What a fun week to make meal plans for Cinco de Mayo and Mexican celebrations. We love Mexican food here at the cottage so we really enjoy this week of celebration. I am heading to the barn to check my cold bins which are almost empty this time of the year, then I will be heading to the garden to check out the fresh produce that may be ready. I am pretty sure that we will have some spring onions, Swiss Chard and other fresh veggies in the garden, I really love fresh veggies and so happy that I can include them in our meal plans.

I am sitting real close to the fire today as I begin to write this meal plan for the week. We have had some of the coldest temperatures that have been recorded in over 30 years, burrrrr! When it gets this cold my thoughts go to comfort food and some spice that will warm us up and stay with you especially if you have to be outdoors for any length of time. I am going to do some baking this week, I love to bake when it is really cold outside. I might even make some homemade bread that sure sounds good.

What a wonderful time of the year, the cottage has Christmas everywhere awaiting the big celebration. We have certain food traditions that we have handed down through the years. We will sometimes vary from these, but this year we are sticking to tradition. May The Peace Of This Season Live In Your Heart and Home All Through The Year Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with delicious dishes and lots of love from family and friends. Now we get to move quickly into our next season, which for me is one of my favorites, I love Christmas! I will be using up some of my leftovers that I put in the freezer from the turkey for this weeks meal plan. Sometimes the left overs are the best.

Only two days left in July and then it is on to August. Here in Texas August means lots of hot days, sitting on the porch sipping ice cold sweet tea and fanning. When making the meal plan this week I am trying to keep the kitchen as cool as possible and just enjoy the lazy days of summer.

This week is all about Cinco de Mayo and the big all day celebration we have for friends and family. The cottage will be a buzz with all the preparation for the big day. I will be going to my annual spiritual retreat this weekend and am really looking forward to that time of renewal. Meal planning gives me the opportunity to have all my shopping and some meal prep completed before my travel date giving me an opportunity to be more relaxed for the trip.I just love my meal planning, it always gives me more time and money.

Thanksgiving was great here at the cottage and I sure hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Of course we have some left overs that we will be using on the meal plan this week.  We are busy already starting to decorate for Christmas, my favorite time of the year. We always wait until Thanksgiving is over before we start on Christmas.  This week we will be planning some easy recipes that don't take a lot of attention.

We are expecting lots of precious little trick or treater's at the cottage this week and we will enjoy seeing them all. It is always a fun time of the fall with dressing up and watching all the little children and (Kid's at heart) have so much fun. We will be planning our traditional Dinner for Halloween evening. It is so much fun to make meal plans around such a fun time of the year.

We are having a fabulous summer here in Texas this year and we are loving every minute of it. We just finished our potato harvest last week and now we have lots of wonderful fresh potatoes for our cold bin in the barn. We planted more purple potatoes this year, I think they will be so much fun to create dishes with great color. The Canning season is in full swing, we put up 35 jars of Salsa yesterday and of course an extra quart for the refrigerator, it is so good! Glad you stopped by this morning for coffee, lets get busy on The Menu for next week. Sunday Carne Asada   Guacamole Home Canned Salsa No Bake Lemon Jar Pie Monday French Cassoulet Texas Style Fresh Sliced Tomatoes Mixed Berry Galette Tuesday Greek Chicken Salad Left Over Berry Galette Wednesday Cheeseburger Casserole Tossed Salad Garlic Toast Spicy Peach Shortcake Thursday Slow Cooker Polish Sausage with Cabbage and Onions L...

It has been really cold here and not nearly as cold as some of you with the ice and snow.  I sure am glad you could drop by and have a cup of hot coco with me this morning, come on in by the fire and we will drink our Coco and stay warm while we visit.  Lets take a look at The Menu for next week. Looking For Great Menu and Meal Planning Ideas Check Out Over 125 Weeks  HERE Sunday Mexican Pot Roast Tacos (Slow Cooker)   Key Lime Cake Monday Black Eyed Peas (Slow Cooker) Green Salad Chow Chow Grandmothers Chow Chow Corn Bread Left Over  Key Lime Cake Tuesday Lemon Onion Chicken   Broccoli and Rice Casserole Fresh Carrot and Pineapple Salad Dilly Bread Cranberry Fruit Dessert Wednesday Butternut Squash Spaghetti Sauce   with Spaghetti Green Tossed Salad Garlic Bread Double Chocolate Brownie Bites Thursday Meatloaf Mashed Potatoes Green...

For the past few weeks I have been cooking from Muy Bueno, a beautiful new cookbook that will soon be published.  I will be giving away a copy of this book to one of my readers so you will want to be sure and watch for the giveaway post coming this week. Come on back to the kitchen and we'll have some coffee with this awesome coffee cake that is just coming out of the oven and we will visit about The Menu. Sunday Green Chili with Beef and Potatoes Salsa Casera (Recipe Link Above ) Homemade Tortillas Mexican Bread Pudding Monday Veggie Plate Special Turnip Casserole Crock Pot Au Gratin Potatoes Green Tossed Salad Cornbread Poached Pears Tuesday Comfort Casserole Fresh Fruit Plate Green Salad Hot Biscuits Pumpkin Squares Wednesday From Full Plate Thursday   Spicy Basil Chicken   at My Carolina Kitchen Roasted Veggies Grape Tomatoes and Garlic   at Fox In The Kitchen...

Hello, it is so good to see you today, we have been so busy with community festivities. There are so many craft sales, holiday open houses and parties, it is a great time of the year. Everywhere you go there is the smell of pine and spices that remind us of the wonderful memories of the holiday. At times like this I am so glad that I am organized and make a meal plan every week, it allows me to have more time and money to enjoy the events.  Lets take a look at the menu for next week. Sunday Green Chili & Cranberry Turkey Chalupas Green Chili & Cranberry Turkey Chalupa Miz Helen's Kitchen 1 1/2 pounds fresh ground turkey 1 medium yellow onion medium chop 3/4 cup fresh whole cranberries 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 14 oz.  can whole cranberry sauce 1 14 oz. can Green Chili Enchilada Sauce 2 cups shredded lettuce 2 cups shredded cilantro 1/2 cup shredded longhorn or sharp cheddar cheese 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese 12 corn tortilla's In a medium sau...

You are invited for Dinner, just look at the menu and pick a night, so come on in and we will take a look at what we will be serving for Dinner next week here at The Country Cottage. We have been discussing the concept of food planning and how it effect's our time and budget so I wanted to share with you a series of "Whats For Dinner Next Week". Just some menu idea's and a few recipes along the way in hopes that it will make your week a little easier.Our Grocery Sale Ads come out on Wednesday, and I like to plan my menu's so I can get my shopping done before the week end, so I will be posting this series on Thursday each week. Sunday Grilled Flank Steak Fresh Green Beans & New Potatoes Sliced Tomatoes with Basil Oil Garlic Bread Fresh  Peach Ice Cream Monday Slow Cooker Green Chili Enchilada Chicken  Fresh Steamed Asparagus Green Tossed Salad Flour Tortilla's Fresh Berry Short Cake with  Ice Cream Tuesday Pinto Beans ( don...