Saving Money Is Fun!

Saving money is many things, so, I have decided to spend a year blogging about it. The idea came to me on an extremely successful day of shopping at the grocery store in December. I had my coupons (I don't usually) and I planned a few meals (by reading the grocery add) and I purchased something called "the Meal Deal" ( buy one item and get 5 free). I was practically skipping when I walked in the front door because of the amount of money I had saved. This was fun!

I decided to share this 'good news' with two friends and came up with this blog named:

Saving Money Is .... a mom, a friend and a vegetarian.

By talking about this goal of saving money and blogging about it, I hope to be more successful at SAVING MONEY... AND.. my daughter is a vegetarian so I will frequently post recipes that have been converted for vegetarians.

Jan. 1, 2009 Success # 1 - Invited people over and we ate in instead of eating out. More good news - I doubled the recipe so now I have leftover lunches for me for next week. (frozen in individual baggies) We ate Jambalaya (Recipe follows) and carrots, fruit and bread.

Jambalaya
2 1/2 Tbs butter
1 sm onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 ribs celery chopped

2 cups raw rice
4 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts cooked/cut up
1/2 link sausage cooked/cut up

1 1/2 tsp garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme

1. Melt butter in large pan with lid on the stove. Cook onion, green pepper and celery in butter until almost clear.
2. Add broth and spices. Stir. Bring to a boil.
3. Add rice and meats ( any two meats will work - I sometimes use diced ham or cooked/cleaned shrimp) Bring to boil again. Put lid on and cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes. ( as if cooking raw rice)
4. Remove from heat. Let sit for 3-5 minutes then serve.
Serves 4.

*Vegetarians - use Vegetable Broth and shrimp
**Reduce the cayenne pepper to make less spicy

SO three goals I have already decided on for the New Year are:
EAT IN
CARRY COUPONS (at all times)
NEVER PAY FULL PRICE (shop sales or search the internet for coupons and promos)

Happy New Year and Happy Savings!