My Christmas Roaster
Hello all!
I’m back from Connecticut and getting into the flow of things slowly. I’m glad that I had (well, took) yesterday off from work because it was the only day that I felt like I was on vacation. Christmas was lovely and fun, as was B’s family home where I spent Boxing Day and the day after, but my office wasn’t even open on those days so it didn’t feel like I was missing work.
Anyway, I’m pretty pleased with my gifts, both given and received. I still need to add up the final cost for what I spent on gifts, gift boxes, and cookie ingredients and such, though. I got $70 in cash, a $100 check, and a $100 Visa gift card! Sweet! That pretty much covers what I spent altogether.
Everyone said that they loved my cookies (my cousin’s husband even wrote on my Facebook wall to tell me that they were “flippin’ awesome”) which relieved me. I know that a lot of people always have Christmas cookies / junk food around this time of year and probably don’t need more, but this was the best that I could do. I have approximately seven cookies left that I kept (they weren’t firm enough when I was packaging them and I didn’t have time to wait for them before leaving for Christmas Eve Mass) after eating several others. They’re addicting; it’s probably my secret ingredient: crack. Just kidding. Don’t do drugs, kids.
The gift that I got that was the most wtf? was a copper-bottom roaster from my parents. My mom has gotten on this kick (as of last Christmas) of getting me copper-bottomed cookware and other kitchen stuff in lieu of things that I’ll actually use. Okay, that’s mean and untrue. I do use the things that she’s given me and they’re very nice cookware. Here’s the thing: I don’t cook, or rather I rarely cook. I bake a fair amount (fourteen dozen cookies on Christmas Eve alone), but almost never cook; I could always use more baking utensils and cookie sheets and things…in fact, I had to buy new ones to bake all those darn cookies. She’s not giving me those, though! I realize that this is an attempt to give me the tools that I need to cook, but it’s still not going to happen. I didn’t even know what a roaster was; I had to ask and Mom replied, “It’s for when you roast a turkey or a ham or something.” I snarkily thought to myself, “Because I do THAT all the time.” I bet that I won’t use that thing this side of five years from now. Also, I can’t put copper-bottomed stuff in the dishwasher, so I don’t like using the stuff if I know that I’m going to have to handwash it later.
These are petty gripes after receiving such a lovely, expensive gift. I think that the real issue here is that I never had any say in any of it. I’m very content to use crappy cookware until I get married one day and register for my own stuff…actually, that’s what I’ve always planned. Now I don’t get to search out and register for all those things. So there it is: this is something I’ve always associated with being an adult and getting married, and everytime I get more “marriage” stuff before I’m even engaged, I feel like it’s her saying, “I better give this to you now because you’ll never get married and get your own.” Wow. I didn’t realize that until just now. That’s easy to psychoanalyze, isn’t it?
On the other hand, she got me a great knife set, too, and THAT I can actually use. The hand-me-down ones that I’ve had barely dent butter.
So despite my terrible ungratefulness for the roaster, I really appreciated everything else that I received. Most of all, I enjoyed all my time with my extended family and B’s family and that’s what’s most important.
My Expenses, 16 October 2008
Up-to-date expenses:
Gas x 4: $196.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 2: $70
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Income: $1541.80
Expenses: $838.02
Net Effect: $703.78
Groceries bought:
1 gallon 2% milk: $3.99
8-pack of eggs: $1.29
Whole Wheat flour: $2.19
1 quart buttermilk: $1.59
Chocolate syrup (24 oz.): $2.19
Whipped cream (tall can): $3.79
I want to start to do a little more cooking / baking at home and I started with the biscuits last night. For that recipe I needed buttermilk and whole wheat flour which I don’t normally buy (never actually bought either before) so I didn’t have any on hand. With the rest of the buttermilk, I can make 2 1/2 batches of the same biscuits again (22-23 biscuits), or find another recipe.
