Meal Planning with Connie

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13-14 Our Sunday School lesson this week was on serving others. Doesn't the verse above do a wonderful job of reminding Christians of God's calling upon our lives? How humbling to think that the God of all creation wants to use me to bestow His blessings upon others! Astounding! Opportunities abound if I am only alert and faithful! All that remains of our nice snow from last week are a handful of half-melted snowmen scattered around town. It was fun while it lasted, and our family had no injuries this time, much unlike the mishap we experienced during our bout with frozen precipitation back in December, when Larry fell, broke three ribs and punctured his lung, which landed him in the hospital for a couple of days. Poor guy! For those w...

Sausage Ranch Squares Sausage Ranch Squares I made these for Sunday school last Sunday. I created them with things I had in the fridge. I thought they were pretty good! Everyone said they really liked them! 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough 1 pound ground sausage, browned and drained ½ cup ranch salad dressing 2 cups grated pizza blend cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat an 15x10-inch pan with cooking spray. Press dough into prepared pan. Combine sausage and ranch dressing. Spread over dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cut into squares.

He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'  Job 37:6  Although we rarely get to build the "real" thing, we ingenious Southerners won't go without! We still manage to find ways to have snowmen in our yards!  This is our "Frosty the  Bird Feeder," with real snow on the ground!  Here in the sunny South, we rarely get the kind of snow we received on Sunday. Because our snows are "here today and gone tomorrow," we are all crazy about a good snow down here! We know Northerners laugh at us for the way we take on over a few flakes, and that people who live in the snowy regions get just as tired of the snow by winter's end as we do of summer's heat and humidity here. But honestly, we just can't help ourselves! We're crazy for a bit of snow! Christmas was made extra special this year in our neck of the woods, because we woke to thin blanket of beautiful, white powder. According to...

With the close of the holidays, cranberries can be had for a song right now! It is a great time to buy a few bags and freeze them. Freezing cranberries is super easy and allows us to enjoy our cranberry recipes throughout the year! Not many (if any!) of our small grocery stores here in the rural South have the freezer space available to stock frozen cranberries. Luckily, dried cranberries are readily available, but they don’t work well for all recipes. Frozen cranberries can be easily substituted for fresh cranberries in many, if not most, instances. Here’s an easy, convenient way to keep some on hand:  Dump cranberries in a colander and wash well, removing any damaged or blemished berries. Pour washed cranberries onto trays lined with paper towels and allow to dry completely. Roll them around from time to time and change the paper toweling, if necessary. It is important that the berries be dry before freezing. Water on the berries will crystallize when frozen and damage the ber...

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season! Ours was quite eventful - but fun! I look forward to sharing more in the coming days.  Can you believe we have entered a new year?! I find the old adage - "The older you get, the faster time flies!" to be so true!  There is a poster with this poem and a painting of Nadine Stair in the ladies’ room at Square Books in Oxford, MS. I take time to read it each time I am there, which, at my age, is almost every time I am in the store! It reminds me to not take myself – and life – quite so seriously. I am reminded for my need to trust God more – especially with the small things of life! IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER I'd dare to make more mistakes next time. I'd relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual t...

Christmas Potpourri Kit On Friday, I received this neat potpourri kit from two sweet, little brothers, who are in one of my classes. I thought it was a very clever gift and am looking forward to simmering it on my stovetop! I thought some of you might be looking for a good gift idea for your children’s church helpers or school teachers. Be sure to let the kids help put it together! A cute tag and ribbon complete the kit! Kit contents: one small orange one small apple two cinnamon sticks a handful of fresh cranberries a few whole cloves (1 - 2 teaspoons) It was all contained in a sheet of cellophane, tied with a pretty ribbon and had the following directions tied to the bag: Christmas Potpourri Slice orange and apple. Combine all ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a light boil and simmer on low. Enjoy the warm scents of the season! Merry Christmas! Boys’ Names (I folded this portion of the tag under for privacy.) Clever, cute, and enjoyabl...

Mrs. Kat’s Wassail Mrs. Kat’s Wassail Christmas simply wouldn’t be Christmas without a batch or two or three of Larry’s mom’s wassail. It is so good! We have been asked for this recipe dozens of times. Larry usually makes it, not me. He has it down to a science. He prepared his first batch of the season to share with co-workers today. Christmastime is here! 1 gallon apple cider 1 large can unsweetened pineapple juice 1 large can unsweetened orange juice 1½  cups sugar 2 sticks cinnamon juice of 2 lemons Combine all ingredients. Never boil only simmer...