Our weekly menu this week is extended to go through Easter Sunday so you can enjoy some of the ideas and recipes for your celebrations. We are very busy here at the cottage preparing for the Pass Over and Easter celebrations with friends and family. The gardens and grounds are being manicured and some spring cleaning going on inside. The hummingbirds returned to their feeders this week giving us even more signs of the renewal of spring. Sunday   Our neighbor had some extra chickens for sale this past week so we took some for our freezer and I decided to roast several of them before freezing them.  I like to roast the chickens then package the meat, 3 cups to a package, which is the usual amount for a recipe, then my chicken is ready to go.  We can usually get several meals out of one chicken, it is a great food budget item for families. Roasted Chicken Roasted Asparagus Delight Tossed Green Salad Irish Blackberry Crumb Cak...

Do you have fresh asparagus and berries in your farmers market, supper market or maybe you have them in your spring garden? They are very plentiful right now and a great buy in the markets. I was looking at some of the meat prices in our local market and was shocked to find a 3 pound chuck roast for $17.00, I was gasping for air, and thinking how many meals I would have to get out of that one roast to make it cost effective.Thankfully I had some roast in the freezer,we are fortune enough to be able to buy our grass fed beef from a neighbor. Knowing the local price points for food is very important to a family trying to stay on budget, which make's meal planning even more important with today's market prices. Sunday Swiss Roast Mashed Potatoes Tossed Green Salad Fresh Strawberry Pie Monday Ham and Asparagus Quiche Tossed Green Salad Rice Custard Tuesday  Chicken and Chilies Bake Mexican Rice Casserole Fresh Strawber...

Have you noticed the prices at the super market are going up on a weekly basis? Meal planning is a great time and money saver and with the prices on the rise it is a great time to be meal planning. One question I get from readers is "what happens when you have a meal plan and you can't complete it because of a busy day, the weather or just life?" B e F lexible A lways, it's ok to make that meal on another day or add to it or take away and substitute different parts of the meal. If you have a question about meal planning just email it to me or leave it in the comment line and I will answer it in a future post with a link back to you. Sunday Southeren Smothered Chicken Served With Rice Pearl Onions and Brussels Sprouts Tossed Green Salad Cheesy Dill Biscuits Apple Hand Pie Monday Fiesta Beans Spicy Oven Fries Gazpacho Salad Corn Bread Left Over Hand Pie Tuesday So...