Ecectic Food: Potstickers

The great thing about potstickers is how versatile they are!  The recipe provided calls for pork, tofu, mushrooms, and spinach, but you can use pretty much anything you think would taste good.  (This is also an excellent way to use up vegetables before they go bad.)

Potstickers

Eclectic Home: Bulk Hamburger Storage

Being pressed for cash means trying to find innovative ways to save money.  While I know that buying hamburger in bulk is often cheaper than buying it one pound at a time, I stuck with buying small amounts frequently for far too long.  It was better, I reasoned.  If I bought more meat I would have to thaw it all at the same time, and then try to use it all up or re-freeze the leftovers (which isn't very good for the meat).  I could separate it into different freezer bags, but freezer bags are expensive and I don't want to waste them.

I finally figured out a way to store hamburger without very much waste.  And you can re-use your freezer bags, meaning less money is spent on pricey bags!

Instructions:
1.  Separate hamburger.  I usually separate mine into half-pound balls because that's easiest for me (also because my hands are kind of small and that's how much meat will fit in them).
2.  Put each ball of hamburger in its own individual sandwich bag.  I paid $1 for a box of 200 of these sandwich bags--much easier and cheaper than freezer bags!
3.  Put each sandwich bag into a freezer bag.  Mine hold nine half-pound hamburger balls.
4.  Label your bag, if you want to.  Pop it in the freezer.
5.  When you need to thaw your hamburger, remove the appropriate number of sandwich bags and thaw!

This can also be used for chicken, pork, fish, or just about anything else!

Eclectic Food: Slow-Cooker Chili

Slow-Cooker Chili

Eclectic Food: Sweet Potato Linguine

Sweet Poato Linguine

Eclectic Food: Za'atar Green Beans

Za'atar green beans are really delicious, and pretty easy to make!  Be sure to keep a good eye when roasting your green beans; it may take longer or shorter to cook, depending on your oven.

Za'atar Green Beans

Ingredients:
1 lb of raw green beans
Olive oil
Thyme
Oregano
Cumin
Sesame seeds
Salt

Directions:
1.  Trim green beans.  Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with spices.
2.  Bake at 425 F for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Eclectic Food: Goulash

Goulash is delicious, easy, and pretty cheap to make!  My favorite recipe includes onions and celery, but you can use pretty much any veggie you think would taste good.

Goulash

Eclectic Food: Daal

Daal is a really delicious Indian soup, and is really easy to make!  The secret is to use red lentils (they're actually orange in color), which cook up faster than other lentils.

Daal

Eclectic Food: Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Nothing fills your stomach quite so well as chicken and dumplings.  A staple of winter eating, they don't have to be complex to make!  This recipe uses just a few ingredients, and can be adapted however you'd like.  Add in some carrots or celery if you'd like!  Also note: this recipe is for a small slow-cooker.  If you have a larger one, double the amounts listed.

Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons ice cold water
1/2 an onion, minced
2 carrots, sliced

1.  Put chicken, minced onion, sliced carrots, butter, cream of chicken soup, and broth in slow-cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2.  If you used bone-in chicken, remove skin and bones from chicken.  Use a fork or other utensil to break up the chicken, and set slow-cooker to high.
3.  At this point mix your flour with the ice cold water  (you might need to add more flour or water to get the right consistency).  Knead until it is damp all the way through.  If you are obsessive about the size of your dumplings, roll the dough out and cut into 1/2-inch squares.  I just tore small pieces off of my ball of dough.  Drop the dough bits into the slow-cooker and stir.  Cook for another 45 minutes-1 hour.
3.  Serve and enjoy!

Gluten-Free Version:
Substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of wheat flour.

Eclectic Food: Workday Salad

When I was younger, I thought I hated salads.  My only experience with salads were the ones they served for school lunches, with shredded iceberg lettuce and sometimes two carrots.  It wasn't until I got to college, land of horizon-expansion and unlimited all-you-can-eat buffets that I realized I do, in fact, like salads.  I just despise shredded iceberg lettuce and low-quality vegetables.

The great thing about salads is how you can literally only have things you like on them.  They're super adaptable--if you don't like one thing or another, switch it out or omit it entirely.  I usually use a baby spinach/kale mix ('cuz I'm fancy) for my greens, shrimp or crab for my meat, and fancy salad dressing.  You can make your salad however you want--I promise I won't tell!


Simple Workday Salad

Eclectic Home: Tin Can Planter

Growing up, my grandpa and father both had huge gardens.  Every day during summer we'd go out and water the plants, and come fall our table would groan under bushels and baskets full of green beans, peas, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, and peppers.

Now that I'm living in an apartment, I don't have a yard where I can grow vegetables, but I still want to grow things.  Hence this planter!  It's small enough to fit in my window, incredibly customizable and easy to make cute, and since it's tin, even if my cat knocks it over, it won't break.  You also get to feel like an earth-conscious hippie (even if you aren't), because you can reuse a can instead of throwing it away!  Below are some basic instructions; use your own taste and style to make a cute planter of your own!

Tin Can Planter

Eclectic Food: Dirty Rice

I love dirty rice like nobody's business, but unfortunately it is difficult to come by in the Midwest.  While the Midwest has some delicious foods of its own, I sometimes get a hankering for a taste of home and wind up making myself some dirty rice.  If you've never had dirty rice before, you should definitely try it as soon as you can!  It's spicy, it's flavorful, and it is downright delicious.  Just never try the Zatarain's or pre-packaged versions of Southern food unless you're truly desperate.  They are usually terrible and never as good as actual Southern food.  Here's my favorite recipe for dirty rice.

Warning:  I have included directions for making dirty rice the way I grew up eating it--spicy as sin.  If you are a baby with spicy things have a low spice tolerance, omit the spicy items from your version.  If you accidentally make it too spicy, you can just add more rice to tame the burn, though you might need more seasoning added.  And be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after chopping the jalapeño!

Dirty Rice

Eclectic Home: Dinosaur Toothbrush Holder

I bought some cheap dinosaur toys from Wal-Mart years ago and gradually came to realize that, while I like dinosaurs, I don't play with toys anymore.  I wasn't really sure what I'd do with them, so they just sat in my bedroom for a while.

Cue surprise winter moving!  Suddenly I was sharing a bathroom with two other individuals, and didn't have a place to put my toothbrush.  I thought about looking into buying a toothbrush holder, but I am very poor and lazy, and shopping takes money and effort.  So I tried to think what I could use that I already had, and thought of my dinosaur toys.

This is a really cute and fun way to hold your toothbrushes.  If you get a long-necked dinosaur, you can also use it to hold hair ties (as Rexy* is proudly modelling).

*I named my toothbrush holder Rexy.  He has an inferiority complex because he's not a T-Rex.

How to Make a Dinosaur Toothbrush Holder

Eclectic Food: Miso Soup

Miso soup is seriously delicious, and incredibly simple to make.  So far my biggest difficulty with making miso was finding the dashi granules for the soup.  (The ones I have I actually bought from a specialty Asian market.  It's listed as "Hondashi Granules" and "Bonito Soup Stock" on the side, so keep your eyes out for those words and phrases if you start searching!)

I also love how customizable miso is.  The recipe I provide below calls for shallots and spinach, but you can use a lot of different things that you think will taste good.  Green onion?  Why not!  Kale or arugula?  Sounds tasty!  Scallions, leeks, even bamboo shoots taste good in this!  Use red miso paste for a more savory taste.

Miso Soup

Eclectic Food: Super Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This chicken pot pie is seriously easy, and simply delicious.

Chicken Pot Pie