Chicken wings generously seasoned and air fried naked. Saucing optional!

Air Fryer Naked Chicken Wings

I love wings. Love them!

They are one of our top favorite foods for football gatherings, movie watching or really anytime snacking.

I used to do them most of the time in the oven and still do occasionally but they are ideal and so easy in the air fryer.

Now... first a disclosure because it's important and it matters.

Catfish fillets rubbed with a blackening seasoning and cooked in the air fryer!

Air Fryer Blackened Catfish

If you love well seasoned fish, you're gonna love this blackened catfish and it's made a little easier with the air fryer!

Usually when I blacken anything, it requires a screaming hot cast iron pan and that creates an intense amount of smoke, so for me, it's relegated to cooking outside on the grill. It works great, but the heat has really kept me from being able to do outdoor cooking in the summer.

This method provides a beautiful and flavorful blackening and it's done right in the air fryer on the kitchen counter and minus the smoke.

Yellow squash, cut into chunks, dipped in a blend of buttermilk and hot sauce and dredged in seasoned flour, sprayed with oil and air fried.

Air Fryer Squash Nuggets

I love summer squash and it can be prepared all kinds of ways - in a salad, stuffed, in a gratin, stir fried, smothered with onions, creamed, in a dressing, in a casserole and on the grill, among others.

And, I absolutely love deep fried squash y'all.

I mean deep fried foods are just so darned tasty - especially that good ole southern fried chicken!

Baby back ribs, sprinkled with a dry rib rub and air fried with sauce applied in the last minutes of cooking.

Air Fryer Baby Back Ribs

Y'all, I swear. If I hadn't tried it for myself, I never would have believed you could successfully prepare baby back ribs - in an air fryer!

What??

In fact, the first time I made them I thought surely it was a fluke. So I tried it again.

Sure enough, it's true! And they are good y'all.

Shrimp Poppers with Pepper Jelly Glaze

Jumbo shrimp, stuffed with a jalapeno popper filling, wrapped in bacon and brushed with a pepper jelly barbecue glaze.

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Poppers with Pepper Jelly Glaze

The Cajun's Dad always had an abundance of shrimp on hand. Nice ones too, many jumbos.

Back in the day, the family owned a small shrimp boat, so the boys would go out with Dad for a day of shrimping. When I was a kid, most young men and yes, even some gals around here too, would have experienced working on a shrimp boat at some point in their lives. Most families were involved in the industry and it was just part of the culture then.

When The Cajun went out, we would put up about 100 pounds of fresh from the Gulf shrimp that day. What a blessing!

Small red or yellow potatoes, tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and dried herbs and roasted in the air fryer.

Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes

While I love all kinds of vegetables, my husband, aka "The Cajun," is not a big veggie eater.

He's more of a "starchy" vegetable kind of guy and specifically the classic meat and potatoes man, so potatoes make a regular appearance on the plate in this house, along with rice, because rice is a big deal in the Deep South thanks to our many rice fields.

In fact, according to Think Rice US Grown, each year American rice farmers sustainably grow roughly 20 billion pounds of rice in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas, half of which is used domestically, and the other half exported. That's a lot of rice y'all!

But, we're talking potatoes here.

Seasoned shrimp quickly air fried and finished in a toss of a garlic butter blend. Use as a snack shrimp, great when served in individual appetizer cups for a party pass around or toss with cooked pasta for a main dish meal.

Air Fryer Garlic Shrimp

I love my air fryer! I may have mentioned that before??

It's great for reheating certain leftovers to bring back the crisp - like fried chicken - and it does an amazing job of reheating pizza. A lot of busy moms use them to cook freezer foods - like chicken nuggets and tenders, French fries and tater tots, corn dogs, egg rolls, and, in fact, many products have begun putting air fryer instructions on their packaging.

But I love it for cooking too!

Fresh tomatoes, air fryer roasted with onions and whole garlic cloves tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and blended. Perfect for pasta dishes but use anywhere you would use diced tomatoes or puree them for a more sauced version.

Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

As of this writing, Fall has "officially" arrived, though it does take a while to effect any change here in the Deep South. I mean, as we speak, there's a potential hurricane threatening the Gulf Coast!

Regardless, one thing is for certain, we're getting to the end of local and backyard tomato season.

Though he loves the sauces and casseroles I make with them, The Cajun is not a big fan of fresh, raw tomatoes and he wouldn't dream of a tomato sandwich! Me, I love them and I enjoy them with many meals, including simply sliced with a little salt and pepper, even alongside my breakfast eggs.

Chicken drumsticks dredged in seasoned flour and a buttermilk and egg batter and prepared in an air fryer.

Air Fryer Fried Chicken Drumsticks

While I don't eat it every day, and I rarely cook it at home anymore because it can be a bit messy, I do LOVE fried chicken.

Absolutely love it.

The chicken is tender. The coating on the deep-fried skin is so deliciously crunchy and loaded with flavor, it may well be my most favorite part. With easy access to places like Popeye's, and our local fried chicken buffet Hartz, fried chicken is The Cajun's and my top comfort food. We probably eat it more often than we should! 

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.

Ribeye steak, lightly marinated, then air-fried, combined with a mix of air-fried sweet peppers and onions and served over rice.

Air-Fryer Marinated Ribeye Steak and Peppers

Okay. I'm not gonna lie. When I first thought to do a ribeye steak, my favorite cut of steak, in an air fryer, boy was I leery about it.

I mean a good ribeye steak, besides being my favorite, is not cheap, and I was so fearful of ruining it! When I cook steaks, they are grilled most of the time, whether it's outside or inside on a countertop grill. (I love my Ninja Foodie grill and use it multiple times a week!)

