Meal Planning with Connie

Heath Bar Cake This is more of a bar cookie than cake. Be sure to have topping ingredients ready to sprinkle over the cake before mixing the batter. Heath Bar Cake 2 cups brown sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped nuts 6 Heath Bars, broken in small pieces Blend brown sugar, flour and butter. Blend 1 cup of mixture with nuts and Heath bars; set aside for now. Add baking soda, salt, egg, milk and vanilla extract and beat. Pour into a greased 13 x 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle Heather Bar mixture over cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Cheesy Mostaccioli Cheesy Mostaccioli 1 package (16 ounces) mostaccioli, uncooked 1 cup green pepper, coarsely chopped 1½ pounds ground beef 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning ¾ teaspoon pepper 1 jar (28 ounces) spaghetti sauce 1 can (10¾ ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. Cook mostaccioli according to package directions; drain. Coarsely chop bell pepper and onion. Cook and stir ground beef, bell pepper and onion over medium heat 10 -12 minutes or until beef is no longer pink.; drain. Stir in seasonings. Add spaghetti sauce and soup; mix well. Combine mostaccioli, meat sauce and 1½ cups of the mozzarella cheese; mix well. Put in 9x13 baking dish; cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ways I saved money: I used a box of penne...

Fantastic Focaccia Bread This bread was really yummy and hearty. You could add a salad with the bread and have a great meal! For a change, I think this recipe would be good with sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh. Fantastic Focaccia Bread 1 package (10 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough 2 garlic cloves, pressed (or equal amount of chopped jarred garlic) 2 ounces grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, divided, about 2/3 cup 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves, divided 2 firm plum tomatoes, sliced Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out pizza dough into a rectangle. Press garlic cloves over crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle half of Romano cheese over crust. Next, sprinkle one cup of mozzarella and 1 teaspoon oregano. Thinly slice tomatoes; arrange in a single layer over cheese. Top with remaining mozzarella and oregano. Sprinkle remaining Romano cheese over all. Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cut into squares; s...