My version of Johnny Marzetti, a well-loved baked casserole originating in Ohio, made with ground beef and pork, the trinity of southern cooking, tomato soup, mushrooms, egg noodles and cheese.

Johnny Marzetti Casserole - My Way

I know, I know... it's HOT! But this is one of my favorite casseroles to make, and I've made it twice here recently, so yeah, I'm sharing it, right in the heat of the summer.

Besides, it's a terrific potluck carry too that everybody enjoys.

There is something about the combination of textures and flavors here that make this an outstanding meal anytime of the year and perfect if you have a countertop oven (#ad), which is what I use the most these days anyway, especially in the summer.

Y'all Sweet Tea comes in large pouches to make one full gallon of tea at a time. Made from a grandparent approved combination of an old family recipe, with a custom-blended black tea, their claim to fame is "One Glass 'n You'll Be Back!" They are correct!

Y'all Sweet Tea Review

As someone who has been blogging for a few years now, I occasionally get samples of cookbooks or products to review, and in turn, if I like it, and only if I like it, I share my review of said cookbook or product with y'all here on the Deep South Dish website.

This, actually, is not one of those times.

The flavors of a New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp, made with brined and marinated, peeled and deveined grilled shrimp, making it much less messy to eat. Serve with plenty of French bread to sop up the sauce though!

Grilled New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp

Most of you know by now about New Orleans style BBQ shrimp and that it has nothing to do with anything remotely linked to smoke cooking or even barbecue sauce.

It is thought that the recipe originated with Pascal's Manale Restaurant - a nearly 100 year old eatery located on Napoleon Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. The name likely comes from the smokey flavor that the shrimp gets from the spicy, heavy on the butter, yummy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and the spicy, peppery seasonings.

There is no doubt that we love our shrimp in this country - we eat more than a billion pounds of shrimp alone every year! Unfortunately, 90% percentage of the shrimp we are consuming is imported - and frankly many of us who live outside of the coastal regions, don't even realize it.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatball Bites with Burger Sauce

Party meatballs in a delicious meatball sauce.

As we speak, football season is in full swing... finally if you ask The Cajun.

Our television has barely left the SEC and NFL Networks since preseason started - and, of course, along with the season, comes the fabulous food!

Meatballs surely must be the quintessential football party food don't you think? Whether you're tailgating or homegating, it'd be rare to be at a party without a crock or three going and meatballs destined to be in at least one of them. Frankly, it's where most everybody seems to gravitate. I know my husband sure does!

Mrs G's Pepper Jelly

Mrs. G's Pepper Jellies are not your average pepper jellies. Loaded with flavors from sweet and hot peppers, like jalapeno and habanero, garlic, lime, ginger, mango and peaches, and hand-crafted in small batches, there's no commercial taste here - you'll swear these were made in your own kitchen y'all!

This has sure been one hot summer down south y'all! Has it always been this hot? Seems not to me but I reckon I probably say that about this time every summer. Mercy!

Now that I have a nice, shady covered patio with a ceiling fan though, since early spring I have sure been working my grills around here... instead of my oven. I don't mind cooking in the kitchen during the summer really - I just crank down the air and put a fan at the door - but grilling is faster, easier and doesn't heat up the kitchen at all, so it's an awfully nice alternative.

Full Moon Bar-B-Que Ultimate BBQ Box Review

Rub - Top - Mop - Dip Check out the Ultimate BBQ Box from Alabama's Full Moon Bar-B-Que - one of the top ten restaurants in the U.S.! Southern Seasoning (rub), Chow-Chow (top), their award winning Bar-B-Que Sauce (mop) and the fabulous and famous, north Alabama white sauce (dip). Heaven in a box!

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have taken notice in a few posts here and there, some products from Full Moon Bar-B-Que making an appearance. You may have also noticed, one or the other has made its way into a few of my recipe posts here on the blog in the past few weeks too.

Well, that's because the good folks there at Full Moon were kind enough to send me a sampling from what they call their Ultimate BBQ box, containing their award winning line up of sauces and seasoning, including Southern Seasoning, Chow-Chow, Bar-B-Que Sauce and their Alabama White Sauce.

