Frugal In Florida

It's been a LONG time since I made this recipe ... about 2 1/2 years I'd say so why not make it again! I originally made this while I was under a Pantry/Freezer Challenge and even though I'm not really on one at this very moment, it's perfect in that I've got everything on hand and we are trying to really reduce our spending lately. Here's how I made it ... keeping it healthier my way ... 2 - 2 1/2 pounds of boneless beef of any sort. I used some large sirloin steaks that were in the freezer from Costco 1 bag of broccoli (I used half a bag of the fresh stuff from Costco) 2 cups beef broth (pantry) 1 cup of coconut aminos (update, I opted 1/2 cup garlic sauce and 1/2 cup of coconut aminos) 2 tbs sesame oil (pantry) scoop of diced garlic Dash of red pepper flakes (depends on how spicy you like it!) 4 tbs arrowroot 8 tbs of the sauce when done cooking Mix broth, garlic sauce, coconut aminos, sesame oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in the crock. ...

Ready for another crockpot recipe! Good! I made this a few months ago again and well, although it's still not Hubby's favorite, I liked it so I will share with you again ... OH! And if you use the coconut aminos instead of the soy sauce, you will be Whole30 compliant and Paleo as well ... just thought I'd share that with you! I modified it to what we had on hand ... of course! 2 1/4 lbs London Broil 1/2 cup beef broth 1 whole onion, cut in half and sliced 1 tsp chopped garlic ( are you prepping yours? ) 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used coconut aminos as I'm trying to do a little healthier and avoid soy!) 2 tbs of sesame oil 2 tbs minced ginger (from tube) 1 tbs minced red chili pepper (from tube) 5 cups or so of bok choy, chopped green onion, sliced, for garnish (optional) Sear beef in skillet just to brown both sides, move to crockpot. Add onion and saute til starting to turn translucent and then add garlic. Stir around for about 2 minutes and dump thi...

It's crazy hot here in South Florida and summertime is in full swing for most of you ... time to start taking the cooler way out for dinner! Using a slow cooker frees up your time, keeps your kitchen cool and generally produces some pretty yummy meals!  Being a single income household still  is starting to put a little cramp on our style ... It's been two years AND we've had the house on the market for over a year ... paying all the household bills as they stood when we were a dual income family (with more than twice the amount of money coming in) has started to take it's toll a little bit ... we honestly thought the house would be sold by NOW!  So, I go through periods of Pantry/Freezer Challenges and just recently started implementing NO SPEND weeks ... they work a lot better for me than the Pantry/Freezer Challenges of years past ... no where near as daunting but I think almost as effective.   Hence, the Italian Beef recipe is making an appearance again...

Beef?  Check! BBQ Sauce? Check! Bacon? Check! Paleo? You bet! Whole30? Maybe not so much, however, Jessica DOES share a recipe with sauce sweetened with dates, not sugar or honey or anything else like that ... so maybe ... But ... I'm not aiming for Whole30 with this meal. IF I was, I would just use this bottle of Tessemae's Barbeque Sauce for simplicity. Psst ... I did use Tessemae's sauce anyway! Anyways ... I've had this recipe saved for a little while from Jays Baking Me Crazy (go check it out!) and figured, what the heck, it's Saturday *God Bless Saturdays!* (bonus point if you can tell me who sings that?), I've got 2 pounds of ground beef in the fridge that needs cooked, 1 pound of low sodium bacon (aka, sugar free from Aldi), onions and that there BBQ Sauce, so why NOT?! This cost $2.99 after the markdown ... scooped up 4 packages and tossed them in the freezer a few months ago.  What I really wanted to do was make the Sweet Pota...

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 AND it's WHOLE30 COMPLIANT!* You all picked up that I'm sort of still on a Pantry / Freezer Challenge, right? The fact that we are now a single income household (AGAIN!) and the potential, hopefully soon upcoming sale of the house and move to a much smaller place with only ONE, maybe TWO refrigerator/freezers, I kind of need to be eating down the Pantry and Freezers. W ell, I've got this lovely hunk of beef in the guest kitchen freezer taking up a LOT of space ... so why NOT make this really yummy, super easy crock pot recipe!  I didn't realize this was tied until AFTER I pulled it out of the crockpot! I've shared this recipe before but it's definitely something to keep on hand as it's so  easy, it's not even funny. Just a heads up though, if you do NOT like your food spicy, then do NOT dump the juice in from the pepperoncinis! Are you ready to get this super duper, yummy recipe underway? Here's what you need: 3 lbs or ...

When I was doing the Whole30 back in September I kept hitting the wall on the weekends ... most likely because I was around endless options of food, both compliant and not so compliant ... and we all know that Whole30 is simply about veggies and protein ... no sugar, no grains, no dairy, yada yada yada. Then tell me THIS: Why is it so hard sometimes to find something to eat??  Explain that to me, please? I see you out there nodding your head in agreement. The last time I was at Wally-World shopping, I came across some marked down beef. You know me, I'm all about a bargain (hence my Alter Ego,  Frugal in Florida ) so I scooped up this roast for $9.99.  Not the 'best' price in town, but certainly a lot cheaper than some of the other stores around.  Does anyone else remember when this stuff was like, $1.99 on a fairly consistent basis? I had picked this hunk of beef up to make a batch of  Mexican Beef  but I think Hubby is getting burned out ...

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 heaven at lunch for 2 day...

*It's been a busy few weeks around here and I may have slacked off a bit on the blogfront ... never fear, I'm still here, just the little side gig I'm doing at night is taking up a bit of time and this here recipe is the perfect thing for those evenings where I'm busy elsewhere! You all picked up that I'm sort of still on a Pantry / Freezer Challenge, right? The fact that we are now a single income household (AGAIN!) and the potential, hopefully soon upcoming sale of the house and move to a much smaller place with only ONE, maybe TWO refrigerator/freezers, I kind of need to be eating down the Pantry and Freezers. W ell, I've got this lovely hunk of beef in the guest kitchen freezer taking up a LOT of space ... so why NOT make this really yummy, super easy crock pot recipe!  I didn't realize this was tied until AFTER I pulled it out of the crockpot! I've shared this recipe before but it's definitely something to keep on hand as it's so  ...

Hubby is doing an excellent job of clearing out the pantry and freezers ... I mean, geesh, look at the garage freezer!  I can actually see what we have in here! *the 2 red bags are gone now too!* The main kitchen and guest kitchen freezers are showing some improvement as well, but not as much as the garage! So ... in sticking with the Pantry / Freezer Challenge (due to our recent decrease in income and hopeful potential upcoming move!) we decided to make the two smaller london broils that were in the freezer ... Now, keep in mind, Hubby does NOT like rare, medium rare, or even medium cooked beef. He likes his stuff WELL DONE and no pink inside. Obviously, these hunks of beef had to be cooked low and slow then as they would be tough as hell if we were to cook them on the grill to his liking.  Oh, and not to mention, while a lot of you have ice and blizzard like conditions, we have a simple wind advisory with current gust hitting 31 to 34 fairly consistently, so no gri...