Stress... it is good or bad?

It depends. To me, I believe a certain level of stress works as a pushing force to me.

A lot of people see stress as the plaque. I often hear people say, "Gosh! I am so stressed out..." and next thing you know, this person goes on stress leave for an infinite amount of time. There is nothing wrong about going on stress leave, just not my game. I always find that going on stress leave is a way of admitting your own weakness and failure of finding balance in life.

For me... I tend to perform better with stress in my work life. My boss had 3 serious surgeries in the last two weeks. His heart stopped last Sunday, and at some point in time, I thought his chance of survival was slim. Updates of my boss's condition flood in throughout the day, the last I heard was that his condition has been stabilized... not getting worse, but not getting better either. For sure he will be out of the office for a long time, and perhaps he will have an early retirement.

With my boss away from the office, most of his work ended up on my plate. Last week, I was swamped... literally. Was I stressed? A bit, but at the same time, I was excited by this wave of stress. I know this sounds weird... however, that was the time I realized that I perform better when I am stressed. My mind is sharp and the decisions I take are good.

I cook and bake when I am stressed or overworked. I also take long walks in the park, with my MP3. Of course, at the end of day, Joe is the winner... he has been complimenting on my cooking lately... I suspect that one of these days, he will be shouting, "Keep the STRESS coming!"

I tried out two new recipes so far this week... Thanks to my new friend "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry"!

ONE LOAF TO LOVE
1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef (COSTCO's ground beef, of course...)
1/2 cup dry unseasoned bread crumbs
1 cup finely diced mushrooms
1/2 cup each finely diced red bell peppers, zucchini and onions
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dried basil (I used fresh sweet basil in my herb garden)
1 pkg hamburger seasoning mix
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup packed shredded light monterey jack
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp bbq sauce

preheat oven to 375F. Spray a medium non stick skillet with cooking spray. Add mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, onions and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat until vegetables are tender, Add basil.

in a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, hamburger seasoning mix, egg, parsley, and pepper. Mix well with hands.

on a large sheet of waxed paper, form meat mixture into a 10x12 inch rectangle. Spread vegetable mixture over meat. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up meat loaf, roll as tightly as possible.

transfer meat to a broiler pan and bake for 40 mins. Add 1/2 tbsp bbq sauce and bake for 10 more mins.

VOILA... meat loaf to die for.

*** I find that the rolling part is the hardest. I would suggest using a meat loaf pan, bottom layer: meat mixture,middle layer: vegetable mixture, cheese, top layer: meat mixture with bbq sauce.