Meal Planning with Connie

Tuna made with ranch dressing and lemon pepper seasoning New York Style Pretzel Flatz Yesterday, when I was in Sam's, they were giving samples of tuna made with ranch dressing and lemon pepper seasoning, to taste. Needing a quick lunch for all us today and having several cans of tuna in the pantry, I gave this a try. Everyone liked it, except for M.C., who doesn't like tuna any way you fix it! Give this recipe a try for a little change in your tuna sandwiches! I also picked up a bag of Pretzel Flatz, which were on sale at Wal-greens. The pretzel chips were really good. They only had the Everything variety. I look forward to trying the original, too! The ones we tried were crunchy, salty and low-fat! Everything you want them to be! Be sure to visit the Pretzel Flatz website. There's info on the chips and some really great sounding recipes, too!! http://www.newyorkstyle.com/newyorkstylepretzelsnacks.php

Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. I Peter 4:9-10 Don't forget to tidy your fridge and sort your coupons before making your meal plan for next week!! Meal Plan for August 10th - 16th Monday - Bacon, Mushroom and Spinach Pasta and Garlic Bread Bacon, Mushroom and Spinach Pasta 1/2 lb. thick sliced bacon 2 tbsp. butter 1 c. onion, chopped 1/2 c. sweet red pepper, diced 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms 1 cup chicken broth OR 1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved 1 cup hot water Salt and pepper 1 lb. pasta - your choice 10 oz. fresh, washed spinach 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking: Fry bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Discard fat, but do not wash skillet. Place bacon on paper towels to drain. Add butter to same skillet. Sauté onions and peppers for 2 to 3 minutes; add mushrooms and sauté until...

Baked Cheesy Fries There was an eating function for the kids at church tonight, so it was just Larry and I for supper. I decided to make something quick, yummy and that I don’t make very often - Baked Cheesy Fries. We all loves these fries. They are similar to the ones you get at places like Outback. I don't usually cook these as a meal. They make a great appetizer or side dish. Since I don't cook very often for just the two of us, it was kind of nice to just throw together a little something like this on the spur of the moment tonight. I baked some part of a bag of oven crispy fries on my baking stone in a very hot oven until they were nice and brown and crunchy. I removed them to an oven-safe stoneware platter and sprinkled them with cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese bacon bits and chopped red onions - green onions work well, too. I just had a red onion in the fridge that needed using. I turned the broiler on and placed the platter in the oven long enough for the ch...

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - my all-time favorite I love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! It is my favorite candy bar, although it isn't truly a bar, at all!! It's two patties of sweetened peanut butter covered in rich, creamy milk chocolate! Oh, my!! It is genuinely a love-hate relationship. While I can't seem to get enough of this scrumptiously delicious treat, I am pretty sure it is one of the main culprits in providing this extra weight I tend to carry around! :) When I was a little girl, we lived about 8 miles outside town. For quick snacks and ice cold Cokes (the kind in the little green bottles), we would go to Mr. John D. and Mrs. Hazel's country gas station/country store. The candy isle faced the door. For a small store, they kept a great array of sweet treats. Sometimes, it would take my brother a while to make his selection from among the the varied choices like a triple-package of Hardin's glazed doughnuts, the jars of Jolly Ranchers and banan...

We usually eat leftovers or some type of sandwich for lunch. My kids are old enough to fix their own lunches, but still usually ask what their choices are. I told them to have sandwiches today, because I want enough leftovers for a Leftover Buffet on Thursday night. They happened upon a package of hot dogs in their sandwich meat drawer that we had overlooked for the last couple of weeks. We're not real big hot dog eaters, but I do occasionally buy a package or two if they are on sale. Ball Park Franks were on sale for $0.99 a few weeks back, and I had picked up a package. A quick check of the expiration date showed they were going out-of-date today! We went ahead with our sandwiches for lunch, and I made an adjust to our supper plans. We will probably have the pizza tomorrow night, since I haven't bought the fish planned for Wednesday night yet. Having my ground meats and boiled chicken pre-cooked and in the freezer really helps me be able to change our meal plans on...

Rubber bands securing opened packages Instead of clips, use rubber bands for securing opened plastic bags. These are cheap and usually don't break or come apart like clips can. If you buy the big multi-pack of rubber bands, there's a size for every need. As you can see from the photo, they work great for securing everything from tiny packages of nuts to medium-sized packages of toffee or chocolate chips to larger things like baking mix and cereal. I usually just slip the baking mix back into its original box with the rubber band securing it. For cereal, I usually just toss the box and store the cereal in its plastic bag with the rubber band around it to save cabinet space. I have been doing this for years. I think I just got tired of looking for clip or having the clips break.

It seems Coke/Diet Coke reigns! Here are the results of our last poll: Coke (28%) Diet Coke (21%) Pepsi (0%) Diet Pepsi (7%) Dr. Pepper (14%) Mt. Dew (14%) Sprite (0%) 7 Up (0%) Root Beer (0%) Other (7%) I don't drink "Cokes" (7%) I shared with you a few weeks back about my kids' love of Coca-Cola World and our favorite Coca-Cola Cake recipe: http://mealplanningwithconnie.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-real-thing-coca-cola-cake.html Here's a quicker Coca-Cola Brownies recipe that has a nice little touch of Coke flavor. Logan really likes these! Coca-Cola Brownies Coca-Cola Brownies Prepare a package of family-size (for 9x13 pan) according to package directions, substituting Coca-Cola for the water. When done, remove brownies from oven and pour icing over warm brownies. Allow icing to "set." Icing: Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan. Stir in 2 tablespoons cocoa ...