A quick and easy, small batch chowder, made with the trinity, smoked sausage, beef stock, stewed tomatoes, potatoes and white beans.

Smoked Sausage and White Bean Chowder

I sure love a good soup and even better when it's one of those quick and easy versions, but one that still tastes great!

Soup is pretty easy to make, no doubt about that, and you don't really even need a recipe. In fact, some of the best soups come out of refrigerator or freezer leftovers thrown together! Trouble is though, trying to recreate the same flavor the next time. While they are all usually still good, it's hit and miss on capturing the same taste you got before. That's where soup recipes come in handy.

Center cut, boneless, pork chops, lightly seasoned, pan seared or grilled, and finished with an apple cider, brown sugar and mustard glaze.

Apple Cider Boneless Pork Chops

 Pork chops are so lean today and fast cooking, which makes them a great weekday meal that doesn't require a lot of work. Because pork is so lean though, it can be bland. This finishing glaze fixes that and makes for a tasty, fast and easy dinner. The only thing to remember is that they cook very quickly and to take care not to cook them to death!

Bone-in chicken thighs and legs, rub marinated, then grilled over indirect heat or smoke cooked, brushed with Alabama white sauce and served with additional sauce on the side.

Smoked Chicken with Alabama White Sauce

I have to admit, I don't cook outside as much these days. The heat is just too hard on me as I've gotten older, and it gets hot as a match in the summertime here! I mean, I was filling bird feeders yesterday and just in that short time I thought I was gonna die!

Though I haven't let go of my stack smoker, Weber, Lodge Sportsman, or my gas grill, of all of the cookout tools I have, I still love my Traeger pellet cooker {affil link} the most.

A classic homemade version of French onion dip, with a twist on the original!

Classic French Onion Dip

I love onions! I use them for seasonings in most cooking, though my preference is and always has been sweet over the harsher yellow onions, and certainly Vidalia onions, when they are in season. I'll even eat those raw on burger and dogs or with beans.

I have a couple of favorite onion dips using Vidalias that are marvelous! One is made with onions and pepper jack cheese, topped with buttery crackers and bacon, and served hot. The other is a cold dip, but made with caramelized onions. This classic onion dip that most everybody knows, and loves, is actually pretty simple in its origins. An envelope of dry onion soup mix combined with a large carton of sour cream, done and done. And, it's pretty darn delicious in and of itself!