A versatile and super easy pasta sauce made from garden fresh tomatoes, pictured here with a three cheese tortellini and garnished with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce

We're already heading halfway into the month of July, so I guess we're getting pretty close to that final lap of summer, for which many of us will be grateful! I don't know about y'all, but I'm sure praying for a cooler fall and winter this year than last because it's been hotter than the hinges of Hades pretty much everywhere this summer.

Unfortunately, though, that also means that we'll be not long before saying goodbye to our favorite summer produce too, so get 'em in while ya can! {Southern Sidebar: Don't you just love how some of us southerners can butcher up the English language with a sentence like that? The grammar police must really love those of us who write on sites like this. Relax. We just like to write how we talk is all.}

Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese

An easy, creamy, cheesy, chicken broth-based broccoli soup that gives star attention to the broccoli.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

A reader asked on Twitter if I had a broccoli soup recipe, and while I had not put one up on the blog yet, I tweeted the basics to them, hoping I didn't forget anything. (I did. I forgot the garlic!)

Then, well, all I could think of the rest of the day was broccoli soup - so of course I had to make some!

Creole Jambalaya with Chicken, Smoked Sausage and Shrimp

A big batch, oven-baked, Creole-style jambalaya containing chicken, shrimp and andouille smoked sausage.

Creole Jambalaya

Jambalaya, often made in this way with chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp, is a very common dish here in The Deep South and we tend to have it regularly, though every recipe you'll run across is probably a little bit different from the one before it.

Different methods, different ingredients, different seasonings. It's a very versatile dish and there isn't any one way that is the only way.

Healthy and delicious high fiber pancakes made with baking mix, oat bran and wheat germ.

Healthy and Delicious High Fiber Pancakes

One thing that I love to do at the beginning of the year is to try to work out of my pantry as much as possible to sort of clear out the old. It can be a sort of fun challenge to do, and right now I have a pretty full pantry to work from, so coming up with recipes shouldn't be too difficult.

Last year I happened to have a very large box of Bisquick that I purchased to make my sausage balls over the holidays. They were out of my usual Pioneer mix and literally the one and only box of baking mix left on the shelf at the time was a huge box of Bisquick. I also had oat bran and wheat germ in the freezer, so I thought I would combine that Bisquick with those fiber rich nutrients and try to healthy-up some pancakes, using what I had. You can certainly reduce fat by substituting one egg white for one of the eggs, and using the Heart Smart version of Bisquick instead of the original version.

Revamped Brown Rice

It's that time of year!  We all try to tighten the belt so to speak (yes, me included), at least for a little bit, to try and knock off some of those seasonal pounds we seem to pick up between Thanksgiving and New Year celebrations. So many wonderful treats - it's really hard not to! Being a food blogger only makes it worse, and combine that with a food blog about southern food and well, y'all can imagine. So, I'll be posting a few of my favorite lower carb, lower fat, lighter recipes in between the usual classic southern favorites.

Brown rice is one of my favorites because not only is it healthier nutritionally speaking than white rice, but it also has a nice nutty flavor and a chewier texture that seem to make it more satisifying.  Alone though, it can be, well, a little dull. So while this is really a non-recipe recipe, I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite ways to bring brown rice up a notch. 

Wild Alaskan salmon dusted with a brown sugar, lemon zest and Cajun seasoned rub and baked.

Baked Salmon with Cajun Brown Sugar Citrus Rub

I just love Alton Brown. I am a fan of his show Good Eats (sadly, no longer on the air), and I have all of his books of the same name because they are a true encyclopedia of cooking in my opinion. If you like to learn the science behind foods, you'll enjoy these book and get a few recipes as a bonus.

 

A lighter version of crab cakes, made with whole wheat bread crumbs, baked in the oven and served with a light jalapeno cream sauce.

Baked Crab Cakes with Creamy Jalapeno Sauce

Being from the south, I'm used to crab cakes that are delicately pan-fried in a bit of butter, but this baked version is really delicious too... and a little lighter!

 

Simple pan seared salmon is drizzled with a sauce of honey, ginger, soy and hot sauce or wasabi, adding just a bit of heat and lots of flavor.

Pan Seared Honey Soy Salmon

Don't you just love salmon?

It's such a quick and easy meal, and delicious, so long as you don't overcook it. A lot of folks like it near raw, but unless I'm eating sushi, I'm not in that camp, and frankly, I'm more of one of those mostly cooked sushi kinda gals anyway. I prefer my salmon a little more cooked through, though barely.