I had a different blog post half-written for today, but something happened at work that got me thinking thinking thoughts. It all started innocently enough, with the only man in my office sharing via email a somewhat humorous advertisement for the JC Penney's jewelry counter.
My boss responded, with a "funny" story about how one time her husband got her a vacuum cleaner for Christmas and a toaster for her wedding anniversary. Sometimes it's just better to get nothing at all! Now let's all lol!
Except I wasn't feeling very lol-y. One of my co-workers responded, in a self-deprecating way, that she would welcome the gift of a vacuum cleaner. I didn't respond at all. If I had, it would have been something like, "Oh, yes, that is so funny. I hate it when someone spends over $200 on something that I need and would use, thereby saving me from having to spend that money. I'm so glad my husband doesn't have a job so he can't get me something expensive like a vacuum cleaner. This commercial is so right on!"
The more I thought about it, the more lathered up I got. I'd heard this story once before from the boss. That time, it was prefaced with, "We don't buy each other gifts anymore. If we want something, we just go out and get it ourselves." Well, isn't that a nice thing to do WHEN YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO GO BUY WHATEVER YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE.
Sidebar: I'm trying very hard not to virtually burn my boss in effigy in this blog post. Let me just put it this way, have you ever read GOOP, you know Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle blog where she's all, "My friend Mario Batali says you should only eat mushrooms from northern Italy that have been discovered by midgets who can find them better because they're closer to the ground. At $500 per ounce, these are a bargain!" and "I think everyone should have their own personal uniform. It makes it easier to start your day when you know your style can take you from dropping the offspring of myself and singer-songwriter Chris Martin off at school to a lunch meeting with movie producer and my godfather, Steven Spielberg, at The Connaught Bar to a night out with my very good friend Vince Gill after we sing together onstage at the Country Music Awards. I put mine uniform together with the help of my good friend and fashion designer Stella McCartney." Like she hasn't even imagined that some people can't afford a Christmas get-away to Puerta Vallarta, much less being able to dine in the best restaurants once you're there? On a less ostentatious scale, that is my boss.
Sidebar #2: I also was thinking about how we are so politically correct about everything. Maybe we should all stop and think about being a little more politically correct about money. I mean, if I were to go deaf tomorrow, I hope my boss wouldn't try to share a CD of an amazing Christmas cantata. You know, this is the lady to whom I had to confess that we wouldn't be able to afford to put my husband on my health insurance plan. I didn't say, "We just like to gamble," I said, "We just can't afford it." It's not like she doesn't know. But I'm probably just being too sensitive...
Once I got over being bitter about it, I started thinking about how that commercial paints us, as wives, as husbands, as white middle-class, as Americans. It is pretty awful, if you think about it. The man thinks he can purchase something to make the woman's life easier--a flawed premise, if you ask me. The woman is so ungrateful that she throws the man in prison. Wow, how many people out there would love, love to be able to afford a fancy vacuum cleaner, or any vacuum cleaner at all, or the house to use it in?
So I'm putting my foot down. I may not be able to get this through Congress, but I can get this through to the what four? of you that read my blog regularly. Thanksgiving may very well be the best American invention ever. It deserves better than the fourth Thursday of November. It deserves better than turkey and dressing (and the good macaroni & cheese--you know who you are!). Thanksgiving should be every day. We should reflect on all the many, many, many blessings we have not just on one day, but on every day. If we can't be bothered to marvel at our own good fortune and give thanks for it, we all deserve to be in the dog house.
_____________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal and free blueberries (Thanks, Mom, for your hard work in picking and preparing those berries and for sharing them with me.) 11 cents
Snack: Granola bar (I'm very thankful to Smitten Kitchen for sharing the recipe for these granola bars with the internet.) 21 cents
Lunch: Enchilada (How blessed I am to be able to just stop by the grocery store on my way home from work to pick up what I need to make enchiladas for dinner any night I want!) 99 cents
Dinner: Massive Amounts of Junk (I may not be able to afford much, but if I feel the desire to go to the grocery store for some stress-eating foods, I am thankful that I can blast my food budget out of the water and get whatever junky stuff sounds good.) I ate some chocolate covered peanut butter sandwiches that cost about $1.40 and a hot pocket that cost $1.25 and some jalapeno popper things that were about $1.50.
