I am hoping to get this meal plan posted before the rain storms begins. I have been busy covering some of our plantings in the garden in case we have hail. I love the spring and all its beauty but the storms I could do without. The little farm stand at the end of our road has opened again so I am looking forward to a visit there and will be including some of the fresh fruits and vegetables on our meal plan this week. I am sitting on the screen porch today while I do our work on the meal plan and can actually smell the rain coming. I better hurry to finish the plan so you can have the meal plan to share with your family this week. My hope each week is that you will find at least one suggestion that will help you with your meal plan!

I am very excited to see you here today, so come on back to the patio with me and find a place at the table it is a beautiful day. When the weather is so beautiful I love to eat outdoors and enjoy such good food with all of my friends. We have had some wonderful post from last week that are featured and I know you will enjoy them. Thanks so much for coming to the party today,  I can hardly wait to see what you will be sharing with us at the party today. You are very special to us and it is always a joy to welcome you here!

  Slow Cooker Smothered Steak recipe has been in my recipe box for a very long time. The recipe was originally baked in the oven and I just used my handy conversion chart (included in this post) and put it in the Slow Cooker. Some days are just busy and the Slow Cooker is a real help. The recipe will just melt in your mouth and you can cut the meat with a fork. The gravy and the onions top off the dish to make it a favorite. I am serving it today over rice.

  We are enjoying our long weekend after a busy Spring break. We were lucky to get plenty of sunshine and go on some beautiful hikes. We even enjoyed a trip to the zoo! We wrapped up the week with some Saturday night burritos, and this cilantro lime rice really makes them special. You can use this rice as a side, in burritos, or mix with black beans. It also goes well with asian food.

We are so excited to Welcome April and all of you to share our meal plan for this very special week. Of course we will be starting our meal plan this week with a big traditional Easter Dinner with some of our very favorite Easter recipes. Then often times the challenge is to find something to do with the leftovers, but we will be using several of our favorite left-over recipes on the meal plan for this week. I am already hungry just thinking about it. We will be making a trip to the farmers market later in the week to make sure we have all the wonderful fresh vegetables that we will be needing. I already have my meat products in the freezer and I will be baking along the way, so I think we will be all set for a great feast for the week!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, and here we are at the end of March and only a few days away from Easter! We are having so much fun at the cottage this week, getting ready for a really nice Easter week and weekend. We are excited to present our Top Ten Features from last weeks party, some very talented bloggers sharing some great post for all of us to enjoy. I just know that you will be bringing some fantastic recipes, tablescapes and food related post to the party today and I can't wait to see what they are. Thanks so much for coming today and have fun at the party!

Our Hash-Brown Broccoli Brunch Casserole will be delicious for a special brunch, a nice luncheon or even a casual family dinner. This recipe is one of those that will go to any meal or any function. Carry it to the covered dish at your favorite social or serve it to your morning Bible class. This is a very hearty casserole with an amazing flavor that just works together. When I serve this there has never been any left to freeze although you can freeze it up to 3 months. We love this recipe!

  It is a beautiful spring day and a perfect time to make some delicious spring recipes for our meal plan this week. When I sit down to make the meal plan each week, I always think what sounds good, what will be some great idea's for meals? Then I can check recipes, check pantry and freezer stock to see what I will need for the recipes. It takes a little time up front but then when we are in the frenzy of the week, it is a smooth flow, because we know just what we are having and we know the ingredients will be available. Meal planning saves me so much time and money, and who doesn't like both extra time and money.

Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday,529! Wow sometimes when I write the number of the post for the party it seems impossible that we have been publishing this party every single week for 11-1/2 years, where indeed does the time go? I am so excited that spring is here, are all of you excited about spring? I want you to be sure and take a look at the wonderful features that we have from very talented bloggers from last weeks party. I can't wait to see what all of you will be bringing to share with us today and thanks so much for coming to the party today!

  My husband and daughter were both begging for cinnamon rolls this weekend. Since these only take about an hour I didn't mind making a special Sunday breakfast! You could also use cream cheese icing if you want to make them even better! 

Happy Spring! I can't remember when we have been so excited to welcome spring! We are really looking forward to our spring meal plans and all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we are able to put into our meal plans this time of the year. It's March Madness already and lots of fun game food. We have been very busy here at the cottage with our gardens, and you can read all about our garden adventures in our  latest garden post.

  Happy St. Patrick's Day and welcome to Full Plate Thursday! We are celebrating our Irish heritage here at the cottage today and I sure am glad you could join us. Stop and take a look at the awesome post from some very talented bloggers from last weeks party. We have had a great week here and have actually put seeds in the ground in the garden, we are so excited, you can read all about what we have been doing in the garden in this weeks Garden Post.  Thanks so much for coming today we always save you a place at our table!

In February we experienced a historical snow storm with temperatures dipping below zero. We were so concerned that some of our trees and other planting's might not come back in the spring. Our electric grid in Texas failed and we were without electric power for over 12 hours at a time. It was a long week, but thankfully we did not have the damage that some encountered. We were checking our trees and plants almost daily to see if they would have any sign of life and or new buds. We were so grateful when we began to see signs of life and new growth. We have now broke new ground for a garden extension and are beginning our spring plantings.

  Our Baked Cheese Steak and Rice recipe came about as a last minute change in a meal plan. Have you ever got that call from a family member that has invited a couple of extra folks over for dinner? That happens a lot here at the cottage and even more when the kids were in high school and collage. I learned along the way to make a meal stretch out just a little bit more so there would be enough for everyone. There is one thing for sure, folks never left the table hungry. We always seemed to have enough for everyone. This recipe turned out to be a favorite that is requested over and over.