Meal Planning with Connie

It’s blackberry season!! Larry and I found enough blackberries in our backyard to make a small cobbler. We discovered the vines some years ago, and usually only get a few berries to pop in our mouths each year. Over time, the vines have multiplied, and we were able to pick a whole cupful this year. A bumper crop for us! We're hoping for another cupful in a few days! As we were picking the blackberries, with the warmth of the May sun on our backs, my mind returned to my childhood days of growing up in rural Calhoun County, where we felt that same heat as we "worked the land" in hopes of a bountiful harvest of fruits and vegetables. About this time of year, Momma would call us kids to go out back to pick blackberries. We had a few vines that grew along the Howell's barbed-wire fence. The fence’s main purpose, of course, was to keep our neighbor's cows in the pasture, but it served a pretty good trellis for the blackberry vines, too. There were always...

Tonight was one of those busy ones for us. Logan had his music recital at 6:30. We had to eat quickly. I only made the Chicken Veg-all Casserole. It really is one of those all-in-one dishes. The cracker topping can even serve as your bread! It seems like I've made this casserole a hundred times over the years. When the kids were pickier eaters, I didn't make it as much, but now that their tastes are expanding, it is finding its way back to our table. If you have your chicken cooked and in the freezer (or if you use canned chicken), you can literally have this casserole in the oven in under 10 minutes. To speed the cooking time, before adding the cracker topping, you can zap it in the microwave for 5 minutes or so, just until bubbly. Top with crackers and bake for about 5 minutes, or until crackers are golden brown. A salad and rolls are nice, but really not necessary. This is basically a quick and easy chicken pot pie. There are tons of variations. In place of the m...

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9 For the next couple of weeks, others will be sharing their recipes with us! If you've got a recipe to share, please e-mail it to me at : mealplanwithconnie@att.net Many thanks to all the sweet friends who shared the recipes for this week!! Don't forget to sort through, clean and straighten your fridge this week! Monday - Rotel Chicken, Corn Pudding, and Easy Slaw Many thanks to Holly F. for these great recipes! Holly is a dietitian, so much of her life revolves around food and meal planning! Holly not only shared these great recipes, but she's included the directions for freezing them! I think Easy slaw will go well with these two dishes of Holly’s. Since the Corn Pudding is made with Jiffy Corn Mix, I don’t think you’d need another bread. Thanks again, Holly! Rotel Chicken 6 Chicken breast cooked, cubed 1 pack spaghetti (7 oz) 2 large Bell peppers -- chopped 2 Onions -- chopp...

Inside-out Strawberry Cake Nancy S., a sweet co-worker of Larry’s, experimented with the Inside-out German Chocolate Cake recipe I shared a couple of weeks ago, substituting lemon cake mix and lemon icing. She used lemon extract in her glaze. She brought the cake to work yesterday and shared it with everyone. They called me to tell me how good it was! Nancy wanted me to give it a try using strawberry icing. I had a white cake mix on-hand so I used it and a tub of strawberry icing. We had some strawberries in the fridge that Larry had sliced and put sugar over. I used some of the fresh strawberry juice to make my glaze. We all liked it! It was super moist! If you don’t have fresh strawberry juice on-hand, save a bit of the strawberry icing, and use as a glaze. Right now, specially-marked packages of Betty Crocker icings have an instant 25 cents off coupon on the container. Plus, there’s a Box Tops for Education coupon on the label, too! To learn more about Box Tops...

Bacon Cheeseburger Upside-down Pizza Since Larry grilled for us last night, we had the ingredients on-hand for the Bacon Cheeseburger Upside-Down Pizza I had planned for last night, and the Chicken Veg-all Casserole, I had planned for tonight. I allowed the kids to choose between the two. Guess what they picked? Bacon Cheeseburger Upside-Down Pizza, of course! Logan ended up eating with a friend after church, so it was just Larry, M.C. and me for supper. I didn’t cook the cheese sticks tonight since there was more than enough of the pizza for the three of us. Ways I saved money: I buy my ground beef in bulk packages. I used store-brand cheese and pizza sauce. I used a coupon on the Bisquick. I bought the bacon during a BOGO (Buy One, Get One) special. I don’t use a lot of recipes with specialty ingredients. I had pre-cooked and frozen both the ground beef and chicken. These things make it easy to be flexible with our meal plan when a change arises, without food going to wa...

http://www.sargento.com/finishers/ Last night we tried a bag of Sargento Salad Finishers. I got this on sale and with a coupon! I bought the blue cheese, candied almond and cranberry variety. We needed a dressing that would go well with this, so I hopped on the internet to try to find one. I ended-up creating one with a little of this and a little of that from a couple of recipes. Here’s what I came up with. Larry and I both liked it. Sweet Salad Dressing 1/2 c strawberry jelly 1/4 c salad oil (I used a very light olive oil.) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional, use if you want a creamy dressing) In large bowl combine all ingredients. Whisk together until smooth. Serve.

How I pre-cook and freeze ground beef, sausage and chicken: I pre-cook almost all of our ground beef, ground sausage and boiled chicken. Having these meats precooked, and in the freezer, is the best way I have found to put together a quick meal. I usually brown around 6 pounds of ground beef or sausage at one time. I put the meat into a soup pot and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon. While meat is cooking, I line a large metal colander with several layers of paper towels.  When the meat is done, I dump it into the colander with paper towels.  I let the meat sit in the colander for few minutes, allowing the paper towel to absorb most of the fat. I then ease the paper towels from under the meat. Don’t leave meat draining on paper towels too long, or you won’t be able to slip the paper towels from under the meat. Once I’ve removed the paper towels, I run very hot water over the meat in the colander. I then allow meat to drain. After the meat is drained, I run ve...