Total: $5.45
And I'm thankful that I have great friends who read this blog, not because I'm the picture of virtue and perpetually upbeat, but because I'm bound to fail occasionally, get down about it, and pick myself up. We all do it. That's just what makes us interesting.
So, a day early and every day after, what are you thankful for?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Chicken Pot Pie
Did you ever watch the TV show Just Shoot Me? Whenever I think of chicken pot pie, I can't help but sing it in my head, like David Cross. It also makes me think of William Hickey when he was on Wings but I can't figure out why.
I've never made a chicken pot pie from scratch before. We used to have those pre-made frozen ones from the grocery store. I hated them as a kid. But I got a little nostalgic for them in college and had them every once in a while.
I made this on Sunday. I didn't really have a recipe, I just kinda winged it. I intended to have leftovers that would get us through until Thanksgiving. Then we invited my in-laws to join us for dinner. I figured at least I'd have something to take for lunch this week. Well, the chicken pot pie was gone by yesterday's lunch. I underestimated its appeal. I think my husband would have eaten the whole thing by himself.
This was really good. I dug in for seconds just because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left to enjoy. Then Monday, by the time lunch rolled around, I was so ready to dig into the pot pie. There wasn't really much pie crust left, but it was still very tasty.
Chicken Pot Pie
1Tbsp and 2 tsp oil, 3 cent
1 pre-made pie crust $1
Chicken from a leg quarter, cooked and cut up 75 cents
1 cup chicken stock free
1/2 leek, chopped 50 cents
2 carrots, chopped I dunno, 30 cents?
2 stalks celery, chopped 8 cents
1/2 pound green beans, bite-size pieces 50 cents
1 cup frozen peas, thawed, 42 cents
2 cloves garlic, minced 10 cents
chicken gravy this cost, like maybe 12 cents?
1/2 egg, beaten, 4 cents
So here's what I did. First, I heated up 1 tablespoon of oil. I had 3 leg quarters that I pulled the skin and most of the visible fat off and I browned (both sides) it in the oil. Then I threw in the chicken stock and let the chicken cook until it was done.
Meanwhile, I cooked the celery, onion, carrots and garlic in the 2 teaspoons of oil. Also I thawed out the peas (and green beans).
When the chicken was done, I took it out of the pan. I threw in some chicken gravy I had made earlier. We didn't eat much of it, so I put it in the freezer. Basically, chicken gravy is just the oil/fat/broth that the chicken was cooked in, plus whatever you want to season it with (Mine had salt, pepper, and marjoram.), plus some milk mixed with some cornstarch. I used powdered milk in my chicken gravy. Keep stirring it until it thickens.
While the gravy was cooking, I pulled the meat off the leg quarters. I cut it all up. I kept the meat from one quarter for the pot pie and put the other meat in two zipper bags in the freezer. (This is a pretty great meal helper. On the way home today, I stopped off at the grocery store and bought enchilada sauce and green chilies. I knew I had everything else to mix up some chicken enchiladas quickly because of the freezer chicken.)
Then mix up all the stuff and put it in a round 2 1/2 quart dish. Put the pie crust on top, brush it with the egg to make it shiny. (Yeah, I saved the other half of the egg for a breakfast sandwich. I can't believe you couldn't figure that out. It's like you don't even know me!)
Then bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
Total: $3.84
This is probably about six to eight servings. 64 cents
And you know what the best part is? Making people sing this all day.
________________________________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal and orange marmalade with clementines 60 cents
Snack: Banana 11 cents
Lunch: Miner's Casserole 54 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 21 cents
Pre-Dinner Dinner: Celery and Cream Cheese-Tapenade 43 cents
Dinner: Chicken Enchilada 99 cents
Total: $2.88
I've never made a chicken pot pie from scratch before. We used to have those pre-made frozen ones from the grocery store. I hated them as a kid. But I got a little nostalgic for them in college and had them every once in a while.
I made this on Sunday. I didn't really have a recipe, I just kinda winged it. I intended to have leftovers that would get us through until Thanksgiving. Then we invited my in-laws to join us for dinner. I figured at least I'd have something to take for lunch this week. Well, the chicken pot pie was gone by yesterday's lunch. I underestimated its appeal. I think my husband would have eaten the whole thing by himself.
This was really good. I dug in for seconds just because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left to enjoy. Then Monday, by the time lunch rolled around, I was so ready to dig into the pot pie. There wasn't really much pie crust left, but it was still very tasty.
