Southern Sunday Favorite

Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!

This post is from March 27, 2009. Being frugal is always a challenge!

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain:
but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands;
and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31: 30-31

With the uncertain economy, we’ve all had to cut back (if you haven’t – lucky you!). I’ve collected a few tips for saving money that I use and am passing them along. I would love to hear what your favorite tips are!

Grow a garden – this is a favorite. Save on all those great vegetables in the summer and grow some extra to put up for winter. If your neighbors or friends are growing a garden, get together with them to exchange goodies so everyone gets a great variety.

Cook at home – I do this anyway because I love to cook. We get great food that we know was cooked under clean conditions with clean hands. If you buy family packs of items, you can divide them up and freeze them. Planning menus ahead is great money saver but I’ll have to admit, I usually only plan a couple of days at a time.

Shop from a list – I’ve always done this one too – no matter what the economy is doing – just so I won’t forget anything. I rarely ever stray from the list so if my list so that really helps.

Use coupons – this one is tough for me because we read all of our news online and no longer get a newspaper. I usually end up looking for coupons online. If you know of a great online source let me know what it is.

Entertain at home – everyone can join in and it is more fun.

Use the library – I love to read so the library is an invaluable resource to me but you can get more than just books. You can check out movies, magazines, music cd’s, use their computers. Great way to save money.

Check out community events. Even in our little town their often events that are free or low cost that are great entertainment. I’ll admit, I live in close proximity to three national parks, two lakes and three rivers in the beautiful Ozark Mountains so I have a lot of options on that front.

Decorate with nature – As you saw on the tablescape yesterday, I cut some blooming redbud branches yesterday for my table. The are not in a vase sitting right here next to my computer. When getting ready to decorate I like to start in my own back yard.

Now one that I have discovered from my friends in blog-land that I haven’t done yet but I definitely will soon. Shop in thrift stores. Some of the great finds I’ve seen others get are unbelievable. Thanks for that tip.

What are your tips?

Today’s Lagniappe: Chicken Soup
I have a little bit of a cold so this is my lagniappe today. What would be even better is Mama’s chicken and dumplings. I’ll get the recipe to post another day.

* 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
* 3 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
* 1 (6- to 7-pound) chicken
* 2 quarts chicken broth or canned low-sodium broth
* 1 quart cold water, or as needed
* 4 sprigs of fresh parsley
* 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 cups egg noodles
* Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces. Add the chicken to the pot and pour in the broth. Add enough cold water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off the foam that rises to the surface. Add the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf.

Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender, about 2 hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard the parsley and thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Discard the chicken skin and bones and cut the meat into bite-size pieces. Add the noodles and cook until done, about 10 minutes. Stir the meat back into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.