Chicken drumsticks, marinated with a dry rub, air fried and finished with a spicy glaze.

Air Fryer Spicy Drumsticks

While I know we're heading out of summer, I have sure been enjoying my air fryer in this summer heat!

It was an appliance I didn't really think I needed, so I was on the fence about getting one for quite awhile, but I sure am glad that I finally took the plunge. I literally use mine in some way almost every day, though I would say that if you are going to go beyond snack foods, french fries and frozen convenience foods, go for a larger oven style.

Fresh asparagus, oven-roasted with an olive oil and lemon vinaigrette. Top with cheese and buttered bread crumbs for a gratin.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is my number one spring veggie. Yes, I know that it's available year round these days, but out of season it's not the best in my little ole humble opinion. The spears are often tiny and tough, and not nearly as flavorful as when they are at peak and in season in April and May.

It's very easy to cook also, with my number one favorite being a butter-steamed skillet method, followed by oven roasted. Air frying is really good too!

Chicken wings, air fried naked, then tossed in a lemon pepper sauce and finished in the air fryer. 

Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings

Wings. I love, love, love them as football food. Or, anytime food really. The Cajun and I eat them all the time and you can find my collection of recipes by tapping or clicking right here.

Whether you grill, smoke or bake them, they are an excellent addition for any gathering, whether it's a party of many or a party of two. I was really astonished how easy and good they are in the air fryer too!

Tortilla chips, covered in shredded beef, seasoned pinto beans and white cheese, and finished with your favorite garnishes.

Cowboy Nachos

I love nachos pretty much any way you can fix them. I mean who doesn't like piles of tortilla chips, topped with loads of cheese and all kinds of goodness? It's a great game day or movie night snack too and pretty darn easy to throw together.

This one uses some leftover beef roast that you've reserved from that Sunday dinner, along with some seasoned pinto beans, and then finished with some Pico de Gallo or all those delicious individual garnishes we all love - chopped fresh tomatoes, chopped purple onion, sliced green onion, chopped cilantro, sliced or chopped pickled jalapeno, sour cream, guacamole or chopped avocado.

Russet potatoes, air fry baked, then the pulp scooped out and mixed with cream cheese, butter, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, grated onion, bacon, cheddar cheese, stuffed back into the shells and baked again.

Air Fryer Twice-Baked Potato

I tell you what, if you live in the Deep South and you don't have an Instant Pot and an air fryer, I seriously don't know why.

Those have been the two most used appliances in my house all summer long in this oppressive heat we've been experiencing down here. I mean yes, we always have hot summers down here, but it sure seems we have had an awful lot of those heat advisories this summer and even though I have a killer A/C unit, I have had the oven on only a couple of times.

Catfish fillets, dredged in blackening seasonings and cooked in a hot cast iron skillet, served over Cajun Rice Pilaf and finished with an etouffee sauce with crawfish.

Blackened Catfish with Crawfish Etouffee

Southerners have been blackening foods since Paul Prudhomme came up with this method many years ago. Heavy seasonings seared into a piece of protein is heaven on a plate, and most of us in the Deep South have eaten it in some form or another in our lives.

It started with redfish, and seafood is most common here along the Gulf Coast of course, with catfish certainly taking a top spot on the list. These are the gorgeous filets I used this round.

Oven roasting intensifies the flavor of many vegetables, giving a browned and often crisped exterior, against a creamy, soft feel inside. It's one of my favorite ways to cook them, and they're a perfect addition to your table any time of the year.

Roasted Zucchini, Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes

It's mid-October and that means that we just finished up with "America's Largest Block Party" down here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. If you have a classic car, or even if you just love them, but you've never been, I don't know why! Put it on your calendar and get on down here next year and check it out. It's quite an event, there are beautiful cars everywhere, and it always starts the first weekend in October every year, continuing on through the next Sunday.

The weather has been perfect for it too, as it usually is for this event. By October, things have usually cooled off a tad here in the Deep South finally - mid-80s during the day and low to mid-60s at night. There was one night there on the ball field with No. 1 Grandson that I was literally shivering in a t-shirt and jeans! Humidity has not been too bad either and frankly that's really the biggest factor around here because even when the temperature is up, if the humidity is down it's pleasant, and that it has been. Really gorgeous weather.

Southern style, smothered fried potatoes with onion, are cubed peeled russets, that are first steamed, then pan-fried in bacon drippings to crisp and turned, resulting in a tender inside, but with crispy outer edges.

Southern Fried Potatoes

Literally every area of the country has some form of pan-fried potatoes. For those of us in the south, potatoes cooked with this method are sometimes known as a Southern style hash brown, mostly by commercial producers, because we've mostly just called them soft-fried potatoes, fried potatoes or smothered fried potatoes.

These are somewhat similar to my cast iron Skillet Potatoes - a simple Deep South take on Potatoes O'Brien, due to the inclusion of bell pepper (and sometimes mushrooms if I have them), the major difference being the type of potato used and the method of preparation.

Fried green tomatoes dipped in milk, then dredged in a combination of flour, cornmeal and crumbled saltine crackers, then pan fried.

Fried Green Tomatoes II

I was looking for a sturdier coating for my fried green tomatoes to use with another recipe that I was working on, so I played around with the way I've been making them for years, and finally settled on this new combination. These green tomatoes turned out fantastic topped with the shrimp with fresh tomato and basil cream sauce I made.

The original coating is a basic blend of cornmeal and all purpose flour, that frankly the perfectionist in me has vacillated between adding to, subtracting from, and changing around anyway over the years. There is only a small window of time to experiment with fried green tomatoes and a gal can only consume so many, after all!