Frugal In Florida

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...

Hey hey, let's keep the Sunday Soup tradition going, shall we??  I've said it time and time again, I'm sort of on the fence when it comes to soup ... not that I don't like it, but it's not my all time favorite thing to eat ... unless I'm under the weather with sinus issues ... then I crave it ... other times, though, well, I could take it or leave it. I do recognize, however, that incorporating a soup for dinner night is a great way to use up leftovers and a makes for a pretty frugal meal ... so I try to do a soup night every couple of weeks ... AND this fits in with my pantry/freezer/no spend challenge! This particular soup is one that I really like ... it's broth-y and has a little variety of veggies ... and you can take or leave the noodles if you prefer to keep it grain free ...  The original recipe comes from one of the Everyday Food issues by Martha Stewart ... I used to love that little magazine! I had originally posted this recipe a ...

*When visiting family in Indiana, I try to make a few of our favorite things to share with family here ... this is a recipe that my mother-in-law made all the time ... last time it made my niece tear up when she said she hadn't had this since Grandma passed away* Most people like this, even if it's based on cabbage. Just an absolute delicious salad for those summer bbqs! Bag of coleslaw (or just plain cabbage, shredded, small to medium size head) 8 green onions, sliced thin 1/2 cup peanuts (or other nuts you like), toasted and cooled (used plain spanish peanuts) 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted and cooled (skipped as I didn't have any) 2 pkgs ramen noodles, crushed 1/2 red pepper, chopped Dressing: 4 tbs sugar. You can use a sugar substitute of choice if desired   I used 3 packets of Stevia in the Raw and it was perfect!! I may do it this way from now on (I've skipped the sugar as well with ok results) 1 tsp black pepper 1/2 cup olive oil (or oil of choic...

*Repost Alert (again!) This is one of the favorites of the household, and for a while there, I made it ALL THE TIME.  Then it sort of became "not so special" when I did make it, because we were getting used to having it ALL THE TIME. It's been awhile. I've wanted to make it, but life interferes so I haven't made it ... But this week, we are in Indiana and I've got control of the kitchen ... so I figured I MUST make it this week ... Therefore, It's What's For Dinner! It's a fairly easy recipe to throw together, and there are few steps you can do in the morning before heading to slave away in the office for 9 hours ... 4 chicken breast, sliced in half (so you have 8 pieces now) salt and pepper flour for dredging 12 tbs of butter (slice each tbs off a stick and set on plate) 10 tbs olive oil (just have tbs and oil handy) 2/3 cups lemon juice (yup, I squeezed the lemons, 2 1/2) 1 cup chicken stock (I used the granules and 1 cup hot water)...

*This was supposed to have been posted over the weekend ... sorry about that! Hey hey, it's time to share the Frugal Activities post and I know a lot of you liked them because of my full disclosure too! We did a quick, whirlwind trip to Nashville, flew in Friday morning EARLY and flew home Sunday night LATE ... good things all around ;-)  Next up is our trip up to Indiana on Tuesday for a little over a week ... that will be fun as well and includes a trip to Costco ::WHEEEEE:: Here's some of the Frugal Activities we've been doing for the past few weeks ...  1.  Avoided that grocery store since Monday, the 17th. Seriously! Hubby made a few $20 stops for milk and miscellaneous things but certainly under our usual $50+ per stop!  Of course, hit it up on Saturday afternoon, after running all day, the day before halloween and spent $75.xx ... this included some snacks, beer and halloween candy. Had to keep it simple as we travel again on Tuesday. 2.  A...

*I'm planning on making this for lunch one day while visiting family so figured I'd repost it for you as well! I used to love to get the Mandarin Chicken Salad from Wendy's back in the day ... I thought I was being super healthy, you know? Of course, that was before I learned about reading labels and such ... amazing how something so "healthy" could be so very bad for you. So ... when I came across  THIS  salad at  My Natural Family  not too long ago, I knew I had to give it a try ... and, man, I'm so very glad I did! Talk about an awesome, flavorful salad ... and even better, when I opted to make it at the last minute, I had EVERYTHING on hand so it fit the bill! Here's what you need: 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts head of lettuce (romaine) chopped in bite size pieces (I used one artesian baby romaine head) 1 red pepper, sliced and chopped in bite size pieces 1 large carrot, coarsely shredded 1/4 of a small red cabbage head, sliced ...

I really need to come up with a better name for this as the title just doesn't do this chili any justice! I've been making this for the past 4 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  ... This batch was made with zucchini to keep it Grain Free/Paleo ...  remove the cheese and it's Whole30 Approved! 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, I knew I needed to make a batch...