Frugal In Florida

HI! Welcome to what I 'hope' to be a new, monthly post.  I say HOPE because you know, life gets in the way of things but this year, I'm aiming to really watch them dollars and treat them like little green soldiers with a job to do each and every day ... In late December, I opened up another CapitalOne 360 account online. This one was a checking account (I already have two savings accounts set up there) and it's specifically for grocery shopping. I figured maybe, just MAYBE this will keep my grocery shopping in check.  I deposited $200 at the time of opening and then another $200 right before the new year so I would have my new goal of $400 in that checking account. The debit card arrived a little over a week after I set it up, thanks to the funky Monday holiday schedule and I used it the first time on January 4th ... I kept all my receipts in an envelope in my notebook … I really should have typed them up as the month went along but that would have required too ef...

*This is another repost BUT I made it at 8am on Tuesday for lunch at the office ... I was so excited about lunch that I tapped into the bowl by 10:30am! I really love it when I come across a recipe that I have ALL the ingredients on hand to make, except one!  I mean, it's like mandatory that you make it! This original recipe comes from  Skinny Taste  (which, by the way, I got her  cookbook  for Christmas and I'm sad to say I've not cooked ONE recipe from it yet!) and of course, I made a 'few' modifications but the whole idea comes from there! And yes, it's  Whole30  compliant (of course, I made this at the start of Week 2 and was still in the excitable mode!)  It will stay around for a repeat, trust me! Here's how I did it: 1 lime, juiced (Costco) 1/4 red onion, finely choppped (Aldis) 1/2 tsp avocado oil (or olive oil) (Costco) dash of salt (Costco) dash black pepper to taste (Costco) 1/2 pound of cooked, peeled shrimp, cut in b...

REPOST ALERT! #JANUARYWHOLE30 So I had this recipe pinned for a few days, not months like some of the others ... and decided to make it at the last minute the other night ... I'm pretty glad I did, and so is Hubby! It's easy, and really, REALLY tasty! And surprisingly, I had everything on hand, even the fresh basil (I suppose you could use dried if you had to) ... 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tbs (give or take) fresh basil chopped Boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used almost 2 lbs, 4 fat pieces) Additional basil for topping salad Mix together everything and let the chicken mix and mingle for a bit in the fridge. AND if you remember, set aside 2 tbs of marinade and set aside for later ... I forgot. I had to make a small batch after the fact. Grab some lettuce and chop it up. Add this to a large platter. Slice or dice a tomato or two. Leave these on the cutting board. I like mine diced. Cook up 2 slic...

#JanuaryWhole30   This recipe comes from a book I got a while ago,  Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Meals . which prompted me to get back in to the actual cookbook mode ... even though I have tons of them, I need more that are on track with this new way of eating! By the way, in case you didn't know, 450  Swagbucks  will  give you $5 in Amazon cash ... and that's how I've been buying the cookbooks ... Another side note ... I do NOT like to have them on my Kindle. I mean, yeah, it's sort of cool to just open up the Kindle BUT I don't like the layout/format whatever. It's not the same as looking at the 2 pages, side by side ... so I've decided no more cookbooks on the Kindle. Anyways ...  It's  Whole30  Compliant! Sweet! Perfect for January 2016 which is RIGHT around the corner, you know? I renamed the recipe to Island Shrimp with Avocado, then, just Island Shrimp ... more appealing to ME than Tropical Avocado & Shrimp...

All three times I've tried to do the Whole30 in the past (and have NEVER EVER EVER made it past Day 14!), I always come across some really great and tasty recipes that are definitely keepers!  This would be one of them! #JanuaryWhole30 These are perfect since you don't use regular bread, but instead, yummy butter lettuce or baby romaine lettuce leaves come in to play here ... This recipe was made for ONE (ME!) but could easily be doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on if you wanted to serve these as an appetizer for a party or a dinner (or lunch, breakfast, etc.!) Lets get cooking, shall we? 4 lettuce leaves ... I used butter lettuce as that was what I had on hand that needed to be used up 3 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled (look for reduced sodium and check to see if there is any sugar) 6 grape tomatoes, sliced in half and then cut in half again 1/2 avocado, diced (I need to perfect my dicing and separating skills) 1 stalk of green onion dab of  mayo  ...

Ready for another quick dish to add to your Whole30 menu? Well here you go! #JanuaryWhole30 It's considered a "condiment" but I can stand at the kitchen counter and eat this stuff by the spoonful! Pico de Gallo Now. It's really easy for me to chop chop chop as I've got that handy dandy Vidalia Chop Wizard ! What? You don't have one?? What are you waiting for? Go get one pronto!  This saves sooooo much time chopping AND everything is a nice uniform dice. Go, go go! Go get one right now! $14.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond if you use your little handy 20% off coupon.  Or else you can click that link above for Amazon and if you have Prime, you'll get it in 2 days. Have I stressed how *important* this is (and yes, I am a frugal gal and I highly recommend this little gadget!* (ahem, I didn't realize they've gotten as expensive as that on Amazon! I bought mine probably 10 years ago and it's still going strong, so even at those prices, might be ...

Welcome to yet another addition of #JanuaryWhole30 It's another repost, yes, it is, and I'm hoping this time around, I can say that Hubby IS following along 100% ... if that's the case, we will certainly skip the Trader Joe's bag of veggie rice and replace it with some yummy riced cauliflower BUT I have to convince 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 p...

We've been using the  InstantPot  a little more lately because it's QUICK and doesn't heat up the kitchen! I mean, seriously, what other reason do you need? Yup, lunch at my desk was pretty exciting! I had this with riced  cauliflower and green beans ... yummm So ... this recipe comes from  Nom Nom Paleo  ... same place  That Damn Fine Chicken  came from ... and a few other recipes to be shared very very soon as well! Anyway. I'm waiting for the beef to go on sale, or for when I can finally make a quick trip to Costco to pick it up cheaper as beef is just expensive lately! The protein alone on this one cost me $17 or so ... and no, it was not grass fed, groomed, petted or anything else special like that. It was just Publix. Luckily, I used a $5 off $40 coupon, but still ... Ok, lets get to the recipe, shall we? TIP:  Make this a DAY BEFORE you want to eat it, honestly! It's so much better the next day! I was in heav...

*Repost Alert!* On DAY 3 of Whole30 (well, the 2nd time around) we had burgers and dogs on the grill ... and man, I was sweating it on so many levels. Yeah, it was hot and humid too but I was more worried about: B E E R See, when we grill, we sit outside, where it's like a sauna and NOT in a good way ... between swatting at the skeeters and dabbing at the back of your neck with a paper towel, it's almost a given that you Get Yourself a Coozie and have a chilled beer (bonus point for the first person who can Name That Song!) ... but that's not very Whole30'ish like. Actually, it's everything the Whole30 isn't ... #JANUARYWHOLE30 But don't you worry ... I improvised on so many levels and was so proud of myself ... I did indeed grab a coozie and then a can of LaCroix Sparkling Water Lime ... and you know what? That satisfied that habit/need/desire/whatever to roll the edge of the coozie around the table in a circular fashion, sip from the can and...