Well, On the Bright Side...

This is a picture of Michael's broken toe. If you click and zoom you can see that it's a pretty bad break.


We live in a town house where you have to go up a stair case to go inside. We use the space under the stairs to house our garbage cans. Ideally the trash cans should have lids on them at all times. However, Michael prefers to keep the lids off so that he can just stand over the railing of our staircase and toss the trash into the open cans under the stairs.

Last Sunday we had a bout of freezing rain. Since Michael just likes to step out, reach over the railing, and drop the trash into the cans under the stairs he stepped outside wearing only socks. As soon as he stepped out his right foot slipped on the ice and BAM! He rammed it into the railing.

Michael is out of commission from work for anywhere from one and a half to three weeks... and there's a chance he may need surgery. It shouldn't be a big deal except that he hasn't been at his current job for very long so he is not fully benefit eligible. No PTO (Paid Time Off), no sick days, no short term disability. Sigh. At least his medical insurance is with me so he was covered. There will, of course, be co-pays but it shouldn't be budget breaking.

Thankfully Michael and I resolved to be super awesome about our finances this year so, despite the unplanned short coming in our cash flow, all the bills are paid and we have money to put towards savings this month. Depending on how long Michael is out, how often he has to go to the doctors, and if surgery is needed, we probably won't be able to save anything for February.

But, on the positive, we won't have to go into debt and we shouldn't have to dip into our savings. Even if we did, thank goodness we have savings to dip into though, right? Still, it bums me out that every time I think we're going to take a financial step forward we just end up walking in place. Sigh.

Fried chicekn with Cheesey Potato Hash

Hey, would you like an update on my "Cereal" Challenge? So far I have "saved" a grand total of... drum roll please... $30! Yay. I was doing really well there for awhile. I was bringing left overs to work and even my co-workers were encouraging me. Then, I started to get lazy and default to Kashi frozen entrees. Kashi frozen meals are cheaper than eating out for lunch but they're still a good $3.50. I define "cereal" as either left overs or a "meal" that costs less than $2.

At this point, I don't even really want the jacket anymore, but I am trying to be better with my finances this year, and there are a lot of shoes that I want, for example:




I can't decide what color to get. I am leaning towards the black and white but the lavender and brown is calling my name as well.

So, "cereal" it is then! The problem is that often times, there aren't any left overs to take to work and I'm too lazy to actually prepare lunch. The other day we had Fried Chicken with Cheesy Potato Hash for dinner.


I only fried two chickens since there's only two of us and microwaved fried chicken is not good. We had enough hash left over but did I really want to eat mashed potato as lunch? No, no I didn't, even if it was very, very good.

Fried Chicken with Cheesy Potato Hash
Serves 4

1.5 lbs red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large eggs
3 slices sourdough bread, finely ground, about 1.5 cups (screw that, I just used bread crumbs)
4 chicken cutlets (about 1 lb)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cups (about 7 oz) store-bought coleslaw mix
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

In a medium pot, combine the potatoes and enough salted water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until just tender, about 12 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. In another shallow bowl, place the breadcrumbs. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and, working with 1 piece at a time, coat with the breadcrumbs, eggs and breadcrumbs again. Transfer to a sheet of wax paper.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2.5 TBSP olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Wipe out the skillet.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 1.5 TBSP olive oil. Add the coleslaw mix and bell pepper; season with salt and pepper. cook, stirring often, until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the scallions. Coarsely mash in the potatoes and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Serve with the chicken.

My New Ami, Bon Ami

Awhile back, during Border's last few days on this earth, I picked up Renee Loux's Easy Green Living for around $5.


The book focuses on toxins in every day stuff, why they suck (for you and the planet), and how to avoid them.

Green living doesn't have to be an all or nothing endeavor. To be quite honest, I have very little interest in recycling. I stopped bringing reusable grocery bags because I want to get plastic bags. I use them as liners for my trash can. I consume more than I should. I don't compost. And let's not talk about how much I spend on gas every month... I am, however, into natural living. I know we can't avoid chemicals but I try when ever I can. Of course it helps that natural cleaning products always, always smells better than the "bad" kind. I'm not to the point of cleaning my entire house with just baking soda, vinegar and lemon but I'm over the fake daisy scents that just reminds me of Chore Day growing up. Gross.

One of my new favorite product is Bon Ami Powder Cleanser.


I first picked it up because I loved the packaging (and it was cheap), the fact that it works better than any other powder cleaner I've used was a bonus. Look how sparkling clean my kitchen sink is now!


