It is good to be here with you today to make our meal plan for next week. I know that some of you missed us last week and I appreciate your sweet notes. The weather here was horrible and we lost our internet, so I was unable to post. We are so grateful that we had no damage from the storms and today we are sitting under the sun and it feels so good. I love spring recipes so I am excited to start our meal plan for the week!

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 741! I am so excited to see you today on this sun shinny day that we are having in east Texas. We have had a very busy week here, catching up with some of our outdoor chores after the horrible storms we had in our area. We had a great party last week even though part of the country was in some kind of storm. We are sharing some awesome features today and hope you will visit these talented bloggers. Thanks so much for coming today. Enjoy the party!

  I love it when strawberry season arrives and we love our Old Fashioned Strawberry Cobbler here at the cottage. This is one of my Aunt's recipes and I can remember her making it when I was a young girl. It is a very simple recipe to prepare with a delicious finish. We like to serve it warm with a nice dip of ice cream on top. This is a wonderful dessert and a very special treat.

  Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday and APRIL! Spring is really here. Our Bradford Pear Trees were just beautiful and covered in white blooms. Our roses are all budding and will be blooming any day. We are busy planting our vegetable and herb gardens plus enjoying lots of great rain. We are going to my favorite place today, please join me on the screen porch for our party. I am very excited to see you today and can't wait to see what you are sharing with the party!

What is in season now and how can I use it? That is the question that started our Food and Recipe Basket. This month we are looking at some wonderful April fruits and vegetables that are in some of our gardens and also in the markets. I love looking forward to all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we will be having in the spring and summer months.

Hello everyone, here we are in the last few days of March. I am back in my favorite spot to write the meal plan for the week, the screen porch. The pace is definitely beginning to pick up here with the yard work and spring gardens to take care of. I have some of  my favorite spring  recipes today plus some new ones to add to our meal plans. We have  a new Farmers Market here that will have a few things that I will need, for sure! Can't wait to get started on this special week coming up.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 739 and our Top Ten Feature week! I love the Top Ten Feature week, when all of you pick the Top Ten Post that were viewed the week before. Be sure and visit all of these talented bloggers. We are having some beautiful spring weather, come on in the back to the garden patio. It will be a wonderful day for an outdoor event. We have saved you a special place at the table. Enjoy the party, and come back to see us real soon!

  Deli Roast Beef and Cheese Sliders are just the slider to serve for a game day, a family fun night, or just a light lunch or dinner. Our deli slider is easy to prepare and takes no time before it is being served with a delicious flavor. This is a great recipe that has become one of my go to sliders.

Our Cheesy Beef Noodle Bake is a great comfort food for the family. This is a very easy recipe to prepare and delicious to eat. There is enough for seconds for the guys who have worked all day and are tired and hungry. Just add a salad and some garlic bread and you have a great meal. I have taken this casserole to many pot luck suppers and it is always a hit. I hope you and your family enjoy the recipe!

  Hello everyone, welcome to our meal planning session for this week. I thought we would enjoy being on the screen porch today, but the fake spring ended and we are back to winter. However tomorrow it could be spring again here in Texas. I have some of my spring recipes and will enjoy including them in our meal plans today. I took a new freezer inventory this week, and organized the shelves. Does that happen at your house, all of a sudden you just can't find what you know is there? Sure enough I found what I knew was there. I am ready to start this meal plan and am glad you are here to help me.

Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 738. I hope all of you had a great St. Patrick's Day celebration. We had a great party here last week and some of those post are featured here today. I hope that you will enjoy the post from these very talented bloggers. Some of you have had some awesome Spring Break time away from school with a time of relaxation. We saved you a seat at the table today and hope you will enjoy the party! 

Our Oven Baked Blueberry Skillet Pancake is a very special pancake. This recipe is easy to put together and is baked in the oven. We love our pancakes here at the cottage and this is a great way to serve them. The pancake is filled with delicious fresh blueberries and topped off with confectioners sugar  dusting. This has become of the most requested pancake for friends and family, especially for our Saturday morning brunch special's!

