On the Third Day of Christmas Card

 Card again.  Cardigan? That must be where they got the word.  Regardless, every year I say I am going to send out cards and I never do.  But needless to say I have said it for this year, so we shall see.

I don't believe in solely using green or red paper for Christmas cards so I threw this background in because it is so festive.

Again, 8x6 cut, fold in half to make the base.  I then cut a red and white piece to put over it.

I stamped the white piece and colored the edges by pressing them into the stamp pad.  If you don't let them bend it gives you a crisp look, if you bend it a bit you get what I have in here.

Pretty easy! Get to crafting.
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A More Modern Christmas Card

I am just Leshoure I am on to something here.  HA! More fantasy football humor.  If you have SEEN my running backs in my fantasy league, they are indeed something to laugh about.

Unless you are me.  In which case it is more like cry about.

Anyway, today I bring to you a more modern Christmas card, in a stark ooposite of my card yesterday which was very much more vintage and maybe a little on the rugged side.  It was warm cozy cabin and this one is more mini-tree in a loft.

I tend to make my own cards now as it saves me from having to cut and glue paper on to card bases.  It is remarkable how long it took me to figure out that was a waste of my time.

It is also remarkable how many times I CUT THE PAPER WRONG when I go to make my card base.  For someone who took Calc I & II, has completed one degree and is working on a Master's...you would think I could cut paper.

But for those of you who are cut challenged, you want the paper 5.5ish by 8 inches.  This will give you the card as shown when you fold it over.

So I used a marker and drew the lines and the ornament toppers.  I cannot stress enough that perfection is not required and should be shunned. :)

Think topsy-turvey for the toppers especially.  Give them a little pizzazz.  If you had black or silver glitter, it would be a great way to pizzazzle them up even more.  If Rachel Ray can make up spoonulas, I think I should get pizzazzle.

 Use a 1inch punch or your cricut and cut out some circles.  I chose dark red because it was such a stark difference than this neon lemon-lime color that I had chosen for a base.  After I drew out the strings and toppers, I attached the circles using mounting dots.  Note the shadows.  Always an indicator of depth, and therefore an indicator of pizzazzle.

I am not giving it up.

Next I used my white puffy paint that I am borderline addicted to and decorated the ornaments.

And no, I did not intend to make the far right one look like an ugly sweater contest....BUT HOW MUCH BETTER IS IT NOW THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THAT!!?!?!? I made the two lines first and instantly knew that this was going to be a hoot.

And OWL say it was.  Ahahah, oh the clever keeps on coming.

The one in the middle may look vaguely reminiscent of my extensively repinned puffy paint ornament.  I am proud of that little bugger for being so widely loved, so it only made sense that he got a nod in this card.

Next I cut out a square of white with my paper cutter, sat it on a dark red scrap and cut that with the cutter to make a bigger square.  I used my happy holidays stamp and lime green ink to put a saying on, attached the white with mounting dots and the red to the card with glue and that is all she wrote!

But as usual, not all that I wrote. Maybe you are asking yourself, you say you only used green ink yet your happy holidays is multi-colored, why?  That my friends is because I never wash my stamps off.  True story.  I do wipe my clear stamps off sometimes.... But hey, in cases like this it is PERFECT.

Greeting cards are a cheap and great way to use up your extra paper, so hop to it! Pin It Now!

Christmas Card: Wreath with a Bow

Let me just say that cards have never really been my forte (or as I like to say during fantasy football season, my Matt Forte) (my best friend is laughing if she is reading this).  I make pretty decent ones usually but nothing that just knocks my socks off...

Until now.  And I completely attribute it to my urban design courses.  Those AD Chartpak Markers just made my crafting a million times more fun!

You will need:
-Red scrapbook paper cut to a 4x6ish card width (bigger if you want) OR a card itself
-A small beige piece or scrap of paper
-A small green piece
-Markers, ink, etc.
-Glue/Adhesives
-Red Ribbon

Using my dearly beloved Xacto paper cutter, I cut down a vintage red looking piece of scrapbook paper to 8x6 so that I could fold it in half and make a 4x6 card. 

Next, I raided my paper and found a small beige piece.  I like the look of torn paper on cards, so I tore the paper from the back unprinted side upwards toward the front printed side.  The way you tear your paper changes where the white shows, so you have to account for that.  Back to front!

