Frugal In Florida

Repost Alert ... it's cooler (by our standards), life is really  busy right now and well, I think I need to make this soon! 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. So, Saturday, it was a nice, sunny, BEAUTIFUL day, high of around 86. But the nights are getting a little cooler, and this morning it was 72 when I went outside at 8am ... hence, it's FALL TIME in Paradise, time to make soups! The sprinkler dudes were here making repairs, and since they were digging up in the back yard, I didn't really want to toss on the ole bikini and jump in the pool to float ... just not my idea of cheap thrills, you know? ;-) So, again, I made soup.  AND I used what we had on hand ... it...

We are seeing some cooler weather, by our standards, so I'm back to making soup again!  What? You don't call 75 at 6am cooler? You do NOT live in Steamy Paradise, do you?? We are counting down our days for our first REAL cold front to come through!   Now, 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 .... yeah, I'm also sooo over turkey at this point! 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 healthi...

*I'm sitting at home this fine Tuesday morning ... it's pouring down rain with thunder and lightning and I'm nursing a major headache ... does anyone else have a barometer head like me? Whenever the pressure changes and the rain comes my sinuses just flare up ... waiting for all the meds to kick in before I drive to work (2 hours late already) ...  So ... I shared this recipe back in January and figured since it's JUNE and some of you are playing the Whole30 game with me, I'm sharing it again ... mind you, I am NOT doing a Whole30 right this moment! #JuneWhole30 Yes, I do have a  Whole30 Compliant chili recipe  but Hubby isn't a HUGE fan of the chocolate in it ... as minimal as it is ... so when I saw  this recipe , I thought, sure, why not, lets give it a whirl. I'm glad I did! AND ... it's perfect for the Sunday Soup theme! Here's how I did it! 2 pounds ground beef (score, I even have marked down grassfed stuff in the f...

I really need to come up with a better name for this as the title just doesn't do this chili any justice! #JANUARYWHOLE30 I've been making this for the past 3 years or so and it's become a freezer staple in that I freeze half of it in a large ziploc bag for a future meal that's beyond just chili: 4 Way Chili , Chili Cheese Dogs , Chili Taters ... so many things!  Of course, MY favorite is the 4 Way Chili ... It's on the menu this week without the cheese! So, being that it's been a while since I originally shared the recipe, and I'd like to think my photography skills have gotten a tad better (stop laughing!) I figured I'd update the recipe! Not to mention, over time, I've made a few slight modifications to the recipe to suit our taste! Yes, it IS grain free, and because I finally threw down the kitchen towel on Thursday morning and said I'm doing it ( Whole30 ), I knew I needed to make a batch of this right away ... and even bette...

Here's the FIRST SUNDAY SOUP for 2017!  This is a repost and the first time I made it was while I was on a Whole30 round ... that one never came close to the full 30 days (but hey, I felt great during that time!) ... I'm making it in January and for those of you who have such lofty New Year's Resolutions as ME, then you need to hop to and make this as well!  It is SUNDAY and  it is the first day of the New Year, so yeah, maybe you SHOULD make this today! Of course, unless you are hung over and just need carbs ;-) Then I would recommend my 2 Minute Fake Carb Fix   HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ahhh .... it's that time of year again, and well, yet again, I have to say, I'm  still  not sure if I'm on the soup train or not!! I do know, however, that I'm on the  Whole30  train and  was  doing so good for a while there, then of course, had that little Pei Wei mishap, overcomed by sugar cookies and then the B E E R and well, I figured, I n...

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...

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...

How about another Sunday Soups recipe since we are to the countdown of Christmas! Seriously, can you believe it's December already?? The original recipe comes from  Shutterbean  ... and she puts it down as a low-carb option ... since I'm not so much of an anti-carb girl as I am an anti-GRAIN girl ... I've opted to go with Grain Free ... which, sadly, it's NOT because of the sausage I'm using. I really need to venture in to making MY own, don't you think? So ... you know,  if  you are buying pre-shredded cheese, it may NOT be grain/gluten free ... make sure to check your labels ... if you see anything like food starch, wheat, etc., then you know to put it back, grab the block stuff and take that home and shred it up yourself. Honestly, not a big deal. If you have a food processor, just use the grate blade and take the super easy way out ;-) *Shredded cheese usually has a coating to keep it from clumping up which is when the grain/gluten factor is introduc...

This idea came from  Made It Love It Paleo  ... and of course, because the concept was so simple, I hopped right to the kitchen and made one just for kicks. Yes, it was Day Two of my September Whole30 and a Tuesday morning. Cloudy, but still, already 85 degrees outside.  At 7:30am. BUT I had leftover stuff from the holiday weekend.  And because I was kind of on a No Spend Week, I was trying to use what I had on hand, yeah, even in the beginning stages of a Whole30 ...  and what the hell, leftover chicken was in the house and only 18 eggs left ... so let's do it!   *AND NOW ... Thanksgiving ... leftover turkey ... ohhhhh yeah baby!* Uhm, hello? It's a keeper due to the simplicity of the whole thing!  Again, it's just the concept of the whole thing ... Ready? Here's how I made my bowl of yumminess! 1 1/2 to 2 cups of stock/broth of choice, I used chicken this time around (Costco, organic, totally clean because you know some of them have...

We went to Indiana to visit family and figured I'd keep the Soup Sunday routine going! It was a little chilly, by our standards and Hubby and I had agreed that we should make this soup since the original recipe came from my sister in law and it had been awhile since we made it ... a quick stop at Costco (and a couple hundred dollars less), we had the essentials to making this! New England style is creamy ... Manhattan is red and chunky. And if you've been reading for any length of time, you probably picked up that Hubby HATES chunky tomatoes in cooked dishes. For someone who is a big fan of food, he certainly can be picky at times ;-) Just for the record, I do not like clam chowder, normally. And this recipe, I mean, all the ingredients were pretty much processed and well, I'm trying to avoid that stuff ... but, heck, its the holiday and we are with a large family ... so why not! Yes, it is a little indulgent and I would suggest you not make it every day. But ...