Okay, I know that's how a kitchen sink should always look but that's the cleanest ours has looked in awhile. Did you know that stainless steel can stain? Hmmm... I didn't. Well, I don't have to worry about it now.

Orange and Balsamic Chicken Breasts

I am thinking of creating a cookbook, not to sell or anything like that, but for my own personal use. It will be a compilation of all of my favorite, go to recipes. I have read that there are sites that will publish your blog pages into a hard copy. Or, maybe I can do it scrap book style with pictures and stickers and theme appropriate backgrounds. Or, maybe I'll just find a pretty notebook and fill it with my beautiful handwriting (sarcasm, by the way). Something to think about. I think it would be nice to have something to pass down to... well, not really planning on kids so... nieces and nephews it is. When I'm long gone they can think of me by flipping the pages and whipping up Aunt Jin's Chocolate Chip Cookies. Amazing cookies by the way, really amazing.

Well, if I were to create a cook book I can tell you that this Orange and Balsamic Chicken Breasts will probably not make the cut.


That's not to say they were bad, they weren't, they just weren't "Oh my goodness, let's make it again!" good. That being said, the recipe does comprise of things that I probably have in the house already (shallots can be substituted with onions) so it is a nice, "Don't feel like going grocery shopping but feel like doing something more than microwaving" kind of a meal. As an added bonus, you can make this thing in under 30 minutes.

Orange and Balsamic Chicken Breasts
Serves: 4

24 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/3 cut low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup orange juice
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sugar

Sprinkle chicken with salt and dredge in flour, shaking off excess

Warm 1 TBSP butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until butter foams. Add chicken; cook until cooked through and golden, turning once, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

Add shallot to skillet and saute until softened, about 1 minute. Add broth, orange juice, vinegar and sugar; cook, stirring, until slightly reduced, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add remaining butter, and stir until thickened. Season with salt. Slice chicken, pour sauce on top and serve.

Yay, "Cereal"!

I am still planned on buying that leather jacket. I even put some cereal inside a plastic bag and bought it to work with me last week. However, it also happened to be the first really cold day of the year and, I don't know, something about eating cereal on a cold day just depressed me so I couldn't do it.

Quite honestly, the thought of eating cereal, regardless of weather, just kind of depresses me but I do want to save money so I'm challenging myself to save money on lunch. "Cereal" doesn't actually have to be cereal, it can be metaphor for a cheap meal. Every time I eat "cereal" for lunch I will give myself $5 towards the jacket. I don't even know if the jacket is still available in my size but there are plenty of other things that I want, like this shoes for example:


I have always wanted a pair of wingtips but now that I look at it again, I'm not so sure. Is the yellow a bit too much?

So, the goal is to eat "cereal" to save up for my "jacket". Since I started, thanks Starbucks breakfast sandwiches and brown bagging I have "saved" a grand total of... $15.

Only $110 more to go!

Nothing Like a Cold Bowl of Mushy Cereal on a Winter Day!

A couple of years ago I used to eat cereal for lunch every day. My co-workers thought I was insane but I was in the process of saving up for a house and, with my meager salary, every dollar counted! All in all, I would say that lunch costs me around $1.25 a day; not bad for a filling, healthy meal, right?

Fast forward to present time and I am scratching my head trying to figure out how I am making more than I was making then yet have less money around. Oh right, I bought a house. Even then, it shouldn't be this difficult to save some money. The problem is I don't have that "gazelle like intensity" because there's nothing that I really want right now, nothing that I can't just buy, and certainly nothing worth going back to eating cereal for lunch...

Until now... Maybe.

Check out this leather jacket.


It is made of leather that feels like butter and it fits me really well (aside from the sleeves being too long). It originally costs an insane amount of money but I have the opportunity to get it for $125. It's a mere fraction of its original cost but it's a lot of money for me. Besides, I already spent $150 on a new winter coat... and I'm broke from all the Holiday spending... and Michael and I both agreed that this is the year we're going to live in poverty to save up as much money as possible. I mean, we have to buy new floors and our house isn't even fully furnished yet!

But... It's a really nice jacket... And it's a jacket that I will have until the day I die. My finance will rebound regardless of if I get this jacket or not; this jacket will not be around for long.

So, that's where the cereal comes in. Let's say that eating cereal for lunch equals... mmm... a $5 savings. That would mean that I would have to eat cereal for lunch, every day I work, for five weeks straight! Is that jacket worth 25 days of eating cereal? Yeah... I don't know...