I tore slowly so that I could determine where I wanted peaks and how much core I wanted coming through.  After I was happy with the top and bottom, I used my paper cutter to trim it down to a 4 inch wide strip. DO NOT attach it yet.

 Next, I used my drafting circle template on the back of a green printed scrapbook page to make a guide line with a pencil.  Don't have drafting circles? Use a lid or a cup to get your circle, even a measuring cup.

I then tore slowly into the paper towards the circle and went around the circle tearing back to front, being as careful as I could to avoid mangling it.

In hindsight, I would like to suggest making the circle as close to the edge as possible to save paper.  I was using a scrap so I was not overly concerned with this.  I will be later when I wish I had a bit of it leftover still...

The center circle I cut out with a 1 inch punch.  If you don't have a punch but do have a cricut, cut the hole first to the size you want and then make the circle around it.  If you have neither....scissors will have to do!

Like I said, I have AD Chartpak Markers for urban design.  They are quite moist as far as markers go which can be frustrating in my drawings but was a huge help here.

I ran green right where the exposed paper core met up with the intact front.  I paused for just a moment in some areas to let it bleed a little more.  Next, I took red and lightly went over the top of the green on the finished front, and then below the green on the exposed core.  I did not let the red linger too long as I did not want heavy bleeding into the green.

Sharpies could feasibly work for this, and possibly even regular markers.  You will have to experiment on that one, as I have NEITHER here to try for you. 

I know.  15 Chartpak markers before I even bought crayolas.  Sue me!

I also ran a lighter green around and inside the wreath because I was not really happy with just leaving it white.  I tied a knot in red sheer ribbon and made a small bow.  That is really the only way I know how to make an acceptable looking bow is starting with a knot.  After everything was dyed and made, I attached the beige paper with craft glue, the wreath with mounting dots, and the bow with craft glue.

If the stupid bow is not perfectly stuck down by the time I get done blogging, it is getting E6000 on it.  I used dots on the wreath because I like dimension in cards.

Alternatives to this design would be:

• Using cricut or border punches on the beige instead of tearing
• making the wreath using tissue or light paper crumpled pieces to make a textured wreath

I really didn't have as many alternatives as I figured I would.  Which just means I must really like this card!  This is quick and simple, and a great way to use scrap pieces of paper leftover from other projects.  Write a holly jolly message inside and spread some Christmas cheer this season! Pin It Now!

Quick-mas: Another very speedy Christmas Ornament

I would say if you are an efficient human and a machine with a puffy paint bottle you can have this done in about 5 or so minutes.  Especially if you uncap the paint first.  That is always a good start.

You need a clear ornament, scrapbook paper, polyflake, and puffy paint.

Seriously, will this puffy paint bottle ever run out? I think not.

 Cut out about a dozen or so thin strips with your paper cutter that I am sure you have because everyone NEEDS a paper cutter.  And no, I am not being sarcastic everyone really should own one.  Kids school pictures? Paper cutter.  Coupons? Paper cutter. Ribbon? Paper cutter. EVERYTHING PAPER CUTTER!

Random tangent time. When I get mad I clean.  When I get insanely mad, I shop.  There is a very fine line between frustrated productivity and angry shopping.  But this gem of a paper cutter stemmed from a boy.  He actually made me mad quite a few times, but this one just really topped it off.  So I did what any self-respecting girl would do: I hopped in my Durango and stormed off to Staples...yea I am serious.  I love office supplies :).  I walked in and decided to buy a paper cutter and a ton of paper.  Boys are so expensive.

 End of tangent back to the ornament! I curled the paper around my pinky finger, took it off and twisted it a little tighter on some of the curls.  I spiraled them in if they were too thick to fit right off the bat.

You will want to unwind them a bit because if they are tightly curled circles instead of spirals they will get stuck inside other ones.

I am just going to throw this out there...doing this with one of those curled ribbon bows from the party section would be waaaaay faster.

And simpler.

The final steps included adding puffy paint "snow" and polyflake shimmer. 

I apparently can't leave an ornament without puffy paint.  It just looked naked.

This would be super cute to do with old maps (e.g. from a trip perhaps!) and dictionary pages.

I am going between two different trees to buy.  Big Lots has a very cheap little four foot tree, but Hobby Lobby has a beautiful (though sparse) champagne colored tree for not so cheap....

