Lent Favorites Roundup 2 - What You've Missed on Social Media! Tap on the photos below to visit each recipe.

Social Media Roundup - Lent Favorites 2

We're having a bit of a strange weather cycle around the country aren't we?

We seem to be cycling between winter and spring even here along the Gulf Coast from one day to the next and I've personally gone from having the heat on in the morning to having the air conditioner on by afternoon way too many days!

But... it is mighty nice to see things blooming up around here finally! My azalea is in full bloom and I had to grab a picture of it before the rain washed all the blooms off.

I call this my "Katrina Azalea" because it started from a clipping that came off of a huge azalea shrub from my previous home and one of the few surviving plants from the saltwater intrusion of that storm into my yard.

We've been sharing some Lent-friendly meal ideas on social media this season, though honestly, these are all recipes for anyone, anytime!

A delicious sandwich made with sweet bell peppers and onions caramelized in olive oil, topped with eggs and served on French bread or thick slices of sandwich bread.

Italian Peppers and Eggs Sandwich

Y'all. This sandwich has become one of my favorites anytime because it's filled with all the goodness that I love - eggs and lots of caramelized peppers and onion. The flavor is outstanding!

I don't know much about the origins of this recipe, except that it apparently was common during the Depression, since most folks baked bread from scratch, raised chickens and grew their own backyard vegetables, making eggs and peppers readily available.

An easy skillet meal, made with shrimp, sautéed peppers and onion, tossed with small shell pasta and finished with a cheesy cream sauce.

Seagrove Shrimp with Pasta and Peppers

I ran across a recipe for this Seagrove Shrimp in the cookbook Best of the Best from the Deep South (#ad), a compilation of regional recipes drawn from various cookbooks from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. These are the same folks who published my cookbook actually! (#ad)

I don't know how the name Seagrove Shrimp came about, but if I was to venture a guess, I'd say it probably was named after a dish at a local restaurant in the Seagrove Beach, Florida area, or perhaps even invented in a beach condo by someone vacationing there.

I sure do love my Gulf Coast y'all and these beach communities along the Florida coast are my favorite get aways!

My almost famous Super Creamy Special Occasion Macaroni and Cheese downsized and adapted for the slow cooker, shown here on my plated Christmas dinner.

Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

If you've been around here any length of time, you probably already know about my Big Batch, No Calories Left Behind, Special Occasion Macaroni and Cheese. It's become a holiday favorite for so many of you over the years.

The one thing though?

It really is a "big batch," and you don't always need that much, so I published a smaller version for those not so huge gatherings too and y'all loved that just as much.

A shrimp gumbo, made with a roux and the trinity, and the addition of boiled eggs to stretch the meal and add additional protein for the Lenten season. Eggs may be omitted if you prefer.

Lenten Shrimp and Egg Gumbo

Egg most often appears throughout the year in a gumbo made from a hen or chicken, quail eggs in everything else often, though during Lent it's seafood. The egg stretches the meal and adds extra protein.

I based my version on a recipe from Best of the Best from Louisiana cookbook, which did not include okra, so I left it out, though certainly use some if you prefer. Some folks will argue with you that it's not a gumbo without it because they probably read that somewhere.

Tiny pasta shells cooked in a nicely seasoned tomato soup and milk-based sauce and finished with shredded cheese.

Cheesy Tomato Shells

We all have a least one of those simple foods that brings back memories and this is one of mine. Another one of those sinfully simple recipes that deserves a mention especially since it makes a great Lenten meal.

When I was a young gal, I used to hang out and spend the night at my cousins' house every once in awhile. Debra was close to my age and Patty wasn't all that far behind us, and we all got along and had a good time. It was nice to get out of the house and hang with them.

Mexican-style sandwiches of refried beans and cheese, served on sturdy rolls and toasted, then topped with pico de gallo, make for a nice snack, though they are often served at breakfast, lunch or dinner as well. Add your own favorite toppings!

