without cable

Life without cable isn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be.
We didn't watch much tv during the week anyway. Some of the shows we watched weren't guilty pleasures, and we didn't watch them regularly. They were just more interesting than whatever else was on. Probably turning our brain to sludge.

why get rid of cable? 
We were paying $58 dollars for cable, and the service wasn't really great since some channels weren't always available and other channels would freeze. Also, we were charged a random $25, and tried to dispute the claim {and they claimed they couldn't see the charge...but it was on our bank statement?} for almost four months. So we had enough.

what do we do without cable? 
First, with some of these rabbit ears that are on sale, we pick up the basic channels. The basic channels are nbc, abc, fox, and cbs. We do get the bachelor, and a few other shows that are popular.

I have a hulu account to watch some other shows like Grey's Anatomy, Raising Hope, and Modern family.

We decided to get netflix {check to see if you can get a free month trial}, and we pay $7 a month to watch our favorite shows like How I Met Your Mother and White Collar. We just found the show White Collar. It is so good! There are lots of movies, and maybe we will check out a few more tv shows. Right now, I'm just stuck on White Collar.

For the shows that cable gets that we can't watch, we usually hang out with friends. I really love the show Pretty Little Liars, just like every other high school girl. I always meet up with two of my best friends and watch it together. Obviously I can't host the party, but thankfully my friends like me enough to see me every Tuesday! & if we can't get together on Tuesdays, I'll just watch the show online the next day.

pros
We save almost $700 dollars per year!
I can watch all of the shows I care about
I get to see my friends more often

cons
watch shows on a delay {usually only a day}
watch them on a laptop {but you can hook your laptop up to a tv if you have a newer one}
your show may not be online
rainy days can affect your rabbit ears

We're happy with our decision. With rabbit ears, hulu, netflix, and most shows being posted on the network's website, there's really no need for cable!

Alfredo pizza, the best ever!

Even though we are busy almost every day of the week, we still reserve at least one day a week to eat dinner together. It's our reserved date night. I've shared this recipe before, last september's date night. It gives our week a little ohm. It grounds the rest of my week, and it's something we both look forward to.

I made this pizza with my friend Sam not too long ago when she came over to have a girl's night and just catch up. We were originally going to make regular pizza, but she's adventurous too so we decided to try out a recipe I found in a calendar a long time ago. It was so good, I ended up making it again with my sweetheart a few days later. I have a pesto recipe I will share soon that always tastes great mixed in with the alfredo, even for pasta!

ingredients for dough.
3 c Bisquick
2/3c very hot water
2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
4-5 sticks of mozzarella cheese string cut in half length wise { I even like mozz & cheddar string cheese}

toppings.
1/2 c Alfredo sauce
1-2 c spinach, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1-2 c Italian or Mozzarella cheese
Italian, garlic salt, or basil seasoning to taste

 I

Mix the water, Bisquick, and oil til dough forms. Then beat vigorously for 20 strokes. 

Cover, let it stand for 8 minutes.

Put rack on the lowest position, and put the oven on 450 degrees. Spray the pan. 

II

Spread the dough out onto the pan. Then you'll lay the already cut cheese along the outside of the dough. Then fold the dough over the cheese, to create the cheesy crust. Pop it into the oven for 6-7 minutes. 

While that's in the oven, prepare your pizza sauce. We mix Ragu sauce with tomato paste until it reaches a good consistency. 

III

Put the sauce & toppings on, and then make for 11-14 minutes until your crust is golden brown. 

Enjoy!!

{pantry challenge & organization}

A few weeks ago my sweetheart decided to challenge me to use everything in our pantry for meals, and to barely buy anything from the grocery to do it. We were using our pantry closet as well as a few shelves in a cupboard. There's no need for that much stuff!

Challenge accepted. 

So over the past month or so, I've made a lot of recipes that I've shared with you guys and a few that I haven't yet. Here is a list of everything I've been remaking that I've already shared. I've also updated the recipe links in the tab at the top of the page, that includes every recipe I've posted.