Mississippi in a Box Review

Mississippi has the beautiful ability to make anyone feel at home, and the Mississippi box is perfect, whether it's something you'd enjoy for yourself, to share Mississippi hospitality with someone else or as a gift for a homesick Mississippian.

Mississippi in a Box

Post Update: The Mississippi in a Box subscription service seems to have gone the wayside sadly, but you can still find many of the products across the web! For that reason, I've left the featured items in the post up since there are multiple sources, such as The Mississippi Gift Company. I am not affiliated with them at all, but sharing their website as a great resource to find many of these products that were featured here in my original post.

The Mississippi Gift Company carries Mississippi made gifts, gift baskets, foods from Mississippi and even home decor! Everything is made in Mississippi, so check them out!

Original Post:

I stay busy enough with Deep South Dish that I very rarely have to reach out for products to review, but I saw a brief segment about Mississippi in a Box on our local WLOX station and had to go find out more. Y'all know I am always happy to introduce Mississippi products to you, so when I saw the segment I knew I had to!

Byron's Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Celebrates National BBQ Month

Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese made easy with Byron's fully cooked Pork BBQ, hickory smoked for 8 hours and hand pulled, with a spicy-sweet sauce, exclusively from Sam's Club.

Byron's Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese

Hey, in case y'all haven't noticed it's halfway through May, spring has arrived and the dog days of summer are just around the corner. Oh yeah, and May is National BBQ Month, and I don't know about you, but I've certainly been grilling up a storm.

Easy Greasy Product Review

A brand new, redesign of the old kitchen strainer, you'll find yourself reaching for the Easy Greasy time and again!

Back when I was originally scheduled to appear on QVC with my new cookbook, I heard from another gal who was going to present a product there close to the same time as me. We got to chatting and when she explained what her product was, I was intrigued, so she sent me one. Y'all know how much I love a good kitchen gadget, and Michelle is the inventor of this clever redesign of a commonly used kitchen item she calls Easy Greasy.

Duck Commander Family Foods

Faith. Family. Food. Check out this product review from Deep South Dish, for homestyle spreads, dips and Miss Kay's fabulous desserts, from Duck Commander Family Foods.

One of the perks of blogging is the opportunity to bring new products to your readers and I am so excited to introduce you to brand new products from Duck Commander Family Foods. Homestyle spreads, dips and desserts, you'll find that they taste just as if you prepared them in your own kitchen. Every single thing that I was able to sample was wonderful, tasted homemade and did not disappoint one bit. Any of these will make an awesome addition to your Super Bowl party menu this weekend, or any gathering or party you have planned this year.

Cinnamon Spiced Pecans from Billie's Pecans

Billie's Pecans

I just love the opportunity to share a Mississippi company with y'all, so when Billie's Pecans contacted me to see if I'd like to try a sample, I was thrilled! Headquartered in Crenshaw Mississippi, the story of how Billie's came into existence, is one that any working mom can appreciate.

CHA! by Texas Pete® Sriracha Sauce

Hot pepper sauce is no secret to the Deep South and many Southerners are well familiar with the North Carolina based Texas Pete® family of wing and hot sauce products. While Sriracha hot chile sauce may be a bit more elusive here in the Deep South, though some of us certainly are familiar with it and do use it, it is certainly highly popular all over the world, including here in the United States.

Kentucky Legend Off the Bone Ham Review

Kentucky Legend, Original Off the Bone Double Smoked Ham.

I recently had the opportunity to try out a Kentucky Legend Off the Bone smoked ham, and gracious y'all, it sure is a fantastic ham - wow!

 

Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork, often called Three Ingredient Pulled Pork, because it's typically made with a pork roast, barbecue sauce and most often, either Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper or root beer. Pictured here with homemade fries and my Apple Coleslaw.

Slow Cooker Coke Pulled Pork

I know, I know... as I write this it's supposed to be Fall, well... according to the calendar at least, that is.

Although we got another nice blast of slightly cooler air again this week here in the Deep South, blink and we're right back into mid to upper-80 degree temps during the days and, well... it's still hurricane season for us anyway. It's pretty much still summer here, far as we're concerned.

