Meal Planning with Connie

This was a quick and easy little dish that got great reviews from the kids and Larry! Another keeper!! My frozen pre-cooked ground meat really comes in handy for dishes like this! I did make a few changes to the original recipe.  I'll post both versions. Chili Topped Ziti and Easy Focaccia Bread Here's the version with my modifications: Chili Topped Ziti 1 pound lean ground beef 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (16 ounces) jar pizza sauce 1 can Mexi-corn, drained 2 teaspoons cumin 2 teaspoons chili powder 1/4 cup ketchup salt and pepper to taste 16 ounces dry ziti pasta 1/2 cup shredded cheese Brown ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink; drain on paper towels. Return to pan and add pizza sauce, corn, cumin, chili powder and ketchup; mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Pour in the pasta and cook according to package directions; drain. Serve

Quick, easy and yummy!!! Easy Focaccia Bread Easy Focaccia Bread 1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 1 - 2 tablespoons dry Italian seasonings ½ - 1 cup Italian blended cheese Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Press pizza dough evenly onto the bottom of cookie sheet; set aside. Combine olive oil, minced garlic and Italian seasonings. Brush olive oil mixture over the entire top of the pizza dough, making sure it’s completely coated. Sprinkle cheese on the top of the pizza dough. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the dough is a nice golden brown color. Cut into squares to serve.

This recipe accompanies Pampered Chef’s Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan.  I know it is wonderful as written!  My "lightened" version is below. I made these for our breakfast this morning, and we all thought they were really good.  The original version has 12 grams of fat per serving ( 3 mini muffins.) My version only has about 1 gram of fat per serving (3 mini muffins.) You could add a few poppy seeds to this recipe, if you like.  A tablespoon of poppy seeds has about 4 grams of fat. I use a tablespoon-size measuring spoon, that I've spritzed with cooking spray, to spoon the batter into my mini muffin pan. This is just about the right amount, the muffins are somewhat uniform in size, and the cooking spray helps the batter slide right into the little cup. One of the best things about mini muffins is that they cook really quickly! I also think they help with portion control.  Of course, you can just make this in a standard-size muffin pan, as well.  I'd think one "regular-s