Pasta

The simple title of this article, 'Pasta', says it all.

Pasta is a great ingredient for budget meals.  Here are a few of the past a recipes that I use to keep my budget in tact, when it comes to grocery shopping.

Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 box rotini pasta
1 cup sliced, diced or cherry tomatoes
1 cup green, red, or yellow peppers (mix it up or use one color, whatever fits your budget)
1 small can black olives (I prefer whole, but choose your favorite style)
8 ounces mozzerella
8 ounces Italian dressing

Directions:

Cook pasta and drain, as per directions on the box.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. 

Baked Spaghetti

I use a couple of variations of baked spaghetti, to keep it interesting.  One includes sausage, the other pepperoni. 

Ingredients:

1/2 box angel hair pasta
1/2 can Hunts pasta sauce (I recommend Hunts because of the value and taste in comparison to others.)
1/4 lb bulk Italian bulk sausage or 1/4 pack pepperoni
8 ounces of mozzerella

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, while you are cooking the pasta. If you chose the sausage for your baked spaghetti recipe, fry the sausage stirring into small pieces, at the same time you are cooking the pasta.

Strain the angel hair pasta.  Add the pasta sauce and the sausage.  Stir ingredients and then pour into a small Pyrex baking dish.  Top with mozzerella.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese darkens to your liking.

If you chose the pepperoni option, skip the sausage in the above recipe.  After you have topped the angel hair pasta and sauce with mozzerella, add a layer of pepperoni to the top of the cheese and follow the baking instructions above.

Penne Rigate and Sausage

Ingredients:

1/2 box penne rigate
1/2 can Hunts pasta sauce
1/4 lb bulk Italian bulk sausage, or your favorite sausage (sliced kielbasa works well in this recipe as well)

Cook the penne rigate as per the directions on the box.  At the same time fry the sausage.  Strain the pasta , add the sausage and sauce.  Top with parmesan or your favorite cheese.

Enjoy these budget recipes, or mix it up a little to fit your taste!

Free Doritos Locos Taco Thanks to Pagan

Thanks to Angel Pagan's stolen base in the second game of the World Series, America will enjoy a free Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell. For a few years now, Taco Bell has been teaming up with MLB, to give away tacos in certain circumstances for the World Series. This year, it was a 'Steal a Base, Steal a Taco' Promotion. And, since Angel Pagan stole a base, now everyone in the United States can get a free Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell between the hours of 2pm and 6pm on Tuesday, October 30th, 2012. If you would like more information on how to get your free taco, you can visit www.mlb.com/stealataco.

Free Family Fun Pass

Enjoy a Free Family Fun Pass from Scott Brand Products.  With the Scott® Free Admission Family Fun Pass, you get a free admission to your favorite attractions, such as miniature golf, go-carting, bowling, zoos, museums and many more, when you sign up for an account at their web site.

Here's the link for free family fun!  https://www.scottbrand.com/offer/familyfun?WT.mc_id=email-102512-nonmem-GymPass

Enjoy, and don't forget to enter your email address so that you can follow this blog for great ideas on an inexpensive way of life and more freebies for everyone!

Homemade Halloween Costume

Don't forget to save money this Halloween by making your own homemade Halloween costumes.  With the internet, you can find easy to make costumes at your fingertips.  In addition, homemade costumes are usually a much bigger hit whether you are attending a Halloween party or you are going trick or treating in your own neighborhood.

Here are a few links for some costumes that you might enjoy.  All are very easy to make.

Homemade Tin Man Costume  http://montytravels.quazen.com/recreation/parties/homemade-tin-man-costume/  This one is the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.  We made it for the Annual Halloween Party this year, and it was a big hit!

How to Make a Headless Halloween Costume  http://www.bukisa.com/articles/380783_how-to-make-a-headless-halloween-costume  This one is always a big hit.  The costume can be made for male or female.  Above is a picture of my 2009 Halloween costume made from an old wedding gown.

And finally, How to Make a Homemade Dalmation Costume.  http://www.bukisa.com/articles/380837_how-to-make-a-homemade-dalmation-puppy-costume  This is probably one of the easier costumes one could ever attempt to make.

So, decide what type of simple homemade costume you would like to make this Halloween.  Then search your closets, look in all of the old boxes in the basement or attic, and head to your local Goodwill or other resale shop to put together that costume that will be the life of the party!

Free Folgers Sample

For all of you coffee drinkers out there, Folgers is offering a free sample on their facebook page.

Follow this link:  https://www.facebook.com/folgers/app_341777675917999  , like their page, and then fill in the form to request a free sample of one of Folgers gournet flavors.

Don't forget, follow this blog, and we'll be sending out more free sample links and more ways to save!

Free Samples for You

Here are a couple of free sample links for you.

Proctor and Gamble are offering free samples of Head and Shoulders for anyone who might be interested.  Here is their link:  https://www.pgeveryday.com/pgeds/headshoulder-brandsampler.jsp

Free Sample of Astroglide:  http://www.astroglide.com/freesample/

Treat yourself to a free sample of Find Your Bliss.  Free sample includes a .5 fl. oz. pouch of bath/shower gel and .3 oz. pouch of body butter.  Check it out at:  http://find-your-bliss.com/treatyourself.php

Have you ever tried Escada perfume.  Here's your chance to receive a free sample of Escada products.  Here's the link for you:  http://www.escada-fragrances.com/en/free-perfume-samples/

Hope you enjoy the free samples.  I will try to post more on this blog from time to time.  Don't forget to fill out the follow this blog so that you can receive more Inexpensive Way of Life tips and free samples in the future!

Use Reward Points and Miles

Whenever you have your eye on an item, but it doesn't quite fit into your budget, try earning points or miles to pay for the item.

Sony Rewards allows you to earn points by joining the Wheel Watchers Club and filling in the day's final puzzle.  There are other ways to earn rewards as well.

Amazon has a Turq program, in which you can earn cash to pay for your purchases or even have the money transferred into your bank account.

Consider joining a points program on the internet, like My Points or Gather.  The points add up, and you can use them for cash or gift cards.

And finally, you might also use points, miles or cash back from your credit card to save money to pay for that much wanted item that doesn't really fit into your budget.