Lessons learned...

 So I made it through the two weeks without "really" grocery shopping.  And I learned a couple of valuable lessons.

      Lesson 1:  I can not make it two weeks without fresh produce for salad.  Really. Who would have thought? I'm not a bit fan of rabbit food, but take it away from me and what do I crave?  Spinach.   I broke down and purchased baby spinach part way through this two week "lets eat what we have on hand because we are broke" trial.

     Lesson 2: Food I enjoy but have hesitated cooking because I didn't think they would be appreciated -- were HITS!  Therefore, give the family more credit for liking food that is maybe a bit more unusual and healthier.

    Lesson 3: There really can be too much brie.  I love brie, don't splurge on it much because I know it is so bad for me.  But I had some and thought it would be lovely in the bacon spinach quiche.  Hmm.. it didn't set well in the middle -- too much brie!

 So what were the foods I didn't think they would enjoy? Tabbouleh was the first surprise.  I was pretty sure the hubby would eat it and appreciate it, but the 16 year old man child?  He liked it!  The other surprise was the baked runza with broccoli shreds in place of cabbage.

Now what's on tap for this week?  There are a few things we didn't get to last week because there were leftovers to eat.  And, I admit, we did take out hot and sour soup one night because I had a wicked head cold (that is medicine, right?).   So here we go:

Sunday 
Breakfast - 
      I never make breakfast if I can help it (I cook ALL the other meals of the week).  But I think I just counted 10 college kids crashed at various places around the house.  They came down from NAU last night for a concert and knew it was ok to crash here rather than driving back up the hill in the wee hours this morning.  I have a breakfast casserole in the oven and will wake the kids up shortly to feed them and send them on their way before my 1 pm Pampered Chef event.
            Breakfast Casserole
                 Cube 10 slices of bread, beat 16 eggs, add 2 cups of milk, 3 cups of shredded cheddar, two cans of diced chili peppers.  Mix together and season with pepper, salt & cayenne pepper.  I baked in my super large lasagne pan at 350 for 40 minutes.  It looks great and smells wonderful.
  
Lunch - 
     I have a Pampered Chef event today.  I don't really NEED any new product, but was toying with the idea of becoming a consultant, so wanted to see what kind of turn-out I can get for no effort.  Today's event is "chicken three-way"  -- sounds spicy, right? (Reminds me of the cookbook a co-worker gave me for Secret Santa "Fifty Shades of Chicken" - which actually, while written for laughter, does have some good recipes.)
   We will serve Greek Chicken and Orzo today, along with a pumpkin spice cake (recipes are Pampered Chef).  Then we will pre-make to freeze a chicken and black bean wrap and a chicken stir fry.  One of those will go in my freezer for next week and one will be a door prize.  Great idea, right?  I always prep food for later in the week when possible.  How great to WIN a pre-made meal!

Dinner  - Surely you are joking!  I have already cooked two times today for bunches of people!

Monday - Shredded Chicken Cornmeal pie .  This is one of the meals I didn't get to this past week, so will whip it up this evening and have it ready to bake tomorrow after school.

Tuesday - Crock pot terriyaki chicken.  I have class after school until 6, so need something that will be easy for Sawyer to stick in the crock pot when he gets home.  I love using my slow cooker, but find when I am gone for 10 hours a day, things do tend to get over cooked.  This is easy
        3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen ok)
        small amount of chicken broth
        terriyaki sauce (or soy sauce + fresh ginger + brown sugar)
        chopped onion
        garlic
cook, cube chicken, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, add some blanched 
broccoli and serve over rice.

Wednesday - Baked ziti with ground beef.  I love me some pasta!  I will pre-cook the ziti, brown the ground beef with onions, garlic (and more garlic), add tomato sauce (I'm cheating this week and not cooking my own), mix in a 1/2 cup of cream cheeze.  Layer in casserole with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and bake at 350 until heated through, bubbly, and smelling wonderous. (I bake by smell most of the time.)

Thursday, Friday and Saturday - baked chicken with apples, Indian chicken meatball stew and ???  These are meals that I didn't cook last week.  

Now, how did I do for groceries going forward?  I spent $92. yesterday.  I needed some cleaning items, lettuce for lunchtime salads, eggs and bread.  I picked up the items for the Pampered Chef event and I'm good for at least another week, maybe 10 days!
 