This could be problematic.



And to anyone who keeps up with my blogs, the sweet potato chips with salt instead of a sweet mix was DEFINITELY way better.  I made some for my lunch tomorrow.  I included a teeny tad of black pepper as well.

Fresh ground, because that is how I roll.

Speaking of, does anyone else have an obsession for crackers and butter?? Seriously, I do not know how I developed this and it seems kind of strange, but the only rival to my bread and butter obsession is absolutely my butter on crackers obsession. Saltines.  Not anything else.  Nothing. Else. Will. Do.

I know I ate it all the time as a kid, and found myself buying saltines at Meijer this week because they make them in those fresh stacks now and soup season is coming up.  And now that I am a homemade chicken soup champ, I needed to invest in crackers.  Then tonight I was staring at my box and next thing you know I am sitting at my table with my tupperware butter keeper in front of me (aka really small storage container that I ended up with a zillion of that size) munching away on crackers.

Real butter mind you, not that margarine crap.  :)

I think I have settled on making cake pops for Thanksgiving.  Last year I made a low-fat pumpkin cheesecake and everyone loved it, but I think cake pops will work better for expanding the dessert flavor profiles.  And we so rarely have cake at Thanksgiving even though we all love it.  One time I made almond cake pops that tasted identical to zebra cakes, and I am thinking about making a bunch of junk food knock off flavors just to be funny.

Or I will do normal fall flavors like carrot cake. Usually my idea of perfect holiday pop-pery is making some random flavor I have no idea how it will turn out and hoping for the best.  I do make a mean pumpkin cake pop though, so that might have to make an obligatory appearance. 

The point is, go make ornaments, eat buttery crackers, and contemplate what cake pop flavors should make an appearance at my family's Thanksgiving celebrations. Pin It Now!

American Classic: Tuna Noodle Casserole

For all of you that just suck YUCK, get over it! :) It's delicious.  I grew up loving tuna casserole, probably because my mom made it homemade. Hamburger Helper makes a version I am sure, but you know how I am about that....

But I am going to switch things up a bit, and give you the hierarchy of the versions of this recipe.  Why is this awesome? Because there are some small changes you can do with leftovers or when sales are going on that pump this up.  There are other changes you can make that turn it into a dorm friendly snack.  Let's go!

So you need about 1/2-1 Cup of noodles, my standard 1/4-1/3 block of COLBY JACK CHEESE (I'm serious only CJC), and two pieces of bread.  Oh yea, and a can or pack of tuna.  I am but one person here, so I opted for the little pouches.  Oh yea, you most likely want about 1/4 c of milk too.  OK, done adding things now.  Yea, I don't put veggies in mine.  Yucky.

Actually my sister made me a legit grocery care package when I moved in, so I was using the second one of those tuna pouches.

Cook the noodles, I like to mix mine.  Then dinner becomes a treasure hunt (OH LOOK! A shell noodle, ahha kidding...sort of...). Drain them and plop in your cheese.  You could be a fancy soul and shred it but I just chop mine up and plop it in.  Seriously, hand washing a cheese grater is no fun.

Why not just use shredded cheese, you ask?

BECAUSE it sucks.  Haha, ok fine not really but I never think shredded cheese melts very well and half of it is kinda hard and plasticky and I really can't stand it.  And don't even consider velveeta because colby jack is the best cheese ever created and it is what you want to use. I like my cheese to have FLAVOR.  Velveeta and rotel make a great dip though, it has its place.

So plop the cheese in and keep it on a low heat.  I always find that I need to add about a fourth of a cup of milk to get it more creamy.  You want to hear it make squelchy noises when you stir.  That's a technical term, squelchy. You could use a scoop of sour cream or greek yogurt and it will be just fine.  I like to add in a little salt and pepper too.  Put the tuna in, get your bread popped down in the toaster, and stir the noodle concoction around so that all the cheese gets melted.  When your toast comes out cube it up and toss it right in the pan.  Serve, enjoy.

Have I ever mentioned I love one pot meals? Because I do.

