Frugal In Florida

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...

Hey, hey ... we made it through Hurricane Irma ... that was one LONG storm and after that, I'm not so sure I'd stick it out for another one! Our weather station bit the dust as for the wind thingy ... but the rain gauge shows we got over 13 inches of rain. And the power went out at 4am Sunday. Came back on at 5pm Tuesday. THAT was a miracle in my mind. So onward with #Shelftember! Sort of. See, I had to toss a few things from the freezer AND I've been feeding 6 adults as to the usual two of us ... hurricanes have a tendency to bring unexpected guests! It's fine, I'm glad that we are able to help, trust me. So, that brings me to this recipe. Me and the Princess ran to my office on Thursday morning so she could print out some labels for her baby shower while I tried to get my office back in order. That didn't happen, really, as we had some water damage in the two offices that face south due to the 8 plus hours of driving rain and wind! Whateve...

Hey, how about a little salad recipe that's quick to whip up and yummy too!? Remember I picked up that chicken at Costco ? And was so sorry I did as we are NOT fans of that ... Well, I had to do something with it, you know? So what the heck, lets chop it up and make a salad, shall we?? This was for ONE salad ... head of baby romaine, washed and dried a nice chunk of cooked chicken a few little mozzarella balls fresh basil cherry tomatoes fresh basil, chopped For the dressing, you will need 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup of avocado oil (olive oil is fine as well) a small dab of grey poupon mustard a little more fresh basil chopped ;-) Get chopping! Chop the lettuce and chicken in to bite size pieces. Cut your cherry tomatoes in half. I used two of these little snack size cheese things. I cut the pieces in half as well (there are 3 balls per pack) Grab a small bowl and dump all the ingredients for the dressing in. I personally prefe...