You Know You're NOT From Florida When...

I stumble across the strangest things in Florida at times. 

Recently, I was walking out the door to go somewhere. As I turned to lock the door, adjacent to our screened in porch, there was a very large bug or moth on the screen. It was bigger than the palm of my hand.

While it did startle me, I am not typically afraid of bugs or insects. It was, on the other hand, nothing I had seen before. 

I am still a Florida noob.

Vegetable Soup

I made another homemade soup not long ago so I thought I'd try another type of soup. No recipe this time. 

The ingredients this time:

• beets
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• celery
• carrots
• onion
• garlic
• black beans

Spices: 

• chili powder
• turmeric
• sea salt
• pepper
• chives
• Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute
• Old El Paso Carne Asada Seasoning (on clearance at Target)

Topped with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

This was a good combination of flavors similar to chili. 

Couponing: Beverages

I was shopping for New Year's Eve supplies at Target with a list, but of course I grabbed items not on my list.

I had the intention of getting Coca-Cola and Welch's Sparkling Grape Juice. 

Coke 2L bottles were on sale for $1 WYB 5, regularly priced $1.89 each. The Target Cartwheel app (previous post on shopping with this app here) had the same bottles for 35% off. The total would usually be $9.45. With both the app and sale, my total was $3.24 (pretax) or 65¢.

Here is the breakdown: 

 $1.89 

- $0.89 sale price

= $1

- 35% app discount

= $0.65 each

Next, I was purchasing 3 bottles of Welch's. They are priced $2.99 each. I had a coupon for $1 off 3. The app had 20% off Welch's. The total would be $8.97. The new total with the coupon and app was $6.18 (pretax) or $2.06 each. 

Here is the breakdown: 

 $8.97 for 3 bottles

- 20% app discount

= $7.18

- $1 coupon 11/20 RP

= $6.18

The total savings of these beverages was $9. I paid $9.42 instead of $18.42 (pretax). 

Not bad!

Garlicky Veggie Pasta Bake

Another one of those Facebook recipe videos caught my attention one fine day while I was scrolling. This time it is Garlicky Shrimp Alfredo Bake.  I was already to make this when my husband wasn't feeling shrimp that evening. Readjusting is part of adulting. 

I decided to turn this recipe into a vegetarian dish. 

I substituted the shrimp for yellow squash and parsley for basil.

I added some spinach with the tomatoes. 

I substituted milk for sour cream. 

I substituted penne for rotini.

I substituted the skillet for a glass pan.

So basically, I altered nearly the entire recipe this time. It was very tasty. I may go back to the original recipe next time for comparison. 

Winter Wonderland

Living in Florida for the last few years has been delightful for the most part. There are certain seasonal signs that elude me (read more here). Living in a tropical location does not create a Winter Wonderland type of atmosphere. That is not necessarily a complaint, by the way.

Wintertime up north was the picture of "walking in a winter wonderland." Even in Florida, people hang icicle lights and snow-themed decorations on and in their homes. It is not quite the same.

If I were to play a word association game and the word was "winter," I would blurt out "snow." 

Once in awhile I start to think about my hometown of Rochester, NY and reminisce about all the fun we had in the snow: sledding, skiing, snow shoeing, making snow angels, building snowmen, polar bear swimming, etc.

My husband has not yet experienced snow. He has experienced somewhat cool temperatures which is cold to him. It's all relative! I bought him a Snuggie for Christmas this year. He loves it!

This year for Christmas Eve, we spent the afternoon at the beach. This was our first Christmas in Florida together.

Despite the warm weather, I turned to my husband and asked him Ana's famous question: do you want to build a snowman?  He had little idea what I was inferring and went on to jump waves in the ocean. I grabbed my ice scraper in the back of the car and got to work.

Here is what I came up with:

Read more about a spiritual meaning I found from the song, "Winter Wonderland" here. 

Hot & Cold Vegetarian Dinner

I am hearing more and more families who are trying to find ways to lower their grocery bill.  One way is by having a "No Meat Monday" or even a couple nights a week without meat. 

As I've mentioned my husband doesn't eat meat for health reasons. We frequently have veggies only. One of his favorite vegetables is sweet potato (another cooking method I posted recently is here). One of my new favorites is chayote which I've posted in the past. We each took a dish to prepare and worked side by side. 

His sweet potatoes were sliced and boiled. To a small amount of water (just enough to soften the potatoes and get absorbed), he added fresh basil, chopped cucumber, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic to the boil. 

I took chayote and cubed it along with romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and cilantro. I blended lemon juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, sour cream, and olive oil to make a dressing. 

Neither of us used a recipe. Both dishes were flavorful in their own way. One was hot and the other was cold. Complimentary, simple, and healthy!

New Year's Resolutions

As we say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017, I want to revive my Facebook status from New Year's Eve 2011. 

Instead of setting a New Year's resolution yourself, 
let the Holy Spirit make changes that will last an eternity.  

For reference: 

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. 

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, 

I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. 

Revelation 3:20