The chocolate syrup and whipped cream? Well, sometimes I’ll buy ice cream and these are good to have on hand, but the real reason is coffee. I don’t like coffee. But I DO like blending coffee, milk, ice, and chocolate syrup to make something like a Mocha Freeze (something that I used to get at Borders ALL the time when I was a senior in high school, working at an Old Navy next door). Then I put whipped cream on top. I like it and it’s a good way to use up all the coffee after B makes a pot while visiting and doesn’t drink it all.
I had a bunch of leftovers from last night because one fewer person came than originally expected, so I’ll have that for lunch today and tomorrow. I might be able to have some left after that, too! Also, I have a ton of biscuits left because I made a double batch, intending to have extras.
It was funny when R and A came in last night because I had my hands in the biscuit dough, flour everywhere, pasta cooking, and cut up chicken breast waiting to be cooked. R said that I looked like something out of a movie or TV show. I’m terrible at keeping things clean while I cook…especially if I’m doing multiple things at once. Next time I try making biscuits it’ll have to be when I’m not cooking, or cooking something simple like spaghetti.
Anyway, I have my updated totals above. I got gas for $40 yesterday! It was a full tank minus a couple gallons, maybe, so it was definitely below $50! I hope that I can wait until Monday afternoon to get more gas, but it’ll depend on B and what we do throughout the weekend.
My Cookbook Review
I feel like I should preface this post by saying that it is NOT sponsored. As of now I’ve never done a sponsored post and have no plans to do so in the future…but…you know…maybe I will one day. I have no real problem against it.
Anyway, I checked out The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook by Linda Larsen and I really dig it. Firstly, I checked out the book because I’m trying hard to find cheap meals that I can make without eating Ramen all the time (though we established in my last post that I love Ramen). This is also beneficial to me because every two or three Wednesdays, I cook for myself and 2-3 friends and I don’t want to break my bank just because I’m serving more people than usual.
Larsen’s book is great. It’s broken up into categories like breakfast, breads, appetizers, soups, salads, and entrees by type of meat, to name a few. Then each recipe puts an approximate cost per serving on the title line. Tonight I’m going to make the flaky biscuits which are estimated to be 16 cents a biscuit/serving, but there are recipes for as little as 3 cents a serving (pita chips) up to $2.39/serving (Shrimp and Grits).
Most of it is good for families and not a single gal like me. I rarely cook for myself though I’d like to get into the habit of doing it, so I don’t keep a lot of staples on hand knowing that I’ll probably use them on a given day or week. This makes buying in bulk a little hard for me unless it’s for something that won’t go bad for a long time, or something that I can freeze. Presently I’m starting a list of items that I go through constantly (food or no) so that I can make my first Costco trip (using my card…I’ve been there with my parents before).
The book also has a guide at the beginning on ways to cut corners and ways to save more money on things. There is a handy dandy “Actual Yield” chart that tells how many ounces of meet you’re getting once it’s been cooked, and comparing that to it’s original price. I was surprised that because of the actual yield, boneless chicken and pork chops could wind up being cheaper than the bone-in variety. It’s important to note that she used average prices, so recipes will be cheaper/more expensive depending on where you live.
I’m definitely going to keep some of these recipes on hand before I have to return the book…and I might ask for a copy for Christmas, too. It’s right up my money-saving alley.
My Selfishness
I’ve been selfish recently. I’m not proud of it, nor am I very pleased with myself. Because groceries are one of the things that I’ve really been going over budget on, I’ve started seeing every meal for the dollar amount that it costs. This causes me to resent my wonderful boyfriend whenever he eats my food, and to resent my friends. I’ve been looking at this meal cooking every other Wednesday as a chore and something that I’ve been roped into. I’ve seen it as another drain on my money and my time. I’ve focused on the financial aspect to blame it on my friends expecting too much of me when the real problem is that I’m mad at myself. I resent me for not being able to say no. I resent me for not putting my foot down and give real reasons why I don’t want to do things. They’re ruling my life because I let them and it’s a hard cycle to break.