Chicken Pot Pie
1Tbsp and 2 tsp oil, 3 cent
1 pre-made pie crust $1
Chicken from a leg quarter, cooked and cut up 75 cents
1 cup chicken stock free
1/2 leek, chopped 50 cents
2 carrots, chopped I dunno, 30 cents?
2 stalks celery, chopped 8 cents
1/2 pound green beans, bite-size pieces 50 cents
1 cup frozen peas, thawed, 42 cents
2 cloves garlic, minced 10 cents
chicken gravy this cost, like maybe 12 cents?
1/2 egg, beaten, 4 cents
So here's what I did. First, I heated up 1 tablespoon of oil. I had 3 leg quarters that I pulled the skin and most of the visible fat off and I browned (both sides) it in the oil. Then I threw in the chicken stock and let the chicken cook until it was done.
Meanwhile, I cooked the celery, onion, carrots and garlic in the 2 teaspoons of oil. Also I thawed out the peas (and green beans).
When the chicken was done, I took it out of the pan. I threw in some chicken gravy I had made earlier. We didn't eat much of it, so I put it in the freezer. Basically, chicken gravy is just the oil/fat/broth that the chicken was cooked in, plus whatever you want to season it with (Mine had salt, pepper, and marjoram.), plus some milk mixed with some cornstarch. I used powdered milk in my chicken gravy. Keep stirring it until it thickens.
While the gravy was cooking, I pulled the meat off the leg quarters. I cut it all up. I kept the meat from one quarter for the pot pie and put the other meat in two zipper bags in the freezer. (This is a pretty great meal helper. On the way home today, I stopped off at the grocery store and bought enchilada sauce and green chilies. I knew I had everything else to mix up some chicken enchiladas quickly because of the freezer chicken.)
Then mix up all the stuff and put it in a round 2 1/2 quart dish. Put the pie crust on top, brush it with the egg to make it shiny. (Yeah, I saved the other half of the egg for a breakfast sandwich. I can't believe you couldn't figure that out. It's like you don't even know me!)
Then bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
Total: $3.84
This is probably about six to eight servings. 64 cents
And you know what the best part is? Making people sing this all day.
________________________________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal and orange marmalade with clementines 60 cents
Snack: Banana 11 cents
Lunch: Miner's Casserole 54 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 21 cents
Pre-Dinner Dinner: Celery and Cream Cheese-Tapenade 43 cents
Dinner: Chicken Enchilada 99 cents
Total: $2.88
Monday, November 22, 2010
Unexpected Benefits of a Shorter Work Week
It wasn't until my first Friday at home that I started to realize that other savings, besides just gas, tolls and wear & tear on my car, are to be had from a shorter work week. Here is what else I came up with:
1. I don't have to take a shower. Savings: Water, Gas, Soap
2. I can wear my after-school-clothes that I've been wearing after work all week. Savings: Water, Laundry soap, Being able to wear my black pants for another six years before they fall apart.
3. I can avoid temptation from the million coffee shops within three blocks of my office and the danged Honor Snack box. Why does a single serving bag of Cheetos ever cost a dollar? Why didn't I think to extort someone like that?
4. I don't have to put on make-up. Do you throw your mascara out every three months? In theory, I get it, but it also seems like a good way to sell more mascara.
5. I don't have to fix my hair. Savings: Electricity, hair product, sanity
6. I can turn off all the lights and other energy using devices that my husband leaves on. I can also sneakily turn down the thermostat. Savings: Breath I would waste on fruitless nagging.
I'm sure there are many other benefits to this new arrangement and I can't wait to find more of them.
______________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal with peaches 13 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 21 cents
Lunch: Chicken Pot Pie 64 cents
Snack: Clementines and Celery with Cream Cheese and Tapenade $1.13
Dinner: Grilled Cheese with Turkey 81 cents
Total: $2.92
1. I don't have to take a shower. Savings: Water, Gas, Soap
2. I can wear my after-school-clothes that I've been wearing after work all week. Savings: Water, Laundry soap, Being able to wear my black pants for another six years before they fall apart.
3. I can avoid temptation from the million coffee shops within three blocks of my office and the danged Honor Snack box. Why does a single serving bag of Cheetos ever cost a dollar? Why didn't I think to extort someone like that?
