Er, I mean, what a difference a year makes.

Last year at this time, I was preparing to go on a road trip to Florida where we spent a week with family celebrating the holidays.

You can read about our adventures here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

I’m telling ya, there was lots of good food to be had. Like this . . .

Beef tenderloin tips. Good stuff.

But this year, there will be no road trip. There’s a little thing called a recession going on. I don’t know if you’ve heard about it.

But after saving up for a very long time for last year’s beachside holiday adventure, it seemed out of the question this year. And indeed it is.

We had our food shipped to our door in Florida last year. And what a treat it was to have good, quality food right there at our fingertips. We KNEW the meat would be fabulous. And it was.

I hate playing a guessing game with the meat at the local supermarket in a town I’m not too familiar with. Heck, I don’t like it in towns I AM familiar with. So, we ordered what we wanted and it all came to us when we needed it. Like magic.

The good thing is, I can get that same quality anywhere I am in the country. So now that I’m home for the holidays this year, I’m having it delivered to my house. Um, which is not beachside in Florida. Boo.

We’re going to have a turkey, ham and all the trimmings on Christmas Day — and steaks! on Christmas Eve. And I will not be standing in line at the supermarket with the rest of humanity for it all.

Merry Christmas to me!!!

And happy holidays to you. The countdown at our house has begun . . .

It’s getting close to Christmas and the tension in the air is palpable at our house.

We like to tell stories with our kids before we go to bed. And now that Christmas is only days away, ALL our nighttime stories are Christmas-related.

My husband and I try to impress upon the kids that old adage about being “naughty or nice” and the possibility of a lump of coal in their stockings. Things like, don’t beat your brother black and blue trying to race him to change the “countdown to Christmas” statue to today’s number.

Santa doesn’t like that.

So, at story time a few days ago, my oldest added a new twist to the lessons we have been carefully teaching.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “the elves were busy building toys in the North Pole. And Santa was getting the reindeer in line. Sometimes they didn’t listen to him. So Santa grabbed some steaks and threw them at them. One got stuck in Blitzen’s antlers. The end.”

Apparently steak is so prevalent in my house that that’s the first thing that came to mind for Santa to hurl at the reindeer. Nice.

My littlest’s eyes were so wide by this time. You could see the gears turning in his head.

“Mama, what happens when Santa is naughty?” he asked.

Sometimes I just want to scream, I DON’T KNOW, PEOPLE! THIS STUFF ISN’T EVEN REAL!

But I maintained my composure and ended the night with a brilliant, “Well, that’s silly, honey. It’s a made-up story. Santa would never do that. Good night.”

I never said I was the kid whisperer. Often, it’s enough to just get through the day without any obvious psychological damage.

I am, however, wondering if the story about Santa chunking steaks at the reindeer might just become a new classic. Maybe you’ll see it on TV next year. 7 pm on ABC Family channel?

Or maybe not.

Photo courtesy of DigitalDreamMachine.com.

Cold weather brings out the snugglebunny in me. And a must is warm food to take the chill off.

Isn’t this steak sandwich/tomato soup combo to die for?

Winter weather means lots of homemade meals and sharing good food with people you love.

Oh, and it means lots and lots of leftovers. This sandwich makes great use of your steaky leftovers — and creates a whole new meal!

Grilled Steak Sandwich

2 tsps vegetable oil

1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin

salt to taste (optional)

2 slices bread, buttered on one side (I like the sourdough)

1-2 slices cheese (I like the Swiss)

leftover steak, sliced thin

In a medium sauté pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent and golden (about 5-10 minutes depending on the heat and how impatient you are). Add a little salt if desired. Remove from heat and set aside. You can either use the same pan (cleared of onions) or another flat-bottomed pan and place a slice of bread, buttered-side down on medium heat. Layer the cheese evenly on the non-buttered side of the bread. Then layer the steak over the cheese. Top with onions and set the second slice of bread non-buttered side down on the sandwich. The cheese will begin to melt in a few minutes. Watch that the base bread doesn’t burn during the cheese-melting phase. When the bread is crisp and golden, flip the sandwich to brown the other side and then serve. Makes one great sandwich.

Photo and recipe courtesy of UseRealButter.com.