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!