Back to school...

       and back to trying to pinch pennies!

School has been in full swing here in Arizona for a month -- I can't believe it has been that long.   I THINK I am back in the groove.  Lessons were planned before I left school on Friday.  Papers are graded but a few still need to be entered in the on-line grade book.  Now I can start to think about food and meal planning again.

Of course this is also necessary because I spent all day Thursday (no school for Fall break) at the car repair shop, followed by a trip to the tire store.  I am now officially BROKE.

So I had Sawyer (who is now 16 and starting to enjoy cooking) help me create a list of all the food in the house.  Usually I run to the grocery store every weekend.  But with his help, I have just spent time determining TWO WEEKS of meals WITHOUT one trip to the grocery store.  OOPS - I know I had staples in the pantry and food in the freezer, but I was able to get fairly creative and came up with some good meals (not mac & cheese one time!)

So here is what I came up with:
  

Saturday – 9/7/13

     Dinner – Kale and BBQ chicken salad (see my earlier post about the 

                   kale salad.) For this one I did not use the dried cranberries as the 

                   chicken (leftover) had a very lightly sweetened BBQ sauce. 

Sunday – 9/8/13

      Lunch – chili con carne.  I browned ground beef, added drained &

                  rinsed kidney & black beans, diced tomatoes, roasted Hatch chiles, 

                  roasted corn, onions & garlic with a mix of cumin, chili powder, 

                  chipotle.  I made this last weekend and froze it.  It was perfect to

                  football.

      Dinner – stir fry ginger beef with shredded broccoli and bamboo    

                 shoots on brown rice. When I buy a package of beef (tri-tip or 

                 round or what ever is on sale) I cut part of it into thin strips and

                freeze small qualities.  You don't need much meat in a stir fry, right? 

                This week I have part of a package of broccoli (shredded and crowns)

                and pea pods left from a meal last weekend.  Sounds like I can do a 

                quick stir fry, add a can of bamboo shoots that was hiding in the back

                of the pantry! 

  

Monday – 9/ 9/13

       Dinner – Penne with chicken, spinach & sun-dried tomatoes.   Saute 

                two small chicken breasts.  Add fresh spinac until just wilted.   Cook 

                the penne according to directions. Mix the penne, sun-dried 

                tomatoes, fresh basil (there is always a plant in my kitchen), and a  

                drizzle of EVOO.

Tuesday – 9/10/13

       Dinner – Crock pot pork roast with pineapple and peaches.  Place 

                 frozen peaches and pineapple in bottom of slow cooker.  Add a

                 chopped onion.  Place a pork loin roast on top.  Season with sliced

                 fresh ginger, a sprinkle of cinnamon and chili powder.   Cook on slow

                 6 hours or until done according to a meat thermometer. (or until I

                 get home from school!)

Wednesday – 9/11/13

       Dinner –  Ham & potato quiche.  When I bake pies, I always make my pie

                crust from scratch.  It keeps forever in the freezer if wrapped well. 

                Guess what Sawyer found buried in the freezer? Yup - a pie crust, 

                 ready to thaw and roll out.  I also have a cream in the fridge that 

                 needs to be used up.  So, I'll whip up some eggs, add the cream,

                 some cheese (I know I have fresh Parmesan and some brie), chop 

                 some ham if there is any left from Sawyer's sandwiches this week.  

                 I know there are a few tater tots in the freezer so I'll chop those,

                 add a handful of frozen spinach and bake a yummy quiche. 

Thursday  9/12/13

        Dinner – Shredded chicken and refried bean burritos.  We opened a 

                 can of refried beans for breakfast burritos yesterday.  They were 

                 barely touched, so they can quickly be put into a tortilla with 

                 shredded chicken (again, when I cook a chicken for stock or soup

                 I cook a couple of extra, shred them and stick them in the freezer.)

                 I'm sure I have some cheddar to shredd and add for an instant 

                 meal.  This is probably the meal I'm least proud of this week, but

                 the family will like it as along as there is sour cream (or Greek

                 yogurt) and salsa!

Friday 9/13/13

        Dinner – Pasta w/marinara sauce. Okay, I'm not so proud of the effort

                for this meal either, but it is a FRIDAY - after a full week of school 

                (we have had short weeks the last two weeks due to training and/or

                holidays.)  I may not even make my own marinara sauce (gasp) but

                will at least "spice" up the jar in the pantry with extra garlic, onions,

                 oregano and fresh basil.

