Frugal In Florida

I figured with the new year starting, I'd share some of my Passive Savings Plans ... it's not rocket science, trust me, BUT I do have a hard time saving money, intentionally and then leaving it alone.  These 4 things work for me and I hope you are able to find something that works for YOU! Yes, they are all referral links and I will receive a small compensation IF you opt to sign up through one of these programs.  If you prefer not to go through my link, simply google the name of the program and click directly through 😉 Are ANY of you setting goals for the new year? I'm on the fence. I do it every year and then before you know it, it's already August and you are like WTF? The year is more than half over with no hope of achieving some of those goals now! 1.        Digit .   Digit is a cool little program that sweeps a few pennies to a few dollars per day from your bank account. You will need text messaging for this as they send you a ...

Honestly, I wasn't planning on this dish ... but it just popped up on Pinterest, I had everything I needed to make it, and tossed in some more of them veggies from the freezer and called it a day. The only thing was, I made it Saturday afternoon. Hubby makes dinner on Saturdays. So this was put aside and then consumed on Sunday, reheated in a skillet, not the microwave. If you do grains, rice, whatnot, this would be excellent served that way. As I TRY not to, I just plopped mine in to a large bowl, sprinkled the sesame seeds over the top and chowed down. I'm thinking next time I will try some Cauliflower Rice to up my veggie intake! It's simple ... really. BUT I wouldn't call this a meal to have after a long day at work or something  because it only hangs out in the crockpot for 4 to 5 hours ... unless you can set the crockpot to turn on at a certain time? Here's what you need: 2 lbs boneless chicken. I used chicken breast, only because they defrosted f...

Merry Christmas!! *This is a repost from last New Years and well, it's rather fitting again this year! I currently do not have the Prosecco, but DO have  4  now 6 bottles of Champagne in the  freezer  fridge (2 Moet, 3 Cuerve and 1 less expensive brand, NOT Korbel!)  Seriously, this is what I will most likely be drinking on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve!  Definitely on New Years Eve since I figured I'm starting another round of Whole30 on Friday and I sure as hell do NOT want to be hungover!  I have 6 bottles of champagne which should be more than adequate for the dinner toastings, the mimosas AND the midnight toast ... if necessary and see it on sale, will buy a few more bottles of Prosecco ( if  it's on sale). I DO have the POM so that's not a problem! Let's face it ... on a whim, I will sometimes buy things spontaneously, with good intentions ... just like when I bought 2 bottles of Prosecco a few months back. By the time I g...

We've kind of left the  Instant Pot  alone for a few weeks and I just felt like I needed to bring it out again ... so what the heck, let's make a super simple meal, shall we? Just a little inside scoop: Hubby has used the thing MORE than me ... he's become the designated cook lately and well, he doesn't always follow the directions and we've had a few flops ... Back to an EASY meal that only uses a few ingredients.  All you need is the following: 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast (I started using thighs because they are less expensive AND more flavorful!) 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp cumin black pepper generous dash of oregano 1 jar chunky salsa (about 2 cups worth) Ready?? Mix the salt, cumin pepper and oregano in a small bowl and season the chicken on both sides. Toss them bad boys in the pot and dump the salsa over the chicken. Secure the lid, making sure your vent is CLOSED and press the poultry button, adding another 5 minutes so yo...

We just dropped the price on the house and the realtor was having an open house Sunday afternoon ... so I convinced Hubby to go with me to Costco to return the lights (and cheese) and then we'd drive through our soon to be neighborhood to scope out some houses. Always an adventure to be had! So, Costco. Was a madhouse.  Hubby dropped me off in the middle of the parking lot so I could go stand in line to return my stuff and he could find a parking space.  Mind you, we were driving Brutus which is the BIG truck.  Yeah, it was fine. So, I'm standing in line for what seemed forever and finally got up to the cashier.  She didn't save but maybe five words to me, all the while just chatting away to the other cashier.  I got back $188 but seriously, didn't count the money to me, tell me how much it was or anything. I was a little surprised by her rudeness BUT then again, I would HATE to work at Costco during this time of year 😑 So, we shopped. Very selective. A...

Hey hey, it's Sunday which means it's time to share another SUNDAY SOUP! Let this cook all day on your Sunday Funday and you'll be set for dinner! THIS soup is yummy and I get really excited when I'm making it ... its just a little bowl of pure comfort food to me ... yummmy .... The last few times I made this, I switched it up a little and used the refrigerated steakhouse seasoned diced potatoes .... I really liked the seasoned taters and plan to stick with that from here on out! Another thing I have to point out: toppings. I love toppings, but then again, I love a loaded baked potato ... so that's how you need to look at it. Do you like bacon, cheese, green onions on your baked potato? Then, by all means, add those to your cup of soup. Otherwise, eat it naked and make feel a little healthier for doing so ;-)  I've not added the toppings to the ingredient list below ... just add what YOU like to top off your soup! So...enough with the ramble ... lets...

The holidays are upon us and I don't know about you but it's also known as Appetizer Season in my house!  That's why you've been seeing quite a few reposts with appetizers (oh, yeah, and soup, because I'm still waiting for cooler weather here!) I made these the first time when I was having a girls night and freaked out when I realized thought that I wouldn't have enough food to go around ... how silly of ME ... So, of course, in my panic, I hopped over to  Pinterest  to see what I could find for some quick, simple appetizers, using what I already had on hand. Surprisingly enough, I was able to make  meatballs  AND wings! Woohoo! Totally blew off the chicken apple sausage I was going to make though when I realized just how much food I really did have! Go figure! The original recipe comes from  Hip 2 Save  and I really liked these! I made them pretty much according to the recipe, but next time, I think I will bypass the "sticky" addition and not...

