A Real Love Story

Today Eric and I walked downstairs to say our last goodbyes before he walked into the cold and headed back to the airport for another week. It was cold and snowy so I didn't walk him to the train; instead I hugged him, kissed him, answered his "I love you" with my own, and waved to him from the lobby as he wheeled his suitcase behind him, out of sight. I sighed, felt a pang in my heart, and then I did what I do every time he leaves-- tried my best to just keep living my life by myself. I checked my mailbox, and when I asked the girl at the front desk if I had a package, she nodded. As she got it out of the closet for me, she said "You two almost made me cry; it was like I was watching a movie right in front of me!"

Every time Eric goes to work it's hard; and for a split second, her comments made it even more painful to know he was leaving. But only for a split second.

I answered, "He's a pilot, and we do this every week. But it's totally worth it." I smiled and headed back upstairs to my apartment.

Living my life day to day I never forget how much I love my boyfriend. But there are moments when I remember how powerful that love is. In the 2 1/2 years (on February 13) we've been together, I have learned that there is a difference between love and real love. Before I met Eric, I knew what love was. I had experienced love. But Eric has taught me real love. Throughout our relationship we have experienced the kind of days where every second is exciting and full of smiling and laughter, and we've also had those days where things are dark and they're so hard, and it takes every ounce of strength to make the relationship work. I wouldn't trade one single day, whether it was easy or hard.

I only wish I'd met him sooner.

Stuffed Zucchini

As you may have read, one of my goals for this year is to stay on top of my healthy eating so I can reach my target weight. I'm not trying to do anything drastic, just get a little more slim so I feel more confident come shorts and dress season. I was very good over the course of 2012, I lost 10 pounds doing basically nothing but portion control, but I sort of quit paying attention around November and gained half of it back. Oops!

Seeing as how this year mostly consists of me completing my Master's thesis, managing my habits is a little challenging. One of the ways I've been maximizing my efforts is by using an app called "Lose It!". This app is pretty straight-forward: you enter your height and weight, your target weight, and your frequency of exercise and it'll create a calorie budget for you. Every day I track what I eat (calories AND nutritional information) as well as how I exercise. This has helped me tremendously, partially by reminding me of proper portions, and partially because I know that if I get up and lift some weights for a bit I'll earn enough calories to "pay" for an extra snack or dessert.

In order to stick to my calorie budget I've slowly been cutting back on carbs (nothing drastic, just one less serving every few days or so) and substituting vegetables. This isn't so much of a dieting move as it is a lifestyle change. Two years ago I got my veggies from Spaghettios-- tonight I had two types of veggies and no grains at dinner, so I've come a long way, people! It's become a lot easier to incorporate veggies now that I have picked up a variety of ways to cook my favorite ones.


This is a recipe I tried for the first time tonight and it's definitely going to become a regular member of my vegetable club. It's very quick (about 5 minutes) and easy, super delicious, and you can completely change the flavor to suit your mood (and not get bored with it) just by swapping a few ingredients. Check it out!

Stuffed Zucchini

First I preheated the oven to 375. I sliced 1 zucchini in half lengthwise and scooped out the flesh. I chopped this up and put it in a small bowl. Then I added 1/4 cup diced tomato, a few shakes of garlic powder, some chopped onion, about 1/4 cup toasted breadcrumbs, a handful of chopped parsley, and a little cheese (you can use whatever kind you like). I mixed this all up and then spooned it back into the zucchini halves. This went into the oven for about 15 minutes and it came out delicious.

This recipe really is satisfying and filling, and it's a great way to get carbs that won't stick to your butt. Plus it looks super impressive, so you can make this for your next party or gathering if you're trying to make a statement about how awesome you are. It's what I plan to do. Enjoy!

Self-Improvements

Happy 2013, everyone!

I am woefully behind on my posts, I know. I basically went on break for a month and sort of checked out of all things not pertaining to TV, traveling, and Christmas with family. It was actually pretty awesome. However, I'm now back in Chicago, ready for school to start this coming Monday, so I'm trying to get everything back to normal. Today has been a day of grocery shopping and catching up on laundry, and later I'll be working on my thesis.

Right now, though, I want to share a little bit about my plans for this year. These are not resolutions-- these are plans. If you know me personally, you know that I packed and referred to my planner while on vacation. It's who I am. By making plans for the year, I feel that I can sort of map out my moves to accomplish my goals.

This year's goals are:
1. Stay inside my budget parameters each month. Last year this was really difficult because I lacked discipline, and I also had many unexpected expenses like car repairs and x-rays that I couldn't neglect.
2. Stay under 135 pounds. This is a very comfortable weight for me and I sort of ignored my proper eating habits over the holidays. I'm already working toward that 135 mark, and my plan is to stay below it.
3. Become closer to Eric. It's been a tough 2012 for us, with job changes and separate time zones and month-long periods without seeing each other. We have remained committed and invested, but of course we have also faced challenges. I think it's already brought us closer to overcome those challenges together, and it feels great, so I'd like to find small ways to strengthen our relationship even more.

