I posted my first Top Ten Recipes in 2011, and have published one every year since. The Top Ten Recipes Post is one of my favorite's at the end of the year. The post gives me a great look at what my special readers have loved the most throughout the year. We really struggled with a drought in our garden this year, but I am including one of our garden post for you to look back on with us. We did manage to can over 300 jars of food from our gardens this year. When I looked at your most favorite recipes for the year, it made me hungry and I agree with many of your choices. I want to thank each one of you for all the support that you give us though the year and many of you throughout the years.

Welcome to the last meal plans for 2023, and the first meal plans for 2024! Here it is a brand-new year about to begin. When I was making our meal plans for this week, I just glanced back at our year and really wondered where in the world did the time go? We have had a great year here at the cottage and we are sure hoping to carry that right into 2024! We are going to be serving a very traditional meal for our New Years Day meal, that our family looks forward to having every year. Of course, some of the items on the plan will directly relate to our good luck in the New Year. My Mother used to call me and remind me to be sure and eat my Black-Eyed Peas and Collards on New Years Day. I have to say that I do the same thing as she did. So don't forget to eat your Good Luck food on New Years Day!

  Welcome to our last Full Plate Thursday for 2023! I am so excited to see you today and share this party with all of you. Many thanks to each one of you for coming to our parties throughout the years and being a part of the special community of bloggers that we have here. I always look forward to Thursday and seeing you come one by one from all over the world! I am looking forward to seeing all of you in 2024 as we continue to share our journey of happy cooking with each other!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you are surrounded with friends and family near and far. We have a fun and traditional meal plan for our friends and family planned for this week. We have been able to do a lot of prep work for our meals in the past few weeks so we will have more time to spend with our friends and family. I am so excited to get our celebrations started!

Hello everyone and welcome to our Christmas Edition for Full Plate Thursday, 673! I am so excited to see you here today with Christmas just around the corner. Come on in and enjoy a cup of  Retro Holiday Punch , we are so happy to see you today. We had an amazing party last week with so many fantastic links some of which we have featured today. Thanks so much for coming to the party today and helping us to have such a awesome blogging community! 

  This classic Southern Bacon and Cheddar Dip recipe is so simple to make and delicious. Just mix a few ingredients, refrigerate and serve. This is one of my go to dips that I love to make for a afternoon game or just a movie night. When my Great Grandson says to me that this is the same one my Mom makes, then I can tell you I have been making this dip a very long time. I sure hope you enjoy it! 

  Our Retro Sausage Balls are a holiday staple at our house. I remember when I was a very young homemaker and we were all using the Bisquick Mix for lots of different recipes and this is one of the special recipes that I used it for. This is one of those appetizer recipes that goes together really fast. The recipe can be made ahead and can be frozen for up to 3 months. The sausage balls are great served by themselves or with a special dipping sauce. One of the ways I like to serve them is with a cranberry sauce warmed in the slow cooker, this is so good!

  Hello everyone, just 7 days to Christmas! I am starting to see some daylight in my meal planning for parties, potlucks and then for the Christmas weekend. It is such a special time of the year that I want to give my very best effort to make everything a memorable occasion for friends and family. I have been stocking up in the freezer and pantry items that I know we will  be using in our meal plans and baking. I am so excited to be making this meal plan with you today.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, I am so excited to see you today! Only 10 days until Christmas. Now is the time to review the recipes that you would like to have for your big feast on Christmas Day. We had some great ideas last week and we expect yet more ideas for you to share today. I sure hope you will check out the great features that we have from last weeks links. I can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us today. Thanks so much for being a big part of this community, come on in the cottage, we have saved a place at the table for you!

  Our Cranberry Breakfast Cake is a delicious recipe for a very special occasion. I make this recipe for a special brunch, or a holiday breakfast. It is cooked and served in a iron skillet with a special sauce on the side. Just mix it and cook it in no time, then serve it hot with the sauce. Our friends and family have always come back for seconds. I am serving this one for Christmas Brunch this year and I am so happy to share the recipe with all of you!

  Hello everyone, get a nice hot cup of chocolate and sit with me, we will put a great meal plan together for the week. I have my recipes spread out all over the table. It is hard to choose this time of the year because all the recipes look so good, (do you think I am hungry)? We have completed all of our decorating and are now starting to prep out food for the parties that we will be having. I like to put as much in the freezer as I can so I am so rushed the day of the party. I sure hope that you are doing lots of planning for your events and your weekly meal plans to save you time and money.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 671 our first party for December! Our holiday season is well underway here at the cottage. We are attending annual ornament exchanges, cookie exchanges and luncheons. We sure had a great party here last week and we are featuring some great bloggers this week, be sure and  check them out. I can't wait to see what you are sharing at the party this week. I always look forward to seeing you here on Thursday's and thanks so much for coming!

Welcome to my 10th publication of Gifts From Miz Helen's Kitchen. There is no more meaningful gift to me than one that is homemade. We are organic gardeners and we like to preserve most of our harvest every year and share it with others' along the way. We love sharing our homegrown goodness with others' at christmas along with some home baked goods. Homemade gifts are truly a labor of love. It is with great joy that I present our the gifts from our kitchen for this year!

Happy December everyone, I am so excited to sit with you today to make our meal plan for the first week in December. It is very cold and rainy today, so I am depending on my freezer and cold bin inventory from the barn, so I don't have to go out in the weather. Just one of the many advantages of keeping a running inventory of the freezer, cold bins and pantry. I have several pot luck parties to attend this week, so I will be doing some extra baking. I love this season and glad you are here to share it with me.