Last week while planning our meal plan for the week, I was having a lovely spring morning on my screen porch and enjoying looking through my recipes. This week I am getting a really late start on writing this post. We have been having storms all afternoon and are still under a tornado watch until late tonight. There have been some really bad storms in our area, but thank God we have been spared so far. I am going to finish this post so I can make sure that you get it first thing in the morning. 

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 691 and our Top Ten Feature post for the month!   The last Thursday of every month we feature the Top Ten Views from last weeks party. We have some great features that you picked and I sure hope that you enjoy these talented bloggers! We  are having so much fun here at the cottage, we have had abundant rainfall and everything here is green, blooming and beginning to look like a beautiful spring day. It is my pleasure to welcome you to our party each week and I always look forward to see what you will be sharing with us. Come on in and make yourself comfortable, we have saved you a place at the table!

  My little dog Cody is chasing a squirrel up the tree, the birds are signing and it is a beautiful spring day here at the cottage. They moved the cattle in the pasture across from the cottage today and it is always so peaceful to watch them graze in the pasture. It is great to be sitting on the screen porch again with all my recipes, my food inventory and a cup of coffee. I am ready to get started on this meal plan for the week, and I sure am glad you can join me today.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 690! I am so excited to see you here today. We are having a beautiful spring day here at the cottage, we invite you to come back to the garden patio to join us for a big party today. We had a great party last week and have some great features today that we hope you enjoy. Be sure and stop by these talented bloggers site and say hello. We have a great party planned today and can't wait to see what you will be sharing, come on in we have saved you a seat at the table!

Hello everyone, it is sure good to be back this week with all of you sharing our meal plan for the week. Spring time has arrived with beautiful sunny days and then some rainy days which gives us lots of weather choices.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 689! It is so good to see you here today. I sure hope you have had a great week. Did you get to participate in the Solar Eclipse on Monday, it was such a special event. We have some awesome features from last weeks party today and I sure hope you will enjoy them. Don't you just love this time of the year when there are so many wonderful recipes to make with such fresh ingredients. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, we saved you a seat and can hardly wait to see what you will be sharing!

  We are never really able to predict the outcome of any event in our life, but the outcome of this solar eclipse was very unexpected for me. I went into the event with many questions which I expressed in  Celebrating Our Path Of Totality, Texas Style .

We have been reading about and hearing about the total solar eclipse for well over a year now. It was about 6 months ago that some of the news sources here began to report that our community was in fact in the Path Of Totality. Plans were underway by the commercial and private communities to provide lodging and food sources for the thousands of people that were going to be converging on our little country and lake communities. 

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 688 and welcome to April! We had some great links last week at the party and I have a surprise for you today. The viewers are helping me pick the features with the most views.

  What is in season now and how can I use it? That is the question that started our Food and Recipe Basket. This month we are looking at some wonderful April fruits and vegetables that are in some of our gardens and also in the markets. I love looking forward to all the fresh fruits and vegetables that we will be having in the spring and summer months.

We will be welcoming April in just a few days. I love making meal plans this time of the year, with new green life everywhere. We will be having a large family gathering this Easter Sunday so we will have lots of traditional foods that our family loves for that special meal. We have actually been working in the yard and doing a little planting in the garden. I love the transition of the season .

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 687 and our Top Ten Features. On the last post of the month we always allow our readers to chose the features by the most views from last weeks party. Our readers have very good taste, they picked some great features for the party this week! 

We grow and can our own dill pickles every year, and we love adding our pickles to this delicious appetizer. It has very few ingredients and takes very little time to make. We have even made it with sour pickles and it is just as good.  It is a great dip to serve for any game day, a party, or just a movie night. I have used it as a sandwich spread and it is fantastic! A garden to table recipe.

  We enjoy a great snack on occasion. These crackers are one of our favorite snack crackers. If I have a few of these delicious crackers I want the whole bowl. The recipe for the crackers is very simple with a few ingredients. They are great to serve for big game days, holidays, movie nights or a bowl just for yourself.

