A quick, small batch creamy chicken and rice soup with herbs.

Small Batch Cream of Chicken Soup with Rice

You cannot beat a homemade soup, though there's not a single thing wrong with canned soup either, and in fact, you can always find a can or three in my pantry.

I mean how can you not at least have some Campbell's chicken noodle soup on hand?! Seriously.

Some canned soups are better than others of course, but... sometimes, you just want a few servings of soup that's homemade, fresh and hot and not out of a can, but without a lot of work or that makes a massive pot! This is that.

Seasoned shrimp quickly air fried and finished in a toss of a garlic butter blend. Use as a snack shrimp, great when served in individual appetizer cups for a party pass around or toss with cooked pasta for a main dish meal.

Air Fryer Garlic Shrimp

I love my air fryer! I may have mentioned that before??

It's great for reheating certain leftovers to bring back the crisp - like fried chicken - and it does an amazing job of reheating pizza. A lot of busy moms use them to cook freezer foods - like chicken nuggets and tenders, French fries and tater tots, corn dogs, egg rolls, and, in fact, many products have begun putting air fryer instructions on their packaging.

But I love it for cooking too!

Pork steaks or chops, seared in oil and placed over caramelized onions tossed with cabbage, covered and smothered down with a little chicken stock.

Smothered Cabbage with Pork Chops

I love cabbage and I love it all kinds of ways, though honestly, I make it most often smothered or fried.

Seasoning meats usually center around bacon, salt pork or fatback for those two. Most often, when it's smothered, its usually salt pork or fatback. For fried, bacon is king and the cabbage is also often finished with a deeper caramelization.

Mexican-style sandwiches of refried beans and cheese, served on sturdy rolls and toasted, then topped with pico de gallo, make for a nice snack, though they are often served at breakfast, lunch or dinner as well. Add your own favorite toppings!

Molletes - Mexican-Style Bean and Cheese Sandwiches

I am an animal lover. Most of y'all who have been hanging with us know that because you've heard me talk about the TNR program I have participated in the past 7 years since moving and discovering a neighborhood filled with strays and discards that needed to all be fixed. 
 
My dog Boo has been with me since he was found as a puppy, left behind in a box, inside a buggy in a Walmart parking lot in 2008. Hurricane Katrina had already changed the course of my life and I was just entertaining the idea of Deep South Dish. Boo and I have literally been together 24/7 ever since, so we became best buds.

We're both aging and it shows, but it's the natural course of life isn't it? You don't think about that much when you're younger.

Ropes of dough made from refrigerator biscuits, tied in a knot and baked, finished with a seasoned blend of butter and olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Garlic Parmesan Knots

It's very rare that I use canned biscuits on a regular basis for biscuits.

I understand people love them, and yeah, they make quick biscuits for sure, but personally I prefer to make my own biscuits from scratch for biscuit consumption. There's just no comparison.

Fresh tomatoes, air fryer roasted with onions and whole garlic cloves tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and blended. Perfect for pasta dishes but use anywhere you would use diced tomatoes or puree them for a more sauced version.

Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

As of this writing, Fall has "officially" arrived, though it does take a while to effect any change here in the Deep South. I mean, as we speak, there's a potential hurricane threatening the Gulf Coast!

Regardless, one thing is for certain, we're getting to the end of local and backyard tomato season.

Though he loves the sauces and casseroles I make with them, The Cajun is not a big fan of fresh, raw tomatoes and he wouldn't dream of a tomato sandwich! Me, I love them and I enjoy them with many meals, including simply sliced with a little salt and pepper, even alongside my breakfast eggs.

Fish fillets, tossed in a mix of yellow and Creole mustard with hot sauce, dredged in a highly seasoned blend of cornmeal and flour, then deep fried.

Mustard Fried Fish

In case you didn't know, we're pretty big on fresh fish here along the Gulf Coast!

Local Gulf favorites include speckled trout (my personal favorite), flounder, snapper, grouper, redfish, drum and lots of others in the deeper waters. Give me any one of them!

The Cajun goes fishing with his brother on occasion and the fish they come home with most often are two very popular fish found in the Mississippi Sound - white trout and ground mullet - also known more officially as southern kingfish.

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.

Thick slices of cucumber pair up with red onion and a tart vinegar dressing. Add the ends of some fresh tomatoes that you need to use up if you like!

Everyday Cucumbers

I'm constantly playing around with cucumber salads and while they may all look very similar, it's a bit surprising how minor changes in ratios, ingredient additions - such as with herbs - and even textures from different cut sizes, can actually make a big difference in taste.

The inspiration for this one came from Vivian Howard's mom's everyday summer salad featured in her book Deep Run Roots. This cucumber salad made a daily appearance at the table when she was growing up and while sometimes it was just cucumbers, other times it had red onion or included the leftover ends of tomatoes.

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!