Creamy Taco Corn Dip (TikTok – My Way)

 

Cool, creamy, and packed with taco flavor, this easy corn dip blends whipped cream cheese, sour cream, Ranch, taco seasoning, tomatoes with chilies, creamed corn, Mexican cheese, jalapeños, and green onion. Scoop it up with tortilla or corn chips for the perfect party or game‑day appetizer.

Creamy Taco Corn Dip (TikTok – My Way)

If you’re looking for a fun, scoopable party dip that disappears faster than you can set it out, this Creamy Taco Corn Dip is about to earn a permanent spot in your rotation.

It’s one of those simple, mix‑and‑chill recipes that somehow tastes like you spent way more time on it. The twist and what makes this version stand out is a surprising ingredient!

Spicy Mexican-Style Rotel Corn Dip

A quick and easy sour cream-based, Mexican-style corn dip featuring Rotel, perfect for entertaining.

I love corn dip and while I have a few favorites here on the website, I'm constantly trying different versions. Many have very similar ingredients with only slight variations, but those subtle changes often make quite a difference.

Though I've been in the kitchen working on new recipes pretty regularly, I've just had a hard time focusing here lately with this heat y'all. I'm just a bit slow moving on the publishing part these days!

This one is so easy though and with ingredients that most folks who love dips keep on hand all of the time, that I thought I'd slip it in over the holiday weekend, so not a lot of chit chat today.

A roux-based stew made using a quick cooking ground beef instead of a roast, and a shortcut of frozen vegetables. Pictured here with my Old-Fashioned Lard Biscuits.

Hamburger Stew

If you happened to see my previous post for Old-Fashioned Lard Biscuits, you probably saw a bowl of this Hamburger Stew there, so I figured I'd slide this one in before Spring is upon us, although it's fast approaching!

Nevermind that the forecast says we'll be in the high 30s when it does roll in! 

Not that seasons mean a thing to those of us in the South when it comes to food. We don't really have much of a Winter season down here to begin with, but yes, even in the heat of Summer you'll find us making a gumbo, or even a soup or a stew... if that's what we want!

A Tex-Mex meal made in a casserole dish, starting with a layer of flour tortillas, topped with shredded cheese, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream, tostada shells, cheese sauce, taco-seasoned ground beef and more cheese, folded, brushed with butter and baked.

Crunchwrap Casserole

Okay, confession.

While I can recall having had a Crunchwrap from Taco Bell only once before and, in fact, while I also recall it being pretty tasty, it didn't drive me to have a constant craving so I didn't have much of a memory about how I felt about it!

Now don't get me wrong.

If I have a taste for a taco or three in a hurry, Taco Bell is gonna be my quick run y'all. They get a lot of ribbing, but I've always had a good experience with their food.

Russet potatoes, peeled and cut up, smothered with onion, smoked sausage and Rotel tomatoes and cooked in a rice cooker.

Rice Cooker Smothered Potatoes

Rice cookers may be a bit old school, but believe it or not, they're still a thing down here and for the most part, it's an appliance that is completely uncomplicated.

One simple "start" button is usually all there is to them!

You press it, it cooks your rice, kicks over to warm when your rice is done, and it actually holds the rice for a long time. As far as timing goes, it's really going to depend on your cooker, so holding on to that product manual is key to timing for the rest of your dinner.

A spicy, slow-simmered red sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes and tossed with penne pasta. Here I've added a few additional seasonings, some chopped sweet onion and finished it with fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Spicy Arrabiata Sauce with Pasta

The word arrabiata (ah-rah-BYAH-tah) literally translates into the word "angry" and it's the heat from the addition of red pepper flakes here that earned the sauce the name, setting it apart from other more traditional Italian sauces.

If you enjoy a little heat in your sauce, start with the lesser amount of red pepper flakes. If you are already a lover of super spicy, increase that according to your personal taste.

While you can use fresh tomatoes, this sauce is often made using shelf-stable canned tomatoes, whether home canned or commercially bought, so it's an easy pasta sauce that can be prepared from the pantry anytime.

Tortilla scoops, filled with a blend of bacon with Rotel diced tomatoes, mayonnaise and cheese and topped with taco sauce and more cheese, then baked, for a great party appetizer!