4. I don't have to put on make-up. Do you throw your mascara out every three months? In theory, I get it, but it also seems like a good way to sell more mascara.
5. I don't have to fix my hair. Savings: Electricity, hair product, sanity
6. I can turn off all the lights and other energy using devices that my husband leaves on. I can also sneakily turn down the thermostat. Savings: Breath I would waste on fruitless nagging.
I'm sure there are many other benefits to this new arrangement and I can't wait to find more of them.
______________________
Breakfast: Oatmeal with peaches 13 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 21 cents
Lunch: Chicken Pot Pie 64 cents
Snack: Clementines and Celery with Cream Cheese and Tapenade $1.13
Dinner: Grilled Cheese with Turkey 81 cents
Total: $2.92
Sunday, November 21, 2010
This Week's Lessons
So what did we learn this week?
1. And, of course, gas prices went down again. As not predicted. Because then I wouldn't have gone on about it in this post.
2. We finished this already. It's delicious!
3. My mom tells me that she used to cut her own hair. With just two mirrors and a scissors. And my dad's help, until he messed up--on purpose.
4. Do not drink and cook and blog. Even with the mistake, the husband is well on his way to eating all this. And he liked how it smelled!
5. What's my line? In case figuring out how to be married isn't difficult enough on its own...
6. I may have paid $7 for popcorn, but at least my drink order isn't pink.
_______________
Breakfast: English Muffin with butter and orange marmalade 28 cents
Second breakfast: tortilla, peanut butter, banana, bacon 67 cents
Snack: granola bar 21 cents
Lunch: miner's casserole 74 cents
Snack: banana muffin 5 cents
Dinner: chicken pot pie and banana muffin 69 cents
Total: $2.64
That's a lot of food. I'm stuffed!
1. And, of course, gas prices went down again. As not predicted. Because then I wouldn't have gone on about it in this post.
2. We finished this already. It's delicious!
3. My mom tells me that she used to cut her own hair. With just two mirrors and a scissors. And my dad's help, until he messed up--on purpose.
4. Do not drink and cook and blog. Even with the mistake, the husband is well on his way to eating all this. And he liked how it smelled!
5. What's my line? In case figuring out how to be married isn't difficult enough on its own...
6. I may have paid $7 for popcorn, but at least my drink order isn't pink.
_______________
Breakfast: English Muffin with butter and orange marmalade 28 cents
Second breakfast: tortilla, peanut butter, banana, bacon 67 cents
Snack: granola bar 21 cents
Lunch: miner's casserole 74 cents
Snack: banana muffin 5 cents
Dinner: chicken pot pie and banana muffin 69 cents
Total: $2.64
That's a lot of food. I'm stuffed!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Waste Not
This week it looks like the forgotten food was 1/2 cooked sweet potato. I meant, I'm sure, to have this for breakfast, cooked with a banana. That didn't happen and so, to the trash it goes. In terms of throwing money away, technically I didn't because the sweet potatoes were free. But if you consider that I ate something else instead of the sweet potato, I did waste a few cents.
Here are my two loss prevention strategies:
1) Making a list. This helps me to remember what is in the fridge, going bad, that needs to be eaten. Keeping stuff in the see-through plastic containers is also a helpful reminder to keep edible things out of the trash or the compost pile.
2) Get up earlier or get ready at night. Any day this week, I could have enjoyed sweet potatoes and bananas for breakfast, I just didn't get out of bed early enough and I didn't plan ahead. Usually getting my breakfast and lunch ready the night before is the best fit for me. That way I don't have to think in the morning, I can just grab it and hit the road.
There were some other "waste not" successes this week. We're getting ready to move at work and Whatever uncovered a bunch of stuff we don't need to move and store. It's good and perfectly usable stuff that would have gone to the trash can. I'm bringing some of it home. I'll either use it here or put it in our next garage sale and hopefully bring in a few cents.
In terms of cash wasting, I'm totally guilty this week.
Exhibit A: I bought coffee at the gas station on Tuesday. My defense: I didn't have time to make it at home and had a 12 hour day of work ahead of me. Verdict: Guilty
Exhibit B: I bought $7 popcorn at the movie theater even though I just ate. Plea: Guilty
Exhibit C: I bought a $1 Reeses from the Honor Snacks on Thursday. It was gross, even. Plea: Stupidity.
