Mar 23

Bison Taco’s – Terra’s Kitchen

Bison Taco

Bison Taco from Terra’s Kitchen

Terra’s Kitchen wasn’t a subscription that we decided to stick with. The Bison Taco’s were good, but not enough to keep the service. The meal made plenty of food! The bison was mixed with black bean, tomatoes and other veggies.  Most of the meal prep involved browning the bison. After the bison was browned it was simply a case of mixing in the other ingredients.

Taste

Like the other orders from Terra’s Kitchen the dinner was healthy, but wasn’t as flavorful as the Blue Apron we tried before.

Freshly

I pulled up the page for Freshly this week and debated giving it a try. After looking at the site it’s described as having a menu of a rotating set of 30 meals that are all gluten free, free from added sugars, packed with protein, and all natural.  The site says that the meals are cooked by their chef and then shipped out – never frozen.  After arriving they are to be fixed in the microwave in two minutes or less!

This may be great, but for me I decided to give it a pass.  We are going to give Hello Fresh a try next!  Can’t wait to move on to the next plan.  Freshly may be great for someone that doesn’t have time when they get home and just wants to grab a meal and hit the microwave.  – I think we will give it a pass for a little bit and try some others first.  On to Hello Fresh for next week!

 

 

Mar 21

Cabbage Pancake

While hosting our exchange student from Japan, we were able to try Cabbage Pancakes. They have a Japanese name – Okonomiyaki, but cabbage pancake works for me.  (It was also called Okonomiyaki pizza on Amazon where you can order the whole kit for it! – Affiliate Link Below)

The ingredients can include:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 cups dashi
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 8 cups finely chopped cabbage (I use the mixed bag already chopped up at the grocery
  • 8 scallions, diced up
  • 8 slices bacon, can use ham
  • Kewpie Mayonnaise – Any Japanese grocery or even Walmart which is where I buy it!
  • Okonomiyaki  – Kind of like a Japanese barbeque sauce…..

 

  1. In a large bowl whisk together flour, dashi, and eggs. Add chopped cabbage and mix so that the cabbage is gently crushed into the batter. You can fold in shrimp and scallion whites then season with salt.   – We’ve always had a mix that is available in Japan so I think all of this is flexible and lots of choices are available online for things to put in…
  2. Put cabbage/egg mixture into pancakes on pan or hot plate. Cook until underside is browned, then place  pieces of halved bacon on the top and flip.  Leave on until the bacon is crisp and the pancake is cooked through. Serve immediately with kewpie mayo, okonomiyaki sauce and scallion greens.
  3. I drizzle the kewpie mayo and okonomiyaki sauce over the cabbage pancake in a crisscross pattern.  Sprinkle the scallion greens over the top of the cabbage pancakes.  For us the cabbage pancakes end up large enough that we are able to cut them into four pieces for smaller servings.


IMG_3124

 

Mar 16

Debit Cards vs Credit Card

dave ramsey article
Today reading Dave Ramsey’s article in our paper I noticed an article about debit cards vs. credit cards. It’s something my family has discussed a few times. In the article Ramsey was advising the person that had written in that debit cards should be chosen over credit cards and all about the dangers of credit cards. My issue came about from the lack of information on the danger of using debit cards.

We have had both credit cards and debit cards… we also have our credit cards paid off and don’t carry balances I’m super careful to not normally use debit cards.  In my past I’ve had debit cards fraudulently used (and credit cards too).  The debit card surprisingly had never left my possession… I had only ever used it at the bank teller – not even the ATM.  The card in question was a business card and somehow had multiple charges appear on it despite never being used.  We have also had the same type of experience with our credit card.

In both cases the card in question was immediately cancelled. In the event of the debit card the bank was great about letting me know that they should be able to reimburse the money within 10 days.  As my credit card was on a charge, the company put a dispute in and the money never left my hand.  After the amount of time, my debit card and my credit card were both ones luckily that don’t hold the victim liable. In some situations banks aren’t liable on the debit card for the first so many dollars. (Usually $50.)

We were very lucky that we weren’t dependent on the money in my business account to pay any of our bills.  I hate to think if the debit card that was stolen had been our personal account and had drained our account near time to pay our mortgage.  Our debit card normally comes out of our checking in that case and we do have savings, but I remember a friend having to borrow money to put gas in their truck until their account was reimbursed because of a debit card fiasco.

For people living pay check to pay check I can’t even imagine how devastating being without any money for 10 or more days could be.     For me the logic of using my credit card to reduce risk makes total sense.

Reasons given to not use a credit card include:

  • If you can not budget
  • If you might spend more because you are using a credit card
  • If you are already carrying a balance

Reasons to use a credit card:

  • Can’t afford to be without money in the event of a stolen card
  • Need a credit history (Cheaper interest rates on mortgages with a credit history, as well as on some other items)

Additionally

  • Don’t ever pay fees to have a credit card
  • Don’t allow the limit to be set extremely higher than you need (Seriously I think we could buy a house on credit cards and have asked them numerous times to not raise our limits)
  • Watch for charges that aren’t your own.  (Generally scammers start with small purchases to see if you notice)

Mar 14

Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts (skinless and boneless)
1 cup bread crumbs (seasoned – Italian)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
a pinch thyme
a pinch basil
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Cut chicken breasts into pieces.

Mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. 

Put melted butter in a bowl for dipping.


Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Mar 10

Non Slip Socks (Make Your Own)

  • Time Required: 30 minutes  – plus time to dry

 
Materials Needed:

  • Heavy Socks
  •  Puff Paint

Instructions:

.1. Lay the socks flat on your work surface so that the bottom side is up.
2.Use the puffy fabric paint to make dots, lines, or other shapes on the bottom of the sock.

Once the paint is dry the socks are done!  Perfect for running around the house without slipping everywhere. 

 

Our house has wood floors all over downstairs….  they are super slippery when they get things like furniture polish on them.  Non slip socks really help.  All it takes is a little puff paint and some socks. Easy Peasy!