Meal Planning with Connie

Creamy Cheese and Bacon Vermicelli Creamy Cheese and Bacon Vermicelli I found this on the back of the pasta box. It was super easy and yummy! It could be lighten by using low-fat or no-fat cream cheese and milk, sautéing onions in water or broth, and reducing the amount of bacon. 8 ounces vermicelli 1/4 cup sliced green onion 1 tablespoon margarine or 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup milk 4 ounces cream cheese , cubed 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional) 6 slices bacon , cooked crisply, crumbled grated parmesan cheese Directions: Cook vermicelli according to package directions. Drain, cover and set aside. In small saucepan, sauté green onions in margarine or butter. Add milk, cream cheese, parsley, and seasonings. Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until smooth and cheese is melted. Add cooked pasta to pan; toss with cream cheese mixture and bacon. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Note: If sauce is too thick, add a bit of milk.

New Year’s Dip "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." ~C.S. Lewis, Author New Year’s Dip I wanted a dish that would incorporate black-eyed peas and greens for a New Year's dish this morning for our Sunday school fellowship time. I threw this together with items I had on hand. It was well received by the class. I thought it turned our pretty good too! Please play around with the ingredients and find a combination that you like best! Happy New Year to all!!! 4 ounces softened cream cheese ½ cup mayonnaise ½ packet dry ranch dressing ½ shredded cheddar cheese 3 – 4 green onions, chopped (The onion tops were my greens!) 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed 1 can Mexicorn, drained 1 can Rotel tomatoes, slightly drained 1 cup sausage, browned and drained Tortilla chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray. Combine cream cheese, mayo, dry ranch mix and cheese. Add drained veggies and sausage, stirring g...

My sweet friend, Rachel, recently bless us with a delicious bag of homemade granola! It was wonderful and disappeared quickly. I decided to try my hand at making a batch, using items from my pantry. We thought it turned out great. Granola keeps really well in an airtight container. It makes a great gift and is yummy sprinkled over yogurt, ice cream or eaten with milk like cereal. It's great by the handful too! Pantry Granola This time of year, we are all needing little gifts for the various teachers in our kids' lives. This granola makes a great happy! Spoon into a plastic freezer bag, a clear jar (For safety reasons, use a plastic jar, if a child is delivering gift!) or cover the oats container with pretty paper and use it. I found this cute canning tag HERE . I thought it worked fine for the granola too! Pantry Granola Tip from Rachel: To insure granola browns evenly, pull the granola from the edges of the pan toward the middle when you stir the granola because the edg...

Larry and I attended Off Square Book’s Thacker Mountain Radio production last week, where Martha Hall Foose read from her new cookbook, A Southerly Course . Martha’s first cookbook, Screen Doors & Sweet Tea , garnered her a James Beard Award! Both books are delightful reads, as Martha includes tales about her family and our beloved state of Mississippi, along with, of course, great recipes and gorgeous photos. If you haven’t obtained copies of Martha’s cookbooks yet, I highly recommend you do so. Autographed copies are available at Square/Off Square Books in Oxford . For those of you familiar with our area, Martha, a French culinary school trained pastry chef, opened the Bottle Tree Bakery in Oxford and the Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood. Martha's other credentials include being a former executive chef of the Greenwood Viking Cooking School and serving as the food stylist for the movie The Help , which is based on the novel of the same name. Congratualtions to Martha! We Miss...

This is another of my at-least-it's-better-than-going-through-the-drive-thru recipes.  For a more healthful dish, choose reduced-fat soup, 2% cheese and fat free sour cream! Taco Casserole This colorful dish is yummy garnished with a dollop of sour cream! Taco Casserole For a larger group, double this recipe and bake in a 9x13. 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (from your freezer, rotisserie or canned) 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 cup salsa 1 can Southwestern Style Mexicorn 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend 6 corn tortillas sour cream Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Combine first 4 ingredients; set aside. Cut each tortilla into 4 wedges. Layer half of tortilla wedges in prepared pan. Top tortillas with half of chicken mixture. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Cover tightly with foil and bake until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. Variation: Substitute 1 pound of browned ground beef...

This is one of those super quick dishes that I make when time is really tight. My kids do love it and often request it! If time permits, I am going to try to share some of my "this-is-at-least-better-than-running-through-the-drive-through recipes" over the next few weeks, since that is about the only kind of cooking that is happening at our house right now! Ground Beef Stroganoff Ground Beef Stroganoff Serve with a green veggie or salad and drop biscuits or Texas Toast. 1 pound ground beef 1 small onion, chopped (optional) 2 packets brown gravy mix 1 can (14.5-ounces) beef broth 1 can drained mushrooms (optional) ½ cup sour cream Sauté ground beef and onion until meat is done and onions are tender; drain well. Add brown gravy packets and beef broth. Bring to a boil; add mushrooms. Lower heat to simmer, and add sour cream. Serve over hot noodles or rice This is also good spooned into baked potatoes and sprinkled with shredded cheese!

This cake is easy to make, and all the ingredients can usually be found in my pantry and fridge. It was well liked by the Sunday School Crew! Larry and the kids loved it too!   White Texas Sheet Cake White Texas Sheet Cake For a nice change, substitute almond extract for the vanilla. Cake ingredients: 1 cup butter 1 cup water 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups white sugar 2 eggs ½ cup sour cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda Icing ingredients: ½ cup butter ¼ cup milk 4½ cups confectioners' sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup chopped nuts (optional, but good!) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a jelly roll pan (10½x15½ x1-inch) with cooking spray. Combine flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large saucepan, bring 1cup butter and water to a boil. Remove from heat. Combine eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Add to butter mixture. Mix well. Add flour mixture to butter/egg mixture. Mix well. Pour batter into prepared pan. (Batter will be...