what the fuck? a USEFUL post? no way!

Tags

budget, cooking, food, meal planning, recipes

Don’t get your knickers in a knot, I used to do this shit all the time. And now I feel like doing it again. It’s my damn blog and I’ll write about whatever I want. Or in this case, whatever someone sort of half-assed requests.

My new pal Sian (I apologize that my keyboard is a racist bastard and won’t make the correct bits above your A) over at My Purse is Closed and I were talking this morning about being broke. For some reason I mentioned making killer Eggplant Lasagna last night and we started talking food and food tips.

Incredibly ugly, but really very tasty. If anyone is actually interested, I’ll type up the recipe. And then translate it for you. My grandma wrote pieces of it down before I was born, and then I went and fucked around with it. But I digress, the idea was inexpensive food that doesn’t taste like turds. I think several folks are searching for tips on that right now.

So here are some of my tips for keeping the food costs on the down-low:

• Keep staple items like rice, potatoes, ground beef, broth or stock (chicken and beef if possible), milk, and the cheese you like on hand.
• Buy meat when it’s on sale and then buy as much as you can comfortably afford AND have room for in the freezer. We buy in bulk and then portion it out at home.
• If your area does grocery ads for the different stores, look through those to see what’s on sale each week. Then…
• Make a weekly menu based on what you already have on hand and what you can get on sale that week. Your grocery list should be based on the bits you’re missing for your menu plus the minor household junk we all end up needing each week.
• Cook seasonally, and by that I mean, certain foods tend to be cheaper during certain times of year. Take advantage of that.
• Some things are better cooked BIG. If you’re going to take the time to make spaghetti sauce, you might as well make extra and freeze it. Later all you’ll have to do is defrost it in the microwave and boil some noodles. Soups that don’t have noodles in them are another perfect food to make in quantity and then freeze.
• Don’t go overboard on convenience foods. I prefer to buy the little envelopes to make my peach tea than to buy individual bottles of it. It’s cheaper that way, and better for the environment. I mix my 2 quarts of tea in recycled 2 quart bottles that once held fruit juice.
• Speaking of convenience, it’s actually way more convenient to buy your snacks for work at the grocery store than to get them out of the vending machine. I’m quite fortunate in that I’ve got a mini-fridge in my office for beverages and left-overs and a file cabinet that is affectionately known as The Snack Cubby. I keep crackers, cookies, extra fruit cups, Ramen noodles, etc in there so I really never have an excuse to order delivery.
• Don’t think that every dinner has to be gourmet. It’s not uncommon for us to have sausages cooked on the stove, a veggie out of the freezer, such as green beans or broccoli, and either a pouch of noodles or instant mashed potatoes. It’s nutritional, fast, and still fairly tasty. I like easy food that tastes good.
• If you have a BBQ grill, learn to make that thing your bitch. In the heat of the summer, nothing is nicer than not having to heat up the whole fucking house making dinner. We grill a ton. I do chicken, sausages, burgers, salmon, kebobs, pork steaks, and lots of veggies. We even do a sausage/potato/onion/red pepper thing on the grill in an aluminum pan. Works beautifully.

Wow, I kind of went overboard with that…

‘shrooms, ‘shrooms for everyone

Tags

family, food, kids, random shit that falls out of my brain

It’s a well known fact amongst the folks I run with that there are very few foods that I won’t eat. In fact, the list is short enough that I can run through most of it right here quite easily.

• Liver (and maybe other organ meat, but that’s just speculation)
• Fresh mango
• Avocado (only if it’s naked – I will eat an entire batch of guacamole all by myself)
• Cheap hot dogs

That’s IT. And I have the same issue with all of those – texture. I love love love guac because it’s not slimy after you add the other ingredients. And I totally enjoy the flavor of mango, so I usually get it dried or go for mango-flavored stuff. Food with a texture that I find “funky” are just a no-go in my world.

There are a few foods that I’m not all that excited about, but I’ll eat them as long as they’re not the only thing I’m going to eat. Brussel sprouts fall into that category as do most raw veggies. And there are some things that the people I live with would rather I didn’t eat, like pepperoni and beans.

And then there’s mushrooms.

