On Thursday as I was making the couscous for dinner I thought that I would put in some vegetables to give it some color and texture. But I was also thinking, I know I will have leftover couscous and I can turn the couscous with its vegetables into a soup.
For lunch today with the addition of a little turkey sausage I made couscous soup with vegetables and turkey sausage. We call this combination affectionately, sludge soup because the couscous tends to fall to the bottom.
Turkey sausage and couscous soup
And speaking of planned-overs, for dinner we defrost a container of spaghetti sauce. I made a large amount of spaghetti sauce in June and froze three containers worth. We had one container the first day we arrived in Utah, one tonight, and I will save the other one for when we are back at the end of October.
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Not only do John and I consider planning, shopping, and cooking fun, we also save a ton of money by not eating out. The dollars it costs to make your own meal are about 1/6 of what you would spend at a restaurant. I figure the amount we save must be at least $5000 a year. That it more than enough for a vacation!!