September has arrived and we are celebrating the last big weekend here at the lake of the summer of 2019! Of course we are having the big Labor Day Picnic with lots of great food on the meal plan. The week has been busy here as we had our family from New York here for a summer visit, of course we loved every second of it and made sure they enjoyed lots of southern food!  Wishing Each Of You A Great Labor Day Weekend Stay Safe! To Our Friends In Florida Who Are Gearing Up For  Hurricane Dorian  You Are In Our Thoughts and Prayers!

Welcome to each and everyone of you today. Oh my goodness we have had family visiting this week, getting our last minute visits in before all the kids go back to college and some of our New York family goes back to school after labor day. We are so grateful that we all got to see each for summer visits. I have tried to stop by your blogs in the past two weeks, but I may not have always been able to leave a comment, please forgive me, sometimes there is just not enough time in the day! Thanks so much for sharing with us today, I can't wait to see what you are bringing. This is the week for our TOP TEN FEATURES from last weeks party that you have picked from your pageviews and you did a great job! There are some wonderful features that I sure hope you will stop by to see and say hello to these talented bloggers! Wishing You A Safe and Entertaining Labor Day Weekend!

Our Great Granddaughter Ella June Bug had so much fun making our families favorite cookie recipe. One of the fun things we do in the summer is cook together and really enjoy some very simple fun summer activities. We are very blessed to be able to visit with family off and on all summer and are so grateful that they come to visit with us. The memories that are made through these simple activities are a lifetime treasure. I still remember the simple activities that I did with my Grandparents as a child, priceless summertime memories!

Chicken Parmesan Patty With Spaghetti is a great family recipe that is so full of great Italian flavors. We really enjoy these Chicken Parmesan Patties, with a salad and vegetable, or even on a sandwich, but our favorite way to serve them is with spaghetti. This is a very easy recipe to prepare and in no time it is on the table ready to serve the family.

We are going to be having so much fun here at the cottage this week. Our New York Granddaughter and Great Granddaughter are here for a visit. The meal plans for this week will sure allow me spend more time with our special guest plus we were able to plan some of their favorites recipes. We will having a large group on Sunday so we will be making some double recipes. I love a large gathering with lots of wonderful food and fellowship.

I am so excited to see you today, the cottage is all a buzz with excitement. One of our Granddaughter's and Great Granddaughters is coming next week and we can't wait for their visit. We sure had some amazing post from last weeks party that we are featuring today, we have some of the most talented folks that visit and are a part of our community here at Full Plate Thursday. Someone ask me recently how I picked the features and believe me it is a hard job to choose sometime. I will have to do a post on that subject one day soon. I am so happy you are here today and lets get the party started!

Mini Garden Frittatas are perfect for those mornings when we are trying to get to work on time, get the kids to school on time or just a grab and go for a fun day trip. I have even served these for a ladies morning brunch, it is just a versatile recipe that I love to have on hand. The Frittatas freeze well for up to 3 months, just place the frozen Frittata in the micro wave for 30 seconds and they are ready to go. This recipe is packed with a combination of garden vegetables that make a very flavorful bite of goodness. This is one of those recipes that will serve one or twenty and is good every time!

Old Fashioned One Pot Goulash is one of our families ultimate comfort foods. I am sure that many of you have a family recipe for Goulash and this is ours. I am not sure of the family origin, I just know that both sides of our family made a similar Goulash. My husband and a couple of our kids will tell you their favorite comfort food is this Goulash. When our kids were in school this was our go to meal for real busy days or just pure comfort food. This recipe is very easy to put together in one pot and takes no time to have it on the table.

Planning a menu this time of the year is transitional here at the cottage. We are not yet ready to let summer go and yet we see nature starting to transition into the next season. The kids are all in school and the families are busy filling up those school calendars. We are looking forward to some more visitors before the summer of 2019 is over. It is very important to make some great meal plans to take advantage of the summer that we will still be able to enjoy!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday where food lovers have been gathering for this party for the last 9 years! We are so glad to have you join us today and we can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us for this weeks party. We have some great features and hope you will take the time to visit these talented bloggers and say hello! Please stay hydrated in this August heat and stay cool! We have herb water, lemonade, and southern sweet tea for you today, so grab a beverage and a spot under the fan, relax and enjoy the party!

My Tropical Lime Freeze Pie is "that" pie sitting in the freezer just waiting for that unexpected guest or for a dessert on a busy day. This is a perfect dessert on a very hot day, it will really cool you down in a very sweet way!  This pie is very easy to put together and the recipe makes two pies for you to have in your freezer. Our family loves tropical flavors so this is a big hit with our group. 

When I was shelling the black eyed peas for this recipe the other day, I remember learning how to shell peas with my Grandmother, Mother and Aunts. We would all sit in a circle on the porch with a "mess of peas" on a clean tea-towel with a bowl for the peas and the hulls went into another bag. The peas would be washed and used in a canning process for use during the winter months and the hulls would be composted to be turned into fertilizer, not a thing was wasted. The extra peas for the day would be prepared for "dinner" (mid-day meal) or"supper" evening meal. One of the benefits of the pea shelling circle was the fellowship that everyone enjoyed while shelling the peas. I remember the stories that would be told and the laughter and sometimes even tears. I treasure those memories and reflect sometimes that families might just be better in some ways if we could all just sit for a bit and shell peas together.

The fans and the air conditioning are running and we are sipping ice cold herb water to stay hydrated in these hot temperatures. We are planning the meal plan this week with the idea that we are beginning to see the last of our summer vegetables. Along about this time some of our garden vegetables just burn up in the heat, but we can still get some things at our Farmers Market where most of the vegetables are brought in from the valley. Right now we are getting some Pecos Canteloupe which are the sweetest and best of any. Our schools are in full schedule now so we will be keeping that school schedule in mind for our meal plan.

Hello everyone, August has certainly arrived with triple digit temperatures, which leaves us looking for cool drinks and a slower pace just to stay cool. We have some great features that will help keep you and your kitchen cool for this time of the year, along with some great post for canning, back to school lunch options and a very special salute to a great military family. Be sure and stop by these very talented blogger's to say hello. Thanks so much for stopping by to enjoy the party with us today, I always look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

We love to preserve the bounty of our summer garden. These pickled peppers are a very special treat that will be used to accent a sandwich, and top many a grilled steak, chop or chicken. These little Pickled Peppers are a great addition to any plate. This recipe is so easy to make and before to much time you will have a beautiful jar of pickled peppers that you can enjoy. These beautiful jars of peppers will be a great gift to give to friends and family.

When I come in from the garden with a basket full of vegetables, I can't resist putting together a delicious meal for my family. This is a natural blend of flavors  and it takes no time to have it on the table for the family. A very healthy skillet full of goodness that we just love and enjoy this recipe over and over. We use this as a entree`, but could be used as a side dish as well, it is a very versatile recipe that you can easily make your own. This recipe is a perfect garden to table!

Happy August, it is here already! Some of the schools have already started their sports programs and academic programs are starting next week here in our area. Meal Plans become even more important for our back to school families, because it gets to be a very busy time. I can remember when school started after Labor Day and by this time of the summer folks were planning their last minute get aways before school started. August gets really hot and very humid here in our area so I am looking for some cool cooking on the Meal Plan here at the cottage.