Frugal In Florida

It's a scorcher out there! No desire whatsoever to be outdoors today. As a side note, I am leaving the young couple across the street that they CAN NOT leave their tiny dogs out a 2nd floor balcony with no shade for 8 hours when it's 98 degrees. The poor things! yes, it WAS hot! I am still doing a Pantry  / Freezer Challenge ... but this past weekend, I spent more money than I have spent in the previous 3 weeks so I may just bypass the No Spending issues for now ... BUT we still have LOTS of food in the pantry and freezers that need to be eaten and used up ;-) So onward with a sort of Pantry / Freezer Challenge, I say! The week ahead is going to be interesting ... Hubby is in Los Angeles (takes the redeye home and gets in at 5am Friday) so it's just me and whatever kids are around, it's the last week of the month and my work calendar is looking pretty busy AND I'd like to get a little more exercise in this week ... I'm tempted to let them fend for...

*It's another repost but honestly, WORTH the repost! I'm willing to bet that 50% of you know who Michelle is over at  Nom Nom Paleo , and the other 50% are probably thinking "hmmm....that sounds vaguely familiar" ... am I right?? So yeah, she makes some stuff that I've not ventured into as of yet (bone broth, organs, etc.) but some of her other stuff I have tried and well, yeah, it's pretty tasty ... but I've yet to find something to say Damn Fine, and I know Hubby would certainly back me up on that! So what the heck, let's give this here  Damn Fine Chicken  recipe a shot and see if we have a winner, shall we? It should be noted that this was really supposed to be served up on Thursday night according to the  menu plan , but being a 'single girl' has enabled me to eat popcorn on Monday night, out with the Princess for a quick bite at my favorite pub (was to be with girlfriend but she got tied up earlier in the day), out to dinner with ...

*This is a repost from a while ago but since I'm making it this week, thought I would share with you! I love when I try a new recipe and its spot on the first try with my modifications ... it does something for my self esteem :-D This one is definitely staying in the kitchen ... Chicken  Turkey Lettuce Wraps 20 oz package of ground, lean turkey. Um, do NOT buy the roll stuff, you know that's all dark turkey stuff, very little lean meat, right? handful of green onions (cut right out of the glass on counter), diced 8 oz can of water chestnuts, drain and rinse well, diced 6 sweet mini peppers, diced 1/3 cup of soy sauce 3 tsp hoisin sauce (it's a miracle, I had it in the pantry!) 2 tbs dry ginger (I don't have fresh) 1 1/2 tbs water 3 tsp sesame oil Brown the meat. Because mine was super lean (93/7), I added a little bit of olive oil to the bottom of pan since I wasn't using a nonstick pan. Chop it up as it cooks and drain if necessary when done. I...