This is one of my favorite vegetarian recipes! It is really easy to make and very different from the chicken and cheese Mexican quesadillas you may be used to. It goes with a delicious dill-yogurt sauce.

You can find this recipe at BettyCrocker.com.

Chicken Marsala

This is a classic dish for us. It is a staple meal that is very easy to make. Another great feature of this recipe is that there aren't a lot of ingredients. We paired our Chicken Marsala with a wine gotten on our engagement trip to Virginia wine country. This particular bottle was a Meritage from Blenheim Vineyards (owned by Dave Matthews) for $10.

You can find this Chicken Marsala recipe at BettyCrocker.com.

Seared Scallops with Brandied Mushrooms & Leeks

Honestly, this wasn't our favorite recipe. I think in general I don't care for scallops. To me they just don't have that much flavor. I also think that we almost needed a sweeter or stronger brandy. I know I am not really selling it, but maybe you could figure out a way to make this dish a little more flavorful and let me know what you think.

Find this recipe at EatingWell.com.

We all know that our careers are inherently linked to our personal finances. Recently I have been reading the book Women, Work & The Art of Savior Faire: Business Sense and Sensibility by Mireille Guilliano. She is also the author of French Women Don’t Get Fat. While the definition of savoir-faire is the “ability to act appropriately and adroitly in any situation” this book seeks to go beyond just being good at what you do. Its about your willingness to be creative, to market yourself, to present yourself in a positive way (looks and attitude), and so much more.

I have had the opportunity to work with women who truly embody the notion of savoir-faire. They are good at what they do and have their own style that has made them successful and will continue to make them successful. I would say that I am good at what I do, but have yet to define my own style. So, in addition to saving money I would like to start defining my style and the direction my career is taking.

Sunday
Brunch: American Breakfast – Eggs, Sausage or Bacon, Toast, Hash browns
Dinner: Seared Scallops with Brandied Leeks & Mushrooms

Monday
Breakfast: Granola Bar or Possibly Out for Lunch
Lunch: Office Get Together
Dinner: Greek Quesadillas

Tuesday
Breakfast: Granola Bar
Lunch: Leftover Greek Quesadilla
Dinner: Cheese and Bacon Pizza

Wednesday
Breakfast: Granola Bar
Lunch: Leftover Cheese and Bacon Pizza
Dinner: Crispy Phyllo Spinach Tartlets

Thursday
Breakfast: Granola Bar
Lunch: Leftover Crispy Phyllo Spinach Tartlets
Dinner: Mediterranean Portobella Burger

Friday
Breakfast: Granola Bar
Lunch: Leftovers Mediterranean Portobella Burger
Dinner: Away

Saturday
Breakfast: Away
Lunch: Away
Dinner: Away

I started off the week strong by grocery shopping (went $6 over budget...oops!) and cooking all the meals on schedule until the Greek Quesadillas. We were missing some tomatoes needed for the recipe. Of course we could have made them without, but it really doesn't taste the same. A happy hour night out with some good friends from high school pushed me passed my allowance. I ended up with more cash that night. I had planned to save it all, but ended spending it on the weekend...since I had it. I thought why not?

This is much harder than I thought it would be given my plan, but little things come up and I hate to miss out. So, for next week I am making some adjustments. 1. I need to grocery shop more carefully. 2. I am going to push my allowance to $30 a week. Which, I think will be a more reasonable amount and not a penny more!.

Next week I will be better!

This week my Fiance (that's right I have a fiance now!) and I started our search for the perfect starter home. Since it’s a “buyers market” and the first time home buyer’s tax credit will be ending soon. So far the process for searching has conjured mixed feelings. On the one hand we definitely have been able to find things in our price range however, those same properties don’t seem to have everything we’re looking for.

We started off this journey looking at homes online for about 2 –3 months. Sometimes we even went to open houses to get a better idea of what the places looked like. The pictures are often completely different than what you see in person. It was certainly a reality check looking at homes outside of our price range and seeing just how much nicer they were. It certainly made us wonder if we would ever find a place that was nice enough but within our price range?

Tuesday night we had the Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter. We paired it with martinis which were very good, but honestly it would have been better with a glass of wine.

I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day which were very very good microwaved. I was pleasantly surprised!

You can find this recipe at EatingWell.com.

It may sound a little strange, but try giving yourself an allowance for the week in cash. Based on how I did my budget I came up with an amount of money I could spend each week on incidentals, happy hour, lunch outings, unplanned dinner cravings out, a random spending spree, etc. However, in the past I have found that that number can be difficult to adhere to. Giving yourself an allowance in cash (and not using your credit or debit) can help to monitor your spending allowance.

My spending allowance for the week is a conservative $20. Let’s see how I do... This week I went to an office happy hour which cost me $9 and a bag of chips for $2 (which is waaaaaay too much). That leaves me with $9 left... Hopefully, I can save it for Friday breakfast treat or Friday fun lunch!

Going vegetarian doesn't mean that you need to eat salads everyday. This vegetarian meal is tasty, healthy, and filling!

You can find this recipe at MealsMatter.org.

I have to admit that before the holidays I went on somewhat of a spending spree. In fact 2009 was spent trying to save money but really struggling to figure out how to maintain my lifestyle, which is what this blog is essentially about. There were also a few unexpected (and expected) expenses and circumstances that really threw my budget for a loop.

Okay, I feel a lot better after having said that.

On this spending spree I did pick up a few things that will, hopefully help me to save money. I know it sounds a little funny to say that you’ve spent money to save money, but I honestly feel that at the very least it will save me money for the next year and will make life easier. For example, I have an aero garden with the intent on growing some vegetables and herbs that I will no longer have to go to the grocery store to buy. The vegetables and herbs generally last for a long time and are always fresh. When I planted lettuce last year it lasted for 4 months.

At the local grocery store organic lettuce is $3.99 a package. Four months of buying organic lettuce from the grocery store would be almost $64.00 if bought once a week. The lettuce seeds were $20 and I still have some left over for another 4 months of delicious growth.