Since I’ve started cooking more at home, I’ve been looking for recipes that are easy to make, cheap, and taste great!  I’ve been making a lot of soups and chilis and dishes with beans and lentils.  One of my favorite things to make is a vegetarian chili.  I’m sure you could add meat to this if you like, but I think the beauty of this dish is that it tastes amazing without it!  I was skeptical at first, but after I made it I am hooked. Ingredients: 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 (15 ounce) can yellow hominy, drained [I would add more hominy, it is delicious!] 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies 2 small zucchini, halved and thinly sliced 1 medium onion, chopped 1 1/2 cups water 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese In a [...]

The last time I updated, which was July 23, we owed $8,800.00 on our student loans. As of today, we only owe $7250! I can’t wait to get this loan paid off! I plan on getting it paid off by the end of the year next year. If we can get it paid off sooner, spectacular! Then it’s on to the car loan.  Whew.  All of our extra money is going to go towards paying off debt because I feel we have a pretty padded emergency fund currently. No spending month has taught me a few invaluable things.  We can live on a lot less than we thought we could.  We weren’t horrible about spending money frivolously, but there was definitely room to tighten the belts. There are many activities I can do to keep myself busy and not spend money.  Honestly, I feel better when I do those things!  I think of all the money I’m saving and putting towards debt. I’ve learned that I like cooking.  Before, we’d go out to eat or Mr. Money would cook.  Now, [...]

The other day when I was grocery shopping, I stopped in the fresh produce area to buy fruit, and I compared the price of apples per pound versus a bag of apples.  When I looked at the sign, I did a double take.  $1.99 a pound for apples?  You’ve got to be kidding me.  Just last week they were $1.49 a pound.  That’s a huge jump in just a week!  I was frustrated, but what could I do?  I bought the apples. On my way home from work one day, I happened to see a sign on the corner for a local orchard.  I had no idea there were any orchards locally, so I decided to look them up on the internet and go visit them.  Mr. Money was off today, so we decided it would be the best day to go pick apples.  We got lost on the way, so I called the number that was on the sign for directions.  The woman told me that she is out there until 5 (this was 6:15) but we were welcome [...]