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

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday on a beautiful September 1st! Wow are you like me wondering what ever happened to the summer, it just flew by this year. We have been so busy here at the cottage with family visiting and of course we are loving every minute of it. We had a great party last week with some great features this week that I sure hope you enjoy! I always look forward to seeing what you will be sharing at the party this week. Thanks so much for sharing with us , you are the best!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin A Pig Pickin' Cake is a southern tradition at a bar-b-que, especially a pig pickin' bar-b-que. Just about every southern family has their own version of the cake and we are no different. This is our version of the classic cake, that my husband refers to as the mandarin orange cake, because he loves mandarin oranges! This is a very easy cake to put together and we have never had any left overs, so I couldn't tell you what to do with those. No matter if it is a bar-b-que or fried chicken on a Sunday, this is a delicious cake anytime!

Our Ham & Cheese Garden Strata is a great recipe for a brunch. We have a weekend brunch just about every weekend that we are in town and often we have guest that join us. This is one of the delicious recipes that I like to prepare for our brunch here at the cottage. The recipe has little bits of ham, cheese and some fresh garden vegetable's with a base of crusty bread, eggs and milk. The flavor of this strata is awesome, it can be made the night before and baked the next morning, a great dish for entertaining.

  Hello everyone, this is one of those weeks when I sure am glad that I am a meal planner. We have family visiting that have come to help us with a couple of big projects here at the cottage. It is very important to be organized and know exactly what I will be cooking for the next meal. I am making some of their favorites and cooking some recipes that will be easy to make for a crowd. I always get so excited about having family visit and getting to make some of their favorites! 

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 551 I am so excited to see you today! Come on back we are on the screen porch today, I have a very special  Watermelon Lemonade Float  for you to enjoy today. This is our last post of the month so that means you have choose the Top Ten Post Views from last weeks party, and you did a great joy. Great features for you to enjoy and stop by and say hello  to those talented bloggers. Thanks so much for coming today, I always look forward to your visit's.

  Our Mexican Rice Salad is a very popular salad here at the cottage. This is a very easy salad to put together and serves as a side salad or a dip. This salad is a combination of rice, vegetables and a very delicious salsa, a perfect balance of flavor. This is a great side for a family dinner, a covered dish luncheon or get together with friends and family.

I have wanted to develop this recipe for awhile, and finally had an opportunity to try it for a second time with guest and they loved the recipe. This chicken has a rub, great stuffed jalapeno cheese then wrapped with bacon. When this chicken comes off the grill it is ready to savor every flavorful bite. I am so happy to be able to share this new recipe with you today!

It is great to be back on the screen porch this morning in a little cooler temperature. Our schools have started here so we are defiantly in the transition season to fall. I look forward to spending more time outdoors now with cook-outs and picnics. I have some vegetables from the farmers market that I want to include in my plan this week as well as a couple of special request from my husband. I love the opportunity to plan special recipes for my family and friends that they really enjoy!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, I am so excited that you could come to the party today. The cottage has been very busy, completing our summer garden harvest and beginning to remove old plants and vines to prepare for our fall planting. Our schools have started here and the community is all a buzz with the kids getting back in the school  routine. When I had kids in school, my year ran from September to September. Now all these years later it still seems like my year runs from September to September.  We had a great party last week and some awesome features that I hope you will visit. Thanks so much for coming today & I can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us today, so lets get the party started!

Our Zucchini Garden Casserole With Sausage recipe is a delicious garden to table dish that will please your family and friends every time you serve it. This is a meal in one dish, just  add a salad and dessert and everyone will be happy. I love having a casserole that can go to a family dinner table or a covered dish and this is one of those casseroles. Filled with fresh garden vegetables then we add some sausage and top it with some awesome herb seasoned bread crumbs mix. We love this casserole and sure hope you will to.

  Italian Stuffed Tomato With Basil Pesto Spaghetti became a new recipe here at the cottage this summer. We have had a bumper crop of beautiful tomatoes and of course we grow our own herbs, so this was a perfect recipe to develop. The stuffing for the tomato has some garden squash and sausage with great Italian herbs, while the dish is completed with a Basil Pesto Spaghetti. We loved this new recipe and sure hope you enjoy it!

Hello everyone, wow I sure am glad that we have a time together to make meal plans. I talked to a group of young homemakers this past week, and encouraged them to develop meal plans for their family. Each one of them to a person mentioned how much the cost of food had gone up and how they needed to really get a food budget. Meal planning will help with the food budget and time management. I am planning some fun food for this week, I just need to get it out of my head and on to the meal plan. 