I am looking forward to Easter week and a celebration of our faith and hope in a new life. We are planning on having family here for some of the festivities which I am sure will include some amazing meal plans. We have been having some really cold weather for this time of the year, so certainly we won't be planning any outdoor activities. We will hope to  be planting some vegetables in the garden next week on the sunny days. I think that we  will also be hiding some Easter Eggs for the little ones in the grass along the way. I am excited to make the meal plans and share them with you.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 686 and and an official Welcome To Spring 2024!! I sure hope that you had a great St. Patrick's Day celebration. We had some great features from our celebration here at the party last week. This month is moving so fast with Good Friday and Easter just around the corner. I am already getting ready for Easter and will be hosting our study group here at the cottage this week. It seems that we are traveling at light speed sometimes. I know one thing for sure, we have some amazing cooks and creative folks that come to this party every week and I can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us this week. Thanks so much for coming to the party and being a part of this great blogging community!

This is a Broccoli salad that checks all the boxes. It is a great year round salad that can be served for a special holiday dinner, a summer picnic or a simple family dinner. I have brought this salad to ladies luncheons and it is always a winner. This salad is packed with apples, red onion, raisins, toasted pecans, broccoli florets, and topped with crisp crumbled bacon. The salad can be served with or without the delicious dressing. 

Happy St.  Patrick's Day everyone! We have been enjoying our Irish food for the last week and celebrating the big day this week. Meal planning sometimes takes me down memory lane and it can be a very special time. Spring has arrived here in our area and we are busy with spring plantings and cleaning out the dead vines and plants from the winter. I am a seasonal cook and sure looking forward to transitioning to wonderful fresh spring recipes, and continuing our tradition of garden to table meal plans.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 685! We will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Sunday along with many of you. We have some great features for you today from last weeks party. Next week we will be looking forward to Easter which is March 31st this year. Our grass is getting so green, we have some vintage roses that are blooming and spring is certainly arriving. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, I always look forward to seeing you here on Thursday!

  This is the most delicious bread pudding and makes a wonderful dessert for any occasion. The recipe is very easy to put together with very few ingredients. It is definitely one of my favorite go to desserts when I don't have a lot of time to spend on a fantastic dessert. 

Hello everyone and welcome to my week of the Irish. I love to set aside the week of St. Patrick's Day as my week of the Irish to celebrate my Irish heritage. This week we will be having Irish food, with our great family recipes that mostly have been handed down through the generations. I am so excited to enjoy the meal plans for this week and I am so happy to share them with you!

Welcome March to Full Plate Thursday, 684! I am so happy to see you today and to begin to open the door to spring. We have spring recipes popping up all over the party from last week that we will be featuring today. I sure hope you enjoy the features and stop by to give these bloggers a big hello! Come on back to the garden patio where we will be today, it is a beautiful day to enjoy the great outdoors. Thanks so much for coming to the party to share with us today, you are very special to us and we have saved you a seat at the table!

  I am so excited to share the March Food and Recipe Basket with all of you today. Weather is such a big factor in March as to weather we will have a early spring planting season or late. So far this year it looks like we will be able to plant early because we are having some real consistent warm days with some rain which is what we look for when planting.   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.

  Hello everyone and welcome March! Planning meals this month is always a joy, we get to honor our Irish heritage. I always look forward to enjoying some of my families Irish recipes that have been passed down through the generations. Then on the last day of this month we celebrate Easter. This  month will be packed with amazing foods that our family just loves. 

  Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 683! Here we are in the last week of February already and it is time for our TOP TEN POST from last weeks party. I am always excited to see the entries our readers have given the most views to during the week. You really have some good ones this month so I hope all of you enjoy them. We have actually been able to be out in our yard and gardens doing some work for several days and now we are back in the house by the fire, and that's Texas weather folks. Thanks so much for coming to the party today and being a part of this great blogging community that we have here!

  This is our Irish families recipe for Shepherd's Pie. We use ground beef rather than lamb with a mix of vegetables that is simmered in a rich gravy. We top it with creamy cheesy mashed potatoes then bake it in the oven. It is a heavenly casserole and will serve a hungry family with a very satisficing meal.

Hello everyone it is so good to see you today. I am actually able to sit on the screen porch and write this post. The weather is just beautiful, and we are getting a little taste of spring. Looks like we will have some great weather next week. It will be fun to make some spring like recipes. I know for sure that I will be going to the market looking for some fresh vegetables and maybe some salad products. I do have some fresh greens in the winter garden that will be good for some recipes. I am off to find some recipes and then we will create the meal plans that will hopefully keep my family happy!

  Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 682! I am so excited to see all of you today. We are still having some really cold days, but the temperatures are starting to warm enough that all the weeds are starting to get green. I actually have some flowers that are starting to peak through with little tiny bits of green. Spring is definitely on the way. We had a fantastic party last week with some really talented bloggers. The features are amazing and I sure hope you enjoy them. Come on in the cottage, we have saved a place at the table just for you!

If you love stuffed cabbage and don't have time to make it, then this is the recipe for you. This unstuffed cabbage will give you the same full flavors of the old fashioned stuffed cabbage in a simple casserole. We use the same flavors and the basic ingredients to present this delicious casserole. This is a winter garden to table recipe for us. We take a walk out to our winter garden and cut the fresh cabbage that we use in this recipe.

  Hello everyone, I sure hope you survived our Super Bowl, Madri Gras and Valentine Day events! When I begin to think about planning for a week of meal plans, the first thing I do is check out my inventory in the pantry, freezer's and cold bins in the barn. The second thing I do is check the weather and we will be having some low temperatures jumping to grilling weather at the end of the week. Now I am going for  the recipes, checking what will work well for all of those factors. I am hungry just thinking of all the possibilities.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 681! I am so excited to see you here today. Wow, we have survived three big events in a row this week, with the Super Bowl, Madri Gras and Valentine's Day! Last week we had a gala party with so many great post. Some of those post are featured today and I sure hope you enjoy them! Thanks so much for coming to the party today and I hope you enjoy being here!

I recently ask my husband to pick out some special cakes, cobblers and pie recipes that he loves the most. I was very surprised at the long list that he gave me and it had some recipes that I had no idea he liked that much. Some of the recipes are very old and family favorites, others we have developed through the years. When I first made the list, there were to many for one post, so this is the top of the list, the very best!  I have had so much fun with this collection of recipes and I sure hope that you will enjoy them .

We really enjoy Madri Gras celebrations and especially the amazing Cajun Food. We have several relatives including a granddaughter that are native of the Louisiana culture and cuisine. We have a collection of recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. I have put together some of our favorites to share with you in this collection.

What a week we are about to have, three big events in one week. Planning the meals for this week will be so much fun. Then next week we may just have left overs all week! I have been looking at some of our favorites for these holidays, and have selected some that I know will work for us. I can't wait to hear what some of you will be planning for these big events.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 680, it is great to see you today for the party! We are going into a very unusual week, Super Bowl, Madri Gras, and Valentine all in the same week. Ordinarily we have the month of February  to celebrate these events, but not this year. Our features this week will reflect all the wonderful post that we had at last weeks party and we are tipping our hat to all the events! 

This Raspberry Poke Cake is so moist and delicious, it will just melt in your mouth. The marshmallow frosting just tops this cake recipe and makes it very special. This is one of the cakes I like to make for a very special occasion or a simple celebration for family. I love being able to garnish the cake with fresh raspberries, what a perfect ending to a lovely luncheon or dinner.

  We recently had  The Winter Lemon Harvest , which produced some great lemons. My friend had stopped by and ask what will you do with all those lemons? I told her I would not have any problem putting them to good use. I have some delicious recipes for my fresh lemons and a few other ideas for different uses. I will be very interested in your ideas and suggestions for fresh lemons.

Welcome to the love month of February, it is here already. What a fun month to make meal plans. Madri Gras Valentine and the Super Bowl this month, no boring plans here. None of those big events will be happening this week, so we can just get our taste buds ready for the big events next week. I am looking at some favorite recipes for this week and so glad I will be able to go out to the winter garden for some of my ingredients. There is nothing like fresh food with a good meal plan to make a great evening with friends and family.

  Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 679 and a big welcome to February! The month of hearts and love with some very cozy dinners for two. We are starting this week with some great feature post from last weeks party. I hope that you will take the time to visit some of the talented bloggers that come to this party every Thursday! We have actually enjoyed the sun and some higher temperatures this week, giving us a chance to begin getting the spring garden ready to plant. Come on in the cottage and find your place at the table, we are saving you a seat!

