Welcome to Full Plate Thursday where you will meet some of the greatest bloggers on this planet! Only 2 more days of April left, time sure goes fast when we are enjoying life. We have some really wonderful features this week from some awesome bloggers at last weeks party, hope you will stop by to say hi to them. I am very excited to see what you will be bringing today to the party, we always look forward to your visit!

  Taco Tuesday Salad has been a been lunch time hit here at the cottage in the past year. My husband and I always enjoyed getting together for lunch and enjoying taco's or a great taco salad from our local Tex- Mex restaurant. About a year ago all of that stopped when we went into a shut down due to the pandemic. We really missed our Taco Tuesday's so we started having our Taco Tuesday lunch date in Miz Helen's Kitchen. The Taco Dressing for this salad is so easy and delicious we use the dressing on many other recipes and keep some ready to go in the refrigerator. This is the Taco Tuesday Salad With Taco Dressing that we love and still continue to enjoy today!

  I am treating my husband to Fresh Strawberry Scones today. There is a really great little coffee shop in the village that often times has fresh scones and we love stopping in sometime for a special treat. This scone recipe is so easy to make and with the fresh strawberries it is just delicious. We love this recipe so much we have even served it as dessert, it really does melt in your mouth.

  Here we are at the end of April already and the spring recipes abound for our weekly meal plan. We are really busy here at the cottage these days with all the spring projects to be done. The Humming Birds arrived this week, it is always so good to see them return to the feeders each year. They are a little late this year because it has been so cool. The garden is growing and we are getting some great spring onions and asparagus that will be in some of our recipes this week. I sure hope that spring is in full swing at your home and what kind of wonderful spring meals will you be planning this week, be sure and leave me a comment!

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday and our Top Ten Features from last weeks party! Oh my goodness, winter has returned, we were out in the garden covering young plants trying to save them from the frost. It is like winter returned so I have made us a big pot of vegetable soup and some cornbread. Come on in and enjoy the your time at the cottage. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, it is always special to see you here!

  I am often times asked to make large portions of my Mustard Potato Salad for different functions. This is a great Mustard Potato Salad recipe to make for picnics, family or civic gatherings. The flavor of this salad is the same flavor that a regular family size recipe has. It is a very simple recipe and really doesn't take that long to put it together. When you price (awful tasting take out) potato salad, you will find this recipe is much more economical and taste 100 percent better!

  My family. and I feel so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to live in Europe for a few years. However, it has been sad not being able to get out and travel yet. It has given us the chance to see all the things Germany has to offer in the great outdoors, and it does not disappoint! The picture above is from a trip to the tulip fields that we just took today. It was an easy pit stop on the way back from visiting a friend. It is one of many amazing natural beauties here. 

I was just asking my husband this morning what special dishes he would like to have next week so I could put them on the meal plan. Of course he had several ideas so I will definitely be putting them on the plan this week. We have had a true spring this year with cooler temperatures than usual and it is really nice to have some  real change of season.  We are continuing to add new plantings to our garden, but we are almost finished for the spring and summer garden. Now we can begin to look forward to the harvest and the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables that will be coming to the table.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 532 it so good to see you here today. We are sure enjoying this spring weather and all the wonderful fresh spring recipes that you are sharing with us. We have some great features from last week that you will want to be sure and check out. We have so much talent that comes to this party, I would love to live next door to any of you great cooks! We are sitting out here on the screen porch today sipping some sweet tea so come on out and join us!

Potato Gnocchi Salad recipe is a different take on a potato salad, and it is delicious! I love gnocchi, but I haven't made it in years and when I was shopping I noticed that I could get it in a box. Of course I had to try it, and I am so glad I did. What a great product that I am sure I will use again and again. Let me say right here I am NOT PAID for the promotion of this product, I just like it and am happy to pass it on to my friends. I developed this recipe especially for my new found product and it will be going to a lot of picnic's and covered dish dinners very soon!

When my Mother would buy a big batch of banana's at the store, I knew that she was about to make her banana pudding. Banana Pudding was one of my Dad's favorite desserts and I have to say my Mothers recipe is one that we have found to be our favorite through the years. This is a from scratch pudding and is thick and rich then we put a mile high meringue on top. This Old Fashioned Banana Pudding recipe is a very special treat for any occasion. 

  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!