Frugal In Florida

Uhm, are you seeing a little bit of a trend around here lately? Paleo? Whole30? What the ??? Nah, it's not that I've converted Hubby, thereby making MY life any easier, trust me, it's not like THAT at all ... BUT I have convinced him that I really need to be more focused on what I eat and that if he participates, even just a bit, it's a lot easier for me to stay focused ... Yeah. It's kind of working ... until the weekend rolls around and then the beer tops pop, the tequila and wine flows like a river and all those other cheesy little cliches ... (the mountains are blue in this house, just for the record) ... but if I can stay focused Sunday Funday through Thursday then I'm about 75% there, right? It's work in progress, that's all I'm saying ... work in progress ... Right. And, that, my friends, is how we got this dish happening ... 2 pounds of chicken thighs, cut in to bite size pieces (ALDI) 1 large head of broccoli, cut...

A little while ago, I was really, really in to fresh veggies: cucumbers, red peppers, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, all tossed together with a light dressing. I would eat that stuff daily. DAILY And then, I guess I just got over veggied out. It happens, you know? But ... it's summertime and the peppers, the cucumbers, the tomatoes, everything looks so dang appealing in the produce stores that I just have to scoop them up ... to hell with the Freezer / Pantry / No Spend Challenge! I could justify the purchases, honestly. It is, afterall, Summertime! And that's the time when the full fledge BBQ/Pool/Outdoor parties are kicking in ... and psst ... it's also Whole30/Paleo approved but don't tell no one THAT! Sunday morning rolled around and Princess and the Boyfriend texted us to say they wanted to maybe come over later in the day to hang out.  Not quite lunch time, not quite dinner time ...  and because Princess is currently in AA (lon...

I woke up this morning and realized that I was out of my favorite Tessemae's Lemon Garlic dressing ... it was 7:45am and I needed to get to work fast! So, instead of stopping at Whole Foods and spending $5.49 for a bottle of dressing, I made this instead, in minutes.   Yes, by 8:00am, I was out the door ... and it was the BEST batch I've made yet (must have been from the free pouring of the herbs and spices?) It's Whole30 approved. Dairy Free. Grain Free. Obviously, Gluten Free! And easy easy EASY to make!! This recipe is totally from  Whole Sisters  and I give them FULL credit ... this is just me saying I made it, I loved it and I want to share it with the world!! Give the girls a drive by and check out their site, it's chock-full of good stuff! Here's how I made it egg, room temperature 1 tbs lemon juice, room temperature 1 cup olive oil 2 tbs red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp onion powder 3/4 tsp garlic powder 1/2...

*Repost because this is what's on the breakfast menu for Father's Day and well, it's been awhile since we've made waffles and I have everything on hand!! Ever since I bought the family a waffle maker for Christmas, we've been utilizing it one way or another weekly, be it hash browns, grilled cheese sandwiches, OR WAFFLES! Hash Browns ... takes a LONG time But this weeks' recipe IS for waffles ... just because I've made them every Sunday morning for the past month ... at long last, I found something to use up the flour I have in the pantry ... the first few waffles I made had me backing away from the belgium waffle ... they puff up really fast and then the thing started whistling ... just the steam escaping but after the first two waffles, I realized to put just a tad less batter in the waffle iron! The only downside to this recipe is the amount of eggs...6 total for one batch. And I usually double the recipe because we usually have 6 adults a...

I still had those 3 NY Strip steaks I picked up at Walmart a few months ago in the freezer. Not the BEST deal but better than the usual, full price And well, because I was/am sort of on a Freezer/Pantry/No Spend Challenge this month, I figured now is the time to make them! I had everything on hand, believe it or not! Here's how we did it! 1 onion, thinly sliced - I had half a red and half a sweet so I used those two! 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced - I used a bag of mini peppers. The whole bag 1 clove of garlic, chopped fine 1 oz pkg ranch dry dressing mix generous shake of cayenne pepper (depending on taste, not TOO generous!) 1/3 cup oil (I opted to use Avocado oil cuz I have that on hand but original calls for canola oil!) 1/3 cup sun dry julienne cut sun dried tomatoes (pantry stock up from a great deal for $1 each per bag forever and a day ago!) large ziploc bag - or a shoebox! 1 1/2 lb steak (we've done ribeyes, t-bones and now, NY Strips...

*This is a repost from a while ago but it's what I gave this recipe to Princess this past week and Hubby heard me, it's on the menu for a fast crockpot meal ...* I wanted to type Raunchy Chicken but figured not too many people would find it funny UNLESS you knew me and my friend Cat ... Cat always has a hard time putting the right word in and most likely would have said raunchy ... especially if there had been a glass of wine or two involved. Any ways. The original recipe is modified from the  Real Mom Kitchen  ... (which, thanks to  Pinterest , I've discovered!) and since I had chicken on hand, figured why not? Bonus for me: I had EVERYTHING on hand ... because we are STILL in a sort of Freezer/Pantry/No Spend Challenge for June ...  So, I give to you, my readers, fans, followers, stalkers, what have you: Raunchy Chicken 6 normal size b/s chicken breast (freezer) 1 packet of dry ranch dressing seasoning mix (Aldi's for i think 49 cents?) 1 can of cr...

For a while there, it seemed everywhere I looked there was  a sesame noodle recipe! Now, I don't see this so much ... wonder why? It's a favorite in the household and a great party carb to have on hand for those get togethers ... Hubby loves this stuff and was actually asking me the other day why I haven't made it lately. Ummm, the last time was a BBQ holiday, probably Labor Day, 2014? Whoa....time to make it soon now that summer is fast approaching! It's a really fast, easy AND frugal recipe to throw together and everything can be done while the noodles cook. I've modified the heck out of it to use what I had on hand the first time I made it, and well, it was good so I stayed with it! 1 lb thin pasta (angel hair, thin, or just plain ole spaghetti will work.) 1/2 cup soy sauce (I use my JCS Soya Sauce, it's nice and thick, not thin and runny) 2 tbs sesame oil 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 2 tbs sugar 2 tbs chopped cilantro (optional, my Hubby ha...

*hey, hey, it's yet another repost but honestly, this one is so worth putting back up!* Have you had the pure joy of seeing one of these bags at Trader Joe's yet?? That there bag is pure heaven for a mere $1.99 each ... and when you see them, you better be snatching up more than just one or two as they go F A S T when they have them in stock! Just tonight I was talking to a girlfriend who was at the store on University south of 595 and she said they had some at 6:30pm! That was a miracle and she snatched up 5 because, you know, you don't want to be tha t p erson that clears the shelf ;-) Right?? Luckily, I just nabbed another 5 bags a few weeks ago and I've been hoarding them.  I could have been that person  and took all 12 that were in the box but I know how frustrated I've been when I keep missing the re-stocking so I figured I'd play nice and leave some for the next person! Now, I'll admit, I had 1 bag left in the freezer and I was holding o...