The daily {hopefully} food blog of a history major where I keep track of my eating habits, share recipes, show off my cooking prowess, and showcase awesome local food places in my area.
As I get older, and subsequently more poor, I have found a new appreciation for generic brand and Dollar Tree/Family Dollar/whatever you call it: dollar store foods. This might seem obvious to some people that you have to buy non-name brand food and other items if you want to save money, but for whatever reason {snobbishness, pride, I'm unsure}, this is news to me.
My Mom and I, thanks to lack of funds, have started patronizing the Dollar Tree every time we go grocery shopping. Now, you can't get everything there, and some places don't have freezers, but the amount you can get is actually surprising. We have bought the following from the Dollar Tree:
-Shampoo and conditioner -Bread -Paper towels -Ramen -Italian ices -Michelina's frozen dinners {smaller portion sizes and less sodium for yummy food} -Soap -Razors -Granola bars...damn good ones, too -Pudding -Banquet Pot Pies {filling and still with less sodium than the frozen dinners} -Sandals {these I got for the pool and they've held up extremely well} -Ibuprofen/Advil
Once we got a lot of these things at once, and the total was still under $40. Compared to about $45 or more the same amount at a grocery store.
Admittedly, with some generic brands, the food isn't always the best. The cereals at the Dollar Tree are....eh. I prefer the generic brands at Giant {still a lot cheaper than Frosted Flakes or Cheerios would be}.
The next time you're in a money crisis, think twice before you don't go into the dollar store down the street/close by. You won't be sorry.
Food Quote: "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."—– Ernestine Ulmer
1. Can you cook? If yes, do you like to cook? I can cook, yes. I like cooking hamburgers/cheeseburgers, pastas, rice, vegetables, steaks. I also like making cookies and cakes, but I tend to make those out of the box, so I'm not sure if that counts as cooking or not.
2. When do you eat with your whole family? Usually on holidays or other special occasions. My Dad living in New Hampshire ensures we don't eat together much.
3. What do you eat for breakfast? Weekdays; bagels with butter or peanut butter on top, with some fruit or a Fiber One bar added to it, with some type of juice to go with it.
4. When, where and how do you eat on weekdays? Weekdays I mostly eat food from home. Breakfast is anything I can scrape together at home as I'm rushing out the door. I used to eat at Starbucks as well every morning but monetary and weight concerns have largely made me stop doing that. Lunch is usually a sandwich, frozen food or leftovers from the night previous with either a Fiber One bar, a piece of fruit or some pudding and water to go with it.
Dinner...I used to eat out a lot more than I have been recently, again, thanks to monetary concerns, but if I don't feel like making anything at home, I'll grab something on the way home.
5. How often do you eat out (in a restaurant)? I haven't eaten out in a restaurant in awhile, save for this past Thursday. It used to be at least three times a week, but it's gone down quite a bit.
6. How often do you order delivery/take-out? Depends on how much money I have at the time.
7. Regarding no. 5 and 6: Say there weren’t financial reasons would you do this more often? Definitely. I love take out/restaurant food.
8. Are there any “standard dishes” you serve regularly? Nope.
9. Have you ever cooked for more than 6 persons? Never.
10. Do you cook every day? Nope. Most of the time, I am too lazy/tired to bother, so I subsist on frozen foods, pastas and sandwiches. Mostly things I can make in the microwave or in under 20 minutes.
11. Have you ever tried recipes from blogs? No, but I think I will, once I get more cookware.
12. Who cooks more frequently at your home? I'm really the only one who cooks at my house, except on weekends when my Mom will make omelettes and chili.
13. And who cooks better? We're kind of tied. I make amazing steaks and burgers and she makes out of this world chili.
14. Do you cook totally different compared to your mother/parents? Not really.
15. If yes, do you nevertheless eat at your parents? I guess this is N/A, now.
16. Are you a vegetarian or could you imagine being one? I'm not and I don't think I could imagine being one, since I love meat way too much. Pork fried rice is one of my favorite foods, and fried chicken...and steak...now I'm just making myself hungry.
17. What would you like to cook which you haven’t dared to make yet? I would love to try baking bread or making sushi. I think of the two, I would mess up the sushi first.
18. Do you prefer cooking or baking? I usually do more cooking than anything else, but if I had more time/wasn't so lazy, I think I would be baking more.
19. What is your greatest misery in the kitchen? I was going to say 'The clean up', but I actually don't mind cleaning, so I guess it would be when the food doesn't turn out the way I wanted it to.
20. What do you dislike? Brussels sprouts, Lima beans, spicy tuna rolls.
Food Quote: "You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients." —-Julia Child
