An easy and flavorful skillet ragu made with sweet or hot Italian sausage, a mirepoix of veggies in a light broth and tomato base with pasta.

Sweet Sausage Ragu - Ragù Di Carne

I have been cutting back on expenses this past year. We rarely go out or do social events outside of family events anymore - been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. We don't even eat out much, so home entertainment and wireless services were the first two to get trimmed back.

Since ditching expensive satellite television, I've been watching a lot of antenna TV. It's not completely reliable though, so I did eventually enroll in a streaming service, of which there are many to choose from these days. Far less expensive, I have found that I actually like that far better than cable or satellite. Unfortunately though, when we ditched our expensive cell service, we also lost our unlimited internet, so I had to start budgeting the streaming time.

An old school party food, made with a mixture of sausage and beef, seasonings and cheese on tiny party bread.

Hanky Pankies Appetizers

In the world of my favorite old school appetizers, these Hankie Pankies are right up there in the category some folks call "trash" food as 7-Layer Mexican Dip, Sausage Balls, Chex Mix and Rumaki. I made these for our Super Bowl party and oh my goodness they are soooo good y'all!

I actually drafted the recipe to the blog years ago and have made them several times, but just never got around to publishing them for some reason. One thing is for sure - there are just not a lot of ways to photograph these little bites of deliciousness to make them look pretty, but heck... the taste sure makes up for it.

 

Bratwurst sausage, braised on the grill in a hot tub of beer, onions and butter, then seared and returned to the tub. Serve on hard rolls, with mustard, onions and pickles.

Grilled "Hot Tub" Beer Brats

Now, yes, right off the bat before some of y'all insist on thinking I don't already know, bratwurst ain't exactly a Deep South dish.

I do realize that!

Once upon a time, you would have been hard-pressed to even find a bratwurst sausage anywhere in The South to save your life. But now that they are everywhere, we Southerners sure do enjoy our share of them.

A breakfast casserole made with eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy.

Egg, Biscuit and Sausage Gravy Breakfast Casserole

This is another one of those recipes that's been making the rounds on Facebook for awhile, made with canned biscuits, a packet of sausage gravy and eggs. Nothing wrong with that!

I wanted to make it from scratch though, so I made up a quick biscuit dough and easy homemade sausage gravy instead. You may certainly exchange that out for the convenience products to save time, but do keep in mind the sodium levels on any pre-packaged product so that you don't oversalt or overseason. You'll need an 8-count can of refrigerated biscuits and a packet of sausage gravy mix that makes 2 cups (such as Pioneer brand).

Cajun Cabbage Stew - a stew of ground pork or beef, andouille sausage, cabbage, the trinity of onions, bell pepper and celery, potatoes and carrots, in a chicken or beef broth base with Rotel tomatoes.

Cajun Cabbage Stew

There isn't anything Earth shattering about this stew. It's just a good ole belly filling stew for cabbage lovers like me, and in fact, if you add in a little bit more broth in the second stage of cooking, you'll have a perfectly acceptable cabbage soup. I've used a variety of meats - andouille, ground beef, ground pork, Italian sausage, chorizo and even leftover brisket, but I like the ground beef and andouille combo the best.

Skillet Chili Mac - a quick skillet meal of ground beef, tomatoes, chili seasonings, beans, cheese and medium shell pasta.

Skillet Chili Mac

It's been a crazy couple of months around here and this Skillet Chili Mac is the kind of meal that's right up my alley when that craziness happens!

A cornbread and bread dressing, made with tart apple, hot sausage and pecans.

Sausage Cornbread Dressing with Apple and Pecan

I first made this dressing last Christmas, then again this Thanksgiving and I may even make it again this Christmas, though I'm actually still trying to settle between having a bread or rice dressing, since I'm going with a prime rib roast this year.

Yes, I'm moving away from the traditional turkey and dressing dinner for Christmas this year and going the route of a very expensive hunk of prime rib roast beef with au jus, that I have already warned The Cajun will not be cooked "well done."

Dianne's Italian Sausage and Peppers - Featured Reader

Dianne's Italian Sausage and Peppers

I am humbled every day by the membership over on our Facebook page. They are a great group of people, willing to help another reader at the drop of a hat, when someone is in search of a recipe that I don't have up at the site. There are some incredibly talented cooks over there too, many of whom are more than willing to share their tried and true, favorite, and sometimes heritage, family recipes. There are a lot of great recipes that show up exclusively on the Facebook page, some even award-winners, so if you haven't joined us over there yet, you should!

