Whole kernel frozen corn and creamed corn, paired up with a thickener and shredded cheese for a quick and easy, cheesy creamed corn your family will love.

Cheesy Creamed Corn

I realize we're on the waning side of in-season summer corn, so while you might just find the last of some fresh corn at the market, as I write this it's September and we're heading into fall.

Think about it. September.

Meaning Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and this is a great side dish for either of those holidays. Others too and, it works well with a slow cooker! I'd say worth a bookmark.

Fresh asparagus, trimmed, tossed with extra virgin olive oil and seasonings and air fried.

Air Fryer Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus and I especially love it roasted and let me tell you, if you haven't tried it in your air fryer, you don't know what you're missing.

Roasting really brings out the sweetness in vegetables and intensifies the flavor and the air fryer is just another great option.

Amish Wedding Noodles - My Way

Medium egg noodles, cooked in chicken stock or broth, then combined with cream soup and Velveeta.

Amish Wedding Noodles

At some point along the way, you've probably seen those viral TikTok Cafeteria or Buttered Noodles making the rounds on social media. I really don't know the origins of them, but by the name I am assuming that they came about from back in the day when school cafeterias actually served real food instead of the sad excuses that often grace the plates of kids today.

I personally don't remember a noodle dish at all, but I'll be honest. While I remember all of the food being homemade and tasty, the one thing that stands out the most from my school lunches are those awesome homemade yeast rolls!

Peeled russet potatoes, cut into chunks and gently boiled in water until tender and reduced, thickened with a slurry.

Creamed Potatoes with Thickening

Potatoes are a staple across the country I suppose, but like rice, they sure are a pretty big part of life in the South.

Not only do they act as a side dish, they can also serve as an inexpensive and filling main dish for those times when the money has fallen short of the month. In fact, this meal topped with whatever leftovers were in the house, or whatever was on hand from the pantry, actually comes from the Depression Era.

Fresh green beans, trimmed, cut and blanched, prepared with onion, garlic and toasted almonds and finished with lemon, salt and pepper.

Green Beans with Almonds

Green beans are a very common vegetable side in this house because even my veggie adverse hubby, known here as The Cajun, will eat them!

I have to give some kudos to the man though, because since I've been blogging food, he has gotten a bit more adventurous with trying different veggies and other dishes that, frankly, he once would not touch. Typically if I put it on his plate, he'll try it and many times, says how good it was!

Hand-formed pones of dense and sturdy fried cornmeal patties, a perfect companion for a bowl of greens and pot likker.

Corn Dodgers

If you look up corn dodgers on the internet, you'll find a huge variety of recipes that may differ significantly from one another.

I suppose that's true of a lot of dishes in Southern cooking - like corn casseroles for instance. In truth, it really all depends on one thing, and one thing only.

What you grew up with and how your Mama cooked things!

My Ultimate Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, made with the ease of a slow cooker, using peeled russet potatoes cooked in chicken broth, then beat with butter, heavy cream or whole milk and cream cheese. Pictured here with trinity seasoned green peas, chicken fried chicken and milk gravy.

Slow Cooker Ultimate Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

I love mashed potatoes anytime, not just holidays!

While we may tone it down a bit when we make them on the regular, admittedly, holidays are when we usually break out the fancy potatoes. You know the ones. Cream cheese. Whole milk with heavy cream. Plenty of butter!

Those of y'all who have been around any length of time already know I'm not huge on the slow cooker, mostly because I am not a very good advance planner and generally speaking, slow cookers require that! I have some slow cooker recipes here and there because I know it's one more tool to make mealtime happen.

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 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 Lowcountry, though nobody seems to know where the name Limpin' Susan came from.

Simple and basic, cabbage is gently boiled in a chicken stock base, flavored with butter and bacon drippings and simply seasoned with salt and pepper.