Molletes - Mexican-Style Bean and Cheese Sandwiches

I am an animal lover. Most of y'all who have been hanging with us know that because you've heard me talk about the TNR program I have participated in the past 7 years since moving and discovering a neighborhood filled with strays and discards that needed to all be fixed. 
 
My dog Boo has been with me since he was found as a puppy, left behind in a box, inside a buggy in a Walmart parking lot in 2008. Hurricane Katrina had already changed the course of my life and I was just entertaining the idea of Deep South Dish. Boo and I have literally been together 24/7 ever since, so we became best buds.

We're both aging and it shows, but it's the natural course of life isn't it? You don't think about that much when you're younger.

Cheese Delights - Broiled Open-Faced Tomato and Cheese Sandwich

An open-faced, broiled tomato and cheese sandwich with bacon and fresh basil.

Cheese Delights

One day, when I was sharing my broiled tomatoes on the Facebook page, Cheryl, one of the readers there, was reminded of an open-faced tomato sandwich her grandmother used to make. She called them Cheese Delights.

You can find a variety of open-faced tomato and cheese sandwich recipes around the net, and while they have different preparations and some with a variation in ingredients, you'll primarily find the ingredients to contain at least:

Salmon, simply seasoned and pan-seared in a hot cast iron skillet, then transferred to the oven to finish, producing a perfectly cooked, juicy, tender and flaky fillet.

Cast Iron Seared Salmon

I grew up, and still live on the Central Gulf Coast where seafood is abundant. Whether you catch your own, or pick it up from a local seafood market, there's nothing that can compare to it from a grocery store freezer section, nevermind that which comes from foreign markets. Nothing.

Minced cooked crawfish combined with egg, crushed saltines, seasonings and fresh parsley, shaped into patties and pan fried or air fried for a Deep South favorite.

Crawfish Burger Patties

Most everybody is familiar with seafood cakes in the form of crab cakes and tuna or salmon patties. All are well-loved and popular, especially here along the coast during Lent, but you may not have thought about crawfish!

I know that around the country as a whole, crawfish are, well... let's say a little weird and misunderstood, but here along the Gulf Coast and especially in Louisiana and Mississippi, crawfish season is anticipated every year like a kid at Christmas.

Yep. Crawfish boils are a thing, and a pretty big thing here along the coast.

A cheesy pasta casserole made with a cream soup and sour cream base and rotini pasta.

Cheesy Rotini Casserole

This recipe is based on one that was popular back in the early 1980s among The Telephone Pioneers of America and was featured in their community cookbooks, Bell's Best and Calling All Cooks.

It was called Macaroni Casserole back then, because it was generally made with elbow macaroni. I used rotini pasta for my version because I had an opened box I needed to use up. Waste not, want not! 
 

The elements from my open-faced, spicy tuna melt come together in an oven-steamed hot tuna sandwich.

Cheesy Hot Tuna Sandwiches

Though they've been around a long time, you may not have heard about these yummy hot tuna sandwiches. They're a bit retro by now.

A riff on a tuna melt honestly, except while those are typically served open-faced on an English muffin and with cold tuna, topped with cheese and passed briefly under a broiler, hot tuna sandwiches are made on buns or rolls, wrapped and heated through in the oven.

A baked rice dressing, made with freshly shucked Gulf oysters, with sautéed onion, green onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, rice and seasonings, and always a holiday favorite here in the Deep South.

Oyster Rice Dressing

Rice stands in for bread and cornbread in this common dish here in the Deep South and is what we refer to as a rice dressing.

A mix of meats or seafood, or sometimes, as with this oyster rice dressing, a blend of them, along with onion, green onion, bell pepper and celery, rice and seasonings, it's very often offered as a side dish, though it is also used as a stuffing at times.

One thing is for sure. It's a favorite here in the Deep South year-round, and super popular for  Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

A simple dish of lightly seasoned pasta with potatoes, onions and peas. Simple, filling, comfort food and one of my year-round favorites, but a great option for Lent too.

Pasta with Peas and Potatoes

Lent has arrived, so I'll be sharing some very simple, non-recipe "recipes" over the next couple weeks to add to my list of Lent-friendly meal ideas. Some you will likely be familiar with already for Lent, others may be a reminder of recipes you've forgotten about.

Most of them, like this one, actually come from the Depression-era, when meals were simple, cheap, filling and meat free. They are actually meals that I eat throughout the year, especially if I'm on my own for dinner.

 

Catfish fillets, breaded with seasoned flour and panko breadcrumbs and pan fried - fast and easy and the perfect fish for sandwiches or tacos.

Crispy Pan-Fried Catfish

Fresh catfish is as common around here as ground beef is everywhere else, so we tend to eat a lot of it all year round and especially during Lent. Cut into strips and deep fried is the most popular way of course, though it's also excellent baked and even stewed, but whenever I prepare it as a whole fillet I like to prepare it pan-fried.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Homemade Vegetable Soup - a meatless vegetable soup made with a variety of vegetables and a rich vegetable stock.

Homemade Garden Vegetable Soup

A miraculous thing happened this past weekend. I made a pot of homemade vegetable soup and when The Veggie Hating Cajun got home, it went like this:

 

The pared down version of my fabulous and famous special occasion holiday macaroni and cheese. This version is the same, super creamy, gooey and rich mac and cheese, but in a smaller version, perfect for those family and church gatherings.

Super Creamy Mac and Cheese

By popular demand, I'm bringing you this pared down version of my well-loved, Big Batch, Special Occasion, Super-Creamy Macaroni and Cheese. The one I first published on my blog in December of 2008. The one that has been pinned more than 99,000 times since. And the one that I got a happy dance from David Venable when I was on QVC with my first cookbook, not once, but both times!

Fresh fish, trout pictured here, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and Old Bay, drizzled with butter and dusted with lemon zest, baked and garnished with sliced green onion and fresh parsley. Works well with many fish. Served here with Southern style green beans and parslied potatoes.

Baked Fish

You'll notice that despite being a Mississippi Gulf Coast gal, you don't see a lot of recipes on here for fish. It's not because we don't eat it - we do! Every chance we get. While Mondays are always red beans and rice here in the Deep South, Fridays mean fish, or at least seafood of some kind, thanks to our heavy Catholic population and abundant access to it.

Heck, I'm not even above cleaning them, and the basic rule is that if you catch them, you clean them, and well... it's not a pretty job, though the end result is, of course, fabulous. If you're too skittish for all that, the local fishmongers will sell them to you already cleaned and filleted.

Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy and The Old Biloxi Vancleave Special

A Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy, known locally as a Vancleave Special, is made with seasoned, thin crab patties, served on po'boy bread with mayonnaise, cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes and pickles. Add a cup of gumbo and a cold Barq's root beer in the bottle.

Crabmeat and Cheese Po'boy

It rained long yesterday, ahead of a cold front that will be bringing some welcomed lower humidity and temperatures for a day or three again. I love a good rainy day though, especially now that I work from home and don't have to make that 60-mile, round trip commute on a dangerous interstate highway.

Honestly, with a legal career that was already stressful enough, the stress started well before I got there with that drive most days. It was a fine paying job, and I really enjoyed my work until Hurricane Katrina took it away, but honestly, there are so many things that I really don't miss about it anymore.

Commonly known as croquettes, salmon is combined with fresh parsley and seasonings, crushed saltine crackers and egg, shaped into patties and pan fried for an old southern favorite. Traditionally, I serve these with mashed potatoes and creamed peas.

Salmon Patties

My husband loves salmon patties, and while they are both delicious and a common Friday meal during Lent, I think his love of them comes mostly from the memories. Every single time that I make them, he mentions his grandma and how she often made them for him. That's enough for me to make them for him anytime.

Speaking of Lent, can y'all believe that Easter is right around the corner? Geez. Time sure crawls when you're young and waiting for permission to wear makeup, or shave your legs, turn 16, 18 or 21, or go out with a guy, or get your license. Why does it fly as you get older? And, come to think of it, are any of those even milestones in a gal's life anymore these days?