I adore stuffed mushrooms. I love me some big ass stuffed and grilled Portabello mushrooms. And I really like the flavor of mushroom in gravy. But I’m not all that keen on eating them on pizza or those canned things. I’ll eat around them because Mom and Josh enjoy them, and lord knows they humor me often enough when it comes to other things.

All of this ridiculous lead up so that I feel justified in having put out a post for this tiny little story that’s probably more appropriately referred to as an anecdote…

Mom called me at the office yesterday. The conversation went like this.

Mom:  You’ll never guess what A just did.

Me:  Probably not.

Mom:  I was sitting on the couch and she walked up and out of the blue said “shit talking mushrooms.”

Me:  What the fuck?

Mom:  I know, so I asked her to say it again. “Shit talking mushrooms.” And then it dawned on me, “shiitake mushrooms,” so I asked her if that’s what she meant and she said “yeah, shit talking mushrooms.”

Anyone in the mood for some Shit Talking Mushrooms?

don’t come too close

Tags

family, food, random shit that falls out of my brain

My mom is an awesome cook. Actually no, my mom is an AWESOME cook. I try to be as much like her when it comes to all things “kitchen” as possible. My sister’s idea of cooking involves selecting which restaurant they’ll get take out from that night. So holiday meals, while they always have to take place at her house, rarely involve her actually making anything. And to be honest, we all really prefer it that way.

One of things I think my mom is particularly awesome at making is Deviled Eggs.

I honestly don’t know if this is a uniquely American food thing or not, but just in case, the basic idea is you boil the eggs, cut them in half long ways, scoop out the yolk, mix the yolk with “stuff,” put the “stuff” back in the hole, and sprinkle with paprika. The “stuff” is the part that everyone seems to do different. In our family it’s a little mayo, a little mustard (French’s yellow), and a little sweet pickle relish. They’re to die for. And if you eat enough of them, you want to die. From the smell.

Our meal was phenomenal. The one good thing about having holiday dinners at her house is that they don’t eat leftovers, so all of the good food comes back home with us. SCORE!!! I’ll be having more eggs tonight along with some cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole. Aww yea…

But for the love of god, don’t come too close. I smell worse than the cat right now.

Oh hey, that Atkins cheesecake was lousy, don’t waste your time. I really don’t think that cheesecake should ever be made with artificial sugar.

will someone please remind me…

Tags

food, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes

I have a recipe to share – Easy Chicken Parmesan.  Perhaps tonight while the boy is at school I’ll get it typed up for y’all.

That is all.

attack of the munchies

Tags

bipolar disorder, food, life, love, mental health, mental illness, moods, munchies, random shit that falls out of my brain, work

And no, Merry, I haven’t had any encounters with Puff.  I’m just hungry.  Really fucking hungry.  I’ve eaten a large can of mandarin oranges, a cheese stick, a roast beef and cheese sandwich, some chips and salsa, some bagel crisps, and now I’m eating fresh pineapple.  I’ve drank my entire cup of mocha, a can of V8 fusion juice, a bottle of IBC Black Cherry soda, and now I’m working on some lemon tea.

Sweet jesus, let this be a sign that my brain is functioning properly again.

I got up to cruising speed this morning fairly easily.  I got the one project I’m working on to it’s logical stopping point.  I need to wait until we have our team meeting Friday afternoon before I do anything else.  Now I’m working on a mobile learning project and it’s not really going as smoothly.  I’m still in the research phase which is quite possibly my least favorite thing to do.  I’ve got a meeting with one of my colleagues to talk about what we’ve found in a little bit.

Lunch went better than I thought it would.  Josh called and we actually talked the whole time.  It was nice for a change.  I think it helps that I feel a little more in control of what’s going on – not so much like I’m just completely at his beck and call today.  May sound silly, but it helps.

And, I have to say, girl, I look GOOD today.  At least that’s what I’ve been told.  By several non-compensated co-workers.  I’m wearing black dress cowboy boots, slender fitting dark blue jeans, a lilac colored tank top, and my special recovery sweater with sparkly purple jewelry.  I own this look.

Sorry, just had to have a little happy thrown in there.