Cheesy Bacon Rotel Cup Appetizers

Football season is king around this house with my husband, aka The Cajun. He loves the game, so I'm always looking for a good appetizer to snack on when it comes to game time, and this is a great one.

Typically made using phyllo cups, those can be a little hard to find around here for some reason. One day when I was adding my standard tortilla chips to the grocery list, I was reminded about the tortilla scoops. I thought hey, I bet those would work for those little snacks I like to make.

Turns out, somebody had already thought of that, so I made the adjustment and frankly, it worked out well!

Oven roasted, well-seasoned jumbo shrimp tossed in a tomato-based pasta sauce and rotini pasta.

Roasted Shrimp and Pasta Sauce

Pasta, pasta sauce and shrimp. How can you go wrong with that?!

Some of y'all may know about one of my favorite pasta sauces that I typically make in the summer with those super delicious, fresh from the garden tomatoes. It's simple, light and so flavorful.

A cabbage casserole made with the trinity of southern vegetables sauteed in bacon drippings and butter, chunks of cabbage, diced tomatoes and topped with shredded cheese and buttered breadcrumbs.

Cabbage Creole Casserole

I love cabbage. My husband? Well, not so much. I honestly don't know what is wrong with him! Just kidding y'all, but let's just say that I'm the lover of veggies in this family, not him.

Seriously though, 99% of the time when I buy a head of cabbage, I keep it pretty simple making either a simple boiled or classic fried cabbage, two of my top cabbage favorites. Even still, I am always trying new things with it too.

Yes. Even if it means that I'll be eating on it for a week, while I still have to think about what my hubby is gonna eat too! 

A rice and okra side dish with bacon and vegetables, made easy with the Instant Pot!

Instant Pot Okra Pilaf - Limpin' Susan

I'm sure that you've heard of Hoppin' John. Southern Living says that "rumor has it Limpin’ Susan was Hoppin’ John’s secret girlfriend." Well, I don't know about all that, but I can tell you for sure, it is a delicious side dish! 

Where Hoppin' John is a rice central dish made with some kind of southern pea, most typically blackeyed peas, Limpin' Susan is made with bacon, rice and okra. Likely originating in the South Carolina and Georgia Sea Islands Lowcountry and deeply tied to the region’s rice and okra heritage.

The best of late summer and early fall vegetables - eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and sweet bell pepper - tossed with an olive oil, vinegar and herb-based dressing, diced tomatoes, garlic, chunks of red onion and sliced smoked sausage, then baked.

Ratatouille and Sausage Bake

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love a vegetable dish like this. The Cajun?

Not so much.

So, when I cook something like this it's all for me!

A delicious corn casserole side dish, made with a good seasoning base of bacon and drippings with onion and bell pepper, a light roux, and just a touch of sour cream along with some Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies.

Rotel Corn Casserole

I just love corn and I especially love the versatility of it!

Don't get me wrong - I love it pretty good right from the cob, unadorned, with the exception of some butter and salt, of course, and there are a lot of ways to prepare it just for that. One of my top favorites is the no-shuck, no silking, 4-minute microwave method, especially when I need just an ear or two for another dish.

Of course, fresh corn on the cob is best at its peak and in season, but it's now available year-round, and though you pay a little more for it, I still find it to be pretty tasty even though it's having to do a bit of traveling. I also enjoy both frozen and canned corn, and you'll find a wide variety of recipes using all of those right here on my website.

A quick and easy skillet meal made with ground beef, fresh tomatoes, rice and summer squash and finished with shredded cheese.

Ground Beef and Squash Skillet

Y'all probably already know that I am into skillet meals. They're quicker than their more involved counterparts - like my skillet jambalaya, gumbolaya, skillet lasagna or ziti, and great for busy weeknights.

Like a lot of you, I also love summer squash, but mostly it gets pushed into being either a snack or a side, rather than a featured dish. This version makes it more main dish with the addition of ground beef and rice, though it's really a very versatile dish. Well drained canned or thawed frozen mixed vegetables or corn may also be added to expand it even further.

The classic Rotel Queso Dip, but made with sausage and shrimp!

Shrimp Rotel Dip

This is a variation of the classic and ever-popular Rotel Queso Dip, with the addition of shrimp and often ground beef, though ground turkey, pork or sausage or even a combination works well too. I personally love it with breakfast sausage the most, over them all!

