February Book Picks

Maddie’s Book Pick
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

OMG youz guyz (NJ colloquialism) this book has joined my list of all-time favorites. It was recommended to me by two of my co-workers who loved it. It was one of those books that I would repeatedly stay up past my bed time to read. If you know me, you know what a big deal that is. The story follows Kya, AKA the “Marsh Girl” of Barkley Cove, North Carolina, who is forced to become a survivalist after one-by-one her family members leave her. Despite her peaceful nature, Kya becomes the local lore subject of the small community and as a result is embroiled in something that she never saw coming. Or did she? Part coming-of-age, part romance, part murder mystery, and part ode to nature, this story is full of twists and turns and the writer will keep you guessing until the very end!  

Emily’s Book Pick
The Library Book by Susan Orlean

This book was the book pick for Reese’s Book Club. I didn’t get to finish the book BUT what I did read I really love. The book is about the 1986 LA Library Fire. One thing that I really liked about it was that it takes place in LA which I lived for about 2 years. So when the author spoke about different locations I could instantly visualize them and it brought back some fun memories. The only reason I didn’t finish it was because it was a “Hot Pick” at my library and I was only able to check it our for 7 days and I’m just not that fast of a reader. I would for sure recommend this book! There is a mystery aspect to it and I really enjoyed how this author wrote. She has a way of making the books a main character and I was getting a bit teary eyed when she described them burning. Maddie has this book so I will get to finish it once she send it to me!

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients
Serves About 6
-4 Apples (Honeycrips taste the best to me in this recipe)
-3 Cups Milk or Milk Alternative
-3 Cups Water
-2 cups oatmeal (or steel-cut oats)
-1-2 tbsp agave syrup
-1 tsp or more cinnamon
-1 tsp all spice
-2-3 tbsp ground flax seed

Directions
1. Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. (Add a liner if you’d like)
2. Dice apples with skin on and place into slow cooker.
3. Add the rest of ingredients to slow cooker.
4. Place slow cooker on high for 2-3 hours.
5. Periodically check on oatmeal to stir.
6. After cooking is complete divide oatmeal into 6 containers with lids.

Tips
To save money omit the milk/milk alternative and just use 6 cups of water.

If you use steel-cut oats change the cooking time to 6-7 hours on high.

I make this almost every week on Sunday afternoon. This will give us half our breakfast for the week and I will make breakfast sandwiches (which we call Buddies!) for the other days. I add milk to mine when I reheat it but my husband doesn’t. It’s all about preference!

Library Hacks

Today I’m sharing with you my library hacks!

1. Books- I had to start with the obvious right? You can rent books for FREE from the library! I have wasted so much money buying books that I ended up not liking. With the library I never feel guilty about the money I spent on a book I never finished. If I don’t like it I return it and move on! Books are expensive. Some can be like $20! Why spend $20 when you can get it for FREE?
2. Cookbooks – That’s right people! The library has cookbooks. Last January my sister and I went on the Fast Metabolism Diet and I wanted the cookbook for it but I didn’t want to commit to buying the cookbook (I later did commit and buy it). I borrowed it from the library and then returned it after. I currently have Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cookbook The Clean Plate on hold. Pro Tip: Photocopy your favorite recipes from the cookbook you checked out. Put it in a cute binder with a sheet protector and you have it forever and spent ZERO dollars.
3. Magazines – Save money and skip the magazine subscription. I love Southern Living and I was very sad when the subscription my mom paid for ended but fear not! Because the library has it and so many more magazines. I don’t think you can check them out but get a coffee or tea and browse through them one afternoon.
4. Audiobooks – The library has audiobooks for free to download. My library uses OverDrive and it’s so easy to use. I prefer to listen to self help books on tape (yeah I still call it books on tape even though I know it’s an audiobook #90skid). My favorite book on tape so far has been Lean In; Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg. I would listen to it on the way to work to get pumped up!
5. Hot Titles – This is something I just learned today! The library has hot titles set on display that you can’t place a hold on and must check out in person. Reese Witherspoon has a book club and I always want to read her picks but they get checked out so fast at the library and have a long waiting list. Enter in Hot Titles! I wanted to read her January pick this month (The Library Book by Susan Orlean) but alas I was number 15 in line until I saw a copy on the hot picks shelf! You can see a list of the hot picks in the online public catalog. I only have 7 days to read it and I like to take my time with books so we will see how far I get.
6. Air Conditioning – You might be like what?? But the library literally saved my life and sanity one summer. Me and my old roommate didn’t have AC the first summer we moved into our house. Going to the library was our savior! They have the AC blasting and nice comfortable chairs.

