Frugal In Florida

Oh no ... it's that time of year where everything is PUMPKIN. I guess that's fine and dandy if you are a pumpkin fan.  Which I'm still kind of on the fence about.  But it's also APPLE TIME!  WHEEE!!!! I love me some Honey Crisp apples ... but dang, they are expensive! So I started doing this several years ago with Pink Ladies, Gala and a few other brands but NOT McIntosh or Red Delicious ... those are just icky not matter what you do to them! This is a GREAT snack to offer up to the kids, teens, mini adults, family, friends, even strangers!  I have not been able to eat an apple any other way since trying this the first time! Having a brunch (or in my house, just a bunch of people leftover from the previous night)? Serve up some apples! Need a healthy snack? Serve up some apples! Seriously. These are so yummy ... all the "kids" (who are in their early 20's) and adults (my friends, 40s/50s) love these things! So here you go, a repost of the o...

Actually, it's grain free, dairy free, gluten free, Whole30 and yada yada yada! We had a friend over for dinner and we were making steaks (from the freezer/Costco) and baked potatoes (fridge) during our #shelftember challenge ... I had picked up some shrooms at Aldi for $.79 a carton and Hubby wanted a mushroom sauce to go with the steak ... cuz you know, we are fancy like that. Yup. Fancy Schmancy. A few things that were in the way though: I'm trying to kick the grains to the curb again (I'm looking at you, FLOUR/BREAD/PASTA/RICE!) I'm also trying to keep Hubby happy as I do this. AND we had company so it really needed to be ok, you know? Introducing: Arrowroot Flour Yup, this stuff is just like a baking powder OR flour when you cook with it like this. Sorry, I wish I had a better picture but all I have is my jar as I hate open bags in the pantry! Another secret? Don't mix it with the liquid! Add it in BEFORE the liquid. That keep...

Yes, #Shelftember is still on ... but good grief! I made a stop after work on Tuesday ... called Hubby to see if he stopped as well as I knew he wanted milk and q-tips ... he stopped earlier and that was all he got. What willpower. Dude. Yeah, whatever! Pineapple - Aldi $2.29 and Spaghetti Squash - Trader Joe's $2.99 I stopped at Publix ... and that's how my week played out!   Ground beef $6.99 each and chicken Thighs $3.69/pound Publix - September 19, 2017 Total Spent - $58.09 Ah. Already, OVER my so-called weekly budget. So, I really did NOT have a list with me but kind of, sort of knew what i needed. Never a good idea, right? I also had a handy dandy $5 off $45 coupon burning a hole in my pocket. Ahem, I actually have THREE, but now, only 2. While standing in line, I read that fine print and noticed it starts 9/20 ... but the lady in front of me used hers so I'm like hot damn, I'm using mine! Well, one of mine! *Note, the stores are NOT b...

Here's What's For Dinner! One that would be gluten free, grain free, low carb, keto? Not so much Paleo (cheese baby) OR Whole30 (just because!) How about just good and different?? That works for me! Me and a girlfriend planned a cooking session for Saturday afternoon since Hubby was out of town and I was on a mission to use up some protein from the freezer (we are looking to get new appliances in the main kitchen to up the house sale-ability and will get rid of guest kitchen fridge/freezer, move the main kitchen fridge over there) ... I have 4 pkgs still of ground chicken that I scored a while ago from Target so why not have this to just play around with? So many things changed and I ended up making this on Friday night (just me, the cats and that lonely can of sparkling wine from Trader Joe's) while I pre-cooked some bacon. I'm glad I did as it was so stinking good! Yes, I will share a piece with my girlfriend in the middle of our kitchen session! Here...

Here's What's For Dinner This here little dressing recipe is a staple in my house. Like, it's made at least once a month.   These  little mason jars  are great for packing lunches with! I love making my own salad dressings ... I have a much better handle on what I'm consuming when I do so. You know that MOST shelf stable salad dressing are full of funky ingredients, right? So why not just take a few extra minutes and make your own and be healthier? Back in the day, it was all about Kens Honey Mustard Dressing ... until I started reading labels. Whoops. The 2nd ingredient was HFCG. So ... I had to pretty much kick my all time favorite dressing to the curb. *See how it says "Great for DIPPING"?? That's what it was all about for me! But then I found this great recipe and I've been making it ever since that day! Chances are, you will be too! Here's what  you need: 1/2 c olive oil. I've started to use the "light...

Here's What's For Dinner! *So scratch THIS specifically for the evening! Hubby has decided to replace the brakes on the Jeep we picked up a few weeks ago ... that means NO FUN FOOD while he's doing that! A menu plan is GREAT and all buy you need to have flexibility ... so we will be having leftovers!* I always forget how easy these are to make and the fact that the majority of the family is pretty happy with them ... heck, anything with lots of cheese, gooey and even better, they make a great patio meal. Sadly, as my kids have grown up to be adults (24 and 26) they have changed their eating habits ... the Boy is vegetarian and the girl is pregnant. That means nothing sounds good to her. Ugh. Whatever. Hubby and I still enjoy these occasionally and they are on the menu this week! I'm thinking someday I'm going to give these a try on the grill instead of the oven ... somehow I just KNOW that it will work perfectly! So go ahead, give yourself a break and ...

Here's What's For Dinner!  We have a place down the street from us (well, over the bridge, around the corner and THEN down the street) called  Skyline Chili . Oh? You've heard of it, have you? So ... it's not that I'm a 'fan' of the chili so much as the little coney dogs that are loaded sky high with the finely shredded cheese and onions ... oh yummm .... but ... Hubby and everyone else always, always gets the chili, 4-way ... and it's not inexpensive, all things considering. So when I have leftover chili, I try to re-create my leftovers into a whole different meal ... and this is one of the things I do (the other is  Chili Cheese Dogs , of course!) Four Way Chili is really simple: Layer 1 -spaghetti (or you can do like me and use spiralized zucchini) Layer 2 - chili (and  this recipe  is a chocolate based, beanless chili so it's perfect) Layer 3 - finely shredded cheddar cheese (if going for gluten/grain free, check your chee...

We are finally getting back to normal around here. The Princess and her Hubby, along with the cat and obtrusive dog left Sunday morning. The boy's girlfriend is back at her parents house as they got power Thursday (I think? My days are so messed up right now!). The Boy is back to work and the gym, I'm back to work as of Monday and Hubby is back to his usual whatever routine. I am still shocked at people I know who do NOT have power still ! That's just crazy! I figured now is a time to menu plan to get us back on schedule AND because we head out of town next week, hopefully. HOPEFULLY. Yeah, I said that. We are supposed to be driving the Jeep up to NW Indiana to leave it there for a vehicle to use when we visit. Long story but whatever. We are also waiting on the arrival of a new refrigerator, oven/microwave combo AND dishwasher for the main kitchen. It should have shipped this past week but with the hurricane we didn't get any notification of that happening, so n...

We are still going forward with Shelftember BUT there has been a little bit of a set back with the hurricane last week … I ended up tossing a few things as time went on and then when the power came back on, I went through everything once again just to be safe. Can I tell you how glad I am that I iced up grocery bags and tossed them in the freezers that past week. It kept things frozen and reduced my loss quite substantially. I was pretty anal about checking stuff several times a day, moving things around. I know you are not supposed to be opening the freezers but I couldn’t help it. I kept moving everything DOWN as the cold air falls … doh. On top of it all, we are eating three times the amount of food in that the kids and their better halves are staying with us as well. Have you been following me on Instagram? You’ll see another guest that’s quite demanding as well. So this past week had ONE grocery shop since I’m not counting our pre-hurricane rush to the store. Trad...