Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Making Eating on a Budget Amazing!!!!!!!!!

If you saw my receipts from today, you wouldn't believe what I paid.  I used no coupons, only the deals in the sales papers from the day. 

Bi-Lo
Sara Lee plain bagels
Sara Lee blueberry bagels
Arnold oatnut bread (paid full price--it's worth it)
1lb ground turkey breast
5 crab cakes
Frozen flounder filets
Frozen whiting filets
Frozen catfish nuggets
---------------------------
Total before savings: 50.22
Total savings: 21.96

Total: $29.11

The bagels were Buy One Get One Free, and the last five items were all in the "Pick 5 for $20" deal.  I can bake or stuff the fish for one meal and have plenty left over for sushi the next day.  Of course, the crab cakes are for when my dad comes to visit. 

Ingles
Ginger Ale Spritzer
Tangerine Spritzer
Havarti sliced cheese
Muenster sliced cheese
Sour cream
Natural eggs (cage free, vegetarian diet, no hormones/steroids)
Rotisserie chicken sandwich meat
Jimmy Dean hot sausage X2 (for sausage and cheese balls)
Passion Orange Bolthouse smoothie (large)
Fresh broccoli
Fresh tomato
Bell pepper
4lb navel oranges
3 cloves garlic
Hass avocado
--------------------------------
Total before savings:  48.09
Total savings: 9.69

Total: 38.40

Dollar General
Plastic garden spade
Plastic garden rake
Metal garden birdie
------------------------
Total: $.30  

Pizza Hut
Breadsticks with marinara sauce (free for signing up)
Large Super Supreme minus sausage and plus bacon
--------------------------
$10 (we ate half and saved half for another meal)

So, for less than $80, we got food for the next two weeks.  Pretty sweet!  

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Top 5 Ways to Keep out the Cold

I admit it, I'm a cold-weather weenie, for lack of a better term.  My ideal climate is somewhere between 75 and 95 degrees, and preferably closer to the 95 than the 75.  I don't use air conditioning unless I must for either company or the house's temperature exceeding 85.  So, when I check the week's weather forecast and see this:

My response was the same cold chill that Orphan Annie likely felt on the icy streets.   So, besides abandoning all plans of doing anything outdoors for the next week, I'm listing a few plans that I hope will make surviving this winter's first cold snap amazing.  

1. Hot beverages

Whether your poison of choice is apple cider, cocoa, mochas, or hot tea, (to which I reply "yes") it is definitely time to begin to heat up your beverages.  Find a new recipe for Russian tea, hot fruit punches, and toddies, if you enjoy them.  Nothing heats you up from the inside out like that warm beverage sliding down your throat into your stomach.  

2. Physical activity

Tis the season to start early on that New Year's resolution, or get the final squeezes out of this year's.  You simply cannot be cold after a good hour of P90X.  Your body heat also makes a convenient space heater for loved ones, and if your deodorant works, you may actually manage to get some warming snuggles out of the deal.  Not to mention your rock-solid body will encourage that spouse to get in on the snuggling as well. Combine this with number 3, and you're good to go.

3. Hot showers

Nothing feels better on a cold, crisp morning than to hop into a boiling hot shower.  To keep your skin from molting and morphing into alligator leather, squirt some conditioner onto your wash cloth along with your body wash to soften it up a bit.  You, not the wash cloth.  Also, if you use clear shampoos and body washes, dig out or buy a creamy one.  They're made to be less harsh and more moisturizing.  I also like the ones that smell like an island beach so I can dream about summer a little more while I thaw out.  

4. FWIPPIES!  

I don't know what you call your fwippies--fuzzy bunny slippers, house shoes, whatever.  They're a must-have for especially those of us with wood, tile, or linoleum flooring.  Couple them with some warm yoga pants (see number 2), a hoodie, or my personal favorite--one of my husband's long-sleeve shirts, for a match made in the warm, celestial heavens. 

5.  Baking

I confess, I don't like most heaters.  We aren't blessed with a fireplace at this residence, so I'm left with whatever the nebulous "they" installed in the apartment complex.  Usually those things aggravate my eczema to no end and leave me coming into springtime as one massive scab that finally gets healed by October.  I have a whole host of things to combat this, but the best preventive measure is simply baking.  