While Deep South Dish has been centered primarily around sharing my own southern recipes, I also want to honor our members and bring some of their recipes outside of the pages of Facebook and email. I decided to start a feature honoring you and your recipes, because bottom line, this site and it's sister Facebook page, are really all about you and us sharing recipes with each other, so that they continue to live on.  If you're a reader here or a Facebook fan and would be interested in being a featured reader here on Deep South Dish, please email me for the details. Really all it requires, is your recipe, a couple of pictures and a bit about you and how the recipe came to be a favorite. That's it!  Dianne Ledet has offered to join us here as our first reader feature. Enjoy!

Thawed frozen bread dough or refrigerated pizza dough, makes this appetizer bread stuffed with seasoned hot sausage and cheese super easy.

Sausage and Cheese Bread

A perfect appetizer for any party, this Sausage and Cheese Bread made from homemade or refrigerated pizza dough or thawed frozen bread dough is a definite crowd favorite.

Regular Italian sausage works great for this, but I prefer to use the hot version of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and add shredded pepper jack cheese for the extra kick they both give. Together with the onion and bell pepper, that is really all the seasoning you need. If you're making it for tailgating, bake it, let it cool, wrap it in foil and warm it up on the grill before slicing.

A flavorful tomato-based soup with corn and spicy andouille smoked sausage. Use garden fresh veggies or pantry items - either way it's a delicious soup.

Spicy Cajun Sausage
and Corn Soup

Corn and tomatoes naturally pair together so well, and thanks to frozen and canned veggies, we have access to them to make a mighty fine soup in the colder weather months. The combination of corn and sausage with tomatoes is a very common soup in the Deep South, as always with the spin of the cook. I have a feeling it was probably made with the end of the summer crops, or birthed out of the need to use up other leftovers.

A yummy breakfast casserole that can be put together at the last minute - hash browns, cheese, sausage or ham, onion, bacon, milk, eggs, salt and pepper - what more could you want to start the day?!

Speedy Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

I love breakfast casseroles but I hate having to think about building them the night before ... I never think about that the night before!! And besides that, I usually wake up deciding I want a breakfast casserole - I don't usually want it the night before!

While occasionally I will construct a night before dish, this breakfast recipe is my go-to for the most part. It's got everything a good breakfast casserole should have - potatoes, cheese, sausage, bacon and eggs. And you can make it right away!

Hayes Star Brand Bean Soup Mix - Sausage, Beans and Rice

Tonight we are having ribeye steaks and frankly I don't generally do much with those.

Usually I sprinkle just a little bit of Worcestershire sauce on both sides, let 'em come to room temp and then grill them on the outdoor grill. Add a salad, and a starch like some potatoes and we're good to go for dinner. 

Simple sausage gravy made with Mexican chorizo for a big flavor boost.

Chorizo Sausage Gravy

Chorizo sausage gravy is a change of pace from the usual. Doesn't that just look yummy? I usually make my sausage gravy with Jimmy Dean bulk sausage - the kind that comes in the chubby roll. It's the best bulk sausage in the South, in my little ole humble Southern opinion, and I've tried many! It just has the right amount of seasonings and flavor to me.

Today, however, I had some Mexican chorizo sausages in the freezer, so thought I would use those instead. That pretty orangish-red color in that picture up there however, is a result of that chorizo and you won't have that color with the regular Jimmy Dean sausage.

Now I really love my Jimmy Dean, but I gotta say, with some hot from the oven biscuits, whether homemade, from a mix, or even from the freezer (yes! biscuits freeze wonderfully!), this shore 'nuf was delicious!

Classic old fashioned sausage cheese balls made with baking mix, breakfast sausage and cheese.

Old Fashioned Sausage Cheese Balls

Old fashioned sausage cheese balls have been around for many years, and though some folks like to slam them for being unsophisticated, they have always been a good ole stand-by for any gathering or party that I've ever attended. They appeared on the tables of every single shower or wedding that Mama and her sisters ever catered. So easy to make, tasty and everybody loves them! And super simple ingredients too - in their purist form, simply baking mix (I prefer Pioneer brand buttermilk version), cheese and sausage. I've add a few seasonings, and it's always sharp cheese and Jimmy Dean hot sausage for me!

Lightly caramelized onions are sauteed with Italian sausage, a little chicken broth, tomatoes, cream and seasonings and tossed with rigatoni pasta for a quick skillet meal.

Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce

This is another one of those quick pantry meals because it uses ingredients I almost always just have on hand. The sauce is a great accent to the Italian sausage and truly nothing could be easier. I used rigatoni, which works perfect with the sausage and cream sauce, but the recipe works well with many other pasta shapes as well. Try it with bow ties or rotini - here's how to make it!