A quick skillet meal of sweet or hot Italian sausage with seasoning vegetables, pasta noodles and a southwestern-seasoned tomato and sour cream sauce.

Italian Sausage and Pasta Skillet

Oh my goodness y'all... is this summer heat ever gonna end?? And it's not even August yet.

I know that I whine about it every summer but it's not getting any easier as the birthdays come on, that's for sure! The boys came by with their Dad for a swim and while PawPaw hung out in the pool with them, I had to go in and out of the house, alternating between visiting and cooling off. It was awful.

It's really been hard to get motivated to cook too.

Fresh, juicy tomatoes and garden cucumbers, paired with purple onion and dressed with a local honey and mustard vinaigrette, finished with torn basil, fresh from the garden.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Y'all know that I love me some fresh summer cucumbers and juicy, seasonal tomatoes and as salads go, I mostly just toss them with a mix of vinegar and sugar and call it a day. I do love that whole sweet and sour thing and that's the way I combine them most often.

Sometimes it's just simply cucumbers with onions, mostly sweet Vidalias, because it is the season for them too after all, but sometimes a sharp, purple onion is in order instead.

Chicken salad, made with green onion, celery, roasted pecans and bacon and dressed with blend of a mayonnaise and avocado. Serve as a sandwich filling or line individual plates or serving tray with lettuce leaves and scoop chicken salad on top, garnishing with tomato wedges.

Bacon, Pecan and Avocado Chicken Salad

C'mon now y'all... what's not to love about a chicken salad with avocado, bacon and pecan?

Well, I for one can attest - it is delicious!

I've noticed when engaging on social media that a lot of folks favor and have one signature chicken salad that they make all of the time and that most everybody knows them for. It's the one that they always bring to events.

I guess in that case, mine would be what I call my deli-style version, a very basic but delicious version, though I've made multiple variations of that one over the years, this being one of them!

Boneless pork ribeye chops, dredged in a seasoned mixture of cracker meal and panko crumb coating, and cooked in the air fryer. Shown here with a drizzle of milk gravy.

Breaded Air Fryer Pork Chops

I really love using an air fryer, especially in this heat. It's way less messy than frying on the stovetop too, that's for sure!

I have mentioned before, but it took me awhile to get on board with them admittedly, but when I did finally, I ended up with several of them! The one that stays out of the pantry and that I use the most is an oven style version though I did use the larger basket style fryer this time.