Meal Planning with Connie

  Apple Dump Cake isn't all that pretty, but... it sure is tasty! Apple Dump Cake You can use other flavors of pie filling with this recipe too. Peach, cherry and blueberry are all delicious! 2 cans apple pie filling ¼ cup brown sugar 1 yellow box cake mix 2 sticks butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Pour both cans of apple pie filling into prepared dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar over pie filling. Sprinkle yellow cake mix on top of pie filling. Slice butter into pats and place evenly on top of cake mix. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown and done.

Lemon Cheesecake Squares Lemon Cheesecake Squares These are basically a little different take on chess squares. Easy and yummy! 1 box lemon cake mix 4 eggs 1 stick butter, softened 8-ounce cream cheese 16-ounce box powdered sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine cake mix, 1 egg and butter to form a dough. Set aside 1 cup of dough mixture. Pat remaining dough into prepared pan. Mix together cream cheese, 3 eggs, powdered sugar and lemon juice, and pour over dough. Sprinkle reserved dough over cream cheese mixture. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely and, cut into squares.

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...

Chocolate doesn't make the world go 'round,  but it sure does make the trip worthwhile! I gave Gail’s Skillet Cookie recipe from the blog hop a try tonight. We have all been trying to eat more healthfully. This is the first “real” dessert I have made for just our family in about a month. It was a great choice! So, so easy and so, so good! All the needed ingredients were right in there in my pantry! My family loved it!! Definitely a keeper! Skillet Cookie on McCarty Pottery (We simply must talk about McCarty Pottery one day very soon!) Although I love the way the cookie looked in my cast iron skillet, I turned mine out onto a platter to serve. I wanted to see how easily it would come out of the pan. It practically slid out! Perfect! I think this will make a great dessert to take to folks. Who wouldn’t love to receive one of these giant chocolate chip cookies? Patting this dough into the skillet was much easier and quicker that scooping out individual cookies. I did reduce th...

I received an email invitation to join the Gooseberry Patch Cookie Blog Hop! Be sure to join the fun by adding a link to your favorite cookie recipe below!  Don't all these recipes sound delicious?! Also, check out the newest release from Gooseberry Patch, Best-Ever Cookies ! Yum!

This is one of my “pantry creations". I had these four ingredients on hand and decided to try to concoct a little something for us to have during Sunday school fellowship time.  These little candies were a big hit with our class. Makes a large batch! Plenty to share! Peanut Butter Rocky Road Krispies Peanut Butter Rocky Road Krispies 1 (16-ounce) package chocolate candy coating 1 cup crunchy peanut butter 3 cups mini marshmallows 4 cups Rice Krispies Combine Rice Krispies and marshmallows.  In a separate bowl, melt chocolate coating according to package directions.  Stir peanut butter into melted chocolate coating.  Add Rice Krispies mixture to chocolate mixture.  Stir well to coat Rice Krispies and marshmallows.  Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

I took this cake to Sunday School this morning! It got really good reviews! It's yummy with a steaming cup of coffee! Blueberry-Banana Pound Cake Blueberry-Banana Pound Cake This is cake is yummy and moist! The combination of blueberries and bananas is really nice! You can add a 1/2 chopped pecans, if you like! 3 very ripe bananas 1 (18 1/2 oz.) yellow cake mix 1 (3 1/2 oz.) vanilla instant pudding mix 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/3 cup oil 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (Don't thaw berries. Add them while still frozen.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a tube or Bundt pan with baking spray, such as Baker’s Secret. Slice bananas into mixer bowl; beat bananas until fairly smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend on low, until well combined. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Very gently stir in blueberries by hand. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. You'll find a ton of other great sweet re...

These bars are another blast for the past. Back in the day, one rarely attended any finger food function where a platter of Magic Cookie Bars wasn’t amongst the offerings! These treats have a couple of other aliases.  One is Seven Layer Bars, as they contain seven layers, if you use all the ingredients on the list - butter, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, and condensed milk. Because we all tend to tweak recipes to fit our family’s taste, many variations of these bars immerged.  Omitting an ingredient, such as the coconut or using only one flavor of chips, reduces the number of layers, making Seven Layer Bars no longer the best choice of names for these treats!  Thus, the bars also became known as Hello Dolly Bars and Magic Cookie Bars. Whatever you choose to call them,  these bars are yummy and easy to make! Larry said his mom made these often when he was growing up! They're one of his favorites! These bars keep really, real...

I made Mocha Bars for Sunday School this week! We all thought they were yummy! Mocha Bars The tasty combination of chocolate and coffee give these moist little bars their name! Serve them with a hot cup of Joe for breakfast, dessert or as an afternoon snack! 1½ cups baking mix 1 cup packed brown sugar ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans ½ cup water 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 egg Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter 1 to 2 tablespoons cold brewed coffee or milk Heat oven to 350°F.  Coat a13x9-inch pan with a baking spray, such as Baker’s Secret. In medium bowl, combine first four ingredients until well blended.  Make a well, and add wet ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. In small bowl, mix glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle ...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Show the special people in your life a little love with something from your kitchen! Below is one of those oldie-but-goodie easy recipes, Cherry (or Strawberry) Cheesecake Pie! Larry loves this pie! It has been a good while since I have made it.  Maybe I'll whip one up next Monday! For an extra special presentation, print Valentine's gift cards for your homemade goodies here ! Cherry (or Strawberry) Cheesecake Pie 1 (9-inch) homemade* or prepared graham cracker crust 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (21-ounce) can cherry (or strawberry) pie filling, chilled ½ cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add condensed milk and mix thoroughly. Add lemon juice and vanilla. Pour filling into crust and chill for 2 hours. Top with cherry or strawberry pie filling before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. *Graham Cracker Crust ...