If you are a fan of Old Fashioned Hummingbird Cake you will love this Hummingbird Bread! The bread is layered with toasted coconut, pecans and blended seasons. The crumb is moist with outstanding flavor and topped with a special glaze.  The bread can be served for brunch, or dessert, it is perfect with afternoon tea. 

  Hello everyone, come on in the cottage I have the coffee ready and I am ready to get started on the meal plan for next week. We will be reaching out for some good game food this weekend. We are looking at some warmer temperatures, but still expecting more rain. We will be continuing to search for some warm and cozy meal plans. I had a really good laugh today, I found a couple of small Christmas decorations that didn't make it back in the Christmas packing box. Do any of you ever find things like that after the holiday has long since passed?  I am so grateful that I can still laugh at myself! Lets see what kind of yummy recipes we can come up with for our meal plan!

Welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 678! This is our last party of the month where you the readers have picked the Top Ten Page Views for our features today! I am always so excited to present these features and find out what was trending this month! I sure am happy to see you today and good to see that you made it through all of the cold rain that we are having. The rain is great for our water table, the lake and eventually our garden. Thanks so much for coming to the party today, I can't wait to see what you will be sharing with us today!

Three years ago I purchased 2 small lemon trees. The little trees were very pretty with green shiny leaves all over them. The instructions said to leave the trees in their original cans for two years then to transplant them to the ground. Now at the end of the third year, I have a harvest. I am so excited to harvest these lemons!

  This delicious casserole comes together in a short time and gives you lots of flavor. I am using one of my frozen bags of cooked chicken that I keep in the freezer. This recipe has very simple ingredients and is a great combination to give us a win with this casserole. We have served this to family and took it to a covered dish supper recently, everyone loves it! 

Hello everyone, I am so excited to see you today and chat about our meal plans for the week. We survived last week with no power for over 30 hours and a couple of those days without water as well. It was very cold, and we were so grateful to have a generator to help keep the heaters going and the refrigerator and freezer going. We actually had some pretty good soups from the freezer. I just put them in the Slow Cooker and plugged the cooker into the generator, in no time we had hot soup! 

Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 677! I am always excited to see all of you on Thursday. As I am writing this post it is 16 degrees and that is very cold! Please come in the cottage and find a place by the fire we are going to have a great party today with some delicious food and fellowship. We have some fantastic features from last weeks party that I sure hope you will enjoy. We are so blessed to have so many talented bloggers in our Full Plate Thursday community! 

A Texas Ranch Casserole recipe is very common where we grew up. Every family seems to have their own variation of this delicious casserole. Our version of this recipe has come down to me through the generations and I have added my own adjustments here and there. It is certainly one of our families favorites and we are happy to share it  with all of you!

  I am all curled up with a lap quilt and lots of recipes, ready to make this meal plan for next week. Oh my goodness folks, it is very cold outside. We have as many plants as we could get under cover and nice and warm. We are expecting 8 degree temperatures and our hope is to save as many yard plants as is possible. I asked my husband what he would like for comfort food this week and he gave me some great ideas. Play the game with me and tell me which recipes he wanted for this artic cold.

Hello everyone and welcome to Full Plate Thursday, 676. So many of us across America are having winter storms and we are wrapped up trying to stay warm. Come in the cottage and find a warm spot by the fire, we will be serving all the wonderful food that you are bringing very soon. We had a great party here last week and some of the links are being featured today. I sure hope that you will enjoy the features. Thanks so much for coming to the party today and sharing your amazing talent with us and we sure hope you will come back again!

  Texas Trail Mix Pie is so rich and delicious.  A small slice is all you want for a very special dessert. A crunchy and soft texture with a sweet and salty season, a perfect combination. I love serving this pie for a small group of folks with a nice cup of coffee and some great after dinner conversation.

Hello everyone, I am looking forward to planning some warm and cozy meal plans for this week, it is really cold here. This is the time of the year when we look to do projects on the inside. We are going to start some touch up projects in the bathroom and a couple of other rooms. Nothing major (thank goodness) just a few touch ups. I have got some of my winter time recipes out and they all look so yummy, I can't wait to see which ones will be the winners this week.