Pork chops, rubbed with Southwestern seasonings, seared in a skillet and finished in a tomato-based sauce. Serve over hot cooked noodles or steamed rice.

Southwestern Pork Chops

Pork chops are on a regular rotation around here. My husband, aka The Cajun, loves them and he'd probably be perfectly happy if I just fried them all the time, I tell ya!

Gotta admit, yeah those are really good, and I love watching my husband gnaw them down to the bone, but let's be real.

Far as I'm concerned, speaking as a Southern born and bred gal, I think fried food is perfection, and much as we'd like to, well we just can't eat it that often y'all. I'm always looking for different ways to serve my pork chops.

A bold, cream cheese-based chip dip, with the addition of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, chopped black olives and loaded with southwestern flavors.

Southwestern Chip Dip

I originally got the idea for this dip when going through a box of clippings. This one came from a rural EPA newsletter featuring a community cookbook called Cooking with Osyka! It's one of a few fundraiser cookbooks for the Osyka Civic Club of Osyka, Mississippi, usually available at their annual Fall Fest events in October, or by calling their business office at 601-542-5994.

They referred to this dip as Southern Heat Chip Dip in their cookbook, though I've played around with this one enough that I'm not even sure how close I am to the original clipping anymore!

South Mississippi-Style John Wayne Casserole

A Tex-Mex style casserole with seasoned ground beef, layered between a biscuit crust, with tomatoes, topped with a sour cream and cheese sauce and finished with a cornbread topping, perfect for potlucks, church suppers, or just dinner at home!

Mississippi-Style John Wayne Casserole

So, it seems lots of folks around the country and in my own home state of Mississippi seem to love this casserole, and I went all my life without knowing that!

How it came by the name John Wayne Casserole is uncertain, though some say it appeared as a contribution in a 1979 cookbook of celebrity recipes, as a favorite recipe of Wayne's. I can see why. It's super tasty!

Chile Cheese Tex-Mex Cornbread

Easy to make, this tender and moist Mexican Cornbread brings a sweet heat to those Tex-Mex and Mexican meals, soups, stews and chili dishes. 

Mexican Cornbread

I know for a southerner it's likely to sound a little sacrilegious, but we aren't super huge on cornbread down here along the Gulf Coast. 

Sure, we eat it and we enjoy it, but French bread and yeast rolls are much more prevalent down here. Because of that, we don't necessarily subscribe to the idea that there is only one way to make cornbread, and, we don't even mind, if occasionally, it's got a little sweetness to it. I know. I can hear the gasps.

Boneless chicken breasts, soaked in a southwestern seasoned, brown sugar brine, tossed in fajita seasonings, grilled over indirect heat and served with a southwestern seasoned rice.

Grilled Fajita Chicken and Rice

This is a main dish take on those well loved chicken fajitas, putting that bold fajita flavor on those ever popular, full-sized boneless, skinless chicken breast and using the classic peppers and onions to flavor a side dish of rice. Just something with familiar flavors. but a little different!

As always, the full recipe with instructions are further down the page, past the step by step photographs. Scroll or swipe down to the bottom of this post to go straight to the recipe.

Favorite Southwestern, Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes

A collection of my favorite Southwestern, Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes, from my website, DeepSouthDish.com.

If you make any of these recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!

Yum

I love Mexican food, or I guess more appropriately, what we in the United States know as Tex-Mex, a more Americanized version of anything remotely resembling authentic Mexican cuisine.

I confess though, I'm a pretty simple girl when it comes to it. Give me some chips and salsa or that fabulous cheese dip to start, or maybe even some nachos and a margarita and I'm pretty good with tacos, burritos, or the occasional tostada. Love those!

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.