Thinly sliced or pounded pieces of boneless chicken breast are grilled, then topped with barbecue sauce, bacon and shredded cheeses, and finished with a garnish of fresh chopped tomatoes and sliced green onion.

Grilled Cheesy Barbecue Chicken

This is a such a quick, easy and super tasty meal that's really perfect for any weeknight.  Known across the net as a copycat of Chili's Monterey Chicken, it's really nothing more than a simple boneless, skinless chicken breast that is brushed with barbecue sauce, topped with bacon, a little shredded cheese and finished with a garnish of fresh chopped tomato and and sliced green onion.

I've never seen or tasted the actual Monterey Chicken from Chili's restaurant. I don't even know if it is still  a menu item to be honest, but all of the recipes I've seen follow this basic method, though for my adaptation, I did make a few minor adjustments.

I didn't bother with a brine, or even a marinade, though a quick brine would certainly do nothing but enhance it and help prevent overcooking - something that is especially easy to do with boneless skinless chicken breasts. Instead of pounding the chicken breasts flat, like for a chicken fried chicken, or a schnitzel, I decided to slice them in half lengthwise. I guess I didn't have any aggression to take out at the time! Whether you pound it or slice it, get a few slices of bacon going too while you're preparing the chicken.

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A great summer side or light meal, garden fresh tomatoes are sliced, dredged first in flour, then dipped in an egg wash, rolled in bread crumbs, topped with shredded cheese and passed under the broiler.

Broiled Tomatoes

When we think of a tomato with a crumb coating, the first thing that probably comes to mind are our well loved southern fried green tomatoes. We rarely think about doing something similar with these wonderfully fragrant and juicy red tomatoes we all love to devour this time of year. If you're looking for something a little different to do with your bounty of garden tomatoes, this very old fashioned recipe just might be the ticket. Broiled tomatoes make a great light summer meal or can serve as a wonderful supper side. Let's enjoy those tomatoes while they actually taste like a tomato!

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Quick fresh fig refrigerator jam - simply chopped figs, sugar, a little bit of water, and some lemon. Simple. Perfect.

Fresh Fig Refrigerator Jam

Seems like I just planted my Celeste fig tree but it's been more than 4 years already. I planted it in honor of my mama not long after Hurricane Katrina made me a full time homemaker and well, blogger of southern food too I guess now! You can read more about Mama's fig tree on my recipe for a delicious lemon poppy seed fig glazed cake. The cake there is "glazed," or really just topped to be honest, with nothing more than a thicker form of refrigerator jam.

I didn't post this jam before now because frankly I pretty much thought that figs had played out and it wouldn't really be much use to anybody but me. Then a few people mentioned on the Facebook page that they are only now beginning to pick figs and looking for recipes for fig jams, so I guess it might be helpful after all!

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An old fashioned southern salad of thinly sliced cucumbers and sweet Vidalia onions, dressed in a sweet and sour mayonnaise dressing. 

Creamed Cucumbers and Onion

I've been eating my share of cucumbers here lately that's for sure. First, I was gifted with a bag of them. Then, finally after replanting seeds multiple times because the heat was literally melting my poor plants, the last four that I planted finally started producing for me.  The Cajun doesn't eat cucumbers at all, but I love garden cucumbers, so that's just all the more for me. I've made cucumber cream cheese sandwiches and every single cucumber salad I have here on the site more than a few times the last few months, and realized I hadn't posted the creamy ones yet.

I actually do two versions of this creamy style cucumber salad - both of which have been around, well, probably longer than I have! One is essentially a basic sour cream dressing, I'll put that one up next - and this one, made with very thinly sliced cucumbers and onions, and a sweet and sour vinegar and mayonnaise  dressing.

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Simplicity is what makes up a Cajun Shrimp Stew - a simple light roux, onion, sweet bell pepper and a few seasonings is all there is to it!

