Frugal In Florida

Bleck. Lets face it. They just are not for me. Remember my true confession ? Well, I am still plugging away, trying to get more veggies in my life. The other night, I cooked up some squash and zucchini that I sliced longways, and seasoned with Mrs. Dash and tossed on the georgy grill to go along with the chicken. I tried folks. I really tried. 2 bites. 2 smaller bites. A piece with a piece of chicken. A small piece that I ended up slugging down with a big swig of Heiniken lite. Ick. Can't do it. No way. Sorry. I am hoping my buddy Johnny will take the rest of the squash & zucchini I have in the fridge as it's going to waste if he doesn't and you all know how I feel about that!

I feel like I've been scrounging for food the past few days, even though I know that's not true (here, take a look at these pics over in this post: http://recipesfif.blogspot.com/2009/06/pantry.html and I think you will agree). But, I am running low on stuff, and running OUT Of stuff (like dishsoap. I have NO dishsoap, having to use the dishwasher every day ...) And running low on stuff puts a little anxiety in my life as I've already come clean and admitted that I am a food hoarder. Now, when you look at those pics, you KNOW that there is no way in heck I can't feed my family (all 3 of us plus the animal) for another week, or perhaps two. BUT. We have friends back in town. We also have boating every weekend again (woohoo!!!!) which requires food during the day ... that can't be just leftovers, or a plate of tortilla chips with cheese melted on top. AND. Well. We have JULY 4th coming up and I'd really like to do a little BBQ that day. Which of course, requir...

Nice title, don't you think? As a kid, we didn't have dental insurance. I can remember my FIRST time going to the dentist. It was actually the guy who gives you a shot & pulls your teeth all out, not a dentist. I had 3 cavities that were so bad, my parents just decided it would be best to have them pulled. Owww. Not a good intro to a dentist. I was, oh, 14 or 15? Must have been 14, hubby was not in the picture yet. But it was December. And I had a Christmas Dance to go to (back when they were called Christmas Dance, not Winter Dance) and just so remember the humiliation of looking like a chipmunk, bad breath and not being able to eat. Uggg. Then I also had the issue with BIG teeth, and a somewhat small mouth. My eye teeth were up high so I looked like I had fangs. Ugggg. So, my soft spot is my teeth. About 15 years ago, hubby and I agreed to do the braces. We had dental insurance, and it would cost us like $90 a month. Yeah, I know, that's alot for that long ago, but...

I just can't call it a farmer's market, it's not. It's Penn Dutch. Been around forever. A little icky but heck, its one of the best fresh produce stores around. Plus they have the meat dept with GREAT prices. I went to get, primarily, the ground turkey for $1.19 a pound and the b/s chix breast for $1.69 a pound. Did NOT the turkey. It was not turkey breast. But now I think I should have gotten it anyway. It's got to have less fat than the cheapest ground beef and still at least 70 cents cheaper a pound. Grrr. Live and learn. I did get TONS of produce. They also had 8 ounce packages of "imitation crab" for 89 cents each. Hubby used to LOVE this stuff ... I hope he still does. Need to go pull some recipes as it's been awhile since I've had any around. So, $40 later, that was pretty much my grocery money for the week. Oh but look! It's Thursday already and my new week starts Friday! Woohoo! I really almost made it a whole week!

When I go to Target, I love to do a quick (yeah right) walk through the home goods, particularly the kitchen area. These were $19.99. I picked them up about 2 months or so ago. Hubby complained, constantly because I left them on the countertop, smack in the middle of the work area. And really, did we need ALL 6 of those bowls? Well, matter of fact, we do. I wash at least 2 if not all 6 each and every day. They are used by sonny boy to beat his eggs for breakfast. Hubby uses them to reheat leftovers for lunch (weekends), I use them to mix everything for meals. When I make tacos, they are great for the fillings (largest one gets all the shredded lettuce, next size is for meat, then cheese, then tomatoes, then onions, and so on .... So there you have it, I saw them, thought they looked "cute" and "bright" and "cheery", paid $19.99 and look, they get the most use probably of any other item in the kitchen!

Really. A real, bonafide confession. I do NOT like vegetables. I do NOT serve vegetables. I have never forced my children to even try something, if they had this belief that they would keel over and die if they tried a food on their plate. I am a bad mother. Oh heck, look at Princess. There. It's out in the open. WAIT. Princess was caught once eating a head of brocolli like an apple right out of the fridge one time. And I seem to remember having to remove her from an appetizer table as she sat there and ate all the veggies from the trays, double dipping no less! Sonny boy on the other hand, is an extremely difficult kid to feed. I have given up for the most part. 16 and a half years later, I pretty much tell him this is what I'm making, if you don't like it then go make something else. And don't forget to do the dishes when you are done! I DO try to incorporate veggies into my diet. I mean, I eat salads. I eat some veggies, mushrooms, peppers and so on. But don...

Hubby is traveling this week, Monday thru Thursday (comes home on Thursday) which means it's just me and sonny boy, and the animal, if you want to count him too. Since princess is no longer here, I am starting to cut down on the amount of food I prepare, which means less leftovers, and really, less food that I FEEL I need to be eating (a little reverse psychology there). So, sonny boy & I are having: Quesidilias Ravioli (freezer) McDonalds (49 cent burgers) Then Thursday, hubby comes home, but not til later in the evening grilled chicken & pasta burgers and fries Steak & taters pasta & garlic rolls (will make dinner rolls & sauce from scratch) Of course, we were to have had the steak & taters this last Saturday, but went boating, forgot to take steaks out of freezer, and we were exhausted so ordered 2 pizzas for $30. What are you all planning to eat this week??