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, I am so happy to see you here today! We have a nice cool breeze out of the south today, so we are headed to the screen porch to enjoy some cold drinks. I have prepared a refreshing  Peach Fizz  for you to enjoy today. We have some great features today from last weeks party and I sure hope you will enjoy them and the talented bloggers who shared them! I always look forward to the party and what you will be sharing with us, thanks so much for coming.

I love to serve a Honey Bun Cake for a brunch or coffee with friends, it just melts in your mouth. This recipe goes together quick and easy, making it a great go to recipe. The cake is marbled with a combination of sugar and spice, then topped with a delicious glaze. Garnished with some seasonal fruit, it is a delightful cake for any occasion. 

    We were finally able to do our first big trip outside of Germany! We discussed as a family and decided on Venice. We booked our trip for 3 days thinking that would be plenty of time to see the small floating city, but we were mistaken. We did not even do half of what we had planned, but that seems like a great excuse to go again very soon! It truly is a magical city with postcard views at every turn. 

  Hi everyone, it is time to start our meal plan for next week. Most of the harvest for our summer garden is over and we have started to clear out the non producing plants. We still have some plants producing however, we will be looking to our local farmers markets to find some of the fresh vegetables to fill our recipes for the meal plan this week. Along about this time of August our little community begins to pick up a different kind of energy, as folks are trying to get in last minute travel plans and some of starting to get ready for the new school year which seems to come earlier every year. How about all of you have your schools started yet? Are you planning some last of the summer get away? Let me know what is going on at your cottage!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and August summer heat, oh my it is hot! Come on in get under the air conditioner, grab a ice cold  Pineapple Banana Freeze , relax and enjoy! Be sure and check out some of the awesome features that we have today from last weeks party. I am looking forward to seeing what you will be sharing with us today. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, I am always so excited to see you here!

I remember having sweet corn pudding when I would visit my Grandmothers house in the summer. My Grandmother, Mother and several Aunts would gather on the back porch at my Grandmothers farm house and shuck corn from the garden and sometimes from the field. There were many corn recipes that I remember my Grandmother using for the corn, but one of my favorites was the sweet corn pudding.  It is a nice sweet custard with corn kernels nestled inside the cloudy custard. It has a very special flavor that only the corn can give it and a very special dessert! The recipe that I am using today has been adapted from my Grandmothers original recipe.

It has truly been an outstanding summer garden harvest this year. We had early and late rain's along with cooler temperatures that we had never had in recorded weather history for our area so we really didn't know what to expect in the final outcome of the harvest. We have had what the farmers would call a bumper crop. In order to keep up with the harvest we have kept the canner's going full steam ahead. I am excited to share with you the summer garden harvest time.

  Welcome to Texas August heat and let me tell you it is here. I am not even sitting out on the screen porch today, no I am in my office under a nice cool air conditioner. This is good grilling weather and really good slow cooker time. Trying to keep the kitchen cool, so I will be looking for some cool light meals this week. We still have some garden production that I am sure we will be using in our meal plan along with the local specials at the super market. The prices of products in the super market have really increased in the past 9 months, with very little hope of coming down. I am sure glad that we have been canning and preserving our garden vegetables which helps on the grocery budget. Another thing that helps is planning the meals so that we can use the left-overs and only buy what we need and not get side tracked by that oh what will I fix for dinner?

  Hi everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday! This is the week for our Top Ten Views from last weeks party, which we have on the last party of every month. Its a fun post to prepare because I get to see what you picked with the most views from the last week, and you picked some good ones! I hope that all of you are having a wonderful summer, but my heart goes out to all the ones who are fighting fires and the horrible drought. We are blessed here to have had rain and cooler weather here, well up until now anyway. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, I always look forward to see all of you!

  Pineapple Banana Freeze Dessert is a cold refreshing dessert for any hot summer day. This 5 star dessert is created with only 3 ingredients and a little garnish, so easy to make and has become a hit here at the cottage. I have been keeping some of this recipe in my freezer to serve unexpected guest or just to have as a very special afternoon treat, it is a winner!

      These shrimp tacos are perfect for Summer! They are quick, easy, and are great when you are having company over. Plus they will be kind to your waistline. 

  We have really enjoyed the summer weather so far, however it is about to be August in Texas. Going into the last week of July we are watching the temps start to climb. I was walking the garden with a friend this week and explaining how most of the harvest is done before we get to this higher heat. We do still have Black Eyed Peas to pick which is unusual , but welcomed. We really enjoy our garden vegetables and I look forward every week to having fresh vegetables on our meal plan here at the cottage.

  On July, 22 2010 I did my first Thursday post, and my blogging journey begin 11 years ago. In some ways those 11 years have gone by so fast and in some ways it seems so long ago. I started Full Plate Thursday about 6 months later and we have been gathering here with you for all these years. I want to thank all of you who have come to our community through the years and became a part of it, you are so dear to me. I have been privileged to meet many of you in person and I treasure those times that I got to meet you and spend time with you. I feel so blessed to be able to continue with the journey that we set out on 11 years ago. God Bless all of you who have helped me along this journey!

