Days 4 & 5 - Eat on $30

Well, day four was a-okay. Day five was a little rough. I managed to make the cozy, comfort dish below on Wednesday, which if you have kids, you have to try it. It is one of those meals that reminded me of being a kid. It has lots of healthy elements, too, so moms (or girl friends/wives who have to find creative ways of sneaking in vegetables) this is a great one to add to your rotation.

While Boise State was victorious, it was by the hair on their chinny, chin, chins. Despite the crappy game, we managed to have a great time. I don't get out much so when I do, I seem to always come home with a couple of hilarious stories. For those of you who don't know me, if there is a weirdo in the facility, I am sure to attract him/her. Guaranteed. I am not sure if it's because of my innocent looks, HA!, or if it's because I'm nice. To everyone. Often times to a fault.

So Heather and I took advantage of two seats at the bar and commenced to drink our $1.75 beers, on special!, and apparently I had taken homeboy's seat. A brief description of homeboy: he had wiry red hair that just reached his shoulders in a mullet-esque way with a matching beard that had to be at least three inches long, and half of his teeth on one side of his mouth were severely damaged. I would guess he was in his early thirties. The important point to remember about homeboy, he was DRUNK. D.R.U.N.K. Drunk.

Well, he returned to the bar and grumbled a bit behind us that I had taken his seat. He then saw the opportunity at hand -- two pretty girls to hit on -- homeboy did not let off for the duration of the game. At first, Heather blatantly ignored him leaving me to answer his questions. I half-heartedly answered trying to appear overly-interested in the football game. Fortunately, the US soccer team was playing Costa Rica in heated match so I was able to split my attention between the two screens. As soon as my attention deviated though, he was right there with another mundane question. I quickly got annoyed and decided that I too would be mute.

I'm not sure this will come across to you, internet, but he kept making this sound, "pssshhhhh" over and over and over, as if he had turrets. It was always right after he asked me a question, which I ignored. He'd make the sound, grumble under his breath about the "world going to shit, not fair, try harder" and shake his head. At this point, Heather started to perk up. This dude was CRAZY!

His running personal commentary caught the attention of everyone around us including the bar tender who had already cut him off. Heather enjoyed inciting his random opinions on life and pirates, as did the slew of boys playing pool behind us. The highlight of the evening was when he told us that "smoking and eating bacon will make you go back in time." Really? Cool! Perhaps even more profound was his distrust of technology. "I will twitter you with my mind!" Everyone enjoyed the comedy that surrounded homeboy, unfortunately the majority of it involved me because that's what happens when I go out. I attract the the crazies. Psshhhhh.

As for our beer consumption, we bought two $1.75 beers, and we did have one charity beer each. I was proud of us for not drinking more considering the circumstances.

Day five of Eat on $30 was by far the hardest. I had my staple string cheese for breakfast along with a cup of green tea. I am DYING for COFFEE. I can't really even talk about it. I get a lump in the back of my throat and want to cry a little. Loud sigh. I came home from class absolutely ravenous and ate the most disgusting combination of leftovers for lunch: mexican pasta and a big pile of sauerkraut and potatoes. Just typing that makes me gag a little. I was so hungry and so determined not to skew from this regime that I wolfed it down. I will say, and this is probably way too much information, that the burps I experienced later came straight from the bowels of Hell. Not a combination I recommend.

I had planned on visiting friends this weekend in Utah, but knowing that I have another mid-term looming on Monday and that this challenge doesn't end until tomorrow, I figured it's best to stay close to home. I know there would be no way I could stay on budget if I visited my food-savvy friends who would want to take me out for sushi or thai or tapas or wine or martinis or any combination of the aforementioned wonderful aspects of my previous life that I miss so dearly. Next weekend, friends. I will have a map charted of where we'll be eating!

Tonight I'll be joining my dad and his cronies at a cabin near Henry's Lake. I figure it will be good for the budget and the soul. I've been promised big fish. If not, I'll sit in the boat and study Piaget and Vigostky. I hope everyone has a great weekend. May you NEVER have to eat the following dish accompanied with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. xoH

Mexican Pasta

1 package pasta, any shape you like

1 pound ground beef (you could use turkey too)

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with herbs

1 tbs canola or olive oil

1 package shredded cheese

s/p

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to instructions. Heat oil over medium heat and sauté diced onion, pepper and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add beef and season with salt and pepper. Add both cans of tomatoes with juice. Combine the cooked pasta and beef/vegetable mixture in a baking dish. Cover with cheese. Bake about twenty minutes or until bubbly.