Now, if you want to send this recipe to the alterations department here are my best suggestions:

• Use Albacore tuna instead of regular.  Oh man, I am not sure why but the white albacore stuff is fantastic.
• Use salmon instead of either of those.  If you make salmon one night for dinner, make an extra piece or so.  Flake it up and use IT in the casserole. DIVINE.  So much tastier than canned or pouched tuna ever thought about being. I see the people on the food network say you can't mix fish and cheese all the time, I argue that they have just forgotten their roots.
• If you are a college kid, use a pouch of tuna with EasyMac and Ritz, and you get a very similar effect.  Dorms can be frustrating on the weekends when you are tired of hitting up the fast food in the commons, and it is nice to know what you can add to super easy things.  Not every college is equipped with sufficient stoves, and for some reason the fast food is never as good on a campus as it is at a real location...and let's face it, we just don't have the money to eat out all the time.
• Velveeta makes a quick mac product that has broccoli in it, and I must say it is pretty good when you are in a bind.  Throw in some ritz on that and it makes a great broccoli casserole-esque college saver. Not going to lie, I threw bacon in mine once (the little hormel bacon pieces)...that was essentially genius. You could use the canned chicken but that stuff quite frankly scares me...
• Triscuts with colby or mozzarella and a half of a cherry tomato on them make a great snack too.  That has nothing to do with this recipe, but just in case any of you are college kids and looking for microwave ideas.

For as much as I dog EasyMac now, it saved me quite a few times in the dorm days when I had not eaten much in the cafeteria and needed something later on.  It also did not help that it happened the same year we ate out ALL the time and I gained 15 pounds.  And yes, I have lost it back off now that I am cooking for myself...and sprinting up three flights of steep stairs to get to class.

The atmosphere of eating out and being with friends is fun, that is true.  But if you do it multiple times a week like we did (counting the fast food on campus) it will catch up with you.  I am not saying easy mac is healthy, but they actually have less fat than you might think.  So if you can pack them in with protein the form of tuna, it can help.  Stock your fridge with produce like apples, or raid it from the cafeteria (ISU always allowed us to take a limited amount out at each meal, three meals a day you can add up a fruit stock pretty quickly) and eat apples and peanut butter, or nutella, whatever.  Just eat SOMETHING healthy or be prepared to go shopping for new clothes.  Especially if you are in to the alcohol side of things (I wasn't) because then you are adding that much more caloric intake on top of it all.

Alright, slightly off topic...go make some casserole! ...is it really casserole if it isn't baked??

Oh well, don't care! :) Pin It Now!

Baked Sweet Potato and Apple Chips

This is what I like to call a pseudo-success, and don't let that deter you from reading because I know how to fix what I goofed.  I often equate a lot of my kitchen ventures to that of a mad scientist.  I like to know if things work in a more convenient manner.  So this has a lot of lessons laced into it, as well as some pretty darn tasty chips.

Lesson #1: You will do as I say, and go to amazon.com and buy a mandoline slicer. If you want a cheapie but goodie, you will buy the one I have http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-International-HGT-11-Folding-Mandoline/dp/B001F5RSEK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352597434&sr=8-1&keywords=mandoline+slicer.  And then, after you add that to your cart you will buy these Kevlar gloves http://www.amazon.com/1607M-Resistant-100-Percent-Kevlar-Textured/dp/B003TV40YE/ref=pd_sim_k_2.

Why am I telling you to buy things? First, if you make au gratin potatoes from scratch, this mandoline will be your best friend.  Second, if you have a mandoline and value your fingers, these gloves will be your best friend.  You can have more than one best friend you know.  I usually don't (except maybe a girl BF and a boy BF sometimes) but that is because I have a very stringent quality over quantity approach to life, and I don't count family best friends in the same category.  Regardless, I had by mandoline blade set on super thin, and even though I felt the blade hit the gloves a few times, my darling pinky was spared.

My best friend was not so lucky with the mandoline I got her, and she sliced her thumb right before her wedding.  Her mom cut herself the same night, and my mom slightly knicked herself when she got hers.

First off, I told people to get these gloves.  YOU need to really consider these babies.  Even though it has a hand guard on it, you will have to WASH  and CHANGE the blades.  Get the gloves.

 I cut up one smallish sweet potato and one golden delicious apple.  That was my first experiment: can these be cooked at the same time?

Answer: yes, but you have to pay attention.

The sweet potatoes are excellent, and did not stick to my cookie sheet.  I did grease it a little with EVOO, because I don't bother buying Pam anymore.  However, I apparently did not grease it enough to keep most of the apples from sticking.