So I’m going to start doing things and looking at things differently. I’m going to happily invite my friends (including one friend that I wouldn’t have invited, but R mentioned that I was cooking tonight in front of her, so now I have to–which is only a problem because I feel like things need to be perfect, apartment clean, etc. for this friend where I wouldn’t have felt as pressured if it was just RC) and just look at this as an opportunity to do something nice for my friends. Yeah, it’s a hassle, but I’m just going to pretend to myself that it isn’t. What’s the worst that can happen if I ruin dinner? I have to heat up some frozen pizzas in the oven. There are worse things than that.
I’m also going to stop focusing on the prices of food that I buy once it’s been bought. When B eats half my food, I’m just going to be glad that he’s eating well for once. I’m also going to start loading up on Ramen noodles and soup fixings. My goal for October is to eat for less than $2/day, even if that means eating Ramen four or five times a week. Because I’m bad at sticking to goals, I’m going to post some October goals this week or next and spend the month trying to meet them. And actually update on them, too! We’ll see how this all goes.
My Mahi Mahi
It seems as though many PF bloggers also blog about food / diets / recipes, but I’ve been a little different. I blog about grocery shopping, frozen foods, and my diet, but I never include what I’m actually eating because I don’t want people to judge me for how unnutritious it all is (although I haven’t been sick in AGES–allergies don’t count–whereas the healthier eaters that I work with are sick a lot more often. One co-worker joked that all the preservatives in what I eat are preserving me).
Anyway, R suggested last week that we start cooking dinner for our Wednesday night get-togethers instead of simply drinking wine and snacking on what’s handy. I agreed, even though this works out better for her than me. Most of the time that we get together, her husband, C, comes, too (she and I have not hung out one-on-one since May, though we see each other once or twice a week); this means that I’m serving four extra dinners a month and RC are serving two extra a month.
Regardless of THAT, I agreed and I think that it’ll be a good way for me to try to learn to cook a little! I mean, I can cook a LITTLE, but I just never do it. I never try out new recipes because it’s easier to do the same old thing or pop in a frozen pizza than to go to such work. Also, I don’t keep many spices on hand.
It’s my turn to cook, though, and I want to prove that I’m not a complete doofus in the kitchen, so I want to make something that looks good…and tastes good. I’m a bit nervous trying this for the first time, but it sounds delicious.
Ginger Honey Grilled Mahi Mahi Fillets – Serves 4
1 1/2 lbs. mahi mahi fillets
1 cup honey
1 red bell pepper, seeded, cut into 2-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded, cut into 2-inch strips
2 teaspoons ground ginger
How to cook:
1. Cut mahi mahi fillets into serving size pieces set aside.
2. Combine honey and ginger; use half of honey to coat mahi mahi fillets evenly.
3. Place on oiled grill over medium-hot coals (or burner in my case), basting frequently with honey mixture and turn once.
4. Coat bell peppers with remaining honey mixture and grill with fish until tender; turn peppers often to avoid burning.
5. Fish is done when it flakes easily when tested with a fork.
I’ll be making much more than that because I have a mess of mahi mahi (I caught it myself!) frozen together in a ziploc bag in my freezer that is several pounds more than the recipe calls for; I’ll freeze whatever is left individually for leftovers.
Egg Rice
Here’s the thing: the recipe calls for a cup of diced vegetables, but I like rice with just eggs, so I’ll be adjusting everything. It may turn out well or like crap, but I hate onions and don’t want them in my rice.
I’m using brown rice; I have a bag of it at home and I don’t know how much it calls for per serving. So, let’s say that it’s calling for two cups of rice:
2 cups brown rice
2 eggs
Olive oil
1. Cook brown rice normally; let it steam or whatever you’re supposed to do (I’ll read the directions)
2. Coat bottom of frying pan in olive oil; briefly consider that butter makes it tastier and hem and haw over the decision.
3. Transfer rice to frying pan, but heap it over to one side.
4. Break open two eggs on the empty side. Swirl around with a fork. When it starts getting more solid and less liquidy, mix in with the rice.
5. Put it on the plate.
This is where I might start frying more eggs because the eggier the rice is, the better.
So, yeah, this isn’t a clear recipe to follow, but it’s good enough for my friends and me. We’ll see how it all goes.
