We have had the hottest temperatures with no rain to set a historical weather record. I am not outdoors today but rather sitting in my cozy office under the cooler and so grateful for cool air. When I think about making a meal plan, I just want it to be something easy and cool. My Micro Wave is a combination Confection Oven and in these hot times it really comes in handy, so I can bake without the heat in the kitchen. What are some of the shortcuts that you look for in hot weather?

The cottage is all a buzz preparing last minute details for our Easter weekend. We are very excited to have some family here for the holiday and are looking forward to some great food and visiting time. Advance meal planning makes it possible for us to do just that, we have serve great food to our family and yet have time to enjoy being with them.

Only 8 days until Christmas and we are busy going to Christmas events and enjoying the excitment of the season in the faces of our grandchildren that are visiting for the holidays. I usually make the meal plan from Sunday through Saturday, but since Christmas Eve is on Saturday and Christmas Day on Sunday I am including both those days with this meal plan. I love the food this time of the year so my biggest challenge is making a decision what to make, I love to many different recipes. We will have a joyous Christmas with family that we have not seen in a very long time and for that we are so grateful! Wishing You and Your Family The Peace and Joy of Christmas and May It Live In Your Heart Always Merry Christmas

What a great way to start the week with "The Love Day"! I am planning on spending the day with my favorite guy and being thankful that he is in my life. We will have a busy week coming up and I am so glad that we have a meal plan to follow this saves me so much time and money. I am looking forward to using some of the fresh vegetables from the garden in the meal plan for this week and of course planning some of my guy's favorite things for Sunday. So glad you are here today to help me with these plans, lets get started!

We were driving to town the other day and right there by the side of the road was this flock of Wild Turkey's, yes all you hunters out there would have loved it, they were so pretty. It's that time of the year when we see lots of wild life in our area. This week we are planning to have one of our garden vegetables that is still producing. It is really nice to have these wonderful seasonal garden vegetables to include on our menu.

It has been a fantastic summer for us and now we are looking forward to the last weekend of summer. It is always a busy time here at the lake because it is the last holiday weekend for the summer and lots of friends and family plan on coming out to enjoy the time.I have planned some real easy menu items so that I can enjoy visiting with family and friends. What are your plans for the last weekend of the summer? Sunday Slow Cooker Bar B Que Pork Roast Slow Cooker Baked Pintos Crisp Cole Slaw No Bake Lemon Jar Pie Monday Slow Cooker Bar B Que Pork Roast On A Bun Bacon and Roasted Potato Salad Left Over Crisp Cole Slaw and Slow Cooker Baked Pintos Spicy Vanilla Bundt Cake with Spicy Skillet Peaches Tuesday Southwest Chicken Soup Baked Tortilla Chips Left Over Bundt Cake and Peaches Wednesday Slow Cooker Swiss Strips Mashed Potatoes Green Tossed Salad Cottage Buns Key Lime Cookies Thursday Two Way...

It is cold, the temperature sitting at 29 degrees, burrr, come sit by the warm fire with me and have a nice cup of hot chocolate. We had our last harvest for the fall garden just before the freeze, we gathered enough jalapeno's to make some pickled jalapenos, a few green tomatoes to have fried green tomatoes and some beautiful roses. More Holiday Tips , we have several bags of cookies in the freezer to replenish the cookie jar as it empties out, along with several loaves of pumpkin bread ready to warm and slice. We have a breakfast casserole in the freezer just ready to heat and serve. I like to have these things on hand it allows me to spend more time with family and friends. Now lets see what we have on The Menu next week. Sunday Rosemary Pork Roast Slow Cooker Fall Garden Hash Cranberry Relish Sweet and Spicy Corn Muffins de Provence Apple Blueberry Crumb Pie Monday Slow Cooker Green Chili Stew Tortillas Left Over Pie Tuesda...

I have been doing a little fall canning this week and have been getting some things ready to go to one of the local festivals.  It is so much fun to go to the festivals and check out out the canned goods, arts and crafts.  It is always great to get together with some folks that you don't get a chance to see very often.  I am peeling apples this morning so come on in you can help me, we are going to make some apple butter, and talk about The Menu for next week. Sunday Game Day Slow Cooker Polish Sausage with Cabbage and Onions Mustard Potato Salad Pear Pie Pocket Monday Southwest White Bean Stew Pumpkin Biscuits Left Over Pear Pie Pocket Tuesday Grilled Herb Pork Chops   Turnip Casserole Buttered New Potatoes Tossed Green Salad Spicy Butternut Bread and Fresh Berries   Wednesday Muffaletta Casserole Winter Greens Salad Garlic Bread Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies Thursday  Lad...

 I always start thinking about cooking something warm and cozy  as we begin to transition into fall, we think of nice Slow Cooker Meals, Soup, and Stews. Although our temperatures are still very warm the animals tell us there will soon be change. Watching nature, you can just feel the season beginning to change. We have a couple of Hummingbird feeders and we have been refilling them every day.  We have had a family here all summer but right now we have travelers and as best we can tell there are about 12 to 13 extra birds that have been here for a week now. One day very soon, around the middle to last of October  they will all be gone, the season is about to change.  Come on back to the porch with me and we will watch them and talk about the menu for next week. The Menu Sunday Roja Pork Tenderloin   Austin Style Black Beans     Tomatillo Cheese Grits   Tossed Mexican Salad  Miz Helen's Salsa ...