This recipe is one that my blogging buddy, Emily, posted on her blog, Marvelous Recipes , a couple of weeks back. When I saw it, I knew I had to give it a try! Emily is a genius at coming up with recipes that use ingredients that most of us keep on hand. So it is with Simply Marvelous Cookie Bars. I found all the needed ingredients right in my fridge and pantry! You'll find tons of yummy, easy recipes on Emily's blog. Be sure to click over and pay her a visit! Simply Marvelous Cookie Bars Simply Marvelous Cookie Bars These easy-to-make bars have nice chewy texture, and the combination of chocolate and toffee is deletable! 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 (18.25 oz.) box yellow cake mix 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1 (12 oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips 1/2 of an 8-ounce package Heath Bits ‘O Brickle Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In a large mixer bowl, stir together the sweetened con...

When I opened my fridge Saturday afternoon to see what I could find to make for Sunday school this week, I found two rolls peanut butter cookie dough that were very near their “use by date.” Doing a quick Google search for a recipe that would work with ingredients I had on hand, I found this one on Pillsbury’s site. With a little tweaking to accommodate the ingredients I had in the pantry, I came up with Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Bars! Don't be afraid to play around with recipes! You never know what delight dish you might create. Even if you flop, as I so often do, you'll learn something from trying - even if it is just what not to do! It's like peanut butter and chocolate. Each is great, but they're better together. ~ Richard Whitehead Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies Bars Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies Bars Cut into small squares. As you can image, these are very rich. 1 jar (18-ounce) peanut butter 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon va...

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...

Lemon Brownies Lemon Brownies These bars have the texture of traditional chocolate brownies, but they have an intense lemon flavor. Zest the lemon and add a bit of the zest to the glaze, if you like! 1 (18-ounce) box lemon cake mix 1 (3-ounce) package lemon gelatin 1/2 cup cooking oil 3 eggs 1 cup powdered sugar Juice of one lemon Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Combine dry cake mix, dry gelatin powder, oil and eggs. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done. Make a glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spoon glaze all over warm cake. Cool and cut into squares.

I have enjoyed this pretty display all fall. Larry and MC made it for me, and it has been a bright spot in our yard. Larry cut out the wooden pumpkins, and MC painted them. Larry even added a light for nighttime viewing! It’s hard to believe we’ll be dismantling it in a couple of days, as we decorate for Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!  God bless ~ Connie O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. ~William Shakespeare  "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1 Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Cups Peanut Butter Candy Cookie Cups Although these are yummy at anytime of the year, I think they have a pretty "fallish" look to them. Kids love these! 1  (16.5-oz.) package refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough 24  bite-size Snickers, Milky Ways, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Reese’s Pieces (about 100) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat miniature muffin pan with cooking spray. Shape c...

Coconut Pecan Brownies   These bars are really moist and rich! Research tells us fourteen out of any ten  individuals  likes chocolate.   ~Sandra Boynton Coconut Pecan Brownies I made these for Sunday School this morning. Everyone said they really liked them. This recipe is a simple way to dress up up a box of brownie mix. 1 box (19.5-ounce) package brownie mix ½ cup vegetable oil ¼ cup water 2 large eggs 1 (15-ounce) can coconut pecan frosting 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream ½ cup chopped pecans ½ cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil and egg. Beat 50 strokes by hand. Fold in frosting and sour cream until well combined. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips evenly over top. Bake 30 minutes or until done. Cool completely and cut into bars.

This recipe is one I have from my mother.  She had the habit on jotting recipes on yellow legal paper.  I will forever associate those pads with my mom and cooking! Many of her recipes call for oleo. I always have to smile when I see this term. Several years back, a group of us were looking through some recipes and came across one calling for oleo. Not being "from around here," one of the friends asked with a quizzical look, "What in the world is oleo?!" Of course, it gave the rest of us a good laugh. I don't know of a person who was raised in the South during the 50's, 60's and 70's who doesn't know that oleo is margarine!  I grew up on Parkay and Blue Bonnet! What is the difference in butter and oleo?  Butter is made from dairy cream. United States law requires that butter contain at least 80 percent butterfat, which is derived from milk products. Margarine is a nondairy product containing at least 80 percent fat, which is generally deri...

Fruity Coffee Cake But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. —Galatians 5:22-23 Fruity Coffee Cake I made this using peach pie filling this morning for Sunday School. We thought it was pretty good! 4 cups Bisquick baking mix ½  cup sugar ¼ cup butter, melted 3/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 eggs 1 (21 oz.) can pie filling of choice Glaze ingredients: 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter 2 tablespoons milk Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Mix all ingredients, except pie filling and glaze ingredients; beat vigorously 30 seconds. Spread 2/3 of the batter (about 2½ cups) into prepared baking dish. Spread pie filling over batter, distributing fruit evenly. (Filling may not cover batter completely). Drop remaining batter by tablespoons onto pie filling. Bake until light brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Drizzle with glaz...

Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. Psalm 17:8 Applesauce Breakfast Cake   This little cake was well received in Sunday School this morning. It was a snap to put together and had a nice, moist texture. I will add the photo when I find my cord. Unfortunately, it is still missing! Topping: 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons butter ½  teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup chopped pecans Cake: 2 cups self-rising flour 1 cup sugar ½  teaspoon cinnamon ½ cup chopped pecans 2 eggs 1/2 cup cooking oil 1 cup applesauce 1 teaspoon vanilla Optional Glaze: 1¼ cups confectioners' sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter 3 tablespoons milk or apple juice Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Make topping by mixing together the brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Stir in nuts and set aside. For cake, whisk together flour and sugar.  Stir in nuts, tossing to coat well. Add well-beaten eggs, ap...