Meal Planning with Connie

Happy Cinco de Mayo ! Restaurant-style Salsa  with Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips Many thanks to my buddy, Susieloulou, for  sharing  Pioneer Woman's Salsa recipe! It is absolutely delicious! Thank you, Susieloulou! As PW Ree suggested, I tweaked the recipe to our taste (and to use ingredients I had in the pantry!) This recipe makes about 6 cups of salsa - enough to share! Larry took some to work, and we polished off the rest. You could cut this recipe in half, if you like. Play around with these ingredients and make this salsa your own! I also made good use of some corn tortillas in my fridge by making baked tortilla chips. We love these, and they're much more healthful than the commercially prepared version!  Be sure to check out Pioneer Woman's site (I am sure most of you already have!) and recipe book, which contains great recipes and beautiful photos! Ree has a way of making homemaking, cooking and homeschooling look and sound much more interesting than I...

Here's a simple menu for celebrating  Cinco de Mayo - Southern-style! History of Cinco de Mayo Bacon-wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Peppers Easy Mexican Rice    ( You can eliminate the corn in this dish, if you are making the Ranchy Frito Corn Salad, too. ) Ranchy Frito Corn Salad Mexican-style Corn Muffins 1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix 1 egg 1/3 cup milk (I use buttermilk.) 1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray. Gently mix all ingredients until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Dulce de Leche Cream Cake If you don’t want to whip the cream, substitute a large container of Cool-whip for the whipping cream and powdered sugar. 1 (18.25-ounce) package white or yellow cake mix 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping 2 cups heavy whipping...

Popover Pizza Casserole This recipe, with its popover-like crust, is quick to prepare, especially if you have pre-cooked and frozen your ground beef or pork. Since I had packages of both in my freezer, I used a half pound of each. The combination was really good. I freeze my meat in heaping 2 cup portions, which is about a pound. If I don't need the full pound, a quick tap of the package on the counter will break the package contents in half. Remove the needed portion and immediately return the remainder to the freezer for another use. Popover Pizza Casserole 1  pound ground beef or pork sausage or a combination of the two 1  cup chopped onion 1  cup chopped green sweet pepper 1 cup fresh sliced mushroom(or a small can of sliced mushrooms) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (3-1/2-ounce package) sliced turkey pepperonis, halved ( Kitchen shears make quick work of this chore. ) 1 (16-ounce) jar pizza sauce 2  eggs 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup...

Crispy Praline Cookies I received the latest edition of Mississippi Magazine in Saturday’s mail. I love this periodical! It always has several great recipes and lots of interesting information on my home state. The current issue contains the winning recipes for the magazine’s latest cooking contest. This cookie recipe won in the Dessert Cookie category.  A quick Google search turned up a very similar recipe from Southern Living’s 2002 October issue. Southern Living suggested letting the butter sit at room temperature for several hours, or softening it in the microwave at HIGH for 10 to 20 seconds. Do not melt the butter. I allowed mine to soften while I ran some errands. You don’t have to use an electric mixer with the recipe, but I decided to use mine. I creamed the softened butter and brown sugar. I then mixed in the egg until it was just incorporated and gradually added the flour. I stirred in the nuts by hand. I thought these were quite tasty. I served these cookies to th...

Chess Squares No Southern gathering in complete without a pan of these gooey gems! I first learned of Chess Squares when Mrs. Betty Austin gave me the recipe for making them at a bridal recipe shower held for me, when Larry and I were getting married. The recipe was new in our area in the mid-80's, and everyone quickly fell in love with Chess Squares! We all pretty much immediately started playing around with the recipe, seeing how many different varieties of Chess Squares we could invent. Hundreds of variations can be made by using different flavors of cake mix and by adding an array of "mix-in," such a chocolate chips, shredded coconut and pecans - just to name a few! Paula Deen made these treats world-famous when she came on the cooking scene. Paula calls hers Gooey Butter Cakes. Paula's Gooey Butter Cakes are the same as Chess Squares, with an additional stick of melted butter added to the filling ingredients. Personally, I think 2 sticks of butter in this...

Chicken Parmesan Casserole This is a great dish for a busy day. It can be on the table in no time and is quite tasty for the amount of time and effort involved in making it. Add a simple green salad and toasted garlic bread for a quick, hearty meal. Larry and the kids are fond of this simple dish! Chicken Parmesan Casserole 8 ounces penne pasta, cooked according to package directions and drained (I like to use chicken broth rather than water for cooking the pasta.) 6 - 8 frozen breaded chicken tenders, cooked and cut into bite-size strips 32-ounce jar spaghetti sauce 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheeses chopped parsley (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Gently combine pasta, chicken, spaghetti sauce, and half the cheese. Spoon pasta mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over top. Sprinkle with a bit of  parsley, if you like. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Blueberry-Banana-Pecan Bread I made this for Sunday school last Sunday, and everyone said it was really good! Of course, they are all way too kind to say otherwise! ; This bread is very moist! It was a great way to use up some bananas that were needing to be used. I was also able to put to use some of the locally-grown blueberries and pecans I have in my freezer, which need using, as well. This recipe makes two large loaves. Be sure to share one! Blueberry-Banana-Pecan Bread 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen) 1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, softened 1½ cups granulated sugar 4 eggs 3 large ripe bananas, mashed 1½ cups sour cream 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped pecans Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat two 9-inch loaf pans with cooking spray. If using fresh berries, rinse and drain. Do not thaw frozen berries. Cream beat the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until in...