Cheap Brie!

With the holiday season upon us, the pressure is on to entertain those you hold dear yet grate your last nerve. So here's a simple solution for a quick an easy party treat; Brie in a "pastry puff". 

Homegrown & homemade Texas fig jam!

 

As you can see from the above photo, I put pastry puff in quotation marks because I used Pillsbury Crescent (croissant) dough. The Brie cheese was bought for about five bucks on sale at a nearby grocery store, but the real star here is the fig jam made by my friend Rosemary who is equal parts real estate guru and homestead enthusiast. Basically she can sell you a house then teach you how to protect it from zombies and tend to your rooftop vertical garden. The girl even makes her own pickles, which pretty much makes her a UNICEF volunteer and foster parent in my book.

The steps below are nothing new if you've baked brie before. We're not trying to re-invent the wheel here,  just trying to make it #SKRUGGLEMEAL style.

1.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2.Open your crescent dough and unroll it. Lay it flat on a pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. (I used a pizza pan.)

3.Spread your preservative/jam of choice on your dough. What you use is completely up to you. You can use blackberry preserves or even strawberry jam, the next time I make this I'll probably use apple butter and just add a little fresh lemon juice. Or maybe regular ol' grape jelly. And don't be afraid to slather it on there, get crazy with it. 

4.Place your brie wheel in the center of your dough, then fold the sides up like you're wrapping a present.

5. Bake for about 20min

Remember the cheese will be melted inside so be sure to let it cool for a few minutes before you slice it. Serve with fruit like sliced green apple or grapes, or just devour it as is!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  

  

DE-BOSE! The podcast ep 2

Pictured above is Alex Hooper and his aura. He has a passion for life that can only be topped by his love of pugs (take a closer look at his shirt!) and it's a love that spills over to his monthly Comedy show CRAVE. CRAVE is a Stand-Up Comedy show in Los Angeles that is followed by an all night dance party where anything goes. Listen to our conversation about Comedy, pugs, and co-workers who need to mind their own damn business. 

DE-BOSE! The Podcast

I've been a guest on several podcasts and I've finally decided to do my own. My first guest is one of the most interesting people I know; My father, Roy De-Bose Jr. My Dad is one of eleven siblings and grew up in the Deep South during segregation. After serving a sentence in a maximum security prison, he eventually went on to start a business and a family of his own. Have a listen and feel free to leave a comment and suggest topics you'd like to hear discussed or whom you'd like to hear me speak with.

#SKRUGGLEMEAL: Easy & Cheesy

Cheese. *sigh* I love it, and I'm not a cheese snob by any means. Whether it's a handmade and delicately aged gruyère or a wedge of velveeta,  I'm not one to pass it up, including but not limited to the processed cheese-like sauce that accompany boxed pasta meals. Your body is a temple, health is wealth, yadda yadda yadda; If you're looking to spend less than four bucks per serving and don't mind fake cheese N carbs then let's get down to it.

I added minced garlic, red onion, cilantro, and one small sweet pepper(all diced) to a hot pan coated lightly with coconut oil and let them all mingle for a few minutes at med. heat. Opened a can of store brand fire roasted stewed tomatoes (this also works great with Rotel) and mixed it in. Follow the instructions on your store brand shells & cheese, and add them all together. It's that easy! For additional seasoning I added chili powder, black pepper, and paprika. A light sprinkling will do. I make different variations of this, sometimes I add leftover chicken, ground turkey or beef, and once I used ground bison. This time around I used...canned chicken. It's a thing I didn't even know was a thing until my friend Rev Bart told me about it. He's known for his versatility and resilience so when he told me about the value of canned chicken breast I took him for his word, and I'm glad I did. $2.50 for a 2.5oz can, $1.69 for the shells & cheese, $0.89 for the canned stewed tomatoes, and the produce I already had in the fridge bringing the total for three servings to $1.69 each.

#SKRUGGLEMEAL: Simple Salmon Spinach Salad

If you're going to eat a salad, you might as well make it as colorful as possible. I bought raw salmon for $3.40 and usually I make this salad with kale...but spinach was on sale. The secret ingredient for this hearty and filling salad is ginger. I grated some fresh ginger and garlic, sautéed them with 1 tsp of butter over med-low heat for about 15min before adding the salmon.

I seasoned the salmon with black pepper, paprika, and Mango Habanero salsa and lime juice. Add as much of the salsa as you want because you can use it as an oil-free salad dressing. To the bed of spinach, I added red onion, chopped tomatoes and sliced avocado (I sprinkled a little garlic salt on the avocado). The end result can easily be shared between two people. Alright, let's talk prices; The spinach was $1.49, The salmon was $3.40, the jar of salsa $2.99, and the avocado $0.99. Everything else I already had at home, bringing the total to $4.43 per serving. Any tips or tricks on finding cheaper produce in the LA area(or anywhere, really)? Feel free to drop em in the comments section!

#SKRUGGLEMEAL: Cheap Chicken Salad

Stretching meals is a delicate art, especially when buying a few groceries can run you roughly the same price as a car note. I made cheap chicken salad with a limited amount of ingredients.

Macaroni noodles, 2 leftover chicken breasts, celery, green onions, red onion, garlic and Sriracha mayo. I sautéed the celery, red onion, garlic, with grapeseed oil. Added them to the chopped chicken, and seasoned with black pepper, yellow curry, and paprika. I mixed in the Sriracha mayo (add to taste) and drizzled some actual Sriracha on top! If you have any suggestions or requests, feel free to throw em in the comments.  

Got some merch, ya'll!

Available online until Dec 8

This holiday season you can order an UPPITY hoodie, T-shirt, or racerback tank top online! They can be purchased here!

The #SKRUGGLEMEAL! How to eat high on the hog with a SPAM budget

Since relocating to Los Angeles from Houston, the biggest culture shock for me has been the cost. Of everything. I've opted instead to create the #SKRUGGLEMEAL. I'm not really reinventing the wheel, just trying to make a dollar out of 15 cents. This is the jazzed up version of top ramen. I got a six pack of noodles for less than two bucks, added garlic to the water as it boiled and instead of the flavor packet I used chicken broth, yellow curry powder and added two poached eggs. I topped it with chopped shallots, green onions, and a sprinkling of paprika and black pepper. Total comes to about $0.97 per serving.