Meal Planning with Connie

“When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.” ~ Mark Twain Look what I found on our front porch yesterday afternoon!! Five watermelons!! I know it looks like four, but I already had one of these beauties snatched up and chillin' in the fridge before I thought to make the picture! Finding the watermelons was such a nice surprise!! We got another one when we cut into one of them and found that it was yellow!! Oh my, oh my!! For those of you who aren't watermelon connoisseurs, this might not mean much to you, but for those of you who love watermelon like we do, I don't have to tell you what a delightful discovery this was! Wikipedia says this about the yellow version of this fruit: "Yellow Crimson Watermelon : variety of watermelon that has a yellow colored flesh. This particular type of watermelon has been described as "sweeter" and more "honey" flavored than the more popular red flesh watermelon." They even have a photo labe...

Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars I made these bar cookies to share with some friends. I thought they turned out fairly well. Be sure to spray the bottom of your pan well. My bars were just a bit difficult to get out. The original recipe, found in Cake Mix Cookies , said to use an un-greased pan. I was a bit skeptical of this and lightly sprayed the bottom of the pan. Next time, I will spray it well. Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix with pudding in the mix 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened, cut into small pieces 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 1 cup chunky peanut butter 3 eggs 1-1/4 cups sugar 1 cup salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine cake mix and butter in large bowl; beat with electric mixer at medium speed just until crumbly. Remove 1 cup mixture. Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes; cool on wire rac...

Larry, Logan and I all really liked the chicken and pasta dish. It was super easy and light! I had some chicken strips in the freezer, so I thawed those to use. I marinated them for about an hour before cooking. I just ended up dumping the marinated chicken strips and dressing into a large skillet and sauteing them on the stove top. This worked great. I'm sure the oven would work equally as well. Both guys were crazy about the Spinach Caesar Salad , too. M.C. liked the dressing, but she isn't crazy about spinach, so this salad wasn't her favorite. I did make the little homemade dressing, adding just a bit of anchovy paste. This gives the dressing just a tiny zip that makes it extra good! You can find anchovy paste in the grocery near the canned tuna and salmon. (No one carries it in Pontotoc, but you can get it at Kroger in Tupelo.) Well, I still didn't get to make Mub's Green Onion, Cheese, and Sour Cream Drop Biscuits, as we had two loaves of bread...

Spinach Caesar Salad Spinach Caesar Salad 9 ounce bag fresh spinach ½ c Parmesan cheese 6 tablespoons bacon bits 1 cup croutons 1/3 cup light Italian dressing, or use recipe below Toss all ingredients. For homemade dressing, combine: 4 heaping tablespoons of light mayonnaise a bit of anchovy paste (optional, but good!) 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon garlic powder salt and pepper, to taste a bit of milk to thin, if you like Toss all ingredients together.

I threw this in the soup pot this morning for our lunch. Since I had the meal already cooked and in the freezer, I literally had this simmering in the pot in under 5 minutes. We all thought it hit the spot on a dreary, wet day! Lasagna Soup Lasagna Soup 1 lb ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 1 can beef broth 2 (15 ounce) cans Italian-style tomatoes (I puree mine in the food processor.) 1 (14 ounce) jar pizza sauce Salt, to taste 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) 2 cups uncooked mini-lasagna or corkscrew pasta noodles 1 1/2 cups Italian style croutons* 1 1/2-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded Cook beef and onion in a soup pot over medium heat until beef is browned and onion is tender; drain. Return to soup pot. Stir in broth, tomatoes, pizza sauce, salt and sugar. Simmer for 15 - 30 minutes. Add pasta. Heat to boiling then reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes until pasta is tender. Set oven to broil. Ladle hot soup into oven-proof soup bowls. Top ea...