I know the library has a lot more resources like free classes, computers, music, movies and so on but the list above are the budget hacks I actually use the library for.C

Additional Hack from Maddie: Sign up for Kanpoy with your library card! This is a FREE streaming service that has a ton of movies.

 

Work Outfits Week of 2/11

Emily 5’3”

Dress Code: Business Casual
This week I wore two items that I made myself! Tuesdays white sweater and Wednesday plaid top. I felt so proud of myself for wearing them. I plan to do an extended blog post on each of them. I always feel so satisfied when I wear something I made! My favorite outfit this week was Tuesday. I felt very comfortable in it and it had one of my me-made tops. My least favorite was Monday. It looked good but the top is so tight in the arms and across my back. The whole day at work every time I reached for something I was just waiting for the seams to rip. So next on my sewing to do list is a good fitting gingham top. My toe has healed so I am back to wearing my favorite booties!
White Sweater Pattern View #2 / Plaid Shirt Pattern / Penny Ankle Booties

Maddie 5’9”

Dress Code: Business Professional
This was a pretty average week for me clothes-wise. We had a few days where we had clients in (Tuesday and Thursday) that necessitated dressing up a bit. My favorite outfit this week was on Monday. I find an easy and polished combination for me is a trouser, belt, shell, cardigan, and Rothys flats. It is still comfortable to wear but looks purposeful and put together.

Simple Knit Football Sweater

I have been knitting for only about 5 months. I have tried knitting off and on for year and it just never really stuck with me. It wasn’t until my husband told what how great knitting can be for stress relief (which is really is!) that I really decided to buckle down and try it. I went to my local knitting shop Fancywork Yarn Shop to attend one of their free beginner Learn to Knit Classes. I bought a pair of needles and one skein of yarn for the class. After the class I was able to practice a bit and then I started searching for an easy sweater pattern. I really didn’t want to try and make another scarf, which seems to be the beginning project for everyone. I found Sewrella’s Simple Knit Sweater. I was able to recognize the stitches and what I most loved about this pattern is that she provides and step-by-step video on Youtube. This helped me knit the sweater and understand how to read a knitting pattern.

I call this my Simple Knit Football Sweater because while my husband watched football this fall I sat next to him and made this sweater! That is one thing I really love about knitting. My husband and I can still be hanging out and spending time together and I still feel creative and productive (even if we are just watching TV). I have been sewing for 14 years and recently I haven’t been into it. It’s a really solo activity since I’m in a different room when I sew. I also love that when I knit I can just pick up the project and knit a bit and then put it down and I didn’t make a huge mess (like I do with sewing). With sewing there always seems to be some prep work that needs to be done before I can actually do anything. So I am really enjoying knitting more these days!

Pattern: Sewrella Simple Knit Sweater
Yarn: Hometown USA Yarn in color Montplier Peacock

Here are a few things that I changed and learned with this sweater:

1.I struggled with the ribbing initially. I finally learned that I had an uneven number when I cast on, which greatly affects how the ribbing lines up.

2. I didn’t get enough skeins of yarn initially. I made it in a size small and that called for 5 skeins and I needed 6. The sweater would have been finished much faster but I didn’t want to order just 1 skein of yarn and pay like $5 for shipping and handling so I waited until I picked out my next project then bought the last skein.

3. I made a few pattern adjustments. I took out 4 rows on the sleeves because I just know my arms a too short to fit most normal patterns. I also added another row of ribbing at the collar just so it was more defined.

4. Youtube was a huge help! I was able to search for videos on how to join yarn, changing a knit stitch to a purl stitch, weaving in my ends, and how to knit faster.

Next Project: Astrid Cardigan with this yarn in the color Peony.

Free Museum Entry Through Bank of America Museums on Us

One of the advantages of living in a big city is all of the culture and history that surrounds you! However, it sometimes feels like the culture is reserved for those who have the excess cash to spend on it. Luckily, there many programs that make culture more accessible to those who are #ballinonabudget if you are organized and willing to look for them! One of these programs is Bank of America’s Museums on Us. On the first weekend of each month, participating museums offer FREE admission to Bank of America debit or credit card holders. All you need to do is present your card and ID at the ticket desk and voila! You are in.