We just love a great Ruben Sandwich and this pizza does not disappoint. I made my Ruben Pizza with a ready made pizza crust that is so easy. Then we just layered the cheese, dressing, corned beef and sauerkraut. Finally topped it off with more cheese. Baked in the oven and ready to serve. This is a delicious pizza that we will enjoy for a long time to come. I am so glad that I developed this recipe just for this special day. I sure hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

  Welcome to the week of the Irish meal plans and happy St. Patrick's Day! That's right Monday, March 17, 2025 is St. Patrick's Day and we always celebrate that day. Meal planning for this week is a lot of fun because I get to go back over family recipes and pick some of my favorites. We have a little bit of some windy weather coming in, so I am going to hurry along and get this posted before our country internet shuts down.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 737 and the week of the Irish! St. Patrick's Day is next Monday, March 17, 2025 and that is a big celebration here at the cottage. We always look forward to that day to celebrate our Irish heritage. We hope you will enjoy the party today, come on in the cottage and find your place at the table. We have some great features that we hope you will check out from last weeks party. We can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us today. Enjoy the party!

  Lemon Pudding Pie, is the easiest pie to make and takes very few ingredients. The pie is so creamy and very flavorful with a fresh lemon flavor. Just a little while in the refrigerator and it is ready to serve. I love having the ingredients for this pie on hand. It is a real go to dessert. It is a great recipe to serve for any occasion.

  Our garden to table Green Bean and New Potato Salad is a great salad for all occasions. I have really enjoyed taking the salad to pot luck events, and family gatherings. The salad is perfect for spring and summer outdoor events, it has no dairy products in the recipe. The vinaigrette is just perfect for the combination of green beans and potatoes. This recipe is very flavorful and one that can be the favorite of the season.

Happy Saturday and I hope you are having a special day. We are so excited to see some real tiny blooms on our pear trees today. I am actually out on my screen porch today enjoying the beautiful weather while I make these awesome meal plans for next week. I have been going through some of my spring recipes. I will love getting back to our fresh vegetables out of our spring garden as soon as it is producing. For this week we are going to our new Farmers Market just about 10 miles away. We are so lucky to have fabulous markets so close by. This makes it possible for us to have the freshest of ingredients for our recipes.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 736 and welcome to the month of March! I am so excited to turn the calendar and enjoy some early spring foods. We have an old southern saying about March, "In like a loin and out like a Lamb". It has certainly come in like a Lion with lots of wind and rain. I am so happy that you are here today, come right into the cottage, we have saved you a place at the table. Be sure and check out the very talented bloggers post that are featured today. Lets get the party started, I can hardly wait to see what you will be sharing today!

We always celebrate our Irish heritage on St. Patrick's Day with lots of good food and fond memories of my Irish Grandparents. Remembering the stories that have been passed down through the years that are now passed on to the younger ones. A very proud heritage that is woven into the very fabric of our life. When we sit down to celebrate this year we will be remembering all the wonderful family that walked before us and made our journey so much smoother, along with the amazing recipes that make us think they are all right here with us.

  Spring is here and we are so ready for a season change. It is great to see all the Spring vegetables coming on in our garden and at the Farmers Market. We have a brand new Farmers Market opening in one of our villages on March 1 and I can hardly wait to see what all they will bring to sale. I am a seasonal cook and I look forward to turning the calendar to spring fruits and vegetables.

  Happy Saturday and welcome March! I am so excited to turn the calendar to a new season. If you have been coming to my blog for a few years you know by now that I get very excited with every new season. I am a seasonal cook and really enjoy the seasonal fruits and vegetables that each new season has to offer. We have a really fun holiday this week. Fat Tuesday is on Tuesday this week, with all the celebrations before Lint begins. We will plan on having some great Cajun food to celebrate with all of our friends.

  Welcome to our last post of the month, and the Top Ten features from last weeks party! I am so excited to come to the end of February. Spring is truly just down the road. We are starting to have so many wonderful recipes that represent our spring fruits and vegetables. All of us who are seasonal cooks like me, are so happy to turn the calendar. I am so happy that you are here at the party today, it is really good to see you. We can hardly wait to see what you will be sharing with us, so lets get started! 

  Brussels Sprouts are a very versatile vegetable and one that we really enjoy. Skillet Roasted Brussels Sprouts don't take any time to prepare and it is a delicious side dish. The brussels sprouts are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside with a great flavor. This garden to table recipe is a side dish of vegetables that will complement any meal.

