Reason #76 for yelling at your girlfriend...

She says hello and/or something nice to every person in the room when she arrives to hang out with you. Yes, a boyfriend once told me off for being kind and said I was "attention seeking." I'm an introvert and I work hecking hard on my manners. It was a lot of work to bond with his friends.

So, you're a dick if you yell at your girlfriend for that or most any other reason. Yell to save her from danger. Yell in exuberance if she makes you really happy. Otherwise, shut your face and if you feel threatened by her behavior is it because she is holding a knife or because you are holding personal insecurities that you need to work out on your own time and stop blaming others for?

What are we making today? Frittata!

Feeds 2-4, depending on side dishes you might want to add on.

Tools needed:
Cast Iron Pan
Wooden spoon
Knife
Cutting Board
Bowl
Whisk

Ingredients:
2 Tb Butter
Pepper
Leftover bread ends (cut up and save several in sandwich bags in the freezer so you can make this anytime AND not have to have sad sandwiches in order to not be wasteful)
Mushrooms diced (optional)
1/2 onion diced up
8 eggs, up to 3 more if you just want to use up lots of eggs
Cheese, your choice. Whatever is hanging out in the fridge/freezer, use up the leftovers!

Eggs are SUUUUPER cheap at the moment thanks to all the chicken-keeping hobbyists. And if you are one of the chicken-keeping hobbyists you probably have more eggs than you ever wanted to see in your fridge in a week. This recipe is so simple and uses up a lot of eggs for you.

Start with getting everything organized because this comes together pretty quickly and you don't want to burn the bread while whisking eggs. Start by turning the oven on to 390. Why? Because we like to be weird and no one else is doing it.
Start melting the butter in the cast iron pan on a high-med heat, when melted add the onion and mushrooms and fry for 5 min stirring with your wooden spoon regularly so they don't burn. Add the bread and if you have butter to spare, add another tablespoon.

Add the bread, leave it rest for a minute or two to get some color on each side before you stir and toss. This step you should watch carefully and don't burn the bread. As soon as you see golden brown sides on your bread chunks, pour in the eggs on top, sprinkle some pepper on and DON'T STIR ANYMORE. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle your cheese all over the top to your liking, you can do a lot. I usually have about 1/4 cup. Or a handful :)

Put the pan in the oven, set a timer for 5 minutes and come back and take a peek. Are the eggs getting puffed up and a little golden brown on top? If yes, pull them out. If not give it another 5 minutes until you see it looks like my picture.

I suggest serving this with hot coffee at a minimum. If you have some orange juice, yogurt, fresh fruit, etc. add some sides and make it a brunch! Either way, you will be a hero to your friends for this lovely hot meal.

Nom nom.

Ramen Gets Its Own Post

Seriously, this is all about the glory of a good ramen.

While watching a cooking show, I saw a "proper" ramen assembled. And I thought, I could do that!
Sort of...

I loved eating those packets of quick-cooking ramen as a kid and since it was affordable we would often have it for dinner. 2-3 nights a week even which, I'm going to say, probably was not the best thing for a growing kid. But that is why I am writing this blog! So that you can learn, as I have, how to make affordable food into a more nutritious meal without straining your resources.

First of all, when you make this ramen as a serving for two you only use one flavor packet. This saves a seasoning packet for the cupboard and it can be turned into gravy or broth for another meal. I would usually have about 4 of those chicken packets in my cupboard at any given time. And the broth on this recipe is SO GOOD, using the flavor packet is actually optional.

Alright, the shopping list on this one is extensive BUT all the ingredients go into multiple other recipes as well as allowing for multiple ramen dinners.

Fresh mushrooms

Frozen Peas

Corn (fresh, frozen or canned)

Fresh Carrots

Celery

Green Onion (or dehydrated onion flakes*)

Dehydrated Orange Peel (I got spices for $1 a bottle with coupons a few months ago and just bought a ton of random spices that I didn't already have. This is optional but is a fun little boost for the broth.)

Garlic Powder

Ground Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Fresh grated ginger (1/2 tsp) OR a pinch of ginger powder

Eggs

Soy sauce

Butter

...and of course, a packet or two of Ramen!