Sidenote: If you live in NYC (I live in NJ so this does not apply to me) and do not have a Bank of America card, you can visit a large list of museums for free through Culture Pass with your public library card.

We visited our first museum through the program, Liberty Science Center, last weekend and had a blast! Here are my tips for the program:

1. Plan Ahead: Because Museums on Us is only offered on the first weekend of the month, there have been several times that we have talked about going but did not make any real, concrete plans and the first weekend of the month passed us by. Next month, we are planning to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and I have scheduled it into my google calendar so we do not forget.
2. Be Upfront About Your Budget: When we got our admission tickets, the sales representative was immediately trying to up-sell us on the other exhibits that would come at an extra cost. We told her that we just wanted to do what was free and, as it turned out, there was a free Tesla show that we were able to attend that she had not initially mentioned. We also planned to attend a free monkey talk that ended up being one of our highlights from the visit. It is okay to be upfront with the staff about wanting to keep it cheap- they are probably on a budget too and will be understanding.
3. Be Content: This is a very important tip for #ballinonabudget in general, and and something that I am always working on. There was a (seemingly) very cool, interactive Sherlock Holmes exhibition on the fourth floor of the museum and instead of feeling shorted that it was not included in our visit, I resolved to feel content that we were able to see so many other things during our free visit that we would not have been able to otherwise.

Buffalo Wild Wings Ultimate Nachos Copycat

One of our favorite things to do during football season is to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch all of the Sunday games and my absolute favorite thing to eat there is the Ultimate Nachos! I decided to make a copycat recipe for the Superbowl that is (slightly) healthier and it turned out even better than the original!

I know this is not a Pinterest-worthy photo, but it is a 10/10!

Ingredients

• 1 Bag of your Fav Corn Tortilla Chips
• Homemade Pico De Gallo (Recipe Below)
• Homemade Gluten Free Nacho Cheese Sauce (Recipe Below)
• Homemade Mini Guac (Recipe Below)
• 1 Can Amy’s Organic Medium Chili (I like this one because it has tofu bits that mimic the ground beef in the BWW nachos)
• 2 Cups of Iceberg Lettuce (Chopped)
• Your Fav Medium Salsa

Directions:

1. Make your homemade pico de gallo (below), refrigerate.
2. Make your homemade mini guac (below), refrigerate. Steps 1 and 2 can be done simultaneously, since the ingredients are largely the same.
3. While you are at your cutting board, chop the iceberg lettuce.
4. Make your homemade gluten free nacho cheese sauce (below). While the cheese sauce is cooking, heat up the can of chili in a saucepan on the stove.
5. Heat your oven to 250 degrees. Empty the bag of tortilla chips into a large baking pan and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
6. Assemble your nachos! Start with a layer of chips and then add the cheese sauce, chili, pico de gallo, lettuce, medium salsa, and guac in quantities to your liking. Enjoy!

Homemade Pico De Gallo

• 2 Tomatoes (Chopped)
• ½ of a Red Onion (Chopped)
• Handful of Cilantro (Chopped)
• 1 Teaspoon of Lime Juice
• Salt and Pepper (To Taste)

Directions: Combine all of the ingredients together and refrigerate.

Homemade Mini Guac

• 1 Avocado
• 3 Tablespoons of Tomato (Chopped)- I just took half a palmful from the pico de gallo tomatoes that I was chopping.
• 1-2 Tablespoons of Red Onion (Finely Diced)- Again, I just grabbed some from the pico de gallo chopping and diced it down further.
• 1 Tablespoon of Cilantro (Chopped)- You guessed it…grab from your pico de gallo chopping!
• 1 Teaspoon of Lime Juice
• A dash of cayenne pepper.
• A few dashes of Cajun Seasoning.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions: Mash avocado. Stir in remaining ingredient and adjust seasonings to taste.

Homemade Gluten Free Cheese Sauce

• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 2 Cups Colby Jack Cheese (Grated)
• ¼ Teaspoon of Paprika
• ¼ Teaspoon of Chili Powder
• ¼ Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch

Directions: In a saucepan on medium, heat the heavy whipping cream. Once cream has warmed, add cheese, spices, and corn starch. Whisk until thick, around 5 minutes.

Oat Bran Muffins

Let’s make oat bran great again!

