Public Service Announcement: Saturn Ignition Problem!

Ok, this is a break from the usual cooking and cat related posts. But, I had a bizarre car problem recently and (this will be shocking. maybe you should sit, or at least brace yourself) the internet was ONLY SORT OF USEFUL! As a person who does, myself, contribute to the content of the interwebs, I feel some need to rectify this, so here you go.

My problem: my car, a Saturn Ion (which I do like! it is a 'super low emission' vehicle and gets great gas mileage) all of sudden, out of the blue, would not turn off. Yep, wouldn't turn off, as in the key would not physically turn to the off position (which is pretty much unlike any car problem I've ever had). After much swearing and pounding on the steering wheel, it was determined (by a phone call to Saturn) that the only way to turn it fully off was to disconnect the battery, which is a colossal pain in the neck.


What the internet said: After I unhooked the battery, I immediately googled it (obviously). I found a lot of stuff about this, apparently it is a known problem, and according to the many people who are angry about it on Consumer Affairs, it can cost a ton of money to fix it at the dealer or a mechanic, because they replace the entire ignition. This seems to be how most people are solving this problem. Obviously, this was depressing, until I saw one guy in the middle of the list of complaints claiming to be a locksmith, saying that he's fixed a lot of these himself without replacing anything. I was intrigued, and called a nearby mechanic, who is apparently super awesome and honest to see if he could help me or tell me what to do. He told me it is a common problem, and not to take it to him, but just to take it to an automotive locksmith he recommended (see? awesome and super honest).

The solution (listen up!!): DON'T pay hundreds of dollars to replace anything big if you have this problem. This is what a mechanic will do, because they'll see something about the place the key goes in is broken but won't know if its something else with the ignition, and will replace the whole thing. BUT, the problem is typically that a spring (or something) pops out and a tumbler gets out of place in the lock so the key can't turn. The locksmith had to work on my car for a few hours, but ultimately managed to save the lock and repair it. It still wasn't cheap to pay for all that labor, but it was waaaaaaaayyyyy less than the numbers the other customers were throwing out on the website I found. I couldn't find anywhere on the internet telling me to do this, so, here you go, internets, this ones for you.


(here are search terms I tried to use to help me fix the problem, which I'll just put on here in case it'll help someone else find this hint!
Saturn ion won't turn off
key won't turn
Saturn ignition problem
Saturn key stuck in lock
Saturn key problem
car key stuck
can't get key out of ignition
help! )

Cooking on a Budget: Lesson 4- Lunches I

Ok, so one of the obvious keys to cooking on a budget is transitioning to eating mostly things you actually cook. Eating food other people make, whether its at a restaurant or its a frozen dinner, is just more expensive. And, most of the time, it is not that healthy- frozen food tends to have huge amounts of sodium and preservatives, and all of that kind of icky stuff. And, I love to go out to restaurants for dinner, but you might as well save it for places you really like and food that is really interesting, not just something to fill you up on the way home from work.

One of the meals that most people most commonly buy is lunch. This is because there is this myth that packing a lunch is a giant pain because it means you have to make stuff in the morning, and you'd have to be June Cleaver to accomplish it on a regular basis. The thing is, buying lunch is expensive- if you spent just five bucks on lunch every day (and that is not going to buy you a particularly delicious lunch) that is already almost $2000! Yikes!
1. exhibit A- a prime example of what I do not look like in the morning.

So, what are you supposed to do if you don't want to wake up at 5am to cook something for lunch, but you don't want to go broke either? The answer? DON'T cook it every day- be lazy! This tip is the best one anyone ever gave me. Basically, in addition to your groceries, you're going to need to go buy some packages of those disposable tupperwares in individual portion size. Buy more than you think you need, once you get going on this habit, you'll want more. On the weekends, or whenever you have the energy, make a big batch of something you like. Pretty much anything I've posted on, I've done this with. After you make it, eat however much you want to eat for dinner. Afterwards, immediately separate the rest into individual portions in the tupperwares. When its cool, put the lids on, and stick them in the freezer. Like this:
2. exhibit B- some of the contents of my freezer

What have you just done? You've just made your own frozen dinners (or lunches). This won't only be cheaper, it'll be healthier because you'll know whats in them. Just grab one from the freezer in the morning, take it to work, and microwave. Then wash the tupperware and re-use. This can also be dinner when you just don't feel like cooking anything. Once you've done this a few times, you'll end up with a couple different things in the freezer, and you'll actually have some different options to choose from. The other reason this is awesome is that if you make a big recipe, the thought of eating it for every meal until you run out of it is a little overwhelming. This is a good way to eat what you want, and then just save the rest for later- its actually the main thing that made me feel like I could learn to cook "real" recipes even though I live by myself (not that Charlotte doesn't like my cooking, but she flat our refuses to take her lunch to work).

