Breakfast Blogging

I realize that even as I type this the time is almost at noon but I tend to sleep in so I will still say it is breakfast! My breakfast, dear blog, consist of some coffee and toast. But by now you know how much I dislike breakfast foods. I used to love eggs, probably still do, but eggs seem to hate me so very much. </3

Image borrowed from http://jucylucyinspired.deviantart.com/ 
Check her out, HER ART IS SUPER CUTE!!!!!!!!!!

I have been catching up on my NETFLIX instant cue as of late and the newest movie for me to watch is Tangled. It is a cute Disney movie and it had some really humourous moments in it. My favourite? The entire run on joke with the frying pan. It may be because I grew up in that Tom & Jerry era but I found it pretty amusing to see so many people get slapped around with that pan. Rapunzel was one of my favourite stories as a child so I was very excited when this popped up on my screen. Was it the same rehashed corniness that Disney always puts out? Yes. Was the story easily predicted? Of course. Do I care? Not really. I do not really expect amazing twisting plots and ridiculously deep dialogue in these kinds of movies. As a kid I loved the Disney movies and I like that now, as an adult, I can still enjoy them with my kids without having to explain every complicated detail to my FOREVER QUESTIONING six year old. Other Disney movies I really love include The Emporor's New Groove, Fantasia, and Sleeping Beauty. 

Other things I have been watching on Netflix? I just recently finished all the episodes of Bleach they had to offer and I am almost completed with the Inuyasha series. Yeah, weaboo moment for sure. But Inuyasha gets me all nostalgic and I cannot deny myself. ♥ I do notice, now that I am older, the silly antics Kagome and Inuyasha constantly pull on each other seem to be rather childish and immature for what is supposed to be an epic love story kind of thing. Maybe that is just because I am so much more forward with my romance? I digress! 

I have been also watching many, MANY episodes of Paranormal State. OMGWTFBBQ! I love that show! And I love Chip Coffey! And his millions of fabulous scarves! Paranormal shows are my weakness. I, personally believe that the paranormal is totally possible and getting to watch people catch them on tape/camera pulls me right in with that insanity. You can imagine the giddy squeal I terrified The Captain with when I noticed ParaState had added new episodes. I stayed up very late to finish them all, sucking down coffee and absently pretending to crochet as I stared away at the t.v. 

Then there has been NANA. I know, I know. So many animes in this post. Well, the anime section was just recently added to Netflix so I qued up quite a few I have been wanting to watch. I like anime just as much as any other genre but they are so expensive! I cannot justify paying $25-$30 for just 4 episodes. Anyways, NANA is so much more cute than I thought it was going to be. And I just got to the part where SOMEBODY found out she is pregnant! I won't say who though since people seem to hate spoilers. I don't know which one I want to end up with who... *chews on nails*

We recently turned our cable provider off in favour of Netflix since the bill was becoming a bit outrageous. I have not missed television yet, which is a huge relief to me. I get my news from CNN online and my weather from there as well. I really like to watch cooking shows but that is covered over at FoodNetwork.com. So all things are well AND I am saving around $115 a month now. This is too much rambling, Dear Blog. I think I'll be off for now. 

I'm Not Much on Purples...

...but I love this dress. I want it. </3

I'm Not Much on Purples...

...but I love this dress. I want it. </3

No Place Like Gnome

My gnome is happy I cleaned the kitchen.

Thrifty Foods!

Today I am just going to share my way of making spaghetti and meatballs. I like making foods homemade and if I can save money I am even more pleased! Recently I have been fiddling with making noodles, flatbreads, and other grain items from scratch for my family. I eat these instead ---> Shirataki Noodles. 

It is still fun to cook for my family though and it saves me a good bit of money!

Tadah! The noodles are not thin and round, but that would require a pasta maker. These are just as tasty though, despite their looks! How I make my home made spaghetti.

First, I do the meatballs. You could go for a meatsauce, but my kids find the balls much more fun.

In this photo above I have a bowl with a pound of meat, half ground beef and half italian sausage. You can use all beef if you like to reduce the price further. I was feeling a bit fancy last night, so I tossed some pork into the mix. Then I have three eggs, some salt and pepper flamingos, italian seasonings, and about 6 pieces of toast. Hello Kitty toast, to be exact. But if you have regular toast you will be fine as well! Lol. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Chop the toast into small squares. 

If you do not think the chunky toast will be appealing to the pallet you could always exchange this ingredient with bread crumbs or crackers that are crumbled up. I have heard of other people using oatmeal too, but I like the chunky bread best.

