christmas trees with the same ornaments, like all red balls and silver ribbon. I scoff at those people (sorry). My mother’s tree, and now mine, are a culmination of 45 years of collecting. Every time we go on a trip we get an ornament. She still has the tacky Charlie Brown ornaments I painted with that awful sticky paint 25 years ago. The God’s Eye one of my brothers made. The plastic Santa and reindeer that topped one of my father’s cakes 30 years ago. And I love it all.

I love that each ornament takes me to the place we bought it. The kiosk in Holland. The RiverWalk in San Antonio. Tarpon Springs. And I look forward to the day that Max (or maybe his significant other) will want to take some of them for his own tree, just like I did when I went off to college.

What about you? How does your family celebrate the holidays? What are your traditions?

Max and I went to San Diego to see the hub. We left just as the weather was dipping down in the 20s at night here in Arkansas, so the 60 degrees was welcoming. Too bad it wasn’t really warm enough for flip flops and swimming, despite my efforts.

Here’s a montage of our trip. Enjoy. We did.

Disclosure: I gave away and reviewed Chef’s Requested products on GiveDaddy.com. I thought you should know.

So I didn’t eat red meat until about 2 years ago. As a teen, I decided it was bad. Anyway, after edging into bacon and pepperoni, I finally gave in and tried steak. Actually, Korean barbecue was what sold me. These days, my husband calls me the Steak Monster. I love it. Can’t get enough.

So when I heard about Chef’s Requested’s Blogging Contest,  I knew I had to win it. They’re picking one blogger who racks up points talking about the contest and about their products and giving them a $1500 sponsorship to attend a blogging conference. Hey! I love steak! I LOVE Chef’s Requested. And I love blogging conferences. And I hate paying to attend. So I’m ready for this.

You can enter too. But you don’t want to because you want me to win, right??

I get extra points for giving a recipe using Chef’s Requested. Here goes. Super simple.

Fajitas a la Susan

Chef’s Requested 100 calorie steaks

True Lime shaker

Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning

Tortillas

Cheese, Salsa, Sour Cream and Guacamole to your tasting

Cut the 100 calorie steaks into thin strips. Season with True Lime and Tony Chacheres. No, this isn’t a mistake. You don’t need salt.

Turn your skillet to almost high. When it’s ready (and I always put mine in before it’s ready and get scolded by my resident chef) put in the steak strips. Cook until done to your taste. I like a little pink in mine, so it’s only about 2-3 minutes.

Put steak on a plate. Get a plate of tortillas and all the fixin’s. Put out for your family to make their own flavor taste sensation. Easy peasy, as Max says.

Yes, that’s my recipe. You probably won’t be printing it on a recipe card. It’s kinda casual, I know. But you don’t need a recipe! It’s common sense.

One reason I like the 100 calorie steaks is that since I never ate red meat, I tend not to think about cholesterol and fat. With the 100 calorie steaks I don’t have to.