Most recipes use a larger shrimp, sometimes whole, sometimes chopped up, but I find the small salad sized shrimp to be a perfect choice. There are lots of them in a pound and they're just the right chip size.

A quick beef and rice skillet with a little Southwestern flair from sweet and hot peppers, chili powder, cumin and paprika, diced tomatoes with green chilies and Mexican blend cheeses. Eat as is, or roll up in flour or corn tortillas and top with a dollop of salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Southwestern Beef Skillet

I love a good skillet meal! They're easy and certainly quick and because of that they don't heat up the kitchen too much, an important bonus in these triple digit summers we're having in the south.

I actually cut this recipe off of a package of Kraft shredded cheese sometime back and finally got around to giving it a try. I found it to be a bit bland sounding though, and it also appeared to be lacking in some of the typical flavor elements you might find in a dish labeled as "southwestern," so I used it as a base, and made some changes by adding more veggies, spices and seasonings.

Quick Chili for Chili Cheese Fries, Frito Pie and Walking Tacos

A quick skillet chili perfect for some chili cheese fries, Frito pie and walking tacos.

Quick Chili

I love a good homemade chili and I've got several recipes up on the blog. Like anybody else though, I try to keep a few cans of chili on hand too, stocking up whenever I find them on sale.

It's just mighty convenient when you're in a hurry for something like a couple chili dogs, mini-Frito pies, walking tacos or some chili cheese fries. and there are some really good brands out there these days, including both Hormel and Wolf brand, which are two of my own personal preferences.

Shrimp and White Bean Stew - Great Northern, cannellini, navy or your favorite small white bean, cooked in a ham bone broth, with the trinity, Rotel tomatoes, andouille sausage and small shrimp.

Shrimp and White Bean Stew

I literally have been trying to get this recipe written and uploaded to the blog for almost two weeks! What can I say... seeing as I'm at the age of being mostly retired now, we techically at least because, trust me, a recipe website is as much work as what I did in my corporate legal career!

Anyway, I don't spend too much of my time being in a hurry to do much of anything anymore.

You may have also noticed that the Deep South summer-like fall heat finally gave way to some much cooler, near winter-like fall temperatures. Though it's sure been nice having some cooler temps the past couple of weeks, along with that comes a certain degree of laziness on my part. Though I do still cook, not a lot of writing happens.

 

An easy chili, made leaner with ground turkey, more hearty with vegetables and beans, and gets a flavor boost from basic pantry seasonings.

Turkey Chili with Beans

You may have noticed that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are not my favorite piece of chicken to cook... but of course, they're on sale often enough that I still buy them. With a little help, they can make for a quick and inexpensive meal.

While I very much love a brined and roasted turkey, I don't use a lot of ground turkey either. Though it is less fatty and therefore more attractive to those dieting and trying to cut back on fat, the lack of fat also means lack of flavor. In my dig through the New Year Freezer Cleanse however, I found a pound of mixed (85/15) ground turkey I had picked up at some point to make something that I've now long forgotten. With winter in the Deep South waning, and the Big Game coming up, I thought I would give some turkey chili a spin.

A cold dip made with Mexicorn, cheese, green chilies, jalapenos, Rotel, mayo, sour cream, green onion and seasonings.

Cold Corn Dip

If y'all have been hanging around here any length of time, you pretty much know that any kind of dip - from that good old fashioned 7 layer dip that's been around forever, to my more delectable hot crab dip (and everything in between) - are party favorites for me. Though I do actually favor hot dips over cold, I have to say that this corn dip, served cold, is downright delicious and even a tiny bit addictive!

Texas style chili, made with a roast, loads of sweet and hot peppers, stewed and Rotel tomatoes and beef stock and beer if you like, heavy on cumin and chili powder and thickened with a slurry of masa harina.

Texas Style Chili

I think the major differences in Texas style chili over what most of us know as chili, is that it is most often made from chopped beef off of a whole roast, like a braising roast, or even venison, rather than ground beef, or heaven forbid, chicken. There are more chilies, whether they are reconstituted dried, powdered or chopped fresh, and it's heavier in cumin and chili powder for heat and never, ever beans cooked in.