*This is a repost and I just made these this last weekend for our annual, and probably LAST Boat Parade Party ... these are always a hit, and like so many other appetizers, make more than you think you'll need because they will be gone! After devouring some   cinnamon rolls , we cleaned up the kitchen and Hubby got busy with the turkey breast and hunk of beef ... I ran to pick up my dad which was an hour round trip ...  When I got home, I prepped these little guys. Seriously, so simple to make and such a hit with all people and tastes!  I had made these for the boat parade party and they were the first thing gone ... and I had over 3 lbs of grape tomatoes that I had used ... whew! Putting them on a toothpick and making them seriously bite size is so much better than the whole sliced tomato ... much easier to eat and way less messy! It's easy to do, and makes a pretty presentation on top of it! Gotta love that! Package of grape tomatoes, rinsed and patted ...

A few years ago, I ran out of cocktail sauce on Christmas ... what horrible timing!! So a quick Google search gave me this recipe, and what do you know, I had everything, thankfully! 1 cup ketchup 1 tbs horseradish (more or less to your taste) 1 tbs lemon juice 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/4 tsp salt dash pepper Put all in bowl and whisk. Cover and allow to chill before serving. I put some in a small martini glass to serve for the shrimp appetizers. I'm glad I made this on Christmas as I was planning on having a small shrimp platter on New Years Eve ... I feel way better now, knowing I can have this instead of a jar of the prepared stuff ... now I need to try the homemade ketchup again 😉 Enjoy! Looking forward to sharing with some of these  GREAT Parties  ... go check them out! *This post may contain affiliate links ...  click here to read my disclosure  :-)

Annnnnddd ... in keeping with the Sunday Soup / Soup Sunday routine, I present to you: French Onion Soup This is an all time favorite of our household and usually once it get's below 65 degrees at night, we whip the recipe out and make it! It's a simple recipe, doesn't require any really funky ingredients and I've made it during a pantry challenge! Gosh ... I look at the bottom of the recipe printout and see that I've had this since late 1998 .... wow! I've made this specific recipe a few times, but then I get distracted with a newer recipe and try that ... and ALWAYS have to listen to Hubby ask why I don't just stick with the first one I have... he's right. Here's what you need .... 3 lbs of onions, make sure ONE is a sweet onion, and ONE is a red onion 1/2 pound smoked bacon - honestly, any bacon is fine 2 tbs thyme (dried) 12 cups beef stock 1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine 1 tbs sea salt black pepper to taste 1 tb...

Ahem. The grocery shopping has been fairly moderate by our standards lately and we fully intend to keep it that way ... But then Costco happens. Granted, a lot of the stuff on the list is specifically for a party we have coming on the 10th (Boat Parade!) but still ... and the Boy was along for the ride to pick up a few things AND a few gifts as well ... Honey $12.99 (the Boy) 4 pounds unsalted butter $9.49 4 boxes of tape/rope/flat lights $39.99 each ... Hubby and I are going back and forth whether to use them or return them. Most likely going back large bottle of Fabuloso $7.99 Kirkland brand flushable wipes $14.99 24 pk of Red Bull (because some days we need wings) $32.89 3 twin packs of yogurt $5.89 each (the Boy) Gatorade variety pack $15.89 (the Boy) 4 pk of beautiful New York Strip steaks $24.92 (thinking Christmas grilling) 40 count water bottles $4.99 (party) 2 pk Nerf Blasters $15.99 (the Boy gift for soon to be BIL) 45 count Starbux Kcups $42.99 less $6 ...

It's that time of year where we open our doors to friends and family and celebrate the holidays! How exciting! BUT ... you have to be able to feed these people when they show up at your door. This is a pretty simple appetizer to make and it's a crowd pleaser so go ahead, make it for your next gathering! *And if you are doing Whole30, use a sugar free bacon (normally MOST low sodium bacon IS sugar free, but read your labels!) and you've got yourself a pretty nifty little appetizer to share ... Here you go: 2 cans of  WHOLE water chestnuts  (not the sliced ones!)  1 pkg of bacon - slices cut in two toothpicks Grab a large baking sheet and lay out a large piece of  parchment paper  over it. Turn oven on to 375 degrees. I think I may have fallen over that Amazon sells Kirkland's parchment paper (Costco)??!! Drain the water chestnuts and dump them out on the cutting board (or plate, whatever).  Open your bacon and cut it in half. Wrap each ...

Hey, it's a repost, but with the holidays upon us and I have a Boat Parade Party coming up, time to bring out all the favorites...* I had that girls night recently ... and had a momentary panic attack that I maybe didn't have enough food to feed the masses sufficiently. Really, who am I trying to kid? I had tons of food! However, in my panic mode, I jumped on  Pinterest  ... of course!  I found this cool meatball recipe (and had everything on hand, thankfully because I was NOT going to the store!) and tossed these together ... The boyfriend (of Princess) loved the sauce ... as did 10 of the 12 girlfriends ... me, not a whole lot, just because it's not the way my meatballs usually taste ... but I would certainly make these again as they were a HIT! (The 2 who did not like that much said they would rather have the spicy meatballs instead). For the record, this picture was taken as everyone was scooping them up! Original recipe comes from  Oh Bite It  ...