Cajun Shrimp Stew

Cajun food kinda reminds me sometimes of Mexican food. No, I haven't lost my mind. It's about how the same basic ingredients are often used and simply the application or process differ. To me Shrimp Stew is like that. What exactly sets it apart from gumbo? Well, in truth, gumbo should include okra, or at least gumbo filet - the ground leaf of the sassafras tree - both used, along with a roux, as thickeners. Gumbo uses a deep, rich roux, but as roux cooks, it loses it's thickening power, and that's where okra or gumbo filet comes in. I personally have been known to use both myself!

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Zatarain's Frozen Entrees

Most of you know that I do my share of cooking around here, and that while I do occasionally use some convenience products, my primary focus is on scratch cooking with fresh ingredients. Just like the rest of you though, I have days where I am too hot, too busy or just plain too tired to want to spend any time in the kitchen. It doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

Lots of folks are cutting way back on eating out in this economy and are often so busy that frozen dinners can help to fill in occasionally.  They are handy for busy workdays when you can't break away from the office, weeknights when life is a rush to begin with, and especially right now when the thought of cooking in this heat make you want to just skip eating altogether. I also know that many of you are already familiar with, love and use Zatarain's products – from boxed mixes, to pouches, to seasonings. I only recently learned, however, that they were carrying a new line of frozen dinner entrées so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to give them a taste test. There are currently eleven meals to choose from.

The first time I went to the store, I picked out Sausage and Chicken Gumbo and Jambalaya Pasta with Chicken and Sausage. I tried the gumbo first.

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25 Terrific Recipes to Make with Ground Beef

Classic Patty Melts are a diner classic and we love them. Sort of a grilled cheese meets hamburger kind of sandwich, they are easy to make and just downright wonderful!

My husband is a hardy meat and potatoes man and ground beef is a great way to fill him up. It's certainly one of my most favorite and economical ways to stretch out a meal. I've had several readers lately looking for ground beef recipes and asking for some ideas of what to do with ground beef, so I've gathered together a collection of some of our favorite ground beef recipes here on Deep South Dish. You'll find meatballs, meatloaf, burgers, sandwiches, casseroles and more. Click the link or the photo to see the full recipe and to print them. I hope that you'll find something you love!

Natchitoches Meat Pies are a favorite down in this part of the south. A simple beef and pork mixture is lightly seasoned with The Trinity and then fried or baked. Just delicious and made super easy with a commercial pie crust.

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Rice and a Trinity of veggies are first sauteed in butter, then simmered in chicken stock for a wonderful rice side dish that is just as good for pork, as it is for chicken, shrimp, fish, or beef.

Cajun Rice Pilaf

This is one of my favorite ways to jazz up some plain rice for a nice side dish. I throw it all in my rice cooker and let it manage the rest, but if you don't own one yet, you can certainly low simmer this on the stovetop just as you would do regular rice. The rice is first sauteed in the pan just until it begins to lightly brown and then simmered in stock or broth as for a pilaf, but I won't tell if you just dump it all in together either. To be honest it works either way and I certainly do both depending on how lazy I'm feeling at the time. Without sauteing the veggies and rice, the texture is a bit more puffy than pictured, but it's all good!

It's a very simple but flavorful side dish which is what makes it so nice with just about any protein. You can even add protein in the rice to make this a main dish meal.  First we'll melt a bit of butter in a skillet and saute some Trinity, of course - wouldn't be Cajun without it! Add in a little bit of garlic and stir in the rice. Cook and stir the rice over medium heat until it begins to lightly brown.

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A refreshing summer drink of sour cherries and lemonade.

Sour Cherry Lemonade

It's kinda hard being a blogger of food this time of the year, and especially when it's primarily classic and favorite southern recipes you write about. People are cutting back on calories and passing over comfort foods, for swimsuits and vacation time. On top of that, it's just so darned hot down in this part of the world, that it's pretty hard to think about cooking, much less eating, especially if you've spent any of the day outside. On the rare occasion that we want to stand over the stove or turn on the oven in the summer, it has to be for something special, or to satisfy a particular craving.

