A spicy, slow-simmered red sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes and tossed with penne pasta. Here I've added a few additional seasonings, some chopped sweet onion and finished it with fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Spicy Arrabiata Sauce with Pasta

The word arrabiata (ah-rah-BYAH-tah) literally translates into the word "angry" and it's the heat from the addition of red pepper flakes here that earned the sauce the name, setting it apart from other more traditional Italian sauces.

If you enjoy a little heat in your sauce, start with the lesser amount of red pepper flakes. If you are already a lover of super spicy, increase that according to your personal taste.

While you can use fresh tomatoes, this sauce is often made using shelf-stable canned tomatoes, whether home canned or commercially bought, so it's an easy pasta sauce that can be prepared from the pantry anytime.

The classic dip combination of spinach and artichokes in an Alfredo base, with Italian and cream cheese and crabmeat.

Alfredo Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Crab

We're kind of in that awkward stage of food seasons down here along the Gulf Coast. Summer is gone from the calendar and mostly along with all the great summer vegetables, and though fall has arrived, the weather here can get a little wacky. Some days cooler, then others downright summerlike.

One thing is for certain this time of year though.

Tis the season for football and football means appetizers and snacks! Sandwiches, wings, meatballs, gumbo, chilis, soups, snacks, a wide variety of finger foods and dips, of course! You can grab up some ideas by tapping on those categories, or right here at this link.

A homemade from scratch snack cake made with peanut butter and finished with a caramel cream cheese frosting.

Homemade Peanut Butter Snack Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

If you've been around my blog any length of time, you already know I'm far more of a savory cook than I am a baker. Primarily that's simply because I'm not a huge sweets person.

It's not that I don't enjoy sweets because I absolutely do, and those beautiful desserts that pass by us all on social media certainly get my mouth watering, but I'm more likely to crave a bag of potato chips over something sweet.

I'm just more of a salty gal!

Tortilla scoops, filled with a blend of bacon with Rotel diced tomatoes, mayonnaise and cheese and topped with taco sauce and more cheese, then baked, for a great party appetizer!

Cheesy Bacon Rotel Cup Appetizers

Football season is king around this house with my husband, aka The Cajun. He loves the game, so I'm always looking for a good appetizer to snack on when it comes to game time, and this is a great one.

Typically made using phyllo cups, those can be a little hard to find around here for some reason. One day when I was adding my standard tortilla chips to the grocery list, I was reminded about the tortilla scoops. I thought hey, I bet those would work for those little snacks I like to make.

Turns out, somebody had already thought of that, so I made the adjustment and frankly, it worked out well!

Fresh green beans, trimmed, cut and blanched, prepared with onion, garlic and toasted almonds and finished with lemon, salt and pepper.

Green Beans with Almonds

Green beans are a very common vegetable side in this house because even my veggie adverse hubby, known here as The Cajun, will eat them!

I have to give some kudos to the man though, because since I've been blogging food, he has gotten a bit more adventurous with trying different veggies and other dishes that, frankly, he once would not touch. Typically if I put it on his plate, he'll try it and many times, says how good it was!