A smoked bone-in half ham, baked and finished with a glaze of Maker's Mark whisky, Creole mustard, pepper jelly and lemon juice.

Whiskey Glazed Baked Ham

My favorite baked ham, hands down, has always been what is probably the most classic southern baked ham - a brown sugar and mustard glazed ham with a Coca-Cola pan sauce. It is so good! Still, like everything else, I do enjoy mixing it up occasionally and this whiskey-glazed ham is a mighty fine version too!

Sliced whiskey-glazed baked ham, pictured here with cornbread from the recipe in my cookbook, purple hull peas from the freezer, and my favorite steamed broccoli recipe. {affil link}

A one pot spaghetti dish made with ground beef, tomatoes with green chilies, taco seasoning and shredded cheese.

Cheesy One-Pot Taco Spaghetti

Although most of the time when I make spaghetti, I use my favorite semi-homemade recipe. It's easy, it's reliable, it's tasty, and The Cajun absolutely loves it. That's really what counts the most, isn't it?

Still, spaghetti is so easy to make and delicious that I also like to mix it up a bit from time to time. In the summertime when the backyard tomatoes are in abundance, you just cannot beat a homemade, fresh tomato sauce and my big batch recipe is enough for two meals - spaghetti, usually followed by a lasagna or ziti. When the garden is overflowing with fresh vegetables, there's my veggie spaghetti, and my smaller batch fresh tomato pasta sauce is fabulous for those weeknight meals.

 

  A chicken stock based soup, made with a homemade cream sauce, sauteed vegetables and fresh mushrooms.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Did you know that if you transfer mushrooms from the plastic wrapped, Styrofoam container they come in from the grocery market, to a plain brown paper bag, they will last longer? It's true, try it.

Unfortunately, they still won't last forever, and if you're like me, sometimes we buy them with the intention of making something in particular and then forget about them and end up with some mushrooms that need to be used up quick like!

Enter fresh mushroom soup.

Classic and basic tuna noodle casserole, made with a homemade cream sauce, tuna and peas and topped with kettle chips.

Old Fashioned Tuna Noodle Casserole

Canned tuna is always a good standby, anytime really, and definitely during Lent. We eat it most often in its most basic forms, straight out of the can over white bread slathered with mayonnaise, or on a melt, in tuna and egg salad, tuna mac, or even a slightly more fancy tuna pasta salad.

And then, of course, there's this classic tuna noodle casserole to stretch it out into a full out meal. Since it's just me and The Cajun, I'm making it in a smaller 2-quart size here, which amounts to about 4 full adult servings with other sides, but double it up for a 9 x 13 inch dish if you've got a bigger family to feed.

Kielbasa sausage, braised with cabbage, onions and potatoes in chicken broth.

Braised Kielbasa and Cabbage

Between Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, there are some pretty awesome smoked sausages to be found down here. Distinctly Deep South, they are unique, highly spiced and incredibly flavorful, and the sausages we use the most in our cooking.

And then there's unassuming, simple and mild, soft-textured Polish kielbasa. Very much different than Conecuh, Savoie's, Polk's or Country Pleasin', but we love it down here just as much as anywhere else in the country. There are times you just want something simple and basic. Something that's comforting and delicious. This cabbage dish is just that and kielbasa is perfection here.