Preheat oven to 425 (yes I know this is hot)

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ Cups Oat Bran
• 1/4 Cup coconut sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Cup Raisins
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Flaked Coconut
• 1/2 Cup Milk or Milk Substitute
• Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 2 Eggs

Steps

1. Combine in a medium size bowl the following; eggs, milk, applesauce and oil whisk well to break down the eggs and incorporate the other wet ingredients.
2. Add the dry ingredients directly to bowl and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon~but don’t over mix.
3. Line muffin tin with paper* muffin liners. Fill 3/4 full with batter, I use a medium ice-cream scoop for this task.
4. Bake at 425 for 11-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. These freeze well for a grab and go breakfast.

*As a child of the 60’s I see paper as a renewable resource. If you disagree use silicon liners and if you feel really brave don’t use anything at all and send me your result pictures…

Couldn’t-Be-Easier Instant Pot Salmon

The name says it all!

Makes 2 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz Salmon Fillet or 2 6oz Salmon Fillets
• Olive Oil Spray
• 2 Garlic Cloves, minced (can sub for ½ tbs of garlic powder)
• 2 Tbs of Parsley, chopped (can sub for 1 tbs dried)
• 1 Tbs of Butter
• 2 Tsp of Lemon Juice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Steps

There she be.

1. Place your steam rack in your instant pot and add 1 cup of water to the pot.  
2. Place your frozen salmon fillet(s) on the steaming rack and spritz with olive oil spray.
3. Add fresh garlic and parsley to the fillet(s) (or garlic powder and dried parsley if you are not in the chopping mood as pictured here).
4. Add dollops of butter to the fillet(s).
5. Sprinkle fillets with lemon juice and salt and pepper as desired.
6. Place instant pot to ‘sealing’ and set to manual for 9 minutes.
7. Once finished, use the quick release function to release the steam.
8. Serve the salmon with a side of your favorite veggie and (if you are like me) cottage cheese.
9. Enjoy!

Cod with Mix-ins

4 servings | Cost $10.00

Ingredients (100% sourced at Walmart)

• One Pound Pacific Cod (16 ounce bag $5.24 @wallyword)
• 1 Leek*
• 1 Large Peeled Carrot
• 1/3 Cup of Pitted Castelvetrano Italian Olives, drained
• 1 Tablespoon Capers, drained
• 2 Tablespoon Salted Butter
• 1-2 Sprinkles per side of fish (or to taste) of Johnny’s Seafood Seasoning Mix

Get your mis en place- literally things in place

• Large saute pan with lid- on the stove.
• Cutting board.
• Sharp french knife.
• One prep bowl for veggies, two mini prep bowls for butter and drained olives/capers.
• Extra plate for vegetable transfer at the stove (read below).
• Spoon for basting browning butter (read below).
• Spatula and flipper.
• Ingredients above.

Prep

1. Rinse fish, pat dry,cut into 4- four ounce slices, lay on plate with paper towel underneath (or use nothing if you’re a hippie like Emily) and season one side with a couple sprinkles of the season mix.
2. Prepare leek, slice carrots and leeks into thin slices ~place in prep bowl set next to cooktop.
3. Cut olives into thin slices ~place in mini prep bowl along with drained capers set next to cooktop.
4. Portion butter (two ~1 Tablespoon slices) put into mini prep bowl next to cooktop.
5. Melt one Tablespoon butter in saute pan over medium heat, when it begins to bubble add the leek carrots and to pan. Cook until the carrots and leeks begin to soften or wilt a bit, using a spatula move the vegetables around to hasten the process-when veggies are soft and not browning, take off the head, and move this mixture from the pan to the extra plate to stop the cooking process.
6. Using the same saute pan, add the other Tablespoon of butter, once it bubbles add the fish. Saute fish for about 2 or 3 minutes, flip fish, sprinkle more seasoning mix atop, and begin to tip the saute pan using the handle. This should get the browning butter to pool, then using the spoon begin to baste the butter atop the fish. This will help cook the fish quickly and should take another minute or two until the fish turns a solid white color rather than the opaque uncooked color.
7. Add to the saute pan directly on the fish the following; cooling carrot/leek mixture, olives, and capers~turn off the heat and place the lid atop pan. This will create a little steam that will further the veggies cooking, head up the olives and capers and add a nice amount of moisture to the fish. Leave the lid on for a couple of minutes than serve.

* first time cooking with leeks? its easy and the flavor is worth the small effort; consult Youtube for leek preparation

Yum-o!