Being Broke Sucks!

Most people at some point in their lives have said these very same words and for most it meant they didn’t have much play money. Whats play money? That’s the money you play with literally or throw away money, I don’t mean that literally. I mean it’s the money that if your driving down the road and come across a yard sale and see some old video game console you used to love playing you’ll have no problem throwing $20 at the seller just so you can say you still have it. It’s also that let’s go to Vegas on a whim trip or “Ew there’s that As Seen on TV thing I saw on TV and think I could use it so I’ll give it try” money. Which by the way why does it seem to be so much easier to buy those lil “as Seen on TV” items in Wal-Mart for $5 more than to just order it on-line and get 2 of them. Personally i think society as influenced us to not be that cat man/woman that orders weird shit off the tv. That however is another story for another day.

So I’m broke, and I don’t mean the old I’m broke which usually meant I had about 2 grand sitting in my account somewhere that I vowed only to use in emergency situations, no i mean I’m really broke.  Funny thing is I’ve been broke for awhile, and with the exception of a few necessities like water, electricity and rent its a bit liberating. Ive found I can for the most part live without cable TV, which led to me cutting the cord and not just talking about it. i still have internet and for the most part I can watch most things online and either stream to the TV or Play to the TV via hdmi and the laptop. I did make a small investment in a newer OTA Antenna since i somehow snapped the rabbit ears on the one i bought almost 10 yrs ago when I won my first HDTV.  With the exception of a handle  of Spanish channels and the fact the Phoenix really doesn’t have many  broadcast stations here i get about 20 channels including ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and ION. I occasionally get FOX but that’s hit or miss dependent on the day the interference but even when its bad i can watch most shows on the XBox 360/One. All in all it makes me wish I had done it a hell of a lot sooner. Im sure if I lived in a larger city Id be able to pick up more bu other than Game Of Thrones and Da Vinci’s Demons, I’ve managed to get by on Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon prime and learning how to configure my DLNA servers to stream movies from my PC’s to the TV.

The hardest part is not being able to buy my girl the things Id like to for the Holidays and other special occasions like Valentine’s day which is coming up this week and her Birthday. I know she says it doesn’t matter to her but to me it does. Its how I’m built, to be a provider. Not to mention always stressing over bills and where the next moths of groceries is gonna come from doesn’t really help my relationship with her as it seems I spend more time self involved trying to keep myself from having a massive panic attack or worse yet a heart attack. It really doesn’t help that I’m great at giving others advice but am horrible at following my own words of wisdom. That being said I’ve moved to doing post every 2 weeks instead of once a week so i can concentrate more on finding a better job that will help bring in  more income, not so I can get full cable back or anything but so I don’t stress over if I have gas for the bike or car. No it will be to help another somewhat project for the site.

Inspired my the move Julie and Julia, I want to get a copy of the “Joy of Cooking” and remix. I don’t mean to completely redo it, but to add or take away some of the ingredients to give it and added flavor or kick. Like i said this is a future project, the only thing really holding me back is having the funds to buy all the ingredients and possibly the right cookware to make them in. Though I love cooking, Erin and I have somewhat different views on it. She likes to try the recipes we find as they are written to see how they taste and then change them, where I however, have no problem changing it up on the first go around.  I thinking it may be a bit tricky to get started but the plan i think that will work best is she’ll make one meal as she sees it via the recipe and then I’ll make another using the recipe as a guide but modify it where I see fit. Nothing drastic but say swap out rice for egg noodles or adding pico de gio instead of black pepper. Either way I think it will be a nice change of pace and a fun experiment.

One example is:

Chicken Pot Pie Puffs

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 cup diced cooked chicken

1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup

1 can (16.3 oz) refrigerated biscuits

Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, combine vegetables, chicken and soup; mix well.

Press each biscuit into 5 1/2-inch round. Place 1 round in each of 8 greased regular-size muffin cups. Firmly press in bottom and up side, forming 3/4-inch rim. Spoon a generous 1/3 cup chicken mixture into each.Bake at 375°F 20 to 22 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from pan.

 Tips

Substitute 2 cups of any frozen (thawed) vegetables you have on hand, such as broccoli, corn, peas or green beans, for the mixed vegetables.

If you like cheese, sprinkle some shredded Cheddar cheese over each puff about 5 minutes before the end of the baking time.

With this recipe I changed out a few things, Instead of one cup I used 3-4 boneless chicken breasts and slow cooked in crock pot or stove top with added seasonings, If you’ve made homemade chicken noodles soup I’d start there, cook until almost done then shred or dice the chicken and add to the mixture. As for the the crust I’ve used bother biscuits and crescent rolls. Crescent rolls tend to come out a bit flakier and work better for the puff style and but if you plan to make pot pies from them use the biscuits and use pot pie tins instead of a muffin tin.

I also used diced celery, onions, carrots and diced potatoes, which you can pick up premixed in some frozen food sections of the grocery store. If not have fun dicing fresh ones. I also add in some minced garlic or garlic powder and a bit of black pepper to give it a slight kick as well as few dashes of seasoned salt or creole seasoning dependent on my mood once all is well mixed and ready to be cooked.

For the most part this basic method can be used or several recipes like chicken noodles soup, pot pies, pot pie puffs, as well as a nice base for a dressing. I’ve had great responses from everyone that’s tried them so far!

Bon Appetite