This is the time of year that I like to try a variety of cold, fruity drinks. I was recently flipping through the July 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and saw a recipe for sour cherry lemonade. It sounded refreshing, and a little different, so I thought it'd be a great time to add another lemonade to the mix. Of course Martha's recipe was made with fresh cherries and fresh lemons, neither of which I had on hand. I did know however, that I had a couple cans of Oregon tart cherries in the pantry and a can of lemonade concentrate in the freezer, and so, I wasn't troubled in the least! Fresh cherries would have been nice, although much more work, and canned cherries by Oregon contain nothing but fruit and water and are a great substitute and a winner in my book anytime!

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Crispy twice cooked potatoes are topped at the last minute with green onion and just a pinch of bacon and cheese. A perfect side dish for those grilled steaks or chicken.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

A potato is a pretty amazing little side dish. There must literally be thousands of ways to serve them from mashed to casseroles and every way in-between. There are even a variety of ways to simply bake them, such as cut into chunks and open roasted, or sliced and roasted covered, both different from the other and each different from a plain potato, baked naked, directly on the oven rack. Each method provides a different texture.

Same with these double-cooked, crispy, smashed potatoes, originating as Crash Hot Potatoes from Australian food writer, Jill Dupleix a few years back, but perhaps more readily recognized as being brought to fame by superstar Pioneer Woman blogger, Ree Drummond.

Smaller red or tiny new potatoes are best for this crispy side dish and are first boiled to cook them through and make them creamy. The potatoes are gently smashed down flat, and returned to the oven so that all of the bends and edges crisp up. I loved the way the Dupleix said to "blast them in a hot oven until they are terminally crisp," because indeed you don't want to take them out until they are well browned and crispy - that's the key that makes this side dish unique.

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Easy Fresh Peach Cobbler

Super easy cobbler made with fresh peaches, cinnamon sugar and a simple buttery batter.

How to Make Peach Cobbler

Cobbler has to be just about the one easiest dessert in existence, yet in its simplicity, it is both heart and belly warming. Apart from an old fashioned dumpling style cobbler, this is a basic old school batter I have used for years with a variety of fruit. It used to be called 1-1-1 cobbler because it used one stick of butter, one cup of flour and one cup of sugar, though I've cut back the butter on mine and use a method that is just a tad bit different. It's a very simple recipe and it works.

Southern Style Hissy Fit Warning: I recently saw somebody throw out the SSC again {that's Southern Shame Card} on somebody else for using canned peaches in a peach cobbler. Don't worry, 'they' do it to me all the time too - sort of like that whole so-called "authentic" southern cornbread thing. I really don't get why anybody needs to be uppity about what defines southern cooking anyway, but... there are still a few around who think they have the official rule book to dictate to the rest of us southern born folks, just how we are supposed to cook southern I guess. One of the worse side of the mouth insults you can say to a southern born and raised southerner is to say that "a real southerner" would or would not do something.

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Featured Reader Recipe: No Bake Frozen Yogurt Strawberry Pie

A little cool slice of heaven is found in Rose Mary's Frozen Yogurt Strawberry Pie. It's perfect for your next gathering!

Frozen Yogurt Strawberry Pie

Today I'm excited to bring you not only a Featured Reader Recipe, but a Featured Guest Post from a lovely lady I have been corresponding with for several months now.  Rose Mary found herself un-expectantly retired by disability, after a long held career in the retail food industry. Not one to be hampered by that, she turned a passion for food and a love of cooking for others, into a self-published cookbook project to help make ends meet. You can find out more about her cookbook at the bottom of this post.

Coming from a background built upon firm parenting under strong Christian values and humble beginnings, Rose Mary is part of a large and accomplished family. She is truly a delight and joy, and the kind of person who can't help but brighten your day. I know you'll enjoy getting to know her, as much as you will enjoy the delicious recipe she is sharing with us. Please welcome and say hello to our special guest.

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