Hello everyone, I am looking forward to making this meal plan for the week. The weather is just beautiful a nice time to plan some dinners on the porch. We are working hard to get our fall garden going, we are a little late this year, but we are determined to get it done. Still so excited about family moving to our area in the near future, it will be so nice to have family near by. I am off to the Farmers Market today always a fun adventure to see what kind of fresh fruits and vegetables we can find to make our meal plans fresh and delicious!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday at our new time on Thursday, at 6:00 a.m. CST! I am so excited to see you here today at our old original time that we started out in 11 years ago. We had some great features last week and I sure hope you will stop by and say hello to these talented bloggers. We have been so busy here at the cottage, getting our fall projects taken care of. We are getting our fall and winter garden ready to plant, we are running our of time. We also have family moving to our area which we are so excited about! I can't wait to see what you will be bringing to the party today, so many wonderful fall post to be written! Thanks so much for coming today and I will see you at the table!

  Our Italian Pesto Sliders are great for serving a group for the games or just a supper for the family. We harvest and preserve our own sweet basil pesto, so this slider is packed with home grown goodness. The recipe is so easy to put together and will be ready for the serving table in no time. We always have some delicious  Sweet Basil Pesto  handy in the freezer. We love this recipe and sure hope you do!

We have had a wonderful Basil harvest this year and I just couldn't let all that fabulous basil go to waste. We always dry some of our basil to use in recipes, and usually have pesto on hand. This year I decided to freeze some of my sweet basil pesto. This is a delicious recipe that I have used for years to make my pesto and I use the pesto in many of my Italian recipes. This recipe is so easy to make and uses just a few ingredients. I place it in 1/2 cup containers, which is perfect for most recipes. This can be used for up to 6 months after freezing.

      I recently started working again after spending the last year at home. It has been very exciting, but also a big adjustment for us. I forgot how crazy it can be to juggle everything at once! So easy dinners have been the go-to. This sheet pan dinner is easy, fast, and you get some great leftovers. Hope this recipe can give you an easy night this week!

Hello everyone, it is so good to sit down with you and make this meal plan. What a beautiful day we are having and I am totally inspired to bring some delicious dishes to my families dinner table this week. I had to laugh at myself a little today as I was preparing to start the meal plan, I have this little routine that I walk through. First I check the weather for the next week, then I take a walk, look at the garden and what may be available, a walk to the barn to see what may be available in the cold bin and back in to the freezer and  pantry. By this time I have an idea of what I have on hand then comes the fun part, looking for the recipes, I just pull up  Miz Helen's Kitchen Recipes , and let the fun begin. This may seem like a lot of prep work, but it sure beats walking up and down the super market isle wondering what's for dinner?

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday! We have a very important announcement this week so be sure and read it so you won't be left out! We have a very busy cottage right now. It is the transition to fall décor, fall slip covers going on, fall flower arrangements, and the pumpkins will be coming very soon! We have some great features from last week that I sure hope you will enjoy from some very talented bloggers. I am looking forward to see what you will be sharing with us today, so come on in and find your special place at the table, we saved it for you!

Instant Pot Swiss Steak is so easy to put together and will be on your table in a short time. It taste like you have been cooking it all day it is so tender. A great slice of beef combined with some special vegetables and seasons comes together for a great dish. I like to serve this Instant Pot Swiss Steak with these great garden to table   Garlic Butter Mashed Potatoes .

  We are fortunate to grow most of our own potatoes here in our cottage garden. There is really nothing better than a potato fresh out of the ground with some special herbs & seasons these potatoes just melt in your mouth. We just love this recipe and I use it often because it is a great side dish for lots of the meals that our family love. This is a delicious recipe that is simple yet elegant, very easy to prepare. A garden to table recipe!

It is such a beautiful September day to sit on the screen porch and write my meal plan for the week. This is the time of year when everything gets back to normal around the lake area. All the summer visitors have gone back home, the schools have started and there is a certain quiet that begins to fall on the community. I am beginning the fall décor change over, the fall slip covers on the sofa and chairs, fall arrangements and pumpkins are coming very soon! I love the transition to fall foods, a little cozier and stick to your ribs kind of comfort food for our meals plans.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday! We had a fantastic Labor Day Weekend and sure hope you enjoyed yours. We had a great party here at Full Plate Thursday last week and have some amazing features from some very talented bloggers this week. I invite you to visit the features and give these bloggers a big shout out! I am looking forward to seeing what you are sharing with us today, so come on in and find a place at the table, we are so glad to see you and thanks so much for coming!

At the end of our summer garden season we usually have a great harvest of herbs and other vegetables. I like to find recipes that I can use as much of that harvest as possible. My Caprese Garden Bread is just that recipe, just packed with garden goodness. This is a very easy to put together and in no time can be on your table. This is one of our favorite garden to table recipes.

  Bonjour! One of the biggest upsides to being stationed in Europe is having so many great destinations so close! My mom was able to come for a visit last month and we enjoyed a quick girl's trip to Paris while she was here. Just a quick two and a half hour train ride to a dream destination.

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great Labor Day weekend. We will be including some great Labor Day recipes in the meal plan this week. Our cottage is really busy right now as we have family visiting which we absolutely love filling the cottage with lots of good food and laughter. We will be including some great vegetables in the plan this week, as our famers markets are running over with great fresh food selections.  To All Our Friends On The Gulf Coast and The East Coast You Are In Our Thoughts and Prayers As You Begin The Recovery Journey