The American flag fly's proudly in the wind here at the cottage. As I sit here and look at that flag I am reflecting on the year that we all have just come through. Many people all over world have lost their life to a horrible virus and we join their families in grieving their loss. Some of those were our medical personal serving in countries all over the world and here at home. Some have lost their life this year in a war zone fighting for the freedom that we all enjoy today.

I told you on our meal plan last week that I would let you know this week what we would be doing for the weekend depending on the weather. So we will be have a mix of some great sunshine and some showers, looks like we will need a back up plan. It will be a big weekend here at the lake people are so excited to be out of their homes and enjoying their life, we will all just fish in the rain! We want to remember all those who have gave their all for our country and will be taking a Quiet Time to remember and give thanks to their families.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday Top Ten Week! We will be featuring the Top Ten Views from last weeks party today as is our custom on the last Thursday of the month. We have the Memorial Day Weekend coming up this weekend and it should be a special one after being on lockdown for so long, we expect a big crowd here at the lake. It will be great seeing all of you at the party today and I can hardly wait to see all the delicious recipes, beautiful tablescapes, and food related post that you will be sharing with us today. Thanks so much for coming and you have a safe and enjoyable week ahead!

There are few summer events that we enjoy more than a summertime picnic. We love to get together with family and friends to share the delicious food and the great outdoors. There are some classic recipes that show up at our summer picnics and some are our very favorites. We look forward to our summer picnics and the gatherings of our special groups of folks making picnic memories together. I have put together a collection of summer recipes that we love and hope you will enjoy!

  This Fresh Strawberry Freezer Pie is a great pie to have in the freezer for a dessert that is always ready to go. This pie recipe is so easy to put together and it is delicious. I like to keep a couple of these pies in the freezer for unexpected guest or a family dessert on a lazy evening. The pie is very rich with a garnish of whipped cream on the fresh strawberry filling that is in a nutty crust making this a very special pie. 

Here we are planning the meal plan for the last week in May and looking at the memorial day week-end. Memorial Day weekend is always a big week-end here at the lake, it is our opening weekend for all the summer activities. Last year because of the quarantines it was very quiet and not very much activity, however this year everything here is opened up and it will be all a buzz with activity. We will be planning for our usual picnic, that is if we don't get rained out. We have had so much rain here and now it looks like it may very well be rainy all weekend. This is the good thing about making a meal plan, we can always go to rain plan, which means putting it in the oven. I will let you know which one we end up with, next week.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday! I sure hope that all of you wore your rain boots today because we have been getting lots of rain and it is still coming down. The garden of course will love it. Come on in and find a place at the table, we always look forward to what you will be sharing with us. We have some wonderful features from last week's party that I hope you will enjoy. Here at the cottage, our little Max came through his surgery and is recovering, soon to be back to his old self. He is a pretty special little guy to us!

Our Jicama, Carrot and Apple Salad is a very crunchy salad with a great combination of vegetables and a delicate lemon and honey dressing. This salad can be made well in advance of serving, as a matter of fact the longer it is able to sit the better it gets. The ice cold crunchy salad is a perfect side for any meal but especially for a grill-out. We just love this recipe for a little different salad that the crowd will always enjoy!

Things are finally warming up here and the sunshine always makes me crave lemon! You can use this lemon curd recipe to make lemon bars, use as a spread, or use in other baking recipes. I added lavender for a little razzle dazzle, but the recipe is still great without. 

  I am happy to be able to make my meal plans today when it is sunny outside. We are expecting about 5 inches of rain in the next few days which means no sunshine. The weather is always a big part of my meal planning, certainly we don't want to plan grilling out when it is pouring down rain. I am taking a look at the pantry, freezer and garden to see what is available and get busy planning this meal plan. We have been busy this week with our little dog Max, he had extensive oral surgery, but he is on his way to recovery, for which we are so grateful. 

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday! We have had a great week here at the cottage, my goodness our garden has really taken off and is growing and we are even able to harvest some of the early vegetables. I just love the fresh vegetables for the wonderful recipes that we have this time of the year. We have some great features from very talented bloggers from last weeks party that I am sure you will want to visit. I am looking forward to see what you will be sharing with us today, I know it will be a great post!

These fresh strawberry cookies are just delicious, made from a very simple recipe with a great bite of fresh strawberries. We have had a great harvest of strawberries this year and what a special recipe to use for those berries. I usually make a double batch of these cookies because one batch just does not last that long. These cookies freeze really well for about 3 months and taste just like they just came out of the oven.

Bar-B-Que Kick'en Chicken recipe started with a food discussion with my friend Michelle. She is a great cook and sometimes we exchange cooking ideas and this one was sure a hit at our cottage. Michelle's secret ingredient for the chicken proved to very special to make this grilled Bar-B-Que Chicken a recipe that we loved and will be serving over and over during our grilling season. Thanks so much Michelle for a great cooking tip that we will all enjoy for a long time to come!

  What a fun time to make some very special meal plans. I just helped with a special brunch for some young Mothers who didn't have family near by, it was great! We used some of the brunch recipes from my  Mothers Day Brunch Recipe Collection . I am able to sit on the screen porch today and enjoy the outdoors while I make the meal plan for next week. I am hungry today, so everything is going to look good to me, yikes I  better watch out for the desserts. North & East Texas had 5 tornados last week. Although we were in a watch area we did not have any direct damage. Thanks to all of you who sent me a message, I really appreciate your concern & your sweet messages. Thanks be to God we are all ok and so is the cottage.

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday! I am so happy to see all of you here on this beautiful Mothers Day Weekend. We have some delicious recipes that will be great for your Mothers Day meal plans. Every week we have features from some very talented bloggers that we know you enjoy! I can't wait to see what you will be bringing to the cottage for the party today. We always look forward to your visits and thank you so much for stopping by to join us!

So many of our family and others that we know live so far away it is impossible to honor our older and younger Moms like we would like to. I am a part of a group of older Mothers co-hosting a week-end Mothers Day Brunch for a group of younger Mothers. We have had so much fun planning the event, young and old alike will be looking forward to some of the fellowship and fantastic brunch recipes that will be served. 

  We are enjoying the warmer weather and seeing all the flowers blooming in our village. We have been having a lot of lazy Sunday mornings and this is a family favorite. This is a fun treat for a weekend brunch, or even a weekday breakfast if you prep beforehand. I used leftover ham, but you could also use bacon or sausage. 

  I am excited to Welcome May and of course all of you to the cottage today. I am having a special May Gathering Luncheon for some of my friends on May Day. It will be a fun event that I have been planning for sometime. We will also be celebrating Cinco de Mayo this week with a delicious Meal Plan. I am so happy that I am able to plan events and my weekly meals, this allows me to enjoy an organized life. I have been working one on one with a lady on her meal planning for her family and I can't begin to tell you what a difference it has made in their whole family, not to mention my friend is not wondering around the super market trying to figure out what to make for dinner when dinner should be going on the table. I love planning spring meals, and am looking forward to some special recipes this week.