A squash and tomato casserole, layered in a pan with sweet Vidalia onions, bacon and cheese, and seasonings, topped with panko bread crumbs and garnished with a chiffonade of fresh basil.

Layered Squash and Tomato Casserole

Yes, I know... it's hot out, but if you don't mind turning on the oven, this is a great way to enjoy those fresh summer squash and garden tomatoes.

You could eliminate the bacon if you like (but why would you want to?!), but don't skip the panko if at all possible - it provides a wonderful crunchy contrast to the tender vegetables.

Slow roasted tomatoes make a fantastic accent to a number of dishes or can be used for dipping and as a condiment. They make a great base for a sauce, or left unprocessed, slip the skins off and add them to a Mason jar topped with extra olive oil for sandwiches or as a snack!

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

 Melissa d'Arabian of Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners, slow roasted some tomatoes on her show last weekend, to use as a dipping sauce for grilled chicken ... which reminded me that I had about a pound of odds and ends tomatoes I need to use up. 

These were from the last round of my summer garden harvest that were sitting in a basket on the counter and starting to get soft. A gal can only eat so many tomato sandwiches y'all!

Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas from Kellogg's

Update: It appears that this product has since been discontinued - As of 12/2011 I cannot find information on either fruit pizza on the Eggo website. Please visit to view the other fabulous Eggo products.

Oh my goodness, you cannot possibly tell me that that doesn't just look yummy!! Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemakers program I had the opportunity to give these new Eggo Real Fruit Pizzas a taste test in both the Strawberry Granola and Mixed Berry Granola flavors.

 

Cajun Pork and Shrimp Burgers made with onion, bell pepper and celery, the Trinity of Cajun vegetables, Cajun seasonings and a blend of raw ground shrimp and pork.

Cajun Pork and Shrimp Burgers

Pork rules in the south, that's for certain.

Part of that comes from the fact that back in the day, just about everybody raised their own hogs, and believe you me, every part of that pig was utilized in some form.

These days we pretty much get our pork from the grocery store like most the rest of y'all, but pork still rules down in this part of The South.

New Zatarain's Products Spice Up Kitchens!

Well, it's my party y'all and what could be better than to start the week off with a giveaway?!  Yep. Deep South Dish dedicated recipe site is a year old this week!  Can y'all believe it?

In truth, I owe a gratitude to all of you for encouraging me with your continued support, for being regular readers, and especially for your friendship, your sweet comments, compliments and emails. You have made Deep South Dish a fun project to be involved with, but wow, has time flown by.

I don't know y'all, could it possibly get any hotter?  Lawdy Mercy!!  Well, "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen," or at least get out of there faster, I say! It really has been a hot summer and just about everywhere too, even outside of The Deep South. Frankly it's been so darn hot, its hard enough to think about recipe development, never mind to actually get in the kitchen to create anything!  Well, thanks to the great folks at Zatarain's you can minimize that time and still produce an inexpensive, quality meal that'll be welcomed by your family.

Baked chicken gets a jazzy sauce from those bottom of the jar jams, jellies and preserves lurking in the back of your fridge.

Bottom of the Jar Gooey Baked Chicken

Ever had a jar of preserves or jam that seems to just keep getting shoved aside in the fridge and ignored? Use it up to create a nice sauce to jazz up some plain ole chicken! Rachael Ray is the one who introduced me to the "bottom of the jar" theory, and I use it often since it's a great way to create a super-easy sauce, and add a punch of flavor to an otherwise plain baked or grilled chicken, and other meats.

Classic Turkey Club Sandwich with Cajun Mayonnaise

A classic turkey club sandwich with deli turkey, crisp bacon, garden fresh tomatoes, romaine lettuce and finished with a spicy Cajun mayonnaise.

Classic Turkey Club Sandwich

Recently we were having a discussion on the Facebook page about what to eat when it's too hot to cook and two of the most popular responses were tomato sandwiches and BLTs - both of which I love. I couldn't help but think of an old fashioned club sandwich though, so the next time I cooked some bacon, you know I planned a few extra slices to have ready for one! Sliced turkey breast, crisp bacon, garden fresh tomatoes and lettuce, sandwiched between lightly toasted bread with a bit of mayo - what