Lesson #2: Slick it or stick it.  For real, spray it down good, or oil it up more.  The apples don't play nice.

I mixed a tiny container of cinnamon/sugar, ginger, and a hint of nutmet.  I used a teeny tiny bit of that and sprinkled it over my cuts.

 I put my oven on about 225 and let these go through the preheat as well.  I tend to do that a lot for whatever reason.

I baked them for about 55 minutes and took them out to flip.  Which brings me to my next lessons.

Lesson #3: See the dark cake pan in the back? This and my Rachel Ray pan are essentially nonstick and I love them.  Also, baking the chips in these pans effectively creates a convection or similar effect and they cook faster.  When I took these out, the apple chips were basically done.  It was amazing.  The super thin was perfect for the sweet potatoes, I might next time just go thin on the apple chips.  I liked these though.

I flipped over the sweet potato chips and popped the tray back in to cook another 30 minutes.  After that, I turned the oven off and let them just sit in there for the next 20 minutes while I finished editting a paper. 

 You noticed I did not say I flipped the apple chips?  Correct...

Lesson #4:  If you choose to ignore lesson 2 or if you discover you did not put a solid enough slickness down, run scalding hot water over your cookie sheet and scrape it with a spatula or similar.  The junk will come off.

Putting a dusting of sugar and similar and putting the seasoned side down MIGHT help them to not stick, but I am not sure. 

I should have used butter.  I use it for everything else anyway.

 Now this isn't going to win a magazine award for beautiful photography, but these were some of my finished yummies.

The cinnamon spice mix for the apples was perfect. 

Believe it or not, I would put sea salt on the sweet potato chips if I was going to make them again.  The sweet mix just did not really do them as much justice as I had hoped.

The sweet potatoes however WOULD make a great base for delicious dessert nachos or dip. Yummy.

The apples are paper thin but they have a positively amazing taste.  If you make yours thicker keep in mind you may have to bake them longer, or flip them throughout.  I would say if you make them thicker and put them on a cookie sheet you may need about 2 rounds of 45-50 minute baking.

Now seriously, look how delicious this guy looks. I just really wish he was salty.  Next time, SALT.

The sweet potatoes have a texture like kettle chips.  I love the stronger crunch of a kettle chip, so that is positively amazing as far as I am concerned.

There are a lot of recipes online that bake higher and faster.  The reason I opted for low and slow is because traditionally stuff like this is made in a dehydrater.  That is the epitome of slow.  Also, I would imagine that since dehydration was more typical, the more moisture you can draw out the longer they would last.

Which I think is aided by low and slow in this scenario due to the fact that steaks are cooked on flaming hot grills to create an instant sear and lock in the juices, but I could be wrong.  All I know, is they are fantastic.

Yes, I rationale chip baking temperatures based on steak.  Look, everything in life is relatable to something else, you just have to reason it out.

For one potato and an apple, this made a LOT of chips.  Well, would have if two thirds of my apple ones had not stuck.  But you get the point.  It made a lot of slices at least...

And no, I am not taking my ghostie towels down for a while still.  I like them, they are super cute. Pin It Now!

Quick Fixes

In order to make up for my complete spacing on not blogging yesterday, I posted the pancake recipe earlier and will post this compendium of coolness for things that save me time, money, and/or sanity.  It is definitely not a comprehensive list of all possibilities out there.  But I am juggling getting my Master's, working for a workaholic, playing peacemaker to two team ego's, and going home as much as I possibly can.  Oh yea, and occassionally running the vaccuum....

Dishes.  There's something that eats into my time.  Mandatory dishwashers in all apartments, that's something I would like to see Congress make happen...

Here we GO!

 I am a big fan of quick desserts and treats that make great gifts and/or party food...but it NEVER FAILS to amuse me what some people pay for.  This picture is not the best example because the fudge covered oreos are actually not all that outrageously priced for what you get...

Unless you are me.

Why? I ONLY EAT DOUBLE STUFFED! Those flat ones are for the birds.  So when I dip my oreos, I use a strict combination of double stuffed oreos and candiquik (I get mine from Meijer).  Why do I specifically by CQ from Meijer, you ask? Simple, it tastes like hot cocoa.  I don't know what it is about it but it is HANDS DOWN the best tasting chocolate in my opinion, and I hate most chocolate.