Saturday 9/14/13

        Lunch – Tuna sandwiches.  It's lunch so I will delegate this meal.  And

                 add chopped apples and grapes to the tuna salad.  I often add

                 curry powder as well.

        Dinner - Baked runzas.  There was a lone loaf of frozen bread dough 

                 in the freezer.  I remember a neighbor making something similar to

               this when I was a kid, but they were fried. (Sheila's mom - if   

                anyone in my family has the recipe, let me know.)  I have a package

                of browned ground beef (again, when I buy a Costco size package,

                I split it up and  prep several meals) in the freezer.  I will thaw it, 

                saute more of the shreded broccoli and cabbage with an onion.  

                The bread dough will be cut into bun-sized pieces and rolled out.

                Place the filling on the dough round, add some mozarella cheese 

                 (cut up a couple of cheese sticks), seal the dough and bake until

                 browned.   This is similar to the Oriental Meat Bundles I make (see 

                 earlier posts)

Sunday 9/15/13

        Lunch –  leftovers

        Dinner – Chicken minestrone soup.  I have to tweak the recipe a bit

                since I am not going to the grocery store this week.  I will simmer 3

                boneless, skinless chicken breasts with a chopped onion. Remove

                from the pan of broth and cube the chicken .  Add additional chicken 

                stock if necessary.  Cook a small  amount of macaroni, drain.  Add to 

                the chicken and broth, along with a can of kidney beans (no

                cannellini beans in the pantry), add some frozen sliced carrots, green

                beans and diced tomatoes.  Season with garlic and oregano.  Simmer

                until heated through and nicely seasoned. 

Monday – 9/16/13

        Dinner – Shredded chicken cornbread pie.  This one I am taking

                directly from the great blog, Table for Two.

                http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/05/24/bbq-chicken-

                 cornbread-pie/

Tuesday – 9/17/13

         Dinner - Falafel on a bed of bulger.  Either make your own falafel,

                use a mix (Sprouts has them) or buy frozen (Trader Joe's).  I had

                them in the freezer.  I will cook them up, make a salad of bulger 

                Cook the bulger according to directions, add the juice of 1/2 a 

                lemon, a drizzle of EVOO, a chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, 

                a handful of roasted pine nuts, and chopped parsley.  Salt & pepper

                to taste.

Wednesday – 9/18/13

         Dinner -  Taco meat/quinoa bake.  There are many quinoa recipes on

                Pinterest so I am probably going to make this up as I go.  I know I

               have pre-seasoned (with salsa not that packet of chemicals from 

               Lawry's) taco ground beef in the freezer.  I will cook up a cup of 

               quinoa, mix in some corn, maybe some black beans, and cheese.

               I'll bake it through in the oven until it is bubbly and smells awesome!

Thursday  - 9/19/13

          Dinner – Chicken with apples and onions (baked).  Again, I'm 

               making this up, based on what sound good and what I know will 

               be left in the freezer, fridge and pantry.  Place boneless, skinless

               chicken breasts in oven-safe dish.  Top with sliced apples and onions,

                season with salt, pepper, and...maybe tarragon? Definitely could

               do a touch of cinnamon and cardamon.  Maybe that's what I'll do.  
               Bake until chicken is done.This would go great with a green salad.

Friday – 9/20/13

           Dinner – Tortellini with vodka sauce.  Hey, it must be Friday again!
               I may need to revisit this meal as I really don't want to do pasta
               every Friday night....

Saturday – 9/21/13

           Lunch - Potstickers (or leftovers).  I do love me some potstickers
                 While I love making my own, I won't this time.  I usually have 
                  either Ling-Ling or Trader Joe's in the freezer -- and YES! There
                  is a package there.

           Dinner – Indian chicken meatball and lentil stew.  I'll make my 
                  own chicken meatballs (grind boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
                   as I do not like the amount of fat in store-bought ground chicken
                   or turkey.  I am taking this recipe directly from food.com
                  http://www.food.com/recipe-finder/all/indian-chicken-meatballs- 
                  and-lentil

Since this is all what I will be cooking, I have no photos.  So, here is my pic of the day.  Missing my son who is on the USS Boxer and left on deployment 3 
weeks ago.