Recipes

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
cheesy orzo & broccoli
forget it chicken
pick me up pancakes
stuffed crust pizza
caesar chicken sandwiches
broccoli & cheese soup



I've also made this fantastic new dry erase calendar to keep me organized.The calendar took some time, but I think it's going to help out a lot with our new home hunt, school, his exams, and any kind of other special stuff going on. The calendar idea came from pinterest, but I thought of doing it when we went to Home Depot so he could buy some paint for work. I ended up taking almost {or actually...} every single paint chip I could. We ended up picking out two special colors for our eventual wedding, and I couldn't be more excited! We are just in the thinking stage of it though, so don't expect too many more wedding details for a while.

I reorganized the calendar while making some of the amazing pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last night. I think it's important to say that if we have leftovers that we didn't each for lunch or something else comes up, we just push the scheduled dinner to another day or cross it off. Otherwise, this could get messy.

For the calendar, you will need 30 paint chips, some kind of background {I used some cloth}, scissors, a poster  frame and glue. Just cut the paint chips down for size, as you can see I left the name on there but just chopped off some of the extra stuff.

 I've been using the extra paint chips as little sticky notes, no need to waste! Also, I think my sweetheart has challenged me to use up the rest of hte coffee and tea in our pantry over the course of the next 10 months. Challenge accepted.

{farm for the future}

I think I take farmers for granted.
Energy supplies are equivalent in energy terms to 22 billion slaves working around the clock.
Easy to see, there's a problem.

{graham cracker pb balls}

These babies are delicious. They remind me of s'mores, minus the marshmallows and add peanut butter. So basically, there's not reason why these should even remind me of s'mores.

My sweetheart and I are looking at moving this year. We aren't exactly sure where yet, but we know we can't stay here! I've already shared that we are trying to cut costs of all of our big, exciting things that we are praying will happen in the next year or so. So nothing is really official yet, and finding out what we want to do could potentially be a really long process, but at least we've realized we have to do something.

As you can tell from the picture's Christmas touches, I'm a little behind in sharing this recipe. I originally was hoping to share it in December, and then I planned to share it before the super bowl {these would be easy to shape into footballs}. But with March Madness coming up, I think you can find a few ideas! Here's where I got the idea.

ingredients.
1 c peanut butter {I use Smucker's all natural}
1 1/2 c graham crackers that are crushed or blended in a processor
1- 1/4 c chocolate
3/4 mini chocolate chips or heath bits for topping {optional, I used graham cracker and whatever else I had on hand}

I.
Add graham crackers to peanut butter. Mix well, it will be crumbly but should be able to form balls. Add more of each ingredient as needed.

II.
Form 24 even sized balls, and place on a wax paper covered flat plate or pan, and freeze for 30-60 minutes.

III.
While they are still in the freezer, melt the chocolate. You can do this in the microwave, but I always make a homemade double boiler, see below. While it's melting, place your toppings in another bowl.
IV.
Once the chocolate is melted, either roll the peanut butter ball around in the chocolate with a fork {like when we made these amazing double chocolate truffles} or use a toothpick and roll the balls round to make sure they are covered.

V.
Dip into the topping, and put in the fridge or freezer to harden! I kept my leftovers in the fridge, too.



{Homemade double boiler: Place a half full or so pot of water on the stove, and place a heat safe bowl over the pot. Make sure that the pot does not fit perfectly. There should be some space to let the steam escape. Keep it on medium-low heat. Don't get in a hurry, you'll burn the chocolate.}

{40/40}

It's not too late to join in!! I'm not catholic, but my Dad and I always observe lent. I think it's good to be able to exercise self restraint, as well as the religious parts. I usually try to give up all sweets, or all chocolate, or something ridiculous that I fail at. He always gives up alcohol. Which isn't too hard, because he can still enjoy a non-alcoholic beer, aka "NA beer." It's almost too easy for him.

This year I wanted to shake things up. I'm tired of starting a lent tradition with the best intentions, and failing miserably! Plus, my birthday is in the middle of lent so of course I have to have birthday cake. And seconds. And the leftovers.

Here are some new, green resolutions or lent traditions you might want to try! We already do some of these, so you have extra help from me!