It does not matter what Ramen you prefer, we usually go for the Oriental but it works well with any of them as far as we can tell.

~Ramen Philosophy~

Ramen is a comfort food, some good hot noods for  your soul. So you can add or subtract from the basic veggies I have included here. You can do chopped kale, no corn, extra peas, 

-YOU GET TO BE THE BOSS OF THIS RAMEN.-

 Making ramen should be an experience of you and the pot, the good smells, the steam and the anticipation. Hopefully you don't hate mushrooms. Don't be a shroom hater. It's the biggest flavor component of this broth, especially if you choose to forego the seasoning packet. You can put all kinds of different protein in this dish, sliced pork or squid or leftover chopped chicken. Tofu! 

Frankenstein the heck out of this dish and eat it differently every. single. time. 

Develop your signature Ramen and make it for date night. 

Elevate this simple 20 cent bowl of sad into a sophisticated adventure for your palate.

TO BEGIN:

This is for 2 servings-

Chop your carrots, mushrooms, and celery into fairly uniform pieces. You should use one whole carrot and a small handful of mushrooms and one celery stalk. Dump these into a medium sized pot filled with 2 cups of water.

Add a pinch of orange peel, crushed red pepper flakes- a sprinkle unless you want it to be extra spicy, a pinch of garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp onion flakes.

Turn on the heat to medium, bring to a boil and add in your peas and corn. 1/4 cup of each.

After it has returned to a boil, add your 2 packages of noodles. Once they are softened enough to move around in the pot, make a well in the center of them and crack 2 eggs into the boiling water. Add 1tsp of soy sauce, your seasoning packet (if you want it) and turn off the heat. Add 1 Tbs of butter and cover. Let sit for 2-3 minutes. Then dish up into bowls.

When I can afford a frozen bag of shrimp we get that as a special addition to the ramen. One bag equates to about 5-8 servings because we only put 5 in each bowl. You can add it in with the eggs if they are pre-cooked and frozen. Start them earlier if uncooked and frozen, just after the noodles go in.

*Side note: for a tiny budget a largish bottle of dehydrated onion flakes will often work as well as fresh onion in many recipes and doesn't have the limited shelf life of a fresh onion. Rehydrated with a little hot water they turn into the onions that McDonalds sprinkle on their burgers so...your call. Some recipes I prefer the flavor boost. Like meatloaf!

Welcome!

(Looong introductory post, hang in there!) Since we're both new here, lets get down to business. I made this space to share my techniques for keeping a budget and filling the pantry with nutritious, filling food.

Many times in my adult life I have experienced difficulty in obtaining food, 100% of the time due to income restraints. At one point in my younger years, after the bills were paid, I had $25 each week to feed myself and my 2 year old. There have been times we received food assistance as well and if you have tried to live on that you also know how difficult it can be to make it last until the end of the month. Depending on your situation you might have some money to spare or you might be wondering how to make a ketchup packet and the end of a loaf of bread taste good. I learned to use anything and everything I could find to make filling meals. I have standards for my family, though, I want us to eat delicious healthy things!

When possible I love to find local, organic produce but this is the exception rather than the rule given the constraints of time and budget. Generally I am working with what I can find at the supermarket, what has been donated to us through the kindness of others, and leftovers hanging around the back of the cupboard. (11 million cans of green beans, anyone?)

So what I will endeavor to share with you each week is a number of recipes that I hope will help to sustain you, and even bring you some joy. And maybe sprinkle in some of my own anecdotes and "rules" for surviving this ride. Hmm, rules seems like a good place to start, actually. I decided it would make more sense to group them into categories based on the situation so here we go!