I'm excited to see how well I can stick to my goals, and I'll be updating here periodically. In the meantime, I'm going to go get my laundry out of the dryer, prep a few meals, and get a little closer to my graduation this May.

A Personal Victory

Okay, this is another recipe. But this is pretty exciting for me, because I find recipes like this one to be somewhat intimidating. I'm not sure why, but I've just always been afraid to try Asian recipes because they seem more intricate than others. However, I found this recipe and tried it out, tweaked it, and made it again a few months later.

Holy crap. It was so delicious.

I LOVE Pei Wei's Mongolian Beef-- Every time I go there I order it, and it's just so delicious. That's what I was going for with this recipe and I feel rather proud that I got extraordinarily similar results.

(As a bonus, this dish was incredibly inexpensive to make and I got plenty of leftovers. I froze the leftover sauce.)

Here is what you'll need:
A medium skillet, filled with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil
1/2 Tsp ginger, minced (you can buy fresh and freeze the rest)
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
8 oz white mushrooms, quartered
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tsp vegetable oil
1 lb flank steak, cut against the grain into bite-sized strips
1/4 cup corn starch
 2 large green onions, chopped

(While you're making the sauce and beef, cook your rice however you like it. I usually cook 1 cup dry rice with 2 cups water and a splash of olive oil to keep it from bubbling over.)

First, heat 2 tsp. of vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat.  Don't get the oil too hot. Add ginger, garlic, and mushrooms to the pan and in about 2 minutes add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce using a whisk for smoothness, then increase the heat to medium and boil the sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat. 

Next, put the cornstarch on a plate and coat your steak strips. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes while your large pan of oil heats-- this will help the cornstarch stick. Once the oil is hot and the beef has sat, start frying it in the oil-- don't crowd the pan. As the pieces cook, flip once. When they're done, pull the beef and set the strips on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain the oil.  

When your rice and beef are done, serve with green onions and sauce! Personally, I think it tastes best with the beef on top of the rice, topped with the sauce, and sprinkled with chopped green onions. 

The last step: feel proud and brag to your friends. You're welcome.

When It's Chilly Outside...

It's time to make chili inside!

That's exactly what we did about two weeks ago (yes, it's taken me a while to get to posting this). We made homemade chili and it was an incredibly simple recipe. I know there are a lot of different ways to make chili, like with chicken or turkey, there's spicy and mild, there's even white chili. But we just made good old fashioned beef chili and added a few things for our specific tastes.

You'll note several crucial things about this picture. First, we ate our chili with biscuits instead of cornbread. Something about chili and biscuits just seems heartier in a stick to your ribs, give you high cholesterol kind of way. Second, I took this picture with little to no warning for Eric. Third, he will probably be a little less than thrilled that I ended up posting it. But the most important is that he is so excited to try this chili that his tongue is escaping from his mouth to get to the bowl. I know, that's pretty impressive.

Here are the ingredients for the chili:

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp ground oregano

1 tbsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp chili powder

2 pounds ground beef

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

1 can Rotel

1/4 cup finely chopped onion 

The easiest way to do this is to start by browning your meat, onions, and garlic (minced) in a large pot. As they cook and brown up, combine the oregano, paprika, cayenne, and chili powder in a small bowl and set aside. Once your meat is cooked through, drain off any excess fat and then sprinkle the spices over the top. Add your tomato sauce (you can double the amount of sauce if you prefer thinner chili) and Rotel and stir it up well. Let this simmer for about 15-20 minutes. If the chili gets too dry for your taste, add 1/4 cup of water as needed. 

When it's all simmered and delicious and you just can't wait any longer, serve it up! We like to keep things simple by adding a little cheese on top, but you can add salsa, cracker crumbs, whatever you like. Enjoy!

Brag to Your Friends

In the theme of my money-saving posts this week, I am going to show you another thing I have started doing to save cash when I cook: I make my own chicken/vegetable broth. I tend to just call it "scrap" broth because it's made from all the vegetable and chicken scraps that I save over a period of time. Basically, I don't ever buy the sodium-rich broth from stores anymore, I find a use for my scraps before I just toss them, and I get to brag about how that makes me a gourmand. Gourmand?

About how that makes me all gourmet and stuff.

This is actually a SUPER easy thing to do, you already have the stuff for it anyway, and it's great especially in the Fall when soup season begins.