Basic Boiled Cabbage

I love cabbage all kinds of ways –

• Fried and caramelized with bacon and onion
• Braised with potatoes and smoked sausage
• Smothered with salt pork, smothered with sausage and tomato, potatoes or even pork chops
• As a cabbage roll or even quicker, in a deconstructed cabbage roll in a bowl
• With an Asian twist of stir fry with ground beef, turkey or sausage
• With sausage and peppers
• Concentrated in a foil packet
• In a rice dressing
• In casseroles, and,
• In soups

A potato salad made using half smashed and half chunky potatoes and finished with a sour cream and mayonnaise-based dressing.

Sour Cream Smashed Potato Salad

Hope y'all don't mind me sneaking in another potato salad before we roll into Fall in a few days!

Not that it matters much what the calendar says in the Deep South because yesterday it was miserably hot and humid. Not that the weather has ever stopped a craving on me, I sure do look forward to some cooler temperatures and some belly warmin' meals though - hopefully soon!

I wrote this version of potato salad in honor of my mother-in-law, who passed away a few years back. Although it's a bit different from her version, very different from my Mama's and different even from the way my father-in-law, who was also a great cook, made his, she prepared her potato salad mostly mashed, something that was very new to me.

A skillet meal of yellow squash and zucchini, corn, onion and tomatoes with garlic, that can be used as a side dish or served stuffed into warmed corn tortillas for a vegetable taco.

Skillet Squash and Zucchini with Corn - Calabacitas con Elote

I think it may have been when I shared the recipe for my Southern-Style Skillet Ratatouille on the Facebook page recently when a reader, Austin, mentioned calabacitas, a Southwest/Mexican-style dish that also uses some of the summer bounty of fresh vegetables that many of us love.

Summer is coming to an end soon so let's get them in while we can y'all!

French Potato Salad - Pommes de Terre a L'huile

A cold potato salad, made with red skinned potatoes, tossed with chicken stock and white wine, dressed with a lemon and mustard olive oil vinaigrette and tossed with green onions and herbs.

French Potato Salad

One day, as I shared cookout recipes on my Facebook page, I shared my classic potato salad, a recipe that, while I do prepare other versions on occasion, is my standby recipe and most similar to the way that my Mama made potato salad. A reader commented that I really should try French potato salad sometime.

Of course, I took that as a challenge!

Cabbage, tossed with salt pork and onion and smothered down with a little chicken broth. Simply seasoned, satisfying, comfort food.

Smothered Cabbage with Salt Pork

I love cabbage. Any way really, but most often when I pick up a head of cabbage thinking I might prepare something new for the website, most of the time I go with the simple fried cabbage I love so much.

It's actually pretty close to this version, though bacon based, and for some folks, as much as a full pound of it!

Carrots and sweet potatoes, tossed with olive oil, salt and red pepper flakes and oven roasted.

Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

I love roasted vegetables, and this is the time of year - when you don't mind turning on your oven - to get your fill of them!

Roasting really brings out the natural sweetness and enhances the overall flavor of vegetables and you just can't beat the ease of preparation.

A classic spinach casserole based on Spinach Madeleine, made with spinach, sauteed vegetables and a simple, cheesy cream sauce.

Spinach Madeleine Bake - My Way

Known by a couple of names with some variations - Spinach Madeline, Calhoun's Spinach Maria, Spinach Supreme, Spinach Justine, Spinach Gratin, Spinach Pauline, Spinach Dorinne, or just simply Spinach Bake - if you enjoy spinach you're sure to like this.

It's really a basic skillet dish made of spinach, seasonings, some kind of cheese, half and half, milk, or heavy cream, sometimes eggs and is sometimes topped with cheese or buttered bread crumbs. Each recipe has its own unique twist and variation. I've even seen one recipe that uses phyllo! Spinach Madeline is a holiday favorite for sure - be sure to double the recipe!

Sweet potatoes, baked, split, mashed and combined with butter, spices and milk, stuffed back into the shell and rebaked. A delicious side dish anytime, but great for a holiday meal.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

I love twice-baked potatoes! Just the expanded flavor from the additions and fluffy texture of the potato after you baked it, mash it, mix it with all the goodies and then bake it, again... outstanding! 

Bet you didn't even think of sweet potatoes. Yep, they're good twice baked too!

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 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.