Crock Pot Meals-Jambalaya

So no I'm not starting a foodie blog...yet. But here's the most recent crock pot recipe that I've tried. This one is for Jambalaya which is something I really like whenever I buy it in a restaurant but I've never made it myself.

The recipe I used was from Women's Health from way back and its a healthy version so do what you want. You can switch up the brown rice from white, turkey sausage for pork, you know the deal.





Makes 6 Servings. Cook time approximately 8-9 hours (on low)

1 large onion, peeled and diced (yes, these will make you cry)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 medium size sweet red peppers
1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 C long grain brown rice
1 package of spicy italian turkey or chicken sausage
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp fresh thyme, minced (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 C water
3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I didn't use any)
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (aka skinless and the tails are off)

Directions

1. Place onion, garlic, celery, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, rice, and sausage in the crockpot in that order.
2. Add hot sauce, thyme, salt, pepper, and water.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.
4. One hour before it's finished cooking, toss in parsley and shrimp. Stir until well combined, adding more water if needed.

Check out the full recipe here

Overall it was not too bad. I was at work for the whole day and may have left it on too long. I'm not a chef here. The taste was good anyways and I ended up with a bunch of leftovers.
I would definitely suggest trying this one out, it's got a nice kick to it (you can add more hot sauce or red pepper flakes if you want).

Also if you didn't see my previous crock pot post check out Crock Pot Meals-Mac and Cheese

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Sports Tickets: Cheap

Don't get the wrong idea with this post. I'm not going to be able to find you $15 dollar tickets to Leafs games. No matter how many years in a row they miss the playoffs I'm pretty sure prices wont ever drop that low. BUT there are some great sports events that you can check out on a  Friday or weekend that won't break your budget.


Travelzoo
Travelzoo is one of the better websites out there that has some great daily deals/newsletter with their top 20 deals of the week. This week they have a discount on for 3 Toronto Raptors games, the Sunday game tickets are priced as lows $15 each.

Check out this weeks Top 20 here. (There are a lot of hotels/vacations mixed in here)

Ticketmaster Ticket Deals Section
Ticketmaster is your one stop shop for concerts, sporting events and everything else in between. They also happen to have a deals section on their website with below $40 tickets, 2 for 1 ticket deals, tickets under $25 etc.

Check out the website here. Also hockey tickets under $40 here

Daily Deal Sites
Yes I know, it may feel as though I constantly suggest daily deal sites, but there is a reason. Sometimes I agree there is a bunch of crap on these sites, but if you check back enough you can often find some great deals for local sports teams and even your occasional pro sports tickets.

Groupon
Living Social
Team Buy
Wagjag

Check out Local Sports
More than likely if you live close to your university campus you can catch one of the varsity games during the week or on the weekend for relatively little money.
Full schedules for all sports can be found on the CIS website or your individual provinces websites.

OUA
Canada West
RSEQ
AUS

There are also some great options when it comes to semi-pro/major junior sports teams. In terms of hockey there are a variety of major junior leagues including the OHL-with teams in usually smaller cities (which often works out well for those that go to university in smaller towns/cities).

CHL-Check out individual provinces/regions websites for team/ticket info

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Making the Most of Your Credit Card

I know a lot of people absolutely hate the idea of credit cards and yes most often they aren't a good thing for people who are careless with their spending habits. For those that are responsible when it comes to credit card's there are some great ways to take advantage of the perks that come with having one.


One rule that I like to follow is don't make purchases just so you can get the rewards. Charge things like your rogers bill that are necessary and you have the cash to pay them off. You can take advantage of the points for these types of purchases instead of paying for them with cash/interact etc.

Master Card-Priceless Toronto
Unfortunately or fortunately for some the Mastercard priceless program is available in Toronto only. All Mastercard holders can take advantage of these deals including discounted premium Leafs tickets, Raptors tickets, savings at restaurants, stores and many more. Check out the site to take advantage of some of these deals.

BMO Airmiles Mastercards
Of course I have a bit of a bias towards Airmiles Mastercards but there are some great ways to accumulate additional points. Check out airmilesshops.ca , login with your airmiles card and double dip on points by using Airmiles shops promo's and using your Mastercard to pay. I'm currently saving miles up for a flight to California or Europe.

Other Loyalty Programs (these are for zero annual fee cards)
TD Canada Trust-TD Rewards
RBC- Shoppers Optimum points or RBC rewards points
Scotiabank-Scene points
BMO-Airmiles
CIBC-Petropoints

Discounts
Certain credit cards, including the card that I currently have can give you discounts through the SPC discount program. Check out the website for your credit card to see if there are any discounts that you qualify for.

Travel/Car Rental Insurance
Most Visa/Mastercard cardholders have travel insurance built into their credit cards or can easily purchase are affordable insurance options for travel or car rentals. Travel agencies and car rental companies often try to gouge you when it comes to insurance options. Call your credit card company or check out their website to see what is offered in terms of insurance..or what you already have.
 
If you don't have a credit card and want to check out some of the options for students view one of my posts here.

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Not So Extreme Couponing

We all know a few years ago how much couponing in the United States blew up. And if you didn't congrats I'm kind of jealous you didn't have to hear about it. There were women out there who managed to pay about $6 for a $200 grocery bill or something ridiculous like that...only in the US.

Now for the less crazy people out there who don't want to be carrying around a folder full of coupons or basically fill their basement like a personal grocery store...there are less drastic savings options.

What I'm here to tell you is that you can't find a few coupons here and there and save a few bucks. We don't  need to develop our own store room of food, but by following a few tips and checking out the following websites you can save some money...without being crazy.

• First off check out my coupon page which has some of the better websites out there for coupons that can be printed or directly mailed to you.
• These are some of the best websites out there in terms of coupons
• Also check out a previous post I put together on how Facebook can save you money.
• Make sure to like these pages on Facebook. Basically you will get a variety of contests, offers as well as coupons for sometimes free product right to your newsfeed.
• Keep coupons in your wallet-the amount of times I've forgotten coupons is annoying and then I end up not saving as much
• Double up coupons on top of sale prices, it helps you save even more
• If you are printing coupons make sure your grocery store accepts printable one's. Some store's are coming around to the idea of printable coupons (fraud was one of the main concerns previously).

Also here's a little gift from me..for all those ice cream lovers.

Chapman's $5 Coupon Offer

All you have to do is click on the link above and write in the comment area that you would like to request the $5 coupon from Chapman's and then they mail it to you. Simple as that.

Oh and then double up the coupon with sale prices and you've got yourself a pretty sweet deal. 

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