Try it! Next, we'll talk about things you can actually make to put in these tupperwares!

The best idea ever: Margarita Cupcakes

Ok, so, I've been told that I need to get back on the ball with the cooking on a budget series. And I will, very very soon. But, this is something so big, I can't wait. Now, I hail from a band of rambunctious, margarita making Norwegians. We have a family recipe, we have different factions in the family with different twists on it, basically- margaritas are in my blood. But whats next best to margaritas? Cupcakes. Now, obviously, it is possible to just eat some cupcakes and drink some margaritas, and frankly, that sounds pretty good. BUT- here is the newsflash. Someone, who as far as I'm concerned is an absolute genius and should be next in line for a MacArthur Grant or at the very least the Nobel Prize in cooking (which they should totally have) decided to bring these two wonderful things together.

As I understand the history of the margarita cupcake, it was developed as part of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, now, I actually have started to get into vegan baking, and you can find the vegan version of this recipe all over the internet. The thing is, sometimes, its Thursday night after work and a girl just wants to use cake mix. So, there is a cake mix version too, and this one is duplicated all over the internet as well, but this is the one I settled on. Here's what I did...

First, you make a bit of margarita. They suggest these proportions:
--9 oz Margarita mix
--3 oz tequila
--3/4 oz orange liqueour (Gran Marnier, Triple Sec)
I used Trader Joes margarita mix with is more natural and, to me, more delicious that the other stuff which is basically sour mix. I also upped the Triple Sec to a little over an ounce and decreased a little mix. This is designed to make a little side margarita for you to enjoy while you cook!

Combine:
Box of white cake mix
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1.25 cups of the margarita you just made (drink the rest!)
1 Tbsp lime zest (around here, this is just known as "a whole lotta lime zest" because I didn't measure

Mix with a mixer- even though I always just use a fork and count it as cardio for my arm, I used a mixer for this, and I suspect its necessary because of needing to get the eggwhites a little fluffy. Now, this batter was WEIRD. You can kind of see it here, it was kind of fluffy and bordering on foamy, but don't worry, thats fine!
Spoon it out into cupcake papers in a muffin pan. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Let cool. In the meantime, make yourself some frosting!
- a box of powdered sugar
- a cube of butter (yes, butter)
- 1/8 tsp salt, unless you use salted butter
-2 Tablespoons lime juice
-lime zest
beat that all up with the mixer until it looks like frosting.

once they're cool, frost! I decorated with green sprinkles.

YUM.

Huevos Rancheros... Happy Cinco de Mayo!

So... speaking of budget friendly yet delicious food, a wise friend recently pointed me to a no-fail recipe for huevos rancheros, something I had previously thought I'd never see outside of a brunch date. Now, bear in mind, "no fail" assumes you care if it tastes good more than if it looks perfect, also I can speak to deliciousness more than I can speak to the level of authenticity, but... either way, you have GOT to try it!

This is what you need:
-1 egg (or, a couple egg whites)
-a tortilla (I used a smallish sized wheat tortilla but it doesn't matter at all)
-black beans (I bought the store-brand, spiced black beans)
-the salsa of your choice
-some shredded cheese (I used the Quattro Formaggio mix from TJs because thats what I had)
-a smidge of oil
-avocado (optional, but really, is NOT having avocado the option you want to take, here?)

And here is what you do...
-very lightly coat the pan with a teeny bit of oil
-toast the tortilla on one side so its just a little brown, then flip it over
-sprinkle cheese on it
-crack the egg on top (or, dump the egg whites on top), it might spread around into the pan, don't panic, just go with the flow, let it cook for a little bit
-now... it gets fun. get the spatula, and quickly flip the entire thing over- if it doesn't work that well, it doesn't matter, it still tastes good.
-while that is cooking, pop some of the beans in the microwave and cut up the avocado
-pull out the tortilla, put it on the plate tortilla side down, dump on the beans, toss on the avocado, and top with a dash of salsa!
-yum.

I am not going to actually tell you how many times I've had this recently, but lets just say that I'm getting pretty good at it. Here are a couple versions.

#1- I like to call it, El Clasico:
(made with 1 whole egg and everything listed above)

#2- I like to call it Huevos Rancheros Florentine
(a lot of frozen spinach defrosted and mixed in with the beans. made with 3 egg whites instead of a whole egg).

Happy Cinco De Mayo!