Just Moved Out

[Revolution_Soup]

A few months ago I moved out of my parents' house and into a small apartment in Riviera Beach, Florida. The first month I spent looking for a job was agonizing only due to the fact that I could not afford to pay for rent and internet out of the small amount of money I had saved up. After about a month and a half of internet withdrawal, I finally found a job working for a Debt Settlement firm in Lake Worth and got cable internet installed at my apartment. Just got the bill yesterday; monthly fee + installation charges = $80. Paid today. I feel like my first bill is an important milestone in my life not only because it marks a new era of responsibility, but also because it was my first, "Oh sweet I got mail...son of a bitch..." moment.

[LIN]

Ahhh, the joys of independence. Good luck in your new place!

[Revolution_Soup]

Yeah. It's been pretty sweet so far. I'm about to start my senior year though. My school is like 6 miles south of where I live and my place of work is around 14 miles south. I'm gonna be really busy all the time. :(

[Revolution_Soup]

Learning to cook by trial and error. I just got my first grease burn from dropping a burger too hard in a pan full of boiling butter. Oww :(

Burger is burnt as shit, but it still tastes good because I made it. :D

[Snarkasm]

Burgers and butter? I like your style.

[Revolution_Soup]

Burgers and butter? I like your style.

Well I had to grease the pan with something :/

[CB]

Well I had to grease the pan with something :/

This can be your first cooking lesson then:

Burger patties produce their own grease. In fact, they produce so much grease when cooked, that it's better to cook them in such a way that the grease has somewhere to drain.

[Thrax]

Have you, like, never cooked on a stove before? :horrified:

[Revolution_Soup]

Well the burgers started out frozen and I needed to coat them in something so the seasoning would stick. Butter was the first thing that came to mind. I just used too much. :(

Maybe I should just get cooking spray. I thought I was being clever.

[Revolution_Soup]

Have you, like, never cooked on a stove before? :horrified:

Aside from cooking vegetables in a pot, no.

[Thrax]

Pro tip: You thaw meat first.

[Snarkasm]

Put it in a ziplock bag and submerge it in cold water. It thaws faster than in air, and more evenly than in the microwave.

[Revolution_Soup]

Pro tip: You thaw meat first.

Not when it comes with extremely vague instructions on how to cook it from a frozen state.

[Snarkasm]

It's a burger!

1) Thaw to unfrozen.
2) Put in pan or under broiler.
3) Heat.
4) Season.
5) Get un-bloody as you desire.
6) Eat.
7) ??????
8) Goddamn, that burger was good.

[Revolution_Soup]

@Snarkasm: Gotcha! Will try again for dinner and report results.

[RyderOCZ]

Do not grease a pan when putting any kind of meat in it generally. Possibly a little oil or butter with chicken, but only a tablespoon.

Beef just goes in with nothing in my house.

Burgers in a pan, steak, roast, etc in the oven or broiler.

[Buddy J]

Next semester take home ec.

[CB]

and pick up a George Foreman grill.

[Revolution_Soup]

@RyderOCZ: Will do. Thanks for the tip.

@Buddy J: My schedule is full next year. Core classes and OJT so I can work more hours.

@CB: My financial situation doesn't allow for me to go out and purchase a new appliance, so I'm working with what I have. :(

[CB]

I know money is tight, but you can get a Foreman grill (http://www.amazon.com/George-Foreman-Super-Champ-Grill/dp/B000QFFBEO/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1250202918&sr=8-12) for the price of a couple of fastfood meals. When you get the chance, I would invest in one. It really is a great tool for a person just learning to cook (and everyone else really). It's easy to use, easy to clean, and it's healthier than cooking beef in a frying pan. :)


(This message not paid for by George Foreman)

[Revolution_Soup]

Haha oh wow. Only twenty dollars? I thought you were talking about a full sized grill. Yeah I can get this immediately.

I don't eat fastfood yuck. :P

[Revolution_Soup]

Update: I cooked a burger without butter and it turned out really well. All the other ones came out burnt, but this one was cooked to perfection. I will definitely look into getting one of those grills. Even though I have a fast metabolism I don't like to consume a lot of fatty foods.

Thanks, Icronic, for teaching me how to cook! :D

On a related note, look at this website I found: http://www.cheeseandburger.com/
Cheeseburger recipes narrated by Patrick Warburton.

[Nate_LapT]

burnt = should have been taken off 20 mins prior.

[Revolution_Soup]

Nah man. I cooked it for the same amount of time without butter and it didn't get burnt. Somehow the butter was the key.

The flaw in your logic is I cooked it in a pan for 8 minutes.

[ledbetter]

Quesadillas are so ease and cheap to make, my friend. Tortillas, meat (steak, chicken, etc..), and cheese. Add heat and you are golden! Just google it and have fun.

