Thought I’d fire off a quick post on a great new site that’s come to my attention – Dinner at Dad’s.  Almost a month ago the blog’s author, David, left a comment on my introduction page asking if I’d have a look at his site.  Well between work, the holidays and a forgetful mind I didn’t manage to do so until this weekend.  Very much my loss. 

As most of our regular readers are aware Russ and I try to provide a recipe now and then on simple to make but good to eat dishes.  Having been divorced for quite some time we’ve both had to learn how to cook or starve (and believe me Russ and I are FAR, FAR, FAR from starvation!!)

Dinner at Dad’s is a great site; the author’s posts are fun to read and give a real personal quality to what could have been a pretty dry topic.  He discusses the typical day to day drama of being a single man raising kiddos (teenage daughters lord bless his soul!).  Along with these David includes some great recipes!

Needless to say I included the site in our links section and heartily suggest taking a look at what he has to offer. 

If anyone else has a site they’d like for Russ or I to review on a topic pertaining to the life and times of divorced “dudes” please let us know and we’d be happy to oblige.

Until next time – Be Well!

Bill

My broccoli soup recipe only takes about 20 mins., and makes about a gallon which freezes well.  It has:

 ¾ C. chopped onions m/l

4 T. butter

6 C. Chicken broth

8 oz. angel hair spag ( I break them up into smaller pieces)

Pkg of frozen chopped broccoli

1 lb. Velveeta (cut into small pieces)

4 – 6 C. milk

Salt and pepper

1 or 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

 Sauté the onions in the butter, add the broth and bring to boil.  Add spag and boil 4 mins.  Add the broc and boil 3 more mins.  Take down to simmer and add milk, then cheese.  Simmer until cheese melts.  Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire to taste. 

 Good and easy comfort food.   

ENJOY!

and Be Well!

Bill

1 – Cream of Broccoli Stump Soup:  The fresh Broccoli that you buy at the store tastes a lot better than the frozen stuff and is much more nutritious to!  But about half of what you buy normally just gets thrown away!  The “stump” of the broccoli isn’t something we normally think of eating yet it’s something we pay for.  Dad got tired of the wasted money and figured out how to make a pretty decent cream soup with these.  I don’t recall the recipe but I know he peeled the stumps and then diced the rest up small and boiled it a while to get it tender.  Makes me think about what other “wasted” food we might look at twice (and NO I don’t recommend Bologna skin soup! ~:?)

2 – Turning the hot water heater off at night . . . I guess there is some debate about how much you save since the heater has to heat up the water again in the morning; but the point here is to think about all of those automatic expenditures of energy and money that we just take for granted.  For instance . . . do we really always HAVE to use the microwave to defrost stuff?  How did they do that before microwaves?  Doesn’t seem like much but over the course of a few months it probably adds up more than we realize.  What about the dryer?  A clothes drying rack costs about 10 dollars new and works just great on socks, underwear and washcloths . . . if you can save running the dryer two or three times a week that’s all money saved.

3 – S.O.S. (i.e. “Stuff” On a Shingle)  for the uninitiated this is hamburger in a white gravy served over toast; real popular back in the day when hamburger was dirt cheap.  It’s actually pretty good if not exactly healthy (ok “not exactly healthy” is a misnomer . . . stuff is a heart attack on a plate!).  You don’t see it much anymore due in large part to the greater health awareness these days and also because it’s definitely not gourmet fare.  But the heart of the matter here is not so much S.O.S. its self but the idea of creating simple, solid, meals from cheap ingredients.  A box of Mac-n-cheese and a half pound of hamburger makes a pretty good meal – maybe even two!

4 – Letting “her” coast in – I recall dad putting the car in neutral when going down a long hill or even turning it off when waiting in traffic. . . and that was back when gas was at the unheard of price  of 40 cents a gallon!  Living in a hilly portion of the country I have to admit that I’ve been known to do the same.  The savings might not be much but over the course of a month I probably save a gallon or two of gas that way and with gas costing 2.50 a gallon that ads up!  Again this underscores a situation awareness of what things are costing you and how you can limit those expenditures.

5 – “This Place is Lit Up Like a Cathedral at Christmas!”  Something similar to what my dad would say whenever he walked into a vacant room with the light on.  It really underscores the whole attitude here.  My dad was CONSTANTLY aware of every watt of energy burned, every wasted morsel of food and every lost ounce of gas; it was a state of constant awareness that we’ve gotten away from as a society. 

As divorced “dudes” many of us are in a pretty vulnerable position as the economy sours and now might just be a great time to learn or re-learn that same state of awareness.  It’s not really about eating broccoli stumps or turning off the water heater – it’s about being AWARE that we are spending money in those small, seemingly unimportant ways.  Hopefully these anecdotes from my childhood have helped spur your thinking along those same lines.

