White beans, slow cooked with smoked meat and simply seasoned.

Classic White Beans

Mondays in the Deep South are all about the red beans, but did you know as an excuse to eat more beans on the regular, somebody at some point thought up White Bean Wednesdays?

Yep. They sure did!

White beans are right next to red beans to me so I'm not mad about it either.

A chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo, made with a butter-based roux, the trinity and okra.

Butter Roux Chicken, Sausage and Shrimp Gumbo

A long time ago, I remember hearing an old wives' tale about combining chicken and seafood together in a gumbo, something to the effect of "land and sea, never the two shall meet," a throw back to Kipling I think. Supposedly, you weren't to mix seafood and chicken in a gumbo.

In my growing up, we didn't. There was seafood gumbo and there was chicken gumbo. There was no mixing of the two together in one gumbo.

Seems like it's actually really a thing though!

A Tex-Mex meal made in a casserole dish, starting with a layer of flour tortillas, topped with shredded cheese, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream, tostada shells, cheese sauce, taco-seasoned ground beef and more cheese, folded, brushed with butter and baked.

Crunchwrap Casserole

Okay, confession.

While I can recall having had a Crunchwrap from Taco Bell only once before and, in fact, while I also recall it being pretty tasty, it didn't drive me to have a constant craving so I didn't have much of a memory about how I felt about it!

Now don't get me wrong.

If I have a taste for a taco or three in a hurry, Taco Bell is gonna be my quick run y'all. They get a lot of ribbing, but I've always had a good experience with their food.

Boneless pork chops, nicely seasoned, skillet seared and baked atop sliced potatoes with a cream sauce.

Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes

I can't tell you how many times that I hear "my pork chops always turn out dry" whenever I share a pork chop recipe on social media.

Pork chops are so much leaner today than they used to be and that means they cook much faster and well, folks aren't necessarily used to that! The result? People tend to overcook them, rendering them dry and tasteless!

Cooking that long is no longer necessary with today's leaner pork.

Chicken wings, lightly dusted with seasoned salt, pepper and paprika, brushed with a spicy honey teriyaki marinade and baked.

Spicy Honey Teriyaki Barbecue Wings

The Cajun and I eat wings often and not just because there's a football game or party going on, although both of those times are common for sure! Our local Winn Dixie even has a great wing bar and we've visited that for a bucket of wings a few times.

As to my own recipes, you'll sometimes see that when I share a recipe for wings, the whole wing is in play and I've not separated my wings into drums and flats at all. I mean, it's just the two of us most of the time and frankly that's just another step.

Mini smoked sausages in a tangy sauce, perfect for any gathering.

Party Cocktail Sausages

Meatballs and mini smoked sausages - most notably those Lit'l Smokies - are two party staples and the best part? The sauces you use can completely customize them.

One standard mixture is the old school chili sauce and grape jelly blend and frankly everybody I know, even my grandkids, love that, whether it's on meatballs or sausages.