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I’m the kind of person who gets super excited about the first of the month. It’s the Virgo in me. It’s like an Uber-Monday, a time for new beginnings. Frankly, I’m stunned it’s May already. I’m flabbergasted that I’ve been unemployed for one year and have *maybe* stepped in the gym once. Meanwhile, I have managed to lose about 8 lbs since last May (20 lbs total since Feb 2009) so good for me…considering the alternative.

One thing blogging has taught me is it’s good to have goals. So my goals for May are to increase my exercise to 3 x week, stick to my WeightWatchers plan, continue to try new recipes, and work on my photography skills. In the meantime, we will also be closing on our weekend getaway place in Portland:Pay no attention to the fact that gas is now over $4.00 a gallon, and we’ll be driving at least 700 miles in May. The real challenge will be to stay on track eating-wise with the sensational Portland Food Carts beckoning. I guarantee there will be some fine eating in May.

I continue to spend and save; Couponing has been an interesting process (they’re already calling me The Coupon Queen at my local grocery store). Though I spent more in April on groceries than I thought we spent in a typical month, we did save an average of 41%. I did not spend money on any groceries we didn’t “need” (I suddenly decided Alexia Onion Rings were a necessity once I had a coupon, and they were on sale), and we have a nice little stockpile of things that we will definitely use: toilet paper, paper towels, aluminum foil, Saran Wrap, soap, detergent, cleaning supplies. This also allowed us to stock up for the Portland place. It feels really great to run out of something and know there’s a replacement waiting for you that cost a fraction of the retail price. I do expect our grocery bills to be lower in May as we use up some of what we have.

Even though it’s supposedly Spring (yes, I always capitalize the seasons. I just think they deserve it), it’s still been soup weather around here:

Photo courtesy of My Recipes

This recipe was ridiculously easy, filling, and delicious:

Ravioli and Bean Soup

4 cups vegetable stock

1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, undrained

1 to 1 1/2 cups spinach/cheese ravioli (the original recipe called for tortellini but ravioli was on sale)

2 tsp olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp crushed rosemary

1/2 tsp dried oregano (I left this out b/c Chris doesn’t like it)

1 box/bag (10 oz.) of frozen green beans

1 1/2 T prepared pesto sauce (we added some to individual portions. Too many PointsPlus for me)

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. In a 3-quart saucepan, combine the stock and cannellini beans (with their liquid). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium and add the ravioli. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Cook until vegetables are tender.

3. Add vegetable mixture to soup mixture, and stir in the frozen beans and pesto. Reduce heat to low. Simmer about 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with black pepper or parmesan cheese before serving.

Makes 4 or more servings depending on the size. Approx 5 WeightWatchers PointsPlus, mostly in the ravioli so you can estimate from your package label.

Do you have any goals for May you’d like to share?

Happy Spring! There’s still a little chill in the air around here, I have my coat on most of the time, but the daffodils are up and signs of the season are everywhere:We ran to our favorite nursery at 4:45 pm on Sunday because I had a 40% off coupon that you could use only if it was raining. Lucky us, it was pouring! Though we did not buy a new cutie pie watering can, we’re pretty excited about our new discount raspberry bush!

Speaking of couponing, I bought the Sunday paper for the first time in forever to check out the coupons to see if that would be worth it for us (we get coupons mid-week in the mail). Since I needed something from Walgreen’s anyway, I gathered their coupons and headed out this morning. After saving 50%, I’m proud to show off our stockpile:Hey, don’t laugh! Those items will actually last us a long time – and they just happen to be color-coordinated! I may never have to buy soap again for the year, and I got those two-for-one! (The paper products were 99 cents each, the dishwashing liquid was 79 cents, Mac & Cheese was 69 cents, and the cornbread mix was 32 cents. Score!)

My savings did cover the Drano that I was hoping would fix our clogged bathtub drain. You don’t even want to know what I ended up paying the plumber. Apparently, our contractor let a plastic bag go down the drain during our bathroom remodel two years ago. What the what?

Meanwhile, we’re still eating out of the pantry/fridge, and this week I was inspired by Rachael Ray’s Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese so I threw together a Mac Daddy casserole:We bought a huge bag of macaroni for $1, and it’s lasted us forever. This Mac Daddy casserole combines a homemade mac ‘n cheese base (olive oil, garlic, flour, chicken broth, and shredded mozzarella cheese) with about a cup of pasta sauce, one Aidell’s mushroom sausage, and about a cup of precooked spinach. Top with a generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese then bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

The Mac Daddy rules because you can scale it up or down and combine ingredients in new ways every time. (About 8 WeightWatchers PointsPlus per serving) I’m getting so I can throw one of these together without a recipe. That’s pretty exciting, but just in case that’s a fluke I’ve been hauling this around from the library:Thank goodness he’s come out with an IPhone app. That sucker’s heavy!

What’s your favorite recipe that you know by heart?