Be Well!

Bill

Enter the Rice Cooker!  I’ve had two or three cookers now over the years and this little number – the Black & Decker RC3406 – is hands down the best deal for the money.  I’ve owned it for two years now and probably average at least one batch of rice a week . . . all without problems.  It’s a small cooker intended for one to two people which makes it just the right size for the single divorced “dude”.  The construction is good for the price and you just can’t beat the convenience.  Just throw in your ingredients, push the switch and walk away!  When the rice is done the cooker automatically switches over to the warming function.  The only suggestion I would make is if you are cooking whole grain brown rice you might want to double the water amount as it tends to slightly scorch it otherwise.  As with any appliance you have to learn the idiosyncrasies of your individual unit and adjust accordingly.

I bought mine at Wal-Mart a couple years ago for about $20, I’ve seen them at yard sales and such for as little as $5 – but unsure of working condition.  If you do buy one used make sure the cord is in decent shape and that the teflon coating of the pot isn’t scratched badly.  Amazon sells them new starting at 17.97 and have used ones starting at 15.00 (you can link to them from our site using the search bar on the right).  I imagine Target or other retailers may have them as well.  Now for those recipes!

These are simple side dishes that can be cooked entirely in your rice cooker.  There are many such variations available and even entire recipe books available for rice cooker meals!

Southwestern Beans N Rice:

2 cups whole grain brown rice or Jasmine rice

5 cups water

2 cups Southwestern Blend frozen veggies

teaspoon of butter

(if you like spicy food add some hot peppers to taste)

Put all ingredients in rice cooker, push down button to “cook”

Walk away until unit goes to “warm” setting.

Eat! (you should get two to three meals from this)

(This can be a full meal with the simple addition of a cup or two of chopped ham.  I imagine cooked sausage would be good as well although I’ve never tried it)

Asparagus and Mixed Veggies with Rice:

2 cups whole grain brown rice or jasmine rice

5 cups water

2 cups frozen veggies with asparagus

Put all ingredients in rice cooker, push down button to “cook”

Walk away until unit goes to “warm” setting.

Eat! (you should get two meals from this)

This is great side dish with baked chicken!

So there you are men – a basic review on a rice cooker that I feel is a good bargain for the money and a couple fairly healthy recipes that you can use in your cooker once you buy it.

Hope you enjoy and as always . . . Be Well!

Bill

As Russ mentioned in his earlier post; he and I got together in Omaha this last weekend and held what we jokingly referred to as DudesCon!  The first ever, global, Dudes N Divorce Convention!  We had a huge turnout this year probably close to TWO people there!! (counting Russ and myself)  WOW!  ~:?)  We did get a lot of work done on the site as you can no doubt see and we’d love to hear your input on the new look; either in the comments section or at divorced-dudes@dudesndivorce.com .

You’ll notice that we’ve added some new categories including some for reviews, household stuff and finances.  We decided to add these new categories because we want to address all of the concerns of divorced or divorcing “dudes”.  Not just emotional or relational stuff.  The reviews will be done not as professional reviewers but simply as men talking to other men about stuff that we think is either worth the time and money or maybe not so much so.  Hopefully that will help our readers stretch their dollars a bit  further by finding good products and services.  Likewise the posts on household management and finances will be focusing on those important portions of men’s lives.  We want this blog to be a source for divorced men to get the information they want about topics that are important to them.  I hope you let us know how we can improve in that effort.  We’re still busy recategorizing some of our older posts so please hang in there

NOW ON TO THE FOOD! – Russ did a great job covering a couple places we went to this weekend and enjoyed some great food.  The third and final establishment we visited was Jim and Jennie’s Greek Village  at 3026 N. 90th St Omaha, Ne.  Now I really enjoy Greek food - probably one of my favorite cuisines – and so when I walk in a Greek Restaurant I have high expectations and Jim and Jennie’s certainly did not disappoint.  The decor is bright, clean and casual without coming across like a cheap diner.  The service was prompt, attentive and friendly without being overbearing (I believe strongly that an overly friendly waitress or waiter can be just as bad as a rude one).  The food was VERY good!  We ordered an appetizer of Saganaki (a fried cheese dish w/ lemon) and I have to say it was one of the best I’ve had.  not over done and the cheese was sharp but not so much so that it overpowered the citrus overtones of the lemon – EXCELLENT!  Next came the house salad which I have to admit I was a bit disappointed in.  The dressing was very good but the salad was purely iceberg lettuce and rather skimpy on the olives and feta.  Our main course came next and was superb!  Portions were hot, generous and very nicely presented,  Russ and I opted for combo platters in order to sample a wide range of foods.  While it was all very good for purposes of space I’d like to focus on what I felt were the best two - First were the Dolmades; these are probably my favorite Greek dish.  Basically it is a mixture of rice, onion, beef and seasonings wrapped in a grape leaf and cooked.  The grape leaf imparts a strong, tart/sour flavor that contrasts very nicely with the savory meat/rice mixture inside.   Jim and Jennie’s does a great job with these!  I almost hated to give one up to Russ so he could try it!   The second dish was Mousaka; this is a casserole Containing eggplant, potatoes, onions, ground beef, oil, cinnamon, and a flour, milk and butter topping. If done poorly the flavors come out bland and flavorless.  But Jim and Jennie seem to know the secret because their’s was excellent, every bite was a pleasure.  All in all a very good dinning experience and one that I highly recommend to anyone who finds themselves in the Omaha area.

