Frugal In Florida

So, I know I said macaroni & cheese with smoked sausage. And yeah, we are having mac & cheese with sausage, however, I got home a little later than usual, could NOT find my recipe for mac & cheese so ended up pulling out one of them frozen trays of mac & cheese (not stouffers , GFS brand, cost dh $5.99 on sale) and the polish kielbasi since I couldn't find the smoked sausage this morning to defrost ... bummer. And then, because I'm not a huge fan of smoked sausage (or polish kielbasi ) I decided to cook up a few chicken tenderloins for me. You know what, it's 7:20 AND I still have not eaten. The freaking mac & cheese is taking forever!

This is where we generally end up every other Saturday when we go boating. It's about an hours drive or so by boat (mostly in the intracoastal and then 15 minutes in the ocean). Neat place to go, lots of hard going partying too on some of the other boats. Actually saw some beer bongs going on which I haven't seen since 82' So, if you happen to click on it during a Saturday - look for us ... "All Jacked Up" :) http://www.lakebocacam.com

I am actually leaving Sunday open because we have friends back in town & well, I know that we will get together with them at least once this week ... may even have a little dinner party at the house one night so I left room to move a meal around ... Monday - meatless chili & cheese quesidillas Tuesday - smoked sausage & mac & cheese Wednesday - tacos (taco salad for me) Thursday - chicken Ceasar salad or just grilled chicken & pasta for others Friday - country style pork ribs (saw a pbs cooking show with some master bbq dude, want to try) Saturday - s alisbury steaks & mashed taters. Sunday -

Chili (meatless) 1 tsp oil 1/2 red pepper diced 1/2 green pepper diced 1 medium onion diced 1 clove garlic minced jalepeno peppers diced (I used small can, 1/2 of it) 1 tbs cumin 2 tbs chili powder 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp brown sugar 1 can diced tomatoes 1 can black beans 1 can red beans 2 cups veggie broth 2 cups beef broth Optional: shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro & tortilla chips for toppings Saute onions, peppers, garlic in oil. Once softenend, dump remaing ingredients in, stir well. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover & let simmer 45 minutes or so. This does not make a big batch so if you are looking to have some leftover to freeze, double or triple recipe.

I made my menu plan on Sunday morning for the week. Really, should have made it for the next 2 1/2 weeks since we are leaving in 9 days to be gone for 7 ... I had some celery & carrots that were not being used up fast enough. So I thought, heck, lets make some veggie broth since dd loves the stuff (sodium laden crap in the can!) Got the big pot (not the biggest, but a big one regardless) and added some water, onions, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots & celery. I wish now I had added some pepper & such, but oh well. Let that come to a boil & then just let it simmer for a few hours. Cool and strain. With that, I'm making a small pot of chili. How small of a pot? Pretty darn small. Took 1 can of red beans, 1 can of black beans, 2 cups veggie broth, 1 can beef broth, 1 can diced tomatoes, some diced jalepenos, onions, red & green peppers (from freezer) and seasonings and it's simmering away on the stove for dinner tonight (along with cheese quesidillas). I...

It turned out pretty tasty, actually. A little sweet, so dh said, BUT I think next time I'll cut the cinammon in 1/2. Stayed good for a few days (only 1 slice, the end, was left). Was pretty tasty toasted & spread with peanut butter. Would I make it again. Yes. It's one of the very few recipes I've found that I like in the breadmaker :)

Ds was at band practice. Dd & g/f were going to concert (Head PE??) at the Culture Room. Friends of ours had asked if we wanted to go to Hardrock and then to comedian show afterwards. DH didn't feel that great earlier in day so we passed. Besides, we would have spent way too much money in the casino before the show started. Of course, we could have just watched all the Blackjack dealers & players and not played but I would have HAD to play the slots. :) I admit it, I love slots!! When dh got home, asked him what he wanted do. Said he didn't know. I wanted to go to Costco to pick up a few things (yes, I had a running list of things to buy from there). Finally talked him into going. We went. Spent $192.00 Not even that much stuff. But the TP was $17. The papertowel was $14. Green tea, $11, water $5, chicken tenders (meant to grab 1 tender & 1 breast) $15 x 2 (crap), chicken apple sausage, $14, parmesean cheese, $15, cheesy crackers (dh impulse buy) $6, grey pou...