Basically, the starting point is a plastic baggie in your freezer where you will start placing all your leftover scraps. My scraps usually consist of things like leftover chicken bones from roasting, corn cobs, bell pepper tops, onion peels, broccoli stems, carrot and bean ends, celery stalks, potato peels, squash ends. Pretty much any vegetable is usable.

I save up my scraps in my freezer until I have two baggies like this:

When you're ready to make some broth, empty your two baggies into a large pot and add enough water to cover, plus about a half inch more. What I like to do next is add a few of my favorite herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme. Set the heat on your stove to medium-low and let the pot simmer for about an hour and a half.

When your broth is done simmering, take a slotted spoon and remove all the large scraps. I like to put them into a plastic bag before putting them into the trash to help control the smell.

Next, get a measuring cup and a small strainer. You'll strain the broth into a measuring cup (it's easier to pour into a storage container) and then place the storage container in the fridge. Let the broth sit overnight.

Letting your broth sit overnight allows any remaining fat or fine herb particles to solidify on the surface so it can be removed before freezing. The next day, you'll restrain the broth back into a measuring cup to remove all the extras. Then, pour the broth into either ice trays or muffin trays to go into the freezer.

TAKE NOTE of how much broth fits into your freezing trays so you know how much you have for future use. I usually let my broth freeze overnight so it's thoroughly frozen. Once it's frozen, pop the broth out of the trays and place cubes into freezer storage baggies. Mark the baggies with the quantity of broth and the date it was frozen. Use within 3 months in soups, sauces, and anything else to add healthy, virtually free flavor and nutrients!

Menu and Shopping List

As promised, I have taken inventory of our latest trip to Aldi and decided to share the menu we based our list off of, as well as the shopping list itself and the cost of our purchase. Keeping track of where you shop and how much you spend is such an easy, yet effective, way to track prices for things you buy regularly, and it can help you get organized when it's time to head back to the store.

For the next few days and the following week our menu consists of meals that can easily be used for leftovers; we try to incorporate at least 2 or 3 of these during every 2-week period. It's just so much easier to have hot lunches that require minimal assembly, and it keeps us from having to spend extra money on sandwich meats and other lunch foods. Anything that gets leftover that we're not ready to eat right away goes into the freezer, and we save those for busy (or lazy) nights.

Here is what our menu looks like for this week and next (I'm going to include a full 2-week menu to give you an idea of a realistic, easy, affordable and delicious meal plan):

Sun: chicken-fried steak, macaroni and cheese, broccoli
Mon: burrito bowls (like at Chipotle)
Tues: BBQ pork fajitas and rice
Wed: spinach-alfredo pasta with sausage
Thur: honey-mustard chicken cutlets, leftover macaroni and cheese, honey beer bread and broccoli
Fri: lemon-dill salmon, baked potato, squash
Sat: chicken penne pasta with white wine tomato cream sauce

Sun: We're going out to dinner! (We try to plan for these meals as well)
Mon: spaghetti and meat sauce
Tues: homemade chicken-noodle soup (this makes a large batch)
Wed: leftover chicken-noodle soup
Thur: homemade chili, biscuits
Fri: cajun chicken pasta
Sat: any leftovers we haven't eaten yet

As you can see, there are some meals that are really quick and easy (like spaghetti and meat sauce) and some that are more labor-intensive, like salmon. We plan these meals around my class schedule since my classes are all at night and we try to eat dinner before I go to class instead of after, which would put us at the table at 10:00 p.m.

Now, here is a disclaimer: we had about half of the ingredients we needed for these meals before we went to Aldi, so our purchase consisted of a lot of other elements like fruits and meats for future menus. Here is what we bought! (And what it cost)

Milk
2 bags of tortilla chips (we go through these like nobody's business)
2 1/3 lbs. ground beef
1 package of 5 pork chops
1 bag of frozen chicken breasts
broccoli
yellow squash
3 small cans tomato sauce
4 roma tomatoes
1 package of strawberries
1 package of blackberries
1 bag of salad
1 avocado
unsalted butter
1 bag of onions (about 5 small ones; they freeze well)
1 bottle of dried parsley flakes (great for adding to pastas and soups!)
honey
2 boxes of white cheddar macaroni and cheese (for when we're too lazy to make the homemade version)

Our total: $45.00!

Basically, we are able to complete our menu for the next few days and the whole next week, plus we now have extra pork chops and chicken on hand--- for less than $50. While that isn't a terribly "cheap" amount compared to the extreme couponers out there, it's a big deal for us. We base our menus off of what we already have, so the extras we bought today are going to help us build our meals and save us from buying more later.

Bottom line: On average, Eric and I can eat very well (hello, we're having salmon!) for 2 weeks for about $50-60.

Like I said, check out your local discount grocery store-- you'll be amazed at how doing this can empower you to be able to eat what you want AND save your money.