There are many factors that go into  meal planning for our family.   The first factor that I always look at are the health requirements of the family members or friends who will be having the meal. Our medical  diagnoses has progressed to the point today that we know certain foods affect us in different ways and we can plan our meals to avoid those foods that cause us disease and or discomfort. We have a wide range of food requirements in our family, we have Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Sensitive and Type 1 Diabetes. Then we have those who say just give me meat and potatoes, with a little gravy please. Keeping all the health requirements in mind, we still need a nutritional balance on our table. I remember when my Grandmother would set the table for a meal she always presented two vegetables and sometimes more and usually had a meat of some kind.  I don't really think she had any guidelines to speak of, just what was seasonally available on the farm...

Good Morning, I am so glad to see you today, come on in and get out of the rain. We will sit by the fire, have some coffee, a slice of  Harvest Bread and catch up on whats been going on with life. We have been getting our garden ready for spring planting, we will be putting in our onion sets and some other early vegetables in 2 or 3 weeks.  I have recently added a new page to my blog  Max Time about our new little dog Max.  I also reorganized my  Miz Helen's Kitchen Recipes page to make it easier for all of you and me to find the recipe we are looking for.  Now lets get busy and take a look at The Menu for next week. I Sunday Southeren Smothered Chicken Rice Green Salad Hot Biscuits Grandmothers Buttermilk Pie Monday Pinto Bean Soup Spicy Oven Fries Corn Bread Left Over Pie Tuesday From The Left Over Bean Soup Baked Bean Chalupa Pico de Adame Topped With Green Salad Mexican Wedding Cook...

Full Plate Thursday Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather Post # 105  and Full Plate Th ursday Is Two Years Old ! I am celebrating By Giving Away $50.00 Gift Card To Amazon   Sorry For U. S. Only Must Be A Follower Follow Me On Face Bo ok Leave A Comment Letting Me Know What You Will Do W ith Your Gift C ard   Winner Will Be Announced Janu ary 17, 2013   This has been an amazing two years , with all of you.  I get so excited every week when I am  preparing this post to share with all of you.  You and your wonderful food have truly been a blessing in my life.  I have come to know so many of you and feel like you are a very special part of my life.  I am so grateful t o say that Full Plate Thursday has posted every single week for the past two years which was one of my goals when I began this journey. I want to express my gratitude to all of you for helping to make this possible, it has been awesome an...

This Southern Smothered Chicken is a family favorite at our winter family gatherings.  This dish is so comforting,  it warms the body and the soul.  I  love to serve it to my family, it brings back wonderful childhood memories and wonderful flavor to the table. We were recently having a family gathering and someone ask me to make this dish and I wanted to share it with you today, hope you enjoy it. Southern Smothered Chicken Southern Smothered Chicken Miz Helen's Kitchen 1 whole fryer chicken, washed and cut up 1 1/2 cups Flour 2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon thyme leaves 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 2 large yellow onions sliced Oil for frying 4 to 6 cups of water Directions Cut up the chicken and wash it, sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt and set aside Mix the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper paprika, thyme, poultry seasoning,garlic salt Slice Onions and set aside Heat oil ...

Happy New Year everyone! Wow can you believe that a new year is here already, it is going to be an awesome year and I am very excited to share it with all of you.  When we begin a new year it is sometimes a time of reflection and a time of goal setting or making resolutions. One of the goals that I have for this year is to mentor a group of young homemakers in food and budget planning.  As that project gets underway I will be sharing some of those tips with all of you. We better get to our Menu, before it's time to go to the market. Sunday Swiss Roast Mashed Potatoes Crisp Green Salad Cottage Bread Chocolate Cake Monday Austin Style Black Beans Homemade Tortilla's Pico de Adame Left Over Chocolate Cake Tuesday Muffaletta Casserole Green Salad Crisp Garlic Bread Italian Sesame Seed Cookies Wednesday Winter Vegetable Soup Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Left Over Cookies and Jello Thursday Apple Saue...

Full Plate Thursday Where The Greatest Cooks On The Planet Gather Happy New Year Everyone! I am so excited to see you today for our firs t pa rty of 2013.  I hope that each of you had a fabulous holiday season. We are glad to get th ings back to some kind of a normal pace here at the cottage and looking for ward to a awesome year with all of you.  I can almost taste all the wonderful food you are bringing today, so lets get it on the table.  Thank you so much for coming today and hope you will come b ack real soon!   This Is How You Filled The Plate Last Week    From Your Most Popular Post Your Top Ten Tutti Frutti Loaf Cake   at Simply Sweet 'n Savory Best of 2012 Soup and Bread   at Cook With Sara Creme Brulee French Toast   at My Turn (for us) Left Over Christmas Ham   at Taste and See God's Goodness Amazing Apple Sauce   at My Sisters Pantry Chocolate Fudge Pie   a...

I love spending time in the kitchen developing recipes, cooking for my friends and family and sharing them with all of you.  I want to thank you for the awesome support that you give me on this blog, all the wonderful friends that I look forward to seeing on a weekly basis, you truly bring so much joy to my life.  These are the recipes that you liked the most in 2012. Top Ten 2012 Crock Pot Au Gratin Potatoes Old Fashioned Steak Fingers Rosemary Pork Roast Slow Cooker Cabbage and Sausage Stew Fresh Green Bean and New Potatoes Grandmothers Chow Chow Chicken and Dumplings Grilled Chipotle Chicken with Chipotle Sauce Slow Cooker Green Chili Stew Lemon Meringue Pie Looking Forward To Spending Time With You In The New Year Wishing You The Very Best In 2013 Miz Helen This Post Is Linked To Wisk Away Wednesday   Cast Party Wednesday   Two Cup Tuesday   Tuesday Trivia ...