Saltine crackers get a flavor boost from a toss in a Ranch flavored, garlic and onion seasoned oil.

Firecracker Saltines

Y'all... make some of these to go with that Hissy Fit Dip I just posted. I swear you will love them together.

Although I've been acquainted with a version of these since the 70s, we got real close when The Cajun and I moved our household almost 4 years ago. No, we didn't get rich from my blogging (far from it actually) and get to build our brand new dream home from it.

Au contraire, we, in fact, bought a house that was older than the house we left. We moved from outside the city to town to be closer to the grandkids - and don't you know 2 years ago they went and moved on us! Can't blame them really. They got a bigger house for a great price and we're all in town and close still, so it's all good.

 

A hot dip, made with breakfast sausage, a mix of cheeses, sour cream, Worcestershire, hot sauce, vibrant seasonings and green onion. Serve with your favorite crackers, chips or assorted raw veggies.

Sausage and Cheese "Hissy Fit" Dip

Make. This. Dip.

I'm serious!

It is soooooo darn good y'all, you will fall in love with it and want to eat the whole thing.

By your little ole self.

Chewy oatmeal cookies, with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips scattered throughout!

Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Oatmeal cookies are my number one favorite cookie.

Although I do enjoy all kinds of cookies from shortbread to tea cakes, to chocolate chip to classic snickerdoodles, oatmeal has always topped the list.

A mix of tender frozen and creamy corn, baked in a savory egg custard.

Corn Pudding

Corn Pudding suffers a similar identity crisis as corn casserole. What defines it is most often what you grew up with and nobody makes any of it the same way.

What some folks call corn spoon bread, others call corn casserole... and vice versa.

What some call corn casserole, yet others call corn pudding... and vice versa.

Sweetened pear halves, stuffed with a cream cheese and whipped cream filling, garnished with a light sprinkling of mild cheddar cheese, and if you're feeling fancy, finished off with a maraschino cherry.

Pear Salad

This is not so much a recipe, as it is a nostalgic reminder of this delicious holiday side from the past. It's so old school, that some of you my age and older may even remember seeing this at school.

Hardly anybody really thinks about pear salad much anymore, and I'd venture a guess that very few of the younger generation even know anything about it and likely wouldn't be all that receptive to it either.

Classic Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo (Gumbo Ya-Ya)

A classic light roux-based gumbo, made with a cut up chicken and andouille sausage, served over hot steamed rice.

Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

I've been making and sharing Miss Lucy's chicken gumbo with y'all for years, but admit, her classic Cajun-style method is not exactly the way that I usually make my gumbo.

Miss Lucy's recipe makes a roux, then adds water to the roux and then adds the chicken, sausage and trinity (onion, bell pepper and celery) to the pot, a classic Cajun one pot prep.

I prepare my gumbo in a way that is more traditional where I live - brown the meats, prepare the roux, cook the trinity in the roux, then add the water or stock and the rest.

However you make it, we eat a lot of it and it's mighty good!