Angela's "Rules" for Grocery Shopping

When you have money/food assistance and are able to shop at the grocery store:

• NO non-nutritious foods, this includes (but is not limited to) any kind of soda-pop, candy, cookies, "snack foods" like cheetos, potato chips, doritos, pringles

• No processed foods like boxed cereals or "helper" meals
• Buy bulk as often as possible, ask for a membership for your birthday and save at the Costco or Sam's Club or whatever you have near you
• Seriously, buy bulk. I buy 25 pound bags of rice at a time, keep it in a small tote that I have only used for food and scoop out cups at a time for my recipes.
• Always use coupons as much as possible, save 50 cents on ketchup. Man that's 50 cents you get to use on something else!
• Beg Borrow and Barter for all the coupons you can muster! Look up how to coupon websites, print at the library, print at a friends house. My family all save their coupons for me and I collect them once a week.
• Say yes to anything someone wants to give you for free from their garden, you might not like fresh tomatoes but I bet you would enjoy homemade spaghetti sauce! Never had acorn squash? Well it's time to try it.
• Farmer's Market- ours offers a deal, if you buy tokens to spend using your food stamps then they will match any amount up to $20 with more tokens. So you can buy $40 of produce for $20. Plan to go once a week and save your benefits to maximize!

*exceptions*: 

Holidays and birthday parties get a free pass for treats.

When extreme couponing and you can get things on the no list for pennies or free.

Let's face it, you don't have enough money for food to waste it on things that are of limited to no nutritional value. You have an uphill battle as it is, bills, low wages, debt...let's try to keep you fed and in good health!

When you are receiving from a food bank:

• Accept ANYTHING you are offered (unless someone in your household is allergic)
• Yes, I mean anything! Once I was given 2 one pound packages of chopped dried figs. That was way out of my comfort zone with cooking but I said thank you, then put them in the freezer because I had no idea what I would ever make with it. Then a few months later I was given 6 acorn squash, just before Thanksgiving. Yet another item I was totally unfamiliar with! On a whim I cut the acorn squashes in half and roasted them then turned them over and broiled them with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and the chopped figs as filling and took it as my dish to pass for Thanksgiving. People are still talking about them 12 years later! I wasn't embarrassed by being unable to contribute to the dinner because I was willing to think outside the box and save an unfamiliar item in my pantry until needed.
• Breads and items that may be past the sell by date or potentially going stale within a few days need to go straight to the freezer. No sense in eating like kings for three days only to starve the rest of the month!
• Get there early, smile at everyone, and if you have anything spare to contribute (stash of toothpaste or paper towels from coupon shopping?) Then share it! It will make you feel better and really help someone else too.
• And I always fail at this rule but try not to cry. I'm so ridiculously thankful for the people who provide this service that it has brought me to tears every time I've needed to receive.

Now it's time to cook with what we have!

But wait...do you have the tools?

Here is my list of "must-haves" equipment for the kitchen.

Cast Iron Skillet- this could honestly be a whole post by itself. Don't get worried about buying a brand new modern cast iron. It's expensive and usually not as good as an antique. See if a family member has an extra one you can have, or find one at a resale store. There are many excellent blog posts on how to clean and season them so I will link to the method I use. https://www.hobbyfarms.com/clean-rusty-cast-iron-no-self-cleaning-oven-required-5/

• Wooden Spoons
• Mixing Bowls
• Whisk
• Glass or Wooden Cutting Board
• Chef's knife, pay to have it sharpened or find a tutorial online. Don't try to chop with a dull knife!
• Paring Knife
• Vegetable Peeler
• Colander
• Loaf Pan (glass are usually easy to find at a Goodwill or other resale shop)
• Stainless Steel pots of various sizes
• Cookie sheet
• Metal Spatula (no plastic!)

Please stay away from plastic or aluminum, I don't use them and I don't think they last as long before they need replacing.

With these basic items you should be able to feel confident tackling your food preparation.

And to finish out the introductory post, a quick and cheap meal using just what you might get from a food pantry.

Rice Casserole

1 1/2 cups of rice

Diced Green pepper (if you have it)

Can of tomato sauce

1tsp Italian seasoning (if you have it)

Put all ingredients into your loaf pan, if the tomato sauce is the big can (quart) just pour on top of rice until 1/4" from the top. If it's the little 8oz can then add enough water to bring the liquid to 1/4" from the top of the loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil, set loaf pan on cookie sheet, carefully transfer to oven without sloshing the liquid over the sides, bake at 375° for 90 minutes.

If you happen to have celery or fresh onion or even dehydrated onion flakes, feel free to add some to the rice before cooking.

Serve on its own or alongside a meat/protein.