Meal Planning with Connie

We usually eat leftovers or some type of sandwich for lunch. My kids are old enough to fix their own lunches, but still usually ask what their choices are. I told them to have sandwiches today, because I want enough leftovers for a Leftover Buffet on Thursday night. They happened upon a package of hot dogs in their sandwich meat drawer that we had overlooked for the last couple of weeks. We're not real big hot dog eaters, but I do occasionally buy a package or two if they are on sale. Ball Park Franks were on sale for $0.99 a few weeks back, and I had picked up a package. A quick check of the expiration date showed they were going out-of-date today! We went ahead with our sandwiches for lunch, and I made an adjust to our supper plans. We will probably have the pizza tomorrow night, since I haven't bought the fish planned for Wednesday night yet. Having my ground meats and boiled chicken pre-cooked and in the freezer really helps me be able to change our meal plans on

Rubber bands securing opened packages Instead of clips, use rubber bands for securing opened plastic bags. These are cheap and usually don't break or come apart like clips can. If you buy the big multi-pack of rubber bands, there's a size for every need. As you can see from the photo, they work great for securing everything from tiny packages of nuts to medium-sized packages of toffee or chocolate chips to larger things like baking mix and cereal. I usually just slip the baking mix back into its original box with the rubber band securing it. For cereal, I usually just toss the box and store the cereal in its plastic bag with the rubber band around it to save cabinet space. I have been doing this for years. I think I just got tired of looking for clip or having the clips break.

It seems Coke/Diet Coke reigns! Here are the results of our last poll: Coke (28%) Diet Coke (21%) Pepsi (0%) Diet Pepsi (7%) Dr. Pepper (14%) Mt. Dew (14%) Sprite (0%) 7 Up (0%) Root Beer (0%) Other (7%) I don't drink "Cokes" (7%) I shared with you a few weeks back about my kids' love of Coca-Cola World and our favorite Coca-Cola Cake recipe: http://mealplanningwithconnie.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-real-thing-coca-cola-cake.html Here's a quicker Coca-Cola Brownies recipe that has a nice little touch of Coke flavor. Logan really likes these! Coca-Cola Brownies Coca-Cola Brownies Prepare a package of family-size (for 9x13 pan) according to package directions, substituting Coca-Cola for the water. When done, remove brownies from oven and pour icing over warm brownies. Allow icing to "set." Icing: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan. Stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa