A crunchy crispy oven fried chicken that starts with a buttermilk, lemon and mustard marinade and is finished with a cornflake, Parmesan herb crusting.

Crispy Oven Fried Buttermilk Chicken

Crispy fried chicken really can be had in the oven y'all, and this recipe was inspired by an oven baked chicken recipe I saw in the May 2009 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I love using bone-in chicken breasts because the bone really does help to produce a very flavorful piece of chicken, much more than those boneless, skinless chicken breasts. There is no surprise that bone-in is very popular in Weight Watchers recipes.

A steak marinade made with soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, liquid smoke, onion, garlic and ginger, perfect for sirloin as pictured above.

Cajun Steak Marinade

I'm generally a pretty simple gal when it comes to steaks. For the most part, I prefer ribeye above all others and simply sprinkle them with a little Dale's or even just plain ole Worcestershire sauce, or my newest discovery, Country Bob's, bring them to room temperature and then throw them on the outside grill, or even on the George Foreman inside if I'm in a rush. Sometimes though, other cuts seem to need a little bit of flavor infusion, and this is one of my favorite steak marinades to use.

Tri-color rotini pasta is paired with red onion, celery, green and red bell pepper, black olives, chopped tomato and dressed with an Italian dressing.

Tri-Color Italian Rotini Pasta Salad

Here's another pasta salad for the recipe box. The first one I posted was a Creamy Pasta Salad version, and my attempt at duplicating a local restaurant's menu item. This one is made using Italian dressing and no mayonnaise.

It's a little more than just pouring leftover coffee over ice cubes and pouring in milk, but you can make your own cold brewed, iced coffee right at home and it's super easy!

Overnight Cold Pressed Iced Coffee

I used to be a coffee addict. I mean seriously. I literally drank the stuff all day long when I worked in the legal office, and in fact, often only coffee all day long - meaning I often worked through lunch and didn't eat all day. {Bad Mary.} I'm sure that has everything to do with my sluggish metabolism now, so gals ... don't do that! Eat. Eat breakfast. Eat lunch. And you won't be like a ravin' maniac starvin' Marvin' when you get home and evening rolls around.

Ground chicken, dressed up with a mirepoix of veggies and served in a light sauce on pasta.

Chicken Bolognese with Linguine

As soon as I saw this recipe in the February issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, I knew it would be perfect for those chicken tenders in my freezer.

But, since the seasonings in the original recipe consisted basically of salt and pepper, I also knew that I needed to bump them up! I mean this is skinless chicken breast people - not the most flavorful part of the bird, ya know?

Oh, and before I get preached to about the recipe, no... this is not a traditional bolognese sauce. I beg forgiveness of Bologna, Italy, but hey, I didn't name it either!

A nicely seasoned ground beef mix perfect for beef burritos with beans.

Beef and Bean Burritos

I really love a good homemade burrito on occasion and this is a great blend of seasonings.

Sweet and spicy meatloaf glaze made with ketchup or chili sauce, spicy mustard, Cajun seasoning and brown sugar, pictured above on my Slow Cooker Meatloaf.

Sweet and Spicy Meatloaf Glaze

This is a great all purpose sweet and spicy glaze that I dearly love on meatloaf, because I don't know about you, but far as I'm concerned a meatloaf just ain't a meatloaf without a glaze slathered on it! My ole cranky Cajun "thinks" he prefers meatloaf with gravy - and this coming from man who smothers other foods with ketchup! Eh... what does he know. Give me my sweet and spicy red glaze y'all!

Here's how I make it.

A yummy breakfast casserole that can be put together at the last minute - hash browns, cheese, sausage or ham, onion, bacon, milk, eggs, salt and pepper - what more could you want to start the day?!

Speedy Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

I love breakfast casseroles but I hate having to think about building them the night before ... I never think about that the night before!! And besides that, I usually wake up deciding I want a breakfast casserole - I don't usually want it the night before!

While occasionally I will construct a night before dish, this breakfast recipe is my go-to for the most part. It's got everything a good breakfast casserole should have - potatoes, cheese, sausage, bacon and eggs. And you can make it right away!

Layered Banana Cream Pie Dessert

Layered Banana Cream Pie Dessert

This Layered Banana Cream Pie Dessert starts with a quick baked vanilla wafer and pecan crust {though walnuts would be amazing here too} that is pressed into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Sliced bananas go over that, and then are topped with a bit of plain vanilla pudding, which sort of then seeps into the cracks and crevices between the bananas.

Fried Egg BLT BELT Sandwich

Take your classic BLT sandwich, add a fried egg and you've got some kinda good goin' on there! Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner anytime.

Fried Egg BLT Sandwich

I woke up at the crack of dawn due to a stopped-up allergy head and a husband who was havin' a snore fest {again} - 4:30 a.m. is just too early for a human being I'm tellin' ya!!

Anyway, for breakfast I made me one of those sandwiches up there and knew that, even though it isn't really a recipe per se, well, it was so dang good I just had to share!

Known by some as a BELT sandwich, because it's a BLT with a fried egg, but whatever you call it, it's certainly a favorite of mine. Great with or without cheese.

Layered tortilla chips, with seasoned ground beef, or leftover meats from your BBQ, cheese and topped with all of your favorite nacho toppings - chopped onion, tomatoes, pico, corn, jalapenos, black olives, sour cream, or choose your own favorite toppings.

Easy Beef Nachos

For some reason I have been on a Mexican and/or Latin kick here lately because my dishes seem to all be leaning that way!

First, I have been majorly craving a Cuban Sandwich for a month, then I made the Beef Enchilada Casserole, and then I was craving a beef and bean burrito, but I decided to make a Skillet Burrito Dinner the other day. Yesterday, besides a ham and cheese po'boy that I had for lunch, dressed and pressed thank-ya-very-much, I never ever got around to eating a "proper" dinner.

Layers of corn tortillas with ground beef, enchilada sauce, cheese and other delicious seasonings in a quick and easy casserole form.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

This is a quick and yummy recipe that you can throw together and have on the table in no time. It's delicious and not too spicy, though you can certainly kick that up if you want to. Believe it or not, I usually don't!

An easy layered dessert, made with cake, pound cake or angel food cake and a filling made with strawberries, whipped cream, cream cheese and condensed milk.

Strawberry Angel Cake

Here's another recipe for the strawberry files, since all those delicious strawberries are showing up in the southern markets right now. Don't worry the rest of the country, you're not far off! Last weekend I made a fresh Strawberry Pie that was reminiscent of the Shoney's Strawberry Pie of my youth. Oh my gosh does that bring back some memories.

 

Nobody seems to know where Jezebel Sauce originated or how it came to arrive at that name, but the combination of apple, pineapple, spicy mustard and horseradish have been a southern favorite for decades.

Jezebel Sauce

Nobody seems to know the true origins of Jezebel Sauce, though Mississippi is one state that lays claim to having invented it, along with Louisiana and several other southern states. I have no idea how it came to be named either, because if you know anything at all about the biblical Jezebel, you know she wasn't a very nice person, so I won't even venture to guess.

Fresh, extra large shrimp, coated in flour, dipped in an egg wash, then rolled in coconut and fried.

Coconut Shrimp

Coconut shrimp are a favorite down here along the Gulf Coast and these are delicious and not at all hard. The hardest part is dealing with pieces of coconut that come off and then burn in the oil.

The shrimp that I used were extra large ones The Cajun pulled up on the last shrimping trip, so just about 4 or 5 made for a real nice serving and didn't result in much residue of coconut falling off. If you are cooking smaller shrimp, or a larger batch overall, you may find you'll need to strain or change out your oil. That's just the downside of doing coconut shrimp, but I gotta say it really is worth the effort.

Spicy Mustard Sauce

Spicy Mustard Sauce
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1-2 teaspoons of creole mustard with horseradish
1 jalapeno, finely minced

Combine well and refrigerate until needed.

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Turn that leftover pork roast and cooked rice into a quick and easy stir fry.

Step by Step Pork and Egg Fried Rice

Fried rice is perfect for using up leftovers - that leftover rice and that tail end bit of a leftover pork roast, though any leftover meat will do. Shredded beef roast, sliced steak, chopped chicken and even shrimp work well too, so be sure to save any leftover meat you have and stick it in the freezer to save for this dish.

Tips to Help Coating Adhere

How to Help Coatings Adhere and Not Fall Off on Fried Foods (Chicken Fried Steak, Fried Pork Chops):

1.  After you flour the meat, if you have time, put them in a single layer on a rack on a baking sheet and refrigerate them for about an hour to help the coating set.  Otherwise, let them sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before putting them into the hot oil.

2.  The oil needs to be hot enough, but not too hot, and not too cold.  When you drop the coated meat in, sort of slide them in slowly so that the oil stays up underneath the patty and immediately move them around just a tad to prevent sticking.

3.  Let them brown good on the underside before attempting to move them again - but remember don't have the heat up too high, somewhere just over medium. If you try to peek at the underside too soon, or try to turn them too soon, they might stick.

4.  Use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, or a high quality non-stick skillet, the newer kind that is made to take high heat.  A stainless skillet will work, but know that sticking is a bigger problem with stainless.

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Chicken Fried Steak with Southern Style Peppered Milk Gravy

Cube steaks, dredged in seasoned flour, fried in fat and bacon drippings and drizzled with a peppered milk gravy.

Chicken Fried Steak

It would be a rare Southerner who does not preserve and use their bacon drippings, and I'd venture a bet that most of us have a jar or grease pot somewhere in our kitchen or fridge. Bacon fat is great for adding flavor to many dishes anytime that you need just a bit of fat, so we Southern cooks save those drippings every time we have the opportunity to fry up a bit of bacon... which of course we try to do as often as possible. We will use some of those drippings here.

Southern Style Peppered Milk Gravy shown on Chicken Fried Steak

Southern Style Peppered Milk Gravy

A Southern favorite, this cream gravy is made with pan drippings, bacon drippings or butter, and often a combination of one or more of them. Milk, or a mixture of water and milk, take the place of the typical stock used in gravies, and a milk gravy is typically heavily peppered. You may also replace the milk with chicken stock or water for use as a gravy over meats.

Hayes Star Brand Bean Soup Mix - Sausage, Beans and Rice

Tonight we are having ribeye steaks and frankly I don't generally do much with those.

Usually I sprinkle just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on both sides, let 'em come to room temp and then grill them on the outdoor grill. Add a salad, and a starch like some potatoes and we're good to go for dinner. 

A well loved pie, reminiscent of those served at Shoney's restaurants back in the day, made with fresh sliced strawberries and set with the help of strawberry gelatin and a secret ingredient!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

It's the season for strawberries, which makes me a happy person. I LOVE strawberries! And especially locally grown sweet Louisiana or Florida strawberries.

Strawberries are best purchased fresh when you need them because they just do not store well. Last year though, I discovered that the Debbie Meyer green bags and boxes kept them fresh in the fridge for much, much longer than any other storage method.

Crawfish in a creamy Velveeta cheese sauce served with fettuccine.

Crawfish Velveeta Fettuccine

Here's another delicious recipe that is a popular dish down south along the Coast and appropriate for Fridays during Lent. If you aren't a fan of crawfish, shrimp is an excellent substitute here. And yes y'all... this one uses Velveeta. Now... if you don't want to use that product to make this, feel free to make your own homemade cheese sauce! Just leave the rest of us to our Velveeta.

And speaking of which... here comes the soapbox "hissy fit" folks - y'all know I gotta do it!

Easy Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

A white sauce chicken enchilada using sour cream, chicken broth, jalapeno and cheese and rolled up in flour tortillas.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

When I decided to make these white chicken enchiladas it was because I had acquired ten pounds of boneless, skinless chicken tenders and needed to start coming up with ways to deplete some of them.

Yes, these are a little different from a red sauce, authentic Mexican style, corn enchilada. There are more of a Tex-Mex style, using a white sauce, which can be shortcut by using cream of chicken soup (which I often do), and sour cream, a little jalapeno and shredded cheese, Pepper Jack cheese if you like a bite, all rolled up in a flour tortilla. Speed things up by using pre-cooked chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken.

Lime Icebox Pie with Pretzel Crust

A super tangy icebox pie made with lime juice, lime zest and a packet of lime Kool-Aid. This one is made in a pretzel crust, but a homemade or commercial graham cracker crust works great too! Substitute lemon for lemon icebox.

Lime Icebox Pie

I love a super easy icebox pie!

This recipe is based on a pie from the Kraft Food & Family magazine a few years back. If you like tangy, you are gonna love this!!

And, hopefully this will invoke thoughts of summertime and the hot summer sun, swimming pools and beaches {and maybe even cabana boys} and little fruity umbrella drinks for those of you suffering the odd temperament of Mother Nature.

A quick skillet version of lasagna made with ground beef and sausage, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, cottage cheese, mozzarella and broken lasagna noodles. All the terrific flavor of baked lasagna, without all the time and effort.

Skillet Lasagna

I love baked lasagna. You just can't beat it, especially when made with a homemade fresh tomato meat sauce. If you have only ever had lasagna from a jarred pasta sauce, you really need to treat yourself sometime! Of course, you can also make a great sauce using the convenience of canned tomatoes.

Take that same basic method to the skillet and you have an amazing meal, with all the flavor, but that's done in no time.