And now for a contentious "waste not" failure. Yesterday after the recycling run, the husband decided he needed a fancy coffee drink from McDonald's. This is how he wants all his drinks, fancy and frou-frou. I offered to make him one at home but he said he wanted caramel in it. Note: He ordered a regular mocha--no caramel. It cost $3 and he didn't have any cash on him. So guess who paid. I was resentful but I tried to refrain from pointing out that I've eaten for a whole day for less money. Additionally, I had wasted a little over $9 this week myself. I felt pretty smug when he admitted that it was the worst coffee drink he had in a while. I doubt he's learned his lesson, but I will remind him of this vignette to avoid future $3 coffee drinks.
Sidebar: I think men are more comfortable ordering a pink cocktail with an umbrella or a frothy, foamy, sugary, flavored, milky coffee than they used to be. If I stop at the gas station for a coffee--which is few and far between--, I always have to wait for the man in front of me filling up his cup at the cappuccino machine before I can get the regular swill. The husband's theory is that men have "evolved" over time to the point that they can admit they like to drink things that taste good. He, however, can't understand how I can drink bourbon and enjoy it. I just like it--and I have since I'm a kid.
________________________
Breakfast: oatmeal and peaches free peaches! 13 cents
Snack: granola bar 21 cents
Lunch: I had to do a talky thing for work so lunch was free and so was the husband's! It's like I'm making money--I don't mean by working, that's a "labor of love."
Dinner: Popcorn. Like 15 cents with butter, maybe?
Total: 49 cents
Here are my two loss prevention strategies:
1) Making a list. This helps me to remember what is in the fridge, going bad, that needs to be eaten. Keeping stuff in the see-through plastic containers is also a helpful reminder to keep edible things out of the trash or the compost pile.
2) Get up earlier or get ready at night. Any day this week, I could have enjoyed sweet potatoes and bananas for breakfast, I just didn't get out of bed early enough and I didn't plan ahead. Usually getting my breakfast and lunch ready the night before is the best fit for me. That way I don't have to think in the morning, I can just grab it and hit the road.
There were some other "waste not" successes this week. We're getting ready to move at work and Whatever uncovered a bunch of stuff we don't need to move and store. It's good and perfectly usable stuff that would have gone to the trash can. I'm bringing some of it home. I'll either use it here or put it in our next garage sale and hopefully bring in a few cents.
In terms of cash wasting, I'm totally guilty this week.
Exhibit A: I bought coffee at the gas station on Tuesday. My defense: I didn't have time to make it at home and had a 12 hour day of work ahead of me. Verdict: Guilty
Exhibit B: I bought $7 popcorn at the movie theater even though I just ate. Plea: Guilty
Exhibit C: I bought a $1 Reeses from the Honor Snacks on Thursday. It was gross, even. Plea: Stupidity.
And now for a contentious "waste not" failure. Yesterday after the recycling run, the husband decided he needed a fancy coffee drink from McDonald's. This is how he wants all his drinks, fancy and frou-frou. I offered to make him one at home but he said he wanted caramel in it. Note: He ordered a regular mocha--no caramel. It cost $3 and he didn't have any cash on him. So guess who paid. I was resentful but I tried to refrain from pointing out that I've eaten for a whole day for less money. Additionally, I had wasted a little over $9 this week myself. I felt pretty smug when he admitted that it was the worst coffee drink he had in a while. I doubt he's learned his lesson, but I will remind him of this vignette to avoid future $3 coffee drinks.
Sidebar: I think men are more comfortable ordering a pink cocktail with an umbrella or a frothy, foamy, sugary, flavored, milky coffee than they used to be. If I stop at the gas station for a coffee--which is few and far between--, I always have to wait for the man in front of me filling up his cup at the cappuccino machine before I can get the regular swill. The husband's theory is that men have "evolved" over time to the point that they can admit they like to drink things that taste good. He, however, can't understand how I can drink bourbon and enjoy it. I just like it--and I have since I'm a kid.
________________________
Breakfast: oatmeal and peaches free peaches! 13 cents
Snack: granola bar 21 cents
Lunch: I had to do a talky thing for work so lunch was free and so was the husband's! It's like I'm making money--I don't mean by working, that's a "labor of love."
Dinner: Popcorn. Like 15 cents with butter, maybe?
Total: 49 cents
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