[Nate_LapT]

think those could be done on the foreman?

[Snarkasm]

Sort of like a panini.

[CB]

They could, but you'd have to get the more expensive Foreman with the interchangeable plates.

The flat plates are perfect for quesadillas.

I actually upgraded to one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-GR-4-Griddler/dp/B0001XASWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250254736&sr=8-1)a few years ago, it doesn't clean as easily as a Foreman, but it has the interchangeable plates, and it flattens out into a large grilling or griddling surface, if needed.

[MAGIC]

I got a the second second largest model Foreman from a garage sale for 10 bucks, you just gotta look around.

[Revolution_Soup]

So I'm updating my life thread with more important events. I suppose I'm sort of treating it like a blog of sorts. Today my dog that I had for 13 years died and no one bothered to call me about it. :'C

[SPIKE09]

:(

[Nate_LapT]

MURDER

[primesuspect]

Sorry about your dog :(

[UPSLynx]

"Oh sweet I got mail...son of a bitch..."

Man.. that's totally how it is.

Seconding ledbetter. Chicken and Cheese quesadillas were my lifeblood when I moved out. Super cheap, easy to make, and frigging delicious.

Sorry to hear about your dog :(

[Snarkasm]

:( about the dog.

If nobody called to tell you about it, though... how'd you find out?

[lordbean]

Sorry to hear about the dog...

At 13 years though, it sounds like the dog had a pretty good life at least. That's definitely a death of old age in doggy years. :)

[lunchb0x]

Nobody told you that the dog had passed on? That sucks :(

[WagsFTW]

Responsibility can feel good, but it's also stressful.

I moved out of my parents house 2 years ago, and I love being on my own. I'm lucky that I have a great job, and am able to pay rent and my bills without always being strapped for cash.

This was until last Friday. I was parallel parked on the street in front of the library where I work, and a 16 year old girl drive right into my car, and it is now totaled. I had a 94 Honda Civic, and the body had seen better days, but it still ran perfectly, and had amazing gas mileage. Because of a distracted teenager, I received a small chunk of money that my car was "worth" and was forced to purchase another car. The amount of money I received was not enough to purchase another car as reliable as the old Honda, so I will now have a car payment every month. That was something I wasn't anticipating until I had a full time job and was done with school. Luckily, I found a 2000 Nissan Altima that is in excellent condition, for a nice price, and I'm hoping this one will last me until I can afford another car.

A car payment is just one more responsibility... and it sucks for my bank account, but it kinda feels good to have something that is mine now. I picked it out, made a deal with the salesman, and it is not a hand-me-down vehicle.

Becoming an adult can be quite scary, but friends and family are always there to help. <3

[WagsFTW]

As for the beginner cook...

Try making stir fry. Find a wok (I found one at Marshall's for $7), and you can use whatever meat and veggies you want, and I like to use the cheap seasoning packets. I also recommend a rice cooker.

Grilling chicken on the george foreman is totally delicious. It's really good to buy the cheap frozen chicken breasts or tenders, and put them in a baggie with italian dressing (or get creative and make a marinade), and let it sit in the fridge for the day. Makes awesome juicy and tender chicken! I often make rice and frozen veggies with chicken. I pretty balanced meal in my opinion, and it is also cheap and easy! :) That's what it's all about being a poor college student on your own.

[Revolution_Soup]

:( about the dog.

If nobody called to tell you about it, though... how'd you find out?

I found out when I called up my mom this morning to see how she was doing. I hadn't spoken to her in a while. She told me then.

[Grimnoc]

Two words: Slow Cooker.

Seriously, anything you make is fantastic and it's basically a three-step process.
1. Get/prepare ingredients.
2. Dump them in the slow cooker.
3. Impress your friends/ladies.

[Koreish]

With one saute pan, one sauce pot, and a couple aluminum bowls you can make all sorts of delicious num nums. Quesadillas, mac and cheese, toasted sammiches, pennes, soups etc.

[Nate_LapT]

Just had a nice pot of mac n cheese for dinner tonight, had brawts on the foreman yesterday, made a casserole few times, basically just boiled some egg noodles and grabbed a ton of random num nums at the store and cooked it.

I think the last one included, egg noodles, cheese, sauce, mushrooms, mixed vegies, and some bacon, lasted a few days for lunch breakfast and dinner.

[Revolution_Soup]

Because of this:

6am wake up catch bus
9am-1pm school
1pm-2:30pm Palm Tran to work
2:30-7:30pm work
7:30-9:30pm Palm Tran home... Read More
9:30-11pm dinner and homework
11pm-2am FUCKING INSOMNIA
3-6am sleep
Rinse, repeat.

I am considering getting a GED to start college faster and get all this school bullshit out of the way as soon as possible. I should have done this back in Freshman year as soon as I turned 16...