Times are tough, I get it... really.

I’ve worked in my office for 5 years, I didn’t get a raise for almost 3 ½.. As a matter of fact, Nobody did. My boss would say we don’t have any money coming in and yadda yadda... and yes, I do understand that. I work for Plaintiff’s attorneys, so unless we’re settling cases and winning trials we’re paying out to get medical records and reports, filing documents with the court and all that fun stuff. I kinda let it go, thinking that we’d get raises when the 2 attorneys that gave notice in February left (because hey, we would have more $$$$ every month, right?) But no, another attorney left.. And nope.. They hired 2 new guys and still no mention of any pay raises for any of us.

But in the 3 years since I haven’t gotten a raise: my rent’s gone up, I got a car, and not to mention the Kid I have to feed, clothe and provide for without any help from anyone (I am his ONLY parent). When it got to the point where I was like ok, ya know what, I just can’t do it anymore like this I had to step up and ask Big Bad Mr. G for a raise and what he gave me was not nearly what I had hoped for or even close to what I really needed. And No, I’m not being greedy here.. It has been 3+ years and I HAVE to move. You can read about my living situation here. I can’t exactly tell this guy it’s not enough, because in all honesty it's something. I need to Keep my job and I like my job but I’m not above going out to look for another one, even though right now I know that my boss needs me here (there have been a lot of changes and I’m one of the only people here who really knows what file belongs to what attorney not to mention the absurd computer illiteracy of the older guys here)

The fact of the matter is though that if I want to get a nice, 2 bedroom apartment and not have to worry so much about money, I need around another $300 a month. This is New York, rent’s not cheap and I don’t live in a high class area either, I’m just determined to keep the kid in the same school. I refuse to rent someone’s basement ever again and I’m not going in without a lease (which are the 2 biggest mistakes I made when I moved to the hell that I’m in now even though it hasn’t always been like this, they were pretty nice and left me alone for the first year)

I’m not above asking for a little help from my friends here on the interwebs either.. Some PR or some something online to make a few extra $$ legit. Maybe I can find something my sister who just had a baby can do too. Times are tough, trust me, I know it. Getting a second job isn’t totally out of the question if push comes to shove but I already do 40+ hours a week here and I try to spend as much time with my kid as I can.

The Hummus experiment

OK, maybe it wasn't so much of an experiment as it was a learning experience. I grabbed some little Sabra hummus snack packs while i was grocery shopping one day, I hadn't had hummus in ages and they were $1, so it was worth trying a few different flavors out and something handy to toss into my bag to snack on at work. Roasted red pepper by far was my favorite, the roasted garlic one tasted like paste to me but the kid liked it.

Over the past few weeks I've tried a few different hummus brands and I've made my own which was pretty darn good too. But as far as the store bought varieties go, Sabra is the best, it's got good flavor and doesn't go overboard in the spice department. I've tried both Tribe and Athenos Hummus brands and both in my opinion were not that good. Athenos was particularly bad as soon as I took the first taste all I tasted was cumin, and that's all I tasted. Tribe was also heavily spiced but with a mixture that I wasn't particularly pleased with.

Yeah, it's easier to make it yourself.. but sometimes you've just gotta have it now.. or, if you happen to know my kid, it's already open as soon as he's sitting down in the car, lol.

Sabra's the store bought winner hands down in my book though.

I ran out of breadcrumbs while making dinner

...and no, I didn’t freak out or run to 7-Eleven to get some either.. I used up the rest of the pretzels we got to snack on while doing laundry the other day. I whirred them up in the mini prep and finished up the rest of the chicken that was marinating in the fridge.. And OH YEAH BABY!! Thanks to chopped for the idea.. Because I don’t think I would have tried this otherwise I honestly don’t think I would have ever considered using crushed pretzels in place of breadcrumbs, but I’m sure glad I did.

You marinated the chicken in WHAT?

Last night my kid walked into the kitchen while I was making dinner, he opens the fridge to get the milk and says to me "um, mom.. I think the chicken is bad" I look at him like WTF are you talking about and say.. uh, no, it's fine, it's marinating. "In What?" he says. Ranch dressing is my response and he just looks at me like I'm some freak and says whatever, gets his glass of milk he came into the kitchen for and goes back to whatever he was doing before he freaked out about the chicken.

So yeah.. I wanted something different. I've been using creamy dressings for a while as a coating on chicken for breading to stick to so I figured that letting it hang out for a while and then breading it would make it even more awesome. I was right. That chicken was freakin' Awesome! I'm trying really hard to eat right and "be good" so I took some stale Italian bread and whirred it in the mini prep with a little Italian seasoning and made my own breadcrumbs (no extra salt) and I baked the chicken. It came out full of flavor and OMG it was so moist and so good I could eat it every night.

Don't believe me? Then try it for yourself.

5-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup ranch or creamy Cesar dressing (regular or low fat)
1 cup breadcrumbs + 2 Tbs cornmeal (extra crunch!)

Put chicken and dressing in a ziplock bag and toss in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (overnight is even better)

Preheat oven to 375°

bread chicken and place on parchment covered cookie sheet

Bake 25-30 minutes

yea, that's it.

I served the chicken last night with a side of roasted broccoli sprinkled with lemon juice and Parmesan cheese and it was absolutely delicious.

Lulu’s Italian-American Bakery, Fresh Meadows, NY

Lulu’s Italian-American Bakery, Fresh Meadows, NY

Hot Damn! Lulu’s is one of the best bake shops around hands down.

I happened by a car show at one of the local high schools on my way to the grocery store on Sunday and they had some stands and whatnot and I saw cupcakes.. So naturally I had to just stop and see what the deal was and I was excited for 2 main reasons: 1. The cupcakes were not left out in the open for flies and bees to buzz around and land on (FYI, if your food is left out in the open, uncovered, you will not get any business from me) they were in a small display case and 2. all the cookies and other goodies were lovingly wrapped in little baggies tied with ribbon with a sticker from the shop on them.

The Kid got an Oreo cupcake and I got 2 (HUGE) rainbow cookies in a little plastic bag That cupcake never had a chance.. By the time we got to the car and the kid sat down that cupcake was devoured, followed by “Mom, that was the best cupcake you’ve ever bought!” I had a little more restrain, and waited until we got home to have one of the cookies.. And Holy Cow.. Wow, absolutely amazingly unbelievable, hands down the absolute moistest rainbow cookies that I’ve ever had in my life. They were sooo good. I still have one in the fridge.. At least, I think it’s still there unless the kid got his grubby little hands on it and didn’t tell me. Shoot, now I’m gonna have to go and check when I get home. Everything was $2 which was awesome.. Which also means that I will definitely have to find my way over to Lulu’s one of these days no matter what kind of hike it is for me to get there. I would drive 2 hours just to get some of those rainbow cookies!

***I just realized that their web site isn't quite up and running yet.. I'll be sure to let y'all know when it does though :o)