If I bake in a 1-bedroom apartment, the temperature of the entire place shoots up by about 5 degrees.  So, everything I stir-fried over the summer, I bake.  Tonight, we're having baked salmon, baked potatoes, and roasted vegetables.  See how this works?  It warms me up just to think about standing next to the oven, starting some cookies for the upcoming holiday season, some coffeecakes for friends, some pumpkin breads, some regular breads, pizzas, you name it.  

How do you keep warm in the winter?  Anything I missed? 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Making Tonight's Dinner Amazing

It's a chilly, rainy day in the sovereign nation of Dade County, Georgia.  The mountains that surround us are covered with deciduous trees, which are in turn covered with leaves that are just on the brink of bursting into a violent color palette of reds, oranges, and yellows. 

This calls for the commencement of soup season.  And what better way to celebrate Autumn's Advent, than to pile on the spices!

As always, I have made alterations and substitutions, but for the epically curious, the original recipe comes courtesy of this place: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Lentil-Soup-5344#ixzz1aVZhxc6U


Curried Lentil Soup
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2-3 red potatoes, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 2+ tablespoons Garam Masala
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 cans rotel tomatoes, juice included
  • 2 cups lentils (about 12 ounces), with juice retained
I start with dried lentils and cook them, lightly salting the juice.  
 
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, potatoes, and carrot.  Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Mix in pepper and garam masala and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with juices and lentils with juices and bring to boil. Cover pot, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 45 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. 
 
This recipe can be made up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate until cold, cover, and keep refrigerated. Before serving, rewarm soup over low heat. 
 
I might decide to serve it with rice so my soup-wary husband thinks he's eating curried lentils instead of curried lentil soup.  But I'd love to serve it in bowls outside on the porch with a cup of masala chai and some sour cream and cheese in it.  Either way, we'll see. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Making Being Violently Ill Amazing

I'm thinking the title is probably a tad bit of a misnomer, there was nothing amazing* (unless you're very strange) about the effects of this bug I picked up on my recent trip to Honduras.  Nor was there much amazing about the RAB diet my mom put me on (Rice soup, Applesauce, Bananas), which she said was gentle enough to help the villi in my intestines regrow.  It also was gentle enough that I was hungry all day yesterday, even though I splurged a little and had oatmeal soup instead of rice soup.  Today, though, was time to slowly titrate my body back into normal eating habits, and this is where the creativity and amazing comes into play. 

*the heat pad, however, was most definitely amazing. 

Recipe of the Day: Egg Drop Banh Pho Soup

This is an Asianified version of chicken noodle soup, and even easier on the stomach.  I started with some veggies that looked mild, and prepared the Banh Pho rice noodles (for those who haven't read my post on Thai curry, you soak the noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then throw them in your stir fry until they're soft.)  Then I made the Egg Drop Soup, and added the noodles and veggies to the finished product. 

The Stir Fry/Banh Pho part
1-2 carrots
1 green onion or shallot
1-2 stalks of celery
1/3 of a package of Banh Pho rice noodles

Put the noodles in some water to soak them.  Chop all the veggies, cook with a little of the chicken broth in a wok or frying pan.  You don't have to get them all the way soft or brown them, because they will be heated in the soup, which will add a minute or two to how long they cook.  When the veggies are as done as you'd like, add the Banh Pho noodles, and cook until soft.  Turn off, and make your egg drop soup part. 

The Egg Drop Soup Part
1 quart chicken broth (I freeze mine after cooking a whole chicken, then thaw it every time I want egg drop soup)
1-2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat the chicken broth just to boiling, turn the heat down.  Beat the egg, slowly drizzle it into the hot broth.  Wait about 3 seconds, then gently stir it to break up the now-cooked egg bits.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you like your soup a little thicker, add about a teaspoon of cornstarch while you heat the broth. Once you have stirred the egg, add the Banh Pho and Veggie part, stir, and make sure your salt and pepper amount is still good. 

Variations: I like to garnish with Furikaki (rice seasoning).  I'm also pretty sure some brown rice would be very good in this soup in the absence of Banh Pho.  A little bit of soy sauce might also be tasty, and you could always vary the veggies depending on whether you're sick or not.  This reminded me of miso soup, so some tofu and seaweed or kale would be incredible as well.