Yea I know.  Girl hates chocolate.  Pretty much unheard of.  so now you may wonder if I hate chocolate, why on earth am I making these?  Simple.  My best friend is visiting tomorrow and I am one of those types that likes to have treats ready for when someone visits.  My friend Gretchen visited and I had pumpkin ice cream sandwiches.  It's just what I do.  Someday, I will maybe have grandkids and they will love visiting me because I will always have cookies or some yummy food.  Which is exactly why I loved visiting my great grandmother.  She ALWAYS had something.

You basically just melt the chocolate according to the package directions, thin it down with a teaspoon or couple of oil if you need.  I only do that when I need it to coat thin, or if I am doing cake pops and it doesn't melt velvety smooth.  Chocolate can be a bit particular.  Dip the oreos and dry on wax paper.

 See? Cake pops.  These were the most colorful ones I ever made.  You can really make treats fancier if you drizzle chocolate over them. 

My technique for drizzle? Use a knife, dip it down in the chocolate (I tend to scoop just a little onto the knife) and then move it back and forth (quickly) over your treats.

Try it a few times with it going back in the chocolate bowl if you are unsure.  Especially when you drizzle in another color, it makes people think something is FAR MORE FANCY than it really is.  You can usually get a similar effect with tongs.  Just use whatever utensil you are getting them out of the chocolate with. 

I use a knife to dip oreos (scoop choc over em after plopping them in, then use the knife under them to get them out and set them down), tongs for cake pops and chocolate dipped pretzels, and either tongs or a knife for ritz. Usually a knife is easier.

Ritz? Like the crackers? Yes!  They are so versatile.  Many people know of dipping them in chocolate infused with mint oil or flavoring. And that's all great and good.  But non-minty chocolate coating with heath bits sprinkled in right after they are dipped makes a truly delicious and insanely easy trick as well.

Now, I am not necessarily going to vouch for this as I have not tried it...yet.  But I have noticed that salted caramel is the newest in vogue flavor of pretty much everything.  IF you have noticed, places like Meijer now have caramel chips on the baking row with the chocolate chips and similar.  I would imagine you could dip a ritz in caramel and drizzle it with chocolate for a deliciously posh treat. I could be wrong, but I really don't think I am.  It would also lend itself well to turtle ritz flavors.

More of my favorite tips and tricks:

• Separate out your beef into 1/8th or 1/4th squares before you freeze it, especially if you are a single person in your house.  It is so much faster to thaw a cube than it is a whole pound.  You can also form some into burgers and put them in individual bags or similar, ready to go. In fact, I often separate chicken legs, thin cut pork, steaks, and similar when I get them into individual bags or containers.  Is it wasteful on bags? Unfortunately.  But it is so much simpler to get out the one pork chop I need when they aren't all frozen together in the pack.
• Dip your own pretzels.  I about choked last year watching Shark Tank because someone got their chocolate covered pretzels marketed and sold by Niemann-Marcus.  If I remember correctly they were pretzel rods and clocked in at over $2 a rod...really? People actually will pay that much? I need to go into business....Seriously though, these make great gifts and party poppers.
• Use sour cream and pesto in pasta dishes.  Pesto is pricey, sour cream is usually not.  Pesto has a hugely strong flavor, sour cream does not.  Get a great flavor by cutting back your pesto and making it a "pesto cream" pasta dish.  Chances are, picky eaters in your family will like it a little better because it won't be as overwhelming.
• Cut chicken breasts in half.  Why is the McChicken so popular?? It does not have the thick stringy texture that sometimes comes with full chicken breasts, but still gives you that (sort of fake) chicken taste. It is great for McDonald's because they can use a thin portion of meat which costs them less, and in turn costs you less. I buy chicken tenderloin pieces and just fillet them part way through to make a sandwhich sized piece if I want one, but I would completely cut chicken breasts in half if that was what I had.  I would also whack them with a meat tenderizer, personally.
• Stop buying lipstick and START using Burt's Bees.  This is kind of a personal vendetta against makeup companies because they have gotten ridiculously priced.  So instead of buying lipstick and then also using gloss or chapstick, I buy BB's because they have beautifully colored chapstick.
• USE SPICES.  A variety of spices gets you new and interesting flavors with minimal extra cost.  Oatmeal boring? Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in small amounts.  Suddenly it is completely fall appropriate.
• Freeze chicken and veggies together with spices and flavors for preseasoned packs that you can throw in a dish and bake.  The baking still takes a long time, but you don't have to pull out all the spices and prep it! After you bake it, save the broth for soup, or use it in my no knead bread recipe found here http://greenzebra9.blogspot.com/2012/10/savory-cheesy-herb-bread-my-best-bread.html!
• Reorganize your freezer every couple of months. I am serious, stuff gets lost back there.  My best reorganization happened right before the end of my undergraduate career.  I rearranged everything, took stock of what I had, and set a goal to buy NOTHING my last month.  And I accomplished just that! I now have a menu board where I plan out my meals, and it really helps me not waste things.  Here is the one I made http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7990634899084236237#editor/target=post;postID=5429221870264573251.  It really makes it easy for me to use things like leftover rice, for instance.  I ALWAYS make way too much, so I know if I made salmon with rice on Monday I can use the leftover rice to make some delicious MexiRice on Wednesday.
• STOP buying stuff like Hamburger Helper, or at least use less meat in it.  I mean really...what exactly are you even paying for? The noodles? Cheap.  You probably already have noodles! The powdered cheese? Gross. The flavors? Buy a block of colby jack cheese or a different high flavor cheese like sharp cheddar, use about 1/4-1/2 of the block depending on how large of a thing you are making, and add a little milk OR a scoop of sour cream...OR BETTER YET, plain greek yogurt.  You will still get a cheesy creamy dish, it will still have plenty of flavor thanks to the quality cheese, and you won't have as many wacky preservatives.  My cheeseburger pasta, which has become a big hit with my best friend and her family, involves about a half cup or so of pasta, usually about 1/4 block of colby jack (only yellow cheese I will buy), a fourth of a pound or less (I separate into 1/8ths now) of ground beef (I like sirloin at 90/10 or 93/7, don't get that 73/27 crap ANYWHERE NEAR ME), and a small sprinkling of Hormel REAL Bacon Pieces.  I use seasoning salt on the beef, and pepper.  And let me tell you it is delicious.  Meat is expensive, and it is easy to cut back the amount you use in some recipes like that.
• Use greek yogurt.  It has protein, and the tanginess is easily masked in things like ranch dip.  It is a great way to sneak in nutrition.  I sub out 8oz of cream cheese in my cheesecake recipes for 8 oz of greek yogurt.  I made a pumpkin cheesecake last year for Thanksgiving, and my father raved about how rich it was.  Mmmhmm.  Reduced Fat cream cheese and greek yogurt. And no, I never told him how much lower fat it was than what he thought.   :)  I even use it in my very delicious pumpkin ice cream, found here: http://greenzebra9.blogspot.com/2012/09/pumpkin-ice-cream.html
• Patch jeans quick. This is sometimes a little more difficult in tight jeans, I recommend patches much wider than the hole if you can.  Flip the jeans inside out, put lace over the hole, fabric of some color over that, and use an iron on patch to keep them in place.  A few tack stitches wouldn't hurt before ironing just to make sure nothing moves.  Putting the patch adhesive side down and a little bigger than the fabric allows you to adhere it all down in one hot swoop.  My very favorite and tightest jeans are patched like this.  I do have some others that we used narrow patches on that just barely covered the hole, and that is not nearly as effective for tight jeans. Also, wearing brightly colored leggings under jeans with holes is a great way to winterize them in a way that can change with your mood.  Unless you are like me and lose your bright red leggings somewhere...

It's not easy to eat well in college, it really isn't.  Places like McDonald's lure you in with their $1 sandwiches and you may never realize that actually it is cheaper to make it at home.  I don't have an income necessarily this year as I am on scholarship, though it does come with a stipend.  But with college fees and textbook fees, you have to learn to be smart about what you buy, cook, and eat.  Those drive-thru trips will add up fast, especially if they start adding to your waistline.  I would much rather spend my money on gas to go home than dinner out every night, PLUS I prefer home cooked food.  It is a great way for me to learn to do new things and create new recipes. 

And let's face it, on the edge of a fiscal cliff and with nearly guaranteed tax increases from the end of the tax cut era or from the added taxes and price increases we will see after Obamacare is imposed, it is beneficial to look at things you can make yourself or cut back on and still feel like you are getting things just as good as you were before. These are just a few of the things I do to save a dime.

Hopefully this makes up for my space cadet tendencies!

 

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