  I love my retro recipes, it takes me back when I was a young homemaker and some of the really great meals we had. This is one of those retro recipes that we really enjoy. It is a budget friendly recipe and takes very little time to prepare it for the slow cooker to finish the work. We like to serve this delicious cheesy chicken over steamed rice. Just add a wonderful green salad and it is a great meal. Enjoy!

It's hard to  believe right now, but spring is right around the corner. Finally we are going to have a tiny break in our polar temperatures. I am still bundled up with Mister Cody sitting right here on my lap, while we visit with you and create our meal plans for the week. We will have some Mardi Gras festivals around our area that always bring our the Cajun food and we so love some of those recipes. There is always a fun turn on the calendar to keep life spicy at the table.

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 734. I hope that you are really dressed warm today, it is icy cold here. Come on in the cottage and warm up by the fire. We have a hot beverage bar set up with hot tea's, hot chocolates, and hot cider. We have saved you a place at the table today and can't wait to see what  you will be sharing with us. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, we are so happy to see you here!

We love our Old Fashioned Boiled Cabbage. This recipe takes me all the way back to my Grandmothers table. We would go out to her winter garden and pick a cabbage bring it into the kitchen and she would work her magic. This is that same recipe with no changes that I know of. It is still one of my favorite sides or just a meal all by itself with a great skillet of  Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cornbread .

We have had a really good winter vegetable harvest this year. We planted in late September and early October. We were enjoying fresh turnips and greens and boiled cabbage just after the first of the year. We have really enjoyed our Veggie Pod this winter. It has offered us an abundance of salad greens.

Hello everyone and come join me by the fire. It is that kind of weather with cold rainy days and next week we are expecting some snow. When I begin a meal plan the first thing I check is the weather, then I go to my recipes and take a quick inventory of the freezer and pantry. Looks like we will be looking for some nice stick to your ribs recipes to make us feel warm and cozy this coming week. I sure am glad you are here today, lets get started on this meal plan.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 733 and our special Valentine Edition! We have some wonderful special Valentine post to share  with you today. We had a great party last week and I am sure looking forward to your post for today's party. We are enjoying some winter rains here in our part of the country which we need for our lakes and our gardens. I have already received some early Valentine chocolates and guess what, they are all gone, yes you don't want to leave your chocolates here at the cottage, I will eat them! I sure hope you enjoy the party today!

  This Instant Pot Lemon Chicken Soup is so delicious. The lemon and dill combination gives this soup a whole new flavor for chicken soup. Our daughter Melody was home for a visit and made this soup for us. We had so much fun making the soup and taking the photos for the blog post. The soup was easy to make because we used the instant pot and the soup pot all at the same time. I love cooking with my daughters and granddaughter's, they are always teaching me new things. This soup would be good any time of the year, but especially on a cold rainy day. 

Our sausage and peppers quiche is delicious and so easy to put together. We are using a frozen pie crust, and this recipe only takes 4 eggs. With the price of eggs this seems as budget friendly as we can get today. The quiche will serve 8 so that is a good buy. We have served this quiche here to friends and family and it is a big hit!

Hello everyone, and are you ready for some football? The big game happens on Sunday and the team cheers can be heard already in our area. Looks like great fun and delicious food and may the best team win! On Friday we will celebrate a special Valentine Day with our special dinner for two. Hope you enjoy this fun week and let us know what your plans are for the big game and or the special Valentine dinner.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and the month of February. February is such a fun month with the Super Bowl coming this Sunday and Valentine's Day just around the corner. We have sure enjoyed a little winter break with some warm temperatures and looks like it is just about over. We had a fantastic party last week and we are sharing some of those post  with you today and hope that you enjoy them as much as we have. We are saving your seat at the table and can't wait to enjoy what you are sharing with us today. Thanks so much for coming today, you are the best!

  These delicious wings are baked in the oven and glazed with a Orange Marmalade Glaze. They are the perfect wing bite for any gathering. Make up as many as you like, freeze them and they are ready to go whenever you need them. They are a winner every time!

What's In Season and How Can I Use It We have some great seasonal foods from our gardens and the farmers markets this month. We have some of our favorite root vegetables to use in great recipes. We have two special events this month. First we have the Super Bowl where we will be having some amazing snacks. Second we can't forget a very special Valentine Day!