And that wraps up this post – again I hope you enjoy the changes we’ve made and find Dudesndivorce.com an even better source of information and community than you did before.

Until next time – Be Well!

Billiopolis

When I first set up house on my own after my first divorce I was surprised at all the “stuff” I needed and how much it stood to cost me.  Fortunately there are some great ways to save a pile of cash on the basic items you’ll need.

 Kitchen Stuff : believe it or not this will turn out to be important.  Many men going through a divorce under-estimate how much cooking they’ll be doing.  A full set of pots and pans can run into some money but there are some shortcuts you can take here that’ll save quite a lot of cash.  First thing to do is decide how MUCH of this stuff you’re going to need.  A couple plates, a bowl a couple glasses and/or coffee cups along with a single setting of silverware is really all you’ll HAVE to have as far as dinnerware. The voice of experience here is telling you that the more you have the greater the tendency to let the dishes pile up.  Of course if you have your children then you’ll need items for them but I’m mainly focusing on a single, divorced, man here and as a general rule fewer really is better.  When it comes to pots and pans I’d go with a good medium sized cast iron frying pan, a medium sized saucepan, a good sized pot for soups or stews and a few implements such as a turner, stirring spoon, can opener, cheese slicer and a set of knives.

You’ll also need some basic appliances to get you through (and yes that includes the Divorced Man’s Best Friend . . . the Crockpot!)  Best place to start here is your local Salvation Army or Goodwill store.  In most locations they are pretty careful to offer items that are in serviceable condition.  This is often a good place to pick up that crockpot as well as a toaster, coffee maker  and other appliance for very little money.  About the only appliance I would consider buying new is a microwave; for some reason I’ve never had much luck buying these used. Otherwise just be careful to look the item over for any damage and ask if you can plug it in to make sure it works.  You can also sometimes find dinnerware or pots/pans in good condition for a very good price and remember that the money you spend there goes to a worthwhile cause. 

If you can’t find what you want at a thrift store then check out yard sales or flea markets.  I always keep my eye open for cast iron cookware whenever I go to a yardsale.  Many people don’t know how to use or care for cast iron and you’ll find a frying pan with a bit of rust on it for a dollar or two.  Take it home, scrub it down with some steel wool, season it and you have a very high quality and durable piece of cookware that will last for years.  Over half my pots and pans at the house are cast iron. Yardsales can also be a good source of plates, bowls, cups and silverware.  Remember that you don’t really need a full place setting for eight! 

Furniture: yeah this can get expensive real quick if you let it . . . but you can furnish a place fairly cheaply if you keep your eyes open.  This first thing I would do is look over the classifieds in your local paper; there are often some good bargains to be had if you take your time and wait for them to come along.  Sure you may end up sitting in a lawn-chair for a few days but the money you can save with a bit of patience makes it worth your time.  Also look at clearance sales at furniture stores or check with local upholstery shops for pieces that haven’t been picked up.  Also look at sales or clearances at the larger chain stores; I bought a very good dining room table set at a local discount store that was actually deck furniture!  It was on clearance for winter and was a very attractive, all wooden table and four oversize chairs, all very well built and sturdy.  I picked up the whole lot for $150 and got years of great service from it.  Basically if you don’t mind some mix and match décor (kind of that “Early Man” look!!) then you should be able to furnish the place fairly cheaply

 I’ve been keeping house on my own on and off for twenty years and while it may not exactly look like a page out of  Better Homes and Gardens all my furniture is in good basic condition, comfortable and suits my needs perfectly.  Same goes for my kitchen wares.  Just some food for thought for those of you considering a divorce or possibly just newly separated.

Hope you found it helpful.

Bill