  We have had an abundant harvest in our garden this year. We have been able to can and preserve a lot of that harvest and one of those food products is our Potato & Tomato Garden Soup. This is a great soup recipe that can be used as a stand alone soup or as a soup base. The soup base is perfect to add other garden vegetables and or a meat protein there are so many delicious possibilities. At one time  I canned this soup in quarts because all the kids were still home, but today I can it in the pints for just the two of us. If I need more I just use two jars instead of one. This recipe is for a big batch, but you can sure cut it in half if you need to. We love this soup and is delicious any time of the year!

  Our cottage is really busy this time of year and I am so happy to be able to kick back on the screen porch and put together some great meal plans for the week. Our garden is not slowing down in production so we are on going with canning and preserving. We are still having amazing temperature's for our part of the country, which helps with the garden and my comfort on the screen porch! I have a very special day to plan for this week and some great recipes that I want to put on the meal plan!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and another week of a great food exchange with all of you! Don't you just love the summer months when there is so many fresh food choices to set on our table. We have great features from last week that I sure hope you will enjoy,  presented to you from some very talented bloggers. Every week when I visit all of your sites I know how hard you work at finding the recipe or in some cases developing the recipe, preparing the recipe, then of course there is the photo shot, while your family is waiting to eat. My friends all know by now that they will have to wait for a minute while I get my photo's. Then it is off to the computer with the recipe and the photos. I really do appreciate all that you do to get your post to this point and thanks so much for sharing with us every week. You truly are the greatest cooks on the planet! 

Our Pink Lemonade Ice Box Pie is a beautiful pink pie, so cool and refreshing. This is one of those recipes  that can show up and be the star of any event. I have taken this pie to many a ladies luncheon's and cover dish dinners. This pie is so easy to make and has a very special flavor, one that we just love here at the cottage!

          Ever get that chocolate craving that you can't kick? What about when it is late at night and 'healthy' you did the grocery shopping? Well this is the trick for you! This is quick, easy, and will satisfy your sweet tooth without leaving you leftovers. Yet again my husband has inspired an impromptu recipe, with a craving for rainy day brownies. Feel free to add some ice cream or berries on top if you have them! 

It is a lot of fun to make our meal plans right now with these amazing low temperatures we are having. Usually this time of the year we are having very high temps and are confined to the house during the heat of the day, so this is great to be able to be out all day. Our garden is producing overtime this year and we are canning like crazy. Our canning pantry shelves are filling up fast. So far we have canned 65 pints of fruit and vegetables from our garden.  No doubt I will have some great garden vegetables on the meal plan this week.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and our first week in July! We had a great 4th of July Celebration in our community with a great parade and lots of good food! We have some great features today from our party last week and I sure hope you will stop by to say hello to these talented bloggers. I am looking forward to seeing what you will be sharing with us at the party today, and thanks so much for being a part of our awesome community!

We love melon's here at the cottage, watermelon and cantaloupe seem to be our all time favorites. This melon appetizer is such a delicious addition to any gathering or just a light afternoon snack. This is such a simple recipe to put together and is so cool and refreshing. The combination of the melons with the basil is a hit every time and will have your family and friends coming back for more!

I have a really sweet neighbor right down the country road, she raises chicken's and she has the most delicious farm fresh eggs. The eggs always have the most beautiful colors and I just love cracking them open to see the bright yellow yolk. Our Farm House Brunch Casserole is perfect for her fresh eggs. This is a very simple but delicious casserole and you can bake it right away, no waiting necessary. The flavor of sausage, hash browns and a few seasons make this a delicious brunch casserole that will please all your family and guest. You can visit my neighbor at  The Feather Nest , stop by and tell her Miz Helen said Hi!

Happy 4th of July meal planning week! Wow the cottage is all decked out and meal plans have been made for the 4th celebrations this weekend and what fun we will have. Like any other holiday we have some traditional foods that we like to serve around a holiday and then it is always fun to add some new recipes to the mix. We are still enjoying some very cool temperatures so the outdoor activity and cook-outs will be great! As the activities begin I will be so happy that everything is planned and organized, so I can enjoy the fun with all my guest!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and our Top Ten Week! The last party of the month we always feature the Top Ten Views from the last week's party and these are the wonderful Top Ten Views that you choose! Our cottage is all a buzz this week getting ready for the 4th of July celebration this coming weekend and this year it is going to be a big one, because we didn't get to have one last year. We are experiencing very cool temperatures for this time of the year so that will make our celebrations even better. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, we always look forward to seeing you here!