Saving Money

For someone who doesn't like to cook, I sure have a lot of recipes.  I can't wait to share them all with you. Not only do I need to use my time wisely when I cook, I need to use my money wisely.  God only gives me so much to work with.  I look for sales at stores and stock up.  Then when I cook, I have a surplus.  It's even better when I have a coupon to use on these items.  I am an avid coupon user, but not one of those crazy "buy 200 cans of asparagus" type people you see on tv.  I use coupons for everything I can:  dinners out, clothes, food, craft items, housewares, oil changes.  You name it, I'll use a coupon for it.  I decided this year to keep a running total on what I spent for groceries and how much I saved using coupons (I'm such a nerd).  So far, I have spent $1561.43 on groceries and saved $525.66 in coupons.  Keep in mind that the coupon savings isn't just for food.  Even so, I have saved over 1/3 of what I spent on groceries.  My favorite couponing site is southernsavers.com.  She posts the sales at grocery stores before you can get them online or in the paper and matches coupons to the sale items.  She is a great resource.  Take a look at it.  It's amazing!  I also find it worthwhile to purchase the double newspapers on Sunday so I can double my coupon savings.  If I can answer any of your couponing questions, I would be happy to help.  Just post them in the comments area.  In addition, if there is a cooking topic or a type of recipe you need, post that in the comment area too and I will try my best to answer it or see if I have a recipe for it.  In the meantime, here's a recipe that came from my sister-in-law many years ago.  It's still a favorite!


Gourmet Chicken With Rice

1 cup raw rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can of water
6-8 pieces of chicken (bone in)
salt and pepper to taste

Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Place raw rice in the dish.  Pour soups and water over the rice and mix slightly.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the top.  Lay the chicken on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Turn chicken over half way through baking.

Note to self:  This one does not freeze well.