Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather Welcome Fall and October What a fun time of the year for young and old alike. Lots of folks here are getting ready for fall festivals, including me. We work real hard all year to bring our home canned vegetables and a few crafts to our local festival. I know that all of you will be bringing wonderful food to the party today, we sure had lots of great food last week. I am so excited to see you today so lets get your food on the table, can't wait to see what you are sharing!

This is one of those casserole's that can be the star at a covered dish dinner or a great buffet dish for game day. It has been on the table many times for some of our family gatherings and it is absolutely one of the favorites. One of the great things about this casserole is that it doesn't take very long to make it, and it freezes well. I like to make two at a time and freeze one, pop it in the oven at a later date then just add the garnish, its ready to go. We just love this casserole and sure hope you enjoy it!

If I ask my son Rick what kind of pie he wants, he will always say Apple, and of course I will make it for him. I remember my Grandmother making the best apple pies and cobblers and then she would always pour a little fresh cream in the bottom of the plate before she served it, and oh my it was so good. I love this recipe for Skillet Pie and have used it for years, I think it is a recipe that has changed very little as it has been handed down in our family. I am excited to share it with you today and sure hope you enjoy it!

When I went out for my walk early this morning, fall was definitely in the air. I noticed some of the leaves that are starting to fall on the path and the squirrels are real busy getting those nuts to their nest. We have been busy here at the cottage with fall chores, one of the things we do is take inventory of our pantry and freezer to make sure that our staples are in place before the really cold weather gets here. Another thing I will be doing very soon is making the chicken soup for the freezer. I like to keep several chicken soup's frozen for all those folks who call and say I'm sick and need some of your Chicken Soup, I will take it out of the freezer and it is ready to go right over to them. Bring your tea cup out to the kitchen and lets get busy working on this menu for next week!

Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather It is good to see you today, Thursday is always a highlight in our week! We have been busy here at the cottage taking care of fall chores. Fall decorating is always fun, but some of the fall cleaning I really don't look forward to. I love to take the fall inventories of the pantry and freezer, that lets me know what I need to stock up on before the very cold weather arrives.  I just know that someone will be bringing a nice fall salad or some fall soup and I am sharing my Buttermilk Jalapeno Scones to go with them today. Lets get this party started, I'm hungry!

Potatoes are a great side dish to complete many good meals. A great potato dish is always a big hit for a covered dish dinner or big family get together.  I love this Bacon Dilly Potato dish, it is one of those dishes that we take to cover dish events and it has been at many a family dinner.  This is a very attractive dish and the flavors are outstanding.  My family always gets excited when they see this dish on the table. Sure hope you enjoy this recipe with your loved ones.

When I was a young girl, I remember my Mother always had a can of Salmon in her pantry, she said it was for unexpected company. Folks in those days visited each other in person more and they would drop by for an evening meal.  It was a great time of fellowship and relationships were very different then.  My Mother would head for the kitchen, grabbing the can of Salmon she would create the most delicious Salmon Patties.  Just like our social perspective recipes have changed and are somewhat healthier today. I like to look for the balance in all of this, so we invited our friends over for a special week night meal of Baked Salmon Cakes, the food and the fellowship was wonderful!

I have been having so much fun in my kitchen, I have a new toy.  I finally broke down and bought the shinny Red Crock Slow Cooker Casserole at the General Store.  My first casserole is on The Menu this week so be sure and look for it.  I am planning on taking my fall inventory for the pantry and freezers next week. I take the inventory at the beginning of each season so that I am stocked up with all the wonderful staples for the season.

Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather I am sitting out on the porch today and it is just beautiful here, I love this time of the year. Come to think of it in the last five and one half years that I have been hosting this party, maybe I have said that before. In that time frame I have met so many wonderful people that have brought their awesome creations to our party and many of whom still come every week.  All of you are so dear to me and I look forward to seeing you every week.   Come on back to the porch and we will get all the fabulous food on the table, lets get the party started!

I was making a special dinner for friends the other day and wanted to serve a special bread to go with the meal. I wanted something that was easy and yet filled with flavor, and these Buttermilk Jalapeno Scones were just the perfect addition to our meal. These Scones will be a great addition to a breakfast, lunch or dinner, we have even served them as the appetizer with a great salsa on the side. Be sure and make enough they won't last long!

I was shopping at our local general store the other day and I spotted this bright shinny red Crock Casserole Slow Cooker. I stood and looked at it for a very long time thinking, well it could be a Christmas gift, maybe a birthday gift, then remembered it just pasted so that would be a whole year away, what to do? I finished my shopping that day, but the bright shinny red Crock Casserole Slow Cooker never left my mind, has that ever happened to you? Guess what I did last week, yes and here it is filled up with this wonderful Buffalo Chicken Casserole, don't you just love my new toy!

My fall wreath is on the door and all the fall decor has been up in place, we are declaring official FALL here at the cottage. I have labeled all my home canned foods from the spring and summer harvest and put them on my inventory sheet.  I keep an inventory sheet so I will know exactly what I have to choose from when I start to make my meal plan. Come on back to the porch with me and we will take a little break while I share the plan for next week!

Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather Hope you had a great Labor Day Holiday, we had a great close to summer with friends, family and great food. The fall wreath is on the front door and the fall decor is in place, so we are officially fall here at the cottage. I am ready for the warm cozy foods of fall, and looking forward to all your creations. I am sharing my favorite Summer Harvest Bread with you today and sure hope you enjoy it. Come on in lets get your food on the table, I can't wait to see what you are sharing today!

I really enjoy a nice fruit and cheese appetizer and this recipe has become one of my new favorites. It is so easy and taste fantastic, with the fruit and cheese combination on a crisp Flat Bread Wrapper. This can be made with any stone fruit and your favorite cheese, however today I have made the appetizer with Balsamic Nectarine's and Blue Cheese. This will be a great appetizer for the upcoming game season and the holiday's.

When you don't have much time to create a great dinner dish, then it is Ravioli Lasagna to the rescue. The flavor of this dish is delicious and it takes very little time to put it together. Often times we have unexpected dinner guest and this is a dish that I recently served my dinner guest and had them coming back for seconds, it is really that good. This is a great dish for those busy days when extra friends and family come to the table to share a meal.

Labor Day Weekend at the lake is always the sign of things winding down from a summer of playing on the water, cookouts and picnics to nesting for the winter, civic clubs, harvest festivals and of course our Texas Football! We always have a great finish to the summer with a big cook out for family and friends and we can't wait to see some of them this weekend. We are planning a fun day of food and fellowship for our Labor Day Cookout.

Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather September is here and we canned our  End Of Season Soup this week, that is a great soup if you would like to try it sometime.  We have the ground ready for the fall and winter garden and will be planting this week.  I have noticed that the food we present and share every week is beginning that seasonal transition.  I love this time of the week when you share all your wonderful creations, so lets get to this party, I can't wait to share our 13 Features For This Week!

When my kids were in school I loved having a batch of cookies sitting on the cooling rack when they came home from school. We would all sit down together and have a treat while discussing their day, it was a very special time. Still to this day when they come home one of the first places they look is to the antique butcher block to see what is cooling on the rack. Today we have Orange Doodles on the rack and a batch in the oven, some have already disappeared from the cooling rack.