Category Archives: Cheat Codes
Cheat Code: Reducing Single-Use Plastic in the Home
I got the idea for this post a few weeks ago, and since Earth Day is Monday, April 22nd this seemed like the perfect time to write it up. The recycling program where we live recently faced some changes and had to revert back to an older, less efficient system. This has made the topic of recycling come up more than usual lately and it’s really been making me think about our impact on the environment. As the poor couple, when we first moved in together most of our focus was on getting what we needed at a price we could afford. As we’ve gotten more established in our home it’s given us a chance to make some changes in what we buy – though price is still almost always first priority! So let’s take a look at what changes we’ve made over the past couple of years to help reduce our use of plastic in our home and how you can do it too!
Photo Credit: Gary Chan via Unsplash
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Cheat Code: Pizza Dough Pretzels
Pretzels of all kinds are a great snack. Hard pretzels are yummy, and easy to take on the go, but I think we can all agree that soft pretzels are the superior variety. If you don’t, then you might want to stop reading this post now, since, spoilers – this post is about soft pretzels. The main downfall to soft pretzels is that you generally have to put on pants and leave the house to get one, unlike hard pretzels which are usually already there. You can always make your own those times that you’re craving a soft pretzel but also don’t want to go to the mall or other pretzel selling location, but as we discovered when we made the Pretzel Pizza, making pretzels from scratch is kind of a pain in the ass. It’s kind of actually less work to just go buy one.
However! We have come up with a method for making pretzels at home that is not a total pain or a ton of work. It does require putting pants on temporarily to go get the initial base ingredient, but once that part’s done you can totally have a no-pants pretzel party.
Quick Recipe: Kare-Raisu (Japanese Curry) カレーライス (Simple Version!)
So we’ve covered Japanese curry before on PCFG. But if you’ve looked at that recipe already, you may have found it a bit intimidating. It calls for some random foodstuffs and has about 72,000 total ingredients. But what if you’re craving some sweet, sweet curry but don’t want to go all-out? Well, you can buy a packet of curry starter-sauce, okay… But hey hang on, you may just have all the ingredients lying around for this simpler version of it!
Quick Valentine’s Day Recipe: Easy Nutella Crepes!
Every year, millions of couples flock about trying to make dinner reservations at fancy restaurants and eateries, all to play the Valentine’s game. Yes, the setting may be nice, and it’s nice to have someone bring food to your table, so you and your mate can focus on the mushes, but what if you couldn’t get that reservation? What if you’re just plain poor? Or alternately, what if you just want to make something at home to keep Valentine’s Day special? Well PCFG has you covered! Today we’re gonna go over one of the easiest “fancy” recipes you can make for that special someone, while seeming like a total whizz. And best of all, odds are that you already have everything to make it! So pull up a chair, and let’s look at making some delicious, chocolatey crepes!
Cheat Codes: Make Sticky Rice Easy, Using A Rice Cooker
Sticky rice goes by a few names, since it has a few different varieties with minuscule differences. Sweet rice, sticky rice, glutinous rice, etc… They all have similar food applications, and have odd cooking requirements that can make them a chore to bother with, when you can slap together a bowl of plain ol’ white rice in like 20 minutes. Fear not! For all you out there who own a rice cooker, there’s hope!
Sticky, sticky, hope.
The Poor Couple's Food Guide 
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