Southern Candied Carrots are a very special side dish that often times shows up at family dinners and celebrations. This recipe is made with fresh carrots right out of the garden and seasoned to perfection. The carrots take very little time to prepare and they are ready to be served. I remember these delicious carrots on many a holiday table when our family all came together. I am grateful that the recipe was passed on to me for all of us to enjoy!

  Hello everyone, I can't wait to make this weeks meal plan and get to our big announcement. We have had a lot of rain, which we need for the gardens and plants, and very nice spring days. One of my favorite Farmers Market will open next week for the season, I just love going there to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables that I may not have in the garden just yet. It is a great time of the year to go through recipes and see what I want to add to my seasonal meal rotation. 

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, this past Monday we had the official beginning of Spring and it is 32 degrees. Hurry inside the cottage today we have a warm fire and a place saved at the table just for you! We have some great features from last weeks St. Patrick's Celebration, I sure hope you enjoy them! I am excited to move on to the spring meal plans and recipes how about you? Thanks so much for coming to the party today, I am excited to see what you will be sharing.

Lemon Pudding Dump Cake recipe is a perfect lemon delight and is very easy to make. For a quick dessert with a great lemon flavor this is  a perfect little dessert. I like to keep the  ingredients on hand for this recipe as it is a great go to recipe when the kids are bringing half the ball team home for supper or some of your friends drop by for dessert. 

Retro Carrot Apple Soup is so delicious and a spring treat. When the spring carrots are being harvested from the garden and the carrots are tender it is a perfect time to make this recipe. Carrot Soup originated in Crecy, France a town near Paris, which explains why I love it so much it's French. The Apple which many folks add to the soup really comes to me from my Grandmother. She would always add the tart apples to the soup and it was delicious. This is a very simple soup and does not take that long to make, but it is certainly worth any wait at all. There is nothing better on a chilly Spring day than a hot bowl of Retro Carrot Apple Soup.

I am looking forward to having my cup of tea and visiting with you while I put this meal plan together today. Spring arrives on Monday so I am looking for some great Spring recipes. I know that we have  some beautiful kale, cabbage and collards in the garden, we will see what I can do with those fresh vegetables.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone! We had some wonderful Irish post from last weeks party that are featured today and I sure hope you will enjoy the celebration! Come on in the Cottage, and find a place by the fire, we are having some really chilly weather today, a good day to be indoors with some really good food and all of our friends! Thanks so much for coming to the party today and wishing you a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!

  Roasted Salsa Verde Salmon Bowl is our new favorite presentation to enjoy a great salmon recipe. We are several hours from the gulf coast where we can get some really fresh salmon. We have a great friend that brings us fresh Salmon from the coast and what a special treat it always is. This recipe is so easy to make and has amazing flavor in every bite. The salmon has a very special seasoning then roasted in the oven. We serve it in a bowl of rice, with a garnish of diced avocado and topped with a delicious creamy Roasted Salsa Verde Sauce.

  Our Rosemary-Orange Cornbread Bites are a delicate cornbread mini muffin with a fabulous unexpected flavor. This is a very simple muffin recipe to make and it returns amazing results. I have blended a sweet cornbread with fresh rosemary and a orange zest to bring this flavor that we just love. These mini cornbread bites can be served to compliment any meal, or as an appetizer, with honey on the side.

We always have so much fun making the meal plans for the week of the Irish. Our meal plans for this week always include some favorites from our Irish heritage. We are starting to spend more and more time outdoors as the weather permits. We were able to get some more of our garden planted this week just in time for the rain, that's great timing! I have already checked the pantry, freezer and cold bins in the barn, and have some of my favorite recipes ready to go. We are taking a quick trip to the village market and then we will be ready for our fun week of celebration!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 631 we are so excited to see you here today. March has certainly arrived like a Lion with rain storms and snow storms right across the country. Come on in the cottage and find a comfortable place at the table, we have saved you a place. We have great features from last week for all of you to visit. Please note that we have added some new feature categories that I hope you will enjoy. Thanks so much for coming to the party today I can hardly wait to see what you will be sharing.

  Welcome back to our monthly Food & Recipe Basket, some of our readers and I are so excited to begin this monthly post again. We grow our own vegetables here at the cottage, which allows us to have either fresh, home canned or frozen vegetables available the year round. What we don't have available here, we usually find at one of our local farmers market. I have always been a seasonal cook and enjoy the transitions of the seasons so I hope you will enjoy these ideas and inspirations as we transition into another season.

Old Fashioned Blueberry Pound Cake reminds me of sitting at my Grandmother's table waiting for the pound cake to come out of the oven. It is worth waiting for, so moist and buttery with pops of fresh blueberries in every bite. This is a very simple pound cake recipe to make with very few ingredients for such bold flavors. We love to go to the blueberry bushes and pick the fresh berries, bring them into the kitchen and make this delicious recipe. The cake can be served for any occasion or event and freezes well for up to 3 months.

Hello everyone, I am writing our meal plan early this week as we are in a very strong storm warning for our area. When we have these storms sometimes we will loose our power and internet for a day or two. I have been writing these meal plans and sharing them with you for 12 years now, and I know that some of you look forward to the plan and recipes to help you for your family meal plans. I want to make sure that you get it when you want and need it, if I possibly can. March is here so I look forward to having some of my favorite Irish and fresh early spring vegetable recipes. I am hungry already!