3. Add the bread chunks, all three eggs, and 2 TBS. of the itialian seasoning to the meat bowl. 

I add salt and pepper for taste, we like LOTS of pepper, so do this at your discretion. You can always season the sauce to compliment the meat if you get it too bland on the first shot. Mush it up with your hands! YOUR HANDS! Ewww, gross! I do not mind using my hands, some people may find other means. Lol.

Mmmmm, squishy bowl of slime. Appetizing, right?

4. Roll small hunks into about one inch diameter balls and place on a baking sheet.

I use low fat ground beef, so the baking sheet does not get too messy. But if you use a higher fat content in your beef I suggest you lay out a sheet of aluminum since you will have "drippings" from the meat. Easy clean up!

My meatballs. UGH! Drives me crazy I have an odd number of them. Cannot be helped I suppose!

5. Toss those babies into the oven! 

They take about forty five minutes to cook all the way through and brown up nice. This will give you plenty of time to fiddle around with the noodles!

In this photo I have two cups of All Purpose flour, one cup of hot water, salt, and one egg.

I use AP flour because of it's availability. A variety of flours are used to make pasta and each one creates a different consistency. AP is sufficient for the job, but if you enjoy making this simple attempt then have fun and go nuts with experimentation! I love to play around with cooking.

1. Start to boil water in a tall pot. 

More is better than less so as to give room for your noodles to cook, but too much water takes a long time to boil so do not go crazy with the size of the pot. Let the water get ready while you do the noodles. I also add a dash of olive oil to the water to help the noodles not stick to each other. They can be very sociable! 

2. Mix in one tsp of salt to the flour. 

3. Make a hollow area in the center of the flour and add the egg along with a small amount of the hot water. When the egg is incorporated, keep adding small amounts of hot water and mixing until it becomes a firm but only SLIGHTLY sticky ball. 

If it gets too sticky/gloopy add a bit more flour and mix some more. When it gets to this stage I sort of give up on the spoon and mix it by hand. You are going to have to use your hands eventually in this dish, why avoid it?

4. Dust your surface with a small bit of flour to keep the dough from sticking. With your hands, knead the dough til it feels a good bit stretchy. 

This makes good noodles, in my experience. Crumbly dough will not form well and will break apart as you shape it. Gloopy dough will stick to everything, including the other noodles when they touch. Also, they will fall apart when you toss them into boiling water.

5. Roll out the ball of dough into a thin sheet.

I have a small counter so I break the dough into about three pieces before rolling out. 

6. Cut into strips of pasta! 

I use a pizza cutter, ha ha ha. It works, right? I have also used a knife, but the rolling action of the cutter allows me to go faster and makes neat cuts. Smaller noodles are more desired for spaghetti but you can make them wider for an "fettucini" look. The noodles will not be round, obviously, as a pasta maker is needed for this accomplishment. Or you can practice hand rolling noodles like a pro. Alton Brown, my cooking teacher, can show you about that. Amazing Noodle Making!

They look cool, right!? I love Alton Brown! He wows me every time I watch him! My noodles look like this though.

I know, not as amazing. But still tasty! Plus, CheezeIt loves to help cook in the kitchen. I cannot deny him and he is six years old. Straight lines are not in his list of skills.

7. Throw those noodles into the boiling pot! 

They only will have to cook for about five minutes. Pull one out and chew on it. Does it taste/feel like a noodle? Yes? Then just strain them and rinse them off in the sink with some cool water. Set aside to wait for THE SAUCE!

This is the most simplest sauce you will probably ever see, aside from slapping some out of a premade can. I take one can of tomato paste and toss it into a sauce pan. I then add three cans of water. Boil, then put it on medium heat. Throw into that some of the itialian seasoning and a LITTLE BIT of sugar. I do not usually add any salt since the paste is already salty enough for me. Cook until it thickens to your desired consistency. At this time, the meatballs should be done and can also be thrown into the sauce pan.

This is what done meatballs should look like. They WANT to bathe in that sauce, do not deny them!!!!

Slap it all together on a plate, add some garlic bread to the mix. Some salad. You have now a cheap but very tasty dinner on your table! You may like this, you may hate it? I hope you do enjoy it though! It took me some time to learn how to do these things properly but as I practiced I have gotten this down to a very fast paced and easy dinner for my family. And everything I have learned about cooking I pick up on my own from web sites, television, and just experience. I am not a guro, like Alton Brown. Have I mentioned him yet? Oh, I did? Too bad, I love watching his show so, so very much. It's like Beakman's World with cooking! And so much better!