  Hello everyone, and welcome to the cottage on this first weekend of February. We are getting some great temperatures next week some days in the 70's! I have run a new inventory for my freezer, barn bins and pantry. I doubt that I have to even go to the farmers market this week. I am going to challenge myself to that goal. We will see if I can meet it.  We had a great response for our Slow Cooker Week last week, I really appreciate all of our faithful readers!

  Hello everyone and welcome to our last party for the month of January. We feature The Top Ten Views from our last party of the month. This is your opportunity to let your voice be heard and to help in setting new trends in our food industry. You made some great choices this week and I and excited to share them with you today. It is still cold here, come on in the cottage and find your place at the table. We look forward to enjoying what you will be sharing with us today.

  We love our baked sweet potatoes here at the cottage. We live in the heart of sweet potato country so it is easy for us to grow them in our garden. We usually have an ample supply through the winter months. We just love this recipe for a great light meal for lunch or dinner.

Hello everyone, I sure hope you are warm and cozy on this very cold day. Meal planning can be a challenge sometimes with weather issues, time and budget factors. I am so happy to hear from many readers every week about our recipes and meal plans. Last week one of our readers challenged us to offer a week of slow cooker meal plans. It is  a great challenge for this time of the year so lets have some fun and see what we can create.

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 730! Snow and cold weather, my goodness it must be winter. That calls for a nice fire to sit by and a nice cup of hot chocolate to enjoy. We have both of those for you today, so come on in the cottage and enjoy the party today. We have some great features from last weeks party for you to enjoy. I always look forward to this party with all of you and the wonderful links that you bring to the party!

  Our Butternut, Sausage and Greens Winter Soup is such a beautiful winter soup. A mix of butternut squash from our garden, smoked sausage, and winter greens from our garden. Along with a spice mix that enhances these vegetables, this is a very special winter soup that we enjoy serving our friends and family. We are serving the soup with our Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cornbread, a fantastic combination!

It is time to put together some great meal plans for the week and I am so happy you are here to help. The first thing I always look at is the weather and it is cold and getting colder. We lost a freezer, sometimes they just wear out. We are in the process of replacing it. In the mean time relocating some of the food and cooking some of it which will go on the meal plan this week. I have a really good inventory of staples in the pantry and plenty of greens in the winter garden. We will be able to have some delicious meal plans for the week!

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 729 I am so happy to see you today. 14 years ago this week, I published the very first Full Plate Thursday. The blogging community gave us such a warm welcome that day as you have been doing so for these past 14 years. There were several of you here last week that were at our very first party. Come on in the cottage and I sure hope you will enjoy this special party. Thank you so very much for your support through these 14 years. I have so much love and respect for all of you who are part of our community here on Thursday!

This Old Fashioned Navy Bean and Ham Bone Soup has been around our family for several generations. I grew up having this soup at my parents and both grandparents tables. It was usually made and served shortly after the big baked ham had been served. We have a special spice mix that goes in the stew pot and that has never changed. It was always served with  Old Fashioned Buttermilk Cornbread .

Apple Coffee Cake will make any brunch a very special occasion. This recipe is so simple with just a few ingredients and delivers a fantastic flavor. The coffee cake can even become a very simple dessert for lunch or dinner. I love to have a nice slice with my afternoon tea. I just love this recipe and have served it for years to friends and family.

Hello everyone, I am happy to sit down with my recipes and inventories today. We have been very busy here on the interior of the cottage. We are taking advantage of being closed in with our cold temperatures. It is a great time to  re-organize some catch-all areas and do some touch up painting in our cottage. Now to take a look at our meal plan for the week. As we move forward, o ur hearts and prayers go out to the folks in California as they begin to recover from these horrible fires.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 728. Come right in the cottage, and warm up by the fire. We are have some snow today so it is a little to cold to be out of doors. We have been moving plants around and trying to save as many plants as we can. We always have room for one more at the table here and we have saved you a special seat at the table. We have some great features from last weeks party for you to enjoy and we can hardly wait to see what you are bringing to share with us today!

  We grow our own turnips and greens in our winter garden. I am always so excited when it is harvest time for the turnips and greens. I grew up with the recipe that I am sharing today. Turnips, greens and the all important "pot likker" was a very special dish that our family enjoyed for generations. The recipe is simple with very few ingredients and the end result is pure southern flavor. I am so grateful that my husband and I still have a winter garden to enjoy the fresh turnips and greens. This is truly a Garden to Table recipe.