1. Give up plastic & paper bags. Cloth bags are only a dollar, and it does make a difference! We have about ten reusable bags, and we always forget them. & for all of those old paper and plastic bags that you have, just recycle them at your local grocery store! We are definitely doing this one. 

2. Stop using water bottles. Ever 'green' documentary says that these suckers are such a hazard! Go invest in an awesome new plastic container. If you don't drink enough water anyway {tisk, tisk, go get the free water app}, this could be a really good idea for you. If you buy two water bottles that are 32 ounces, you can monitor how much you drink too. Drink the first 32 ounces by a certain time, and then the second by the end of the day.

3. Stop receiving unwanted catalogs. Again, go get the paper karma app. Now, when we get mail, it is ACTUALLY mail for us.

4. Give up conventional detergents. I have two solutions for that. You can make your own laundry soap and your own dish detergent.

5. Give up the clothes dryer. We already use a drying rack for some items, but not for our work clothes. Here's the one we use from ikea for only $9!

6. Give up conventional toilet paper. I've tried using recycled toilet paper before. I'm personally not going back there again. Also, I just bought too much from BJ's. Too much...

7. Give up paper towels. Check out what is on etsy. I've thought about buying them, but it's on the wish list for now. Still trying to save a penny or two. However, we are doing this with the help of our many kitchen towels.

8. Give up two degrees. We are doing this. You can see my easy, peasy home made reminder below. Green Living says to keep the thermostat on 68, and 55 when you are asleep and away. We now keep it on 66 when we are home, and 62 whenever we are gone. I think 55 is a little too low. Can't freeze whatever plants are alive, because they are barely alive.

9. Give up dry cleaning. Yeah, we don't use that as you could tell in item number five. But there are home dry cleaning kits you could try.

10. Stop throwing away plastic baggies. We reuse all of our plastic baggies at least three times. Sure it's a bit of a hassle, but if you just reuse a them once or twice, and use plastic containers you will be surprised how easy it is to throw away less plastic.


Nine of these awesome ideas came from daily green, and one from my home to yours!

{freezing..choc pb bananas}

A nest of pearls favorite!

I made these amazing frozen peanut butter, chocolate banana bites just in time... for another cold snap from mother nature. It was 75 here the other day, and I got really excited! I had a great run in the morning, and kept trying to find excuses to pop outside all day. Mother nature was hot, and now she's cold.

I'm doing pretty well on my 100 miles by Valentines day challenge, but I know I won't make it. I'm hovering around 50 miles. I'm really surprised how well I've been keeping up with working out while I'm in school. Last semester was such a challenge! I'm so grateful for finding more inner peace during this semester. With changes going on with work, and another group project this semester, I really don't want to get stressed out.

I'm also trying to take more time to appreciate my Better Half. I'm trying to cook for us more, and make sure we're eating healthy. It's also saving us money, which we are trying really hard to do. Isn't every young couple trying to do this?  Saving for big things like cars, a house, and the list goes on, just seems impossible.

On a happier note, I'm getting close to finalizing a big trip in May! My sweetheart won't be joining me, which I'm pretty sad about. I'll be sure to spill the beans in a few weeks when everything is more set in stone!


Here's a recipe, I'll be sure to share again in the summer!

ingredients.
banana (however many you want)
Peanut Butter (I used smucker's all natural)
chocolate chips

I.

Slice the bananas, so that there are small round circles. Place some peanut butter on top. You'll place these in the freezer for a few hours. 

II. 

Before pulling the banana peanut butter pieces out, pull out your double boiler or makeshift double boiler.  

{I take a sauce pan, fill it with a few inches of water and place a heat-safe bowl on top of the sauce pan. The bowl shouldn't be a perfect fit, make sure there is some space between the pot and bowl for steam. You'll heat the water on medium/medium low.} 

Put the chocolate in the double boiler, and keep stirring. 

III.

Dip the banana bites in the chocolate. If you don't cover the whole bite with chocolate, it's ok. It will still taste and freeze well. Keep them in the freezer, and enjoy often!