Frugal In Florida

This year I won't be making the cinnamon rolls ... well, maybe I will, but at this very moment, I don't plan on it ... I should though because I need way better pictures! And my dad would LOVE them, as would the little pregnant girl. These are a huge hit for parties and get togethers. And they are rather festive for the holiday season which is why I'm sharing them again!  You need to make sure you make plenty ... I always use one of them 3 pound containers from Costco and we still run out ... so make sure your ready! Putting these on a toothpick and making them seriously bite size is so much better than the whole sliced tomato ... much easier to eat and way less messy! It's easy to do, and makes a pretty presentation on top of it! Gotta love that! Package of grape tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry mozzarella balls, cut in half (technically called Bocconcini or Ciliegine - Costco has the best prices on this! Just make sure it's pure mozzarella and not st...

Hey hey, Cinco de Mayo is coming up in less than TWO WEEKS and it's time to pull out all your Mexican festivity recipes!  And you know me, I like to keep things simple and this recipe more than fits the bill! It's considered a "condiment" but I can stand at the kitchen counter and eat this stuff by the spoonful! Salsa Fresca aka 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 ...

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 ...

*This is a repost and I just made these this last weekend for our annual, and probably LAST Boat Parade Party ... these are always a hit, and like so many other appetizers, make more than you think you'll need because they will be gone! After devouring some   cinnamon rolls , we cleaned up the kitchen and Hubby got busy with the turkey breast and hunk of beef ... I ran to pick up my dad which was an hour round trip ...  When I got home, I prepped these little guys. Seriously, so simple to make and such a hit with all people and tastes!  I had made these for the boat parade party and they were the first thing gone ... and I had over 3 lbs of grape tomatoes that I had used ... whew! Putting them on a toothpick and making them seriously bite size is so much better than the whole sliced tomato ... much easier to eat and way less messy! It's easy to do, and makes a pretty presentation on top of it! Gotta love that! Package of grape tomatoes, rinsed and patted ...

For years, Hubby would make this killer appetizer and I had NO idea it was actually called "CAPRESE SALAD" I've had friends request that I bring this for a gathering ... Doh. I've seen the NAME numerous times, just had no idea what it WAS! Yeah, coming from a self-proclaimed, self-taught foodie, that was slightly embarrassing. So of course, the next time we were out at a more upscale Italian restaurant, we ordered it for the appetizer. Bleh.  What a disappointment. Seriously. Do NOT spend the money for this in the restaurant when you can make a much larger, better tasting version in your own kitchen with little effort. Seriously...tomato season is fast approaching (whee!!!) and you can always pick up the Sorrento sliced "fresh" mozzarella at your local grocery store to create this ... Now remember, this is a Hubby recipe, so things are estimates, NEVER ever measured ;-) 3 nice size, ripe but firm tomatoes, sliced medium thickness.  If th...

So we had some friends over for the Birthday/Cinco de Mayo/Mother's Day/Air and Sea Show/Kentucky Derby Weekend ... and since it might be our last bash for such a weekend in this house, we went a little bit all out with food stuff. However, I was trying to be mindful since one of my friends is trying vegan style food right now, another is a body builder, yet another is a trainer and then of course, the majority of us our middle age with that middle age weight issue coming on ... So I opted to serve a few healthier things and kept the junk food (chips and dip) to a minimum. It didn't help that Hubby served up a nice Spinach and Artichoke Dip ... but at least I said no to the bean dip that we are so in famous for. I opted to make the cucumber and tomato salad, but I wanted it to be HEALTHY and SUGAR FREE but still yummy.  This totally worked out in my favor!  I will say, if you like that syrupy stuff, this is NOT the recipe for you. BUT if you are looking for a healt...

A while ago, a had a post about Just Veggies Greek Style ... and actually, it was to have been a spin off from Whole Foods Greek Veggie Salad ... they had feta cheese and olives in the mix, along with some artichokes, etc. ... but me, I just wanted to use Straight Veggies ... hence the name. As we have moved into the first week of our Pantry Challenge, I figured I might as well start off with some stuff that's in the FRIDGE and try and even out some of the other stuff we hope to be using up ... so out came these items: It's not a very good picture but that is a cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, 2 Roma tomatoes and a sweet onion ... all from Whole Foods this past week ... I'll be damned if I'm going to let these go to waste for the price I paid! So, all you gotta do is just chop everything up in to bite size pieces, toss all in a non-reactive bowl ... then mix up the following in a small bowl: 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar genero...