Meal Planning with Connie

 November Giveaways!!! Once again, Susan is providing us with some really neat cookbooks for our November Giveaways! Susan has been so kind and generous in supplying us with some really neat prizes! We truly appreciate her generosity!! Please remember her when ordering from Pampered Chef and Southern Living at Home. She gives a 10% discount on Pampered Chef to anyone mentioning this blog! Tip: Anything from Pampered Chef makes a great Christmas gift!! Susan is having some e-mail woes, so if you'd like to place an order, e-mail me at: mealplanwithconnie@att.net and I'll get your message to Susan! Not from our area? No problem.  It can be shipped directly to your home!  Contact Susan for details! November Giveaways: We have three of these sets to give away!!! Susan has provided us with three Little Book of Holiday Appetizers published by Oxmoor House, the publishers of Southern Living books I am slipping each of these into a cute fall potholder! There

Congratulations to: Cindy C. and Jan F. Many thanks to all who entered!   Be sure to register for November's Giveaways !!  Many thanks to M.C. for drawing the names for me tonight!!

Fall officially arrived in Pontotoc this week as our downtown merchants trotted out their scarecrows.  This is such a fun thing.  I love to see all the folks walking and driving around town, pausing to look at each retailer's display.  I am going to share as many of these with you as I can! I hope they bring as big a smile to your face as they do ours! Scarecrows at Some of our  Financial Institutions "Miss Money Bags"     "A Salute to our Soldiers" "A Load of Cash" Yesterday, I realized that today was going to be extra busy, so I regrouped our supper plans for tonight.  I threw this together and put it in the fridge last night.  It was so nice to come in this afternoon and have this just ready to pop into the oven.  I served Bake Pineapple Squares as a side dish.  Both dishes got a big thumbs up from all! Make-ahead Breakfast Casserole and Baked Pineapple Squares Make-ahead Breakfast Casserole This is another great recipe from Marvelous R

I thought I'd give this low-fat recipe a try.  It's very similar to a Pineapple Casserole recipe Larry's mom gave me years ago - just lighter. It was quite tasty! Larry had seconds!  I will definitely make this again! I've also pasted my mother-in-law's recipe below! It is buttery and very delicious! Baked Pineapple Squares Baked Pineapple Squares  I cut this recipe in half and baked it in an 8x8 pan. 2 (20 ounce) cans pineapple tidbits, drained 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 2 cups sharp shredded cheddar (I used 2%.) 2 cups Ritz Cracker Crumbs (I used reduced fat.) All natural vegetable spray (I used Parkay Spray.) Spray 9 x 13 inch baking dish with vegetable spray. Place drained pineapple in baking dish. Mix shredded cheese, flour and sugar together. Sprinkle over pineapple. Crush Ritz crackers. Put 2 cups in bowl and spray with vegetable spray, toss and spray until crackers are coated. Sprinkle over mixture. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake 30 minu

15 by the 15th Connie This week: 1 lb.!! Total Lost: 5 lbs.!! Well, I am a third of the way to my goal.  Unfortunately, it is getting harder to lose, and I am getting hungrier, too!! I hope that it was a great week for all you guys who are also trying to shed a few pounds! Let me know how you did! It's not too late to join us in losing a few pounds before the holidays. Leave a comment or send me an email at: mealplanwithconnie@att.net You can weigh-in any day you like. My weigh-in day will be Thursdays. There are some fairly low-fat, low-calorie choices in the ice cream section of your grocer's freezer.  Here are three of our favorites. Fudgsicles = 1.5 grams of fat 60 calories per bar         Snow Cream Stix = 1.5 grams of fat          60 calories per bar                           Sherbet = 0 grams of fat 100 calories per 1/2 cup   I like to make smoothies with the sherbet. Spoon desired amount of sherbet into blender; add enough orange juice o