The nice parts of summer though, that we love so much here - beautiful blue, sunny skies and warm temperatures - but with that highly coveted lower humidity. Finally come out of the house without melting, nice to be outdoors weather!

Southern Slaw Dogs with Slawsa

Slawsa Original - the gourmet topping... for everything! Perfect for those southern slaw dogs y'all!

I recently had the chance to give a condiment product called Slawsa Original a try & let me tell y'all, it is really some kind of good! If you enjoy a good ole southern slaw dog, I think you will really LOVE your hotdogs with Slawsa.

It's kinda hard to describe really, because while it's a little like Chow Chow, it's also not like Chow Chow at all, though I think it'd be perfect for beans too. A crunchy cabbage based condiment, also containing mustard, green bell pepper, onion and carrots, it's essentially a cross somewhere between a vinegar coleslaw and salsa, and it has a nice healthy kick to it too. Great for hot dogs and hamburgers, I could easily see serving it as a condiment for grilled meats, fish and chicken as well.

Crisco Olive Oils - Free Recipes and Free Mobile App!

Through the Tastemaker's program from Foodbuzz, I recently had the opportunity to try Crisco's line of olive oils, available in three varieties — 100% Extra Virgin, Pure, and Light Tasting. Most of us know the benefits of including a good extra virgin olive oil in our diets to occasionally replace some of the other fats we love. Olive oil is a healthy fat, a cholesterol-free food and is high in antioxidants. But frankly sometimes the flavor is a bit too heavy for some dishes, or we need an oil that can hold up to heat.

If you've been around here long, you already know that I use a good bit of olive oil, and with Crisco's lighter versions, it's easy to transition in the places where extra virgin oils just won't fit. With the lighter versions, you can also try replacing butter with olive oil in favorite dishes like mashed potatoes, or drizzled on baked potatoes.

Keep olive oil in a small cruet right on the dinner table to encourage family members to use it for drizzling on salads, in soups, stews, for dipping bread, and even drizzling over pastas. And you can use it for one of my favorite tips, as a kitchen helper for easy clean up of sticky things like honey, mustard, and syrups.

Garlic Chicken from Birds Eye Voila!

Authoring a full time food blog, I don't buy a lot of frozen food products, but as you know, they are handy to have for a hurry up meal. I love opportunities to try them though and to share my opinion with readers, many of whom do live a much more harried life than me. Based on the crowd in the frozen food aisle the day I purchased this, I'd say a lot of us are super busy these days and looking for food that is both convenient and satisfying.

Birds Eye has always had good quality frozen vegetables, but now they've moved into a line of complete frozen dinners, and through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program I recently had the opportunity to give Birds Eye Voila! complete meal kits a taste test.

I decided to try tried the Garlic Chicken. Soon as you open the bag, you smell the garlic and this gal loves her garlic so that made me happy!

The Next Food Network Star!

Food Network Star: The Official Insider's Guide to America's Hottest Food Show

Yeah, y'all weren't thinking I was gonna audition for the next Food Network Star show were you? No, not me! Heavens no.

I am not a competitive person. Never have been. I don't like performing, I have no desire for fame, to be a celebrity, to put my mug on video much less a cooking show, or anything like that. Okay, I might do a video... someday. My goal with my website is to simply put out an authentic product that hopefully readers will enjoy, that will stir up some memories from days past, and that will nudge you back to the kitchen. I spent most of my pre-blogging life in a highly competitive legal career, but the growth of my site has been pretty organic, and I kinda like it that way.

Jumbo shrimp, marinated in a spicy Buffalo sauce then grilled and served on a bed of Cajun Rice Pilaf.

Buffalo Grilled Shrimp

Most people think of Frank's RedHot with wings, or maybe chicken, but I thought that I'd give it a run on some grilled shrimp for a change of pace.

The next time that The Cajun headed out to shrimp with Dad, I put out my request for some proper grilling jumbos. To grill shrimp, you really need colossal or jumbo sized. Anything smaller will overcook too quickly on the grill unless you are quick on the draw and stand over them.

Right off the boat, caught in our Gulf in the mornin', cooked that same day - now that's as fresh as it gets y'all!

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.