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.

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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.

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!!