A simple, light dessert, with layers of homemade egg custard, macerated strawberries and a little bit of warmed strawberry jam.

Strawberries and Custard

I have sure been enjoying fresh strawberries here lately and at any given time there are usually two pounds in the fridge. Right now I'm seeing Louisiana berries the most in the markets, and they sure are delicious.

Honestly, I don't often do much with strawberries in the way of a recipe. While I enjoy them occasionally in a frozen or layered dessert, a cobbler, pie or cake, or even simply macerated and spooned over a shortcake or a slice of pound cake, I mostly just eat them in their natural state. Add a little homemade egg custard though, and how can you go wrong with that?

Seasoned shrimp, seared and tossed in a tomato and trinity based cream sauce, with mushrooms and linguine.

Cajun Shrimp and Linguine

This is another quick and easy skillet meal, using shrimp and pasta. I prepare the pasta in my Fasta Pasta, {affil link} a kitchen tool I've shown you many times here on the website, and one that I use often,. So much easier - and faster - than preparing in a large pasta pot for sure!

Other than that, this dish is essentially a simple, one pot preparation, classic in Cajun cooking and using a simple sauce base of tomatoes, the trinity and cream with fresh Gulf shrimp, seasoned with Cajun seasoning and a little Old Bay added, and all that tossed with pasta. Easy and delicious! Here's how to make it.

A whole, cut-up chicken, browned in cooking oil, slow stewed and finished with fluffy, rolled dumplings.

Browned Chicken and Fluffy Rolled Dumplings

Whole chickens go on sale around here all the time, usually at 99 cents a pound, though sometimes as low as 69 cents. They usually restrict the number you can get, but I always get the limit and go back for a few more another day if there's room in the freezer.

It's considered a loss-leader in the industry, and it works, because that second trip always ends up with additional grocery purchases, even if only to stock up the pantry with canned goods and such. Although a 3 to 4 pound chicken is sufficient, I say get a bigger one and put up what you don't use here - that's what I do! The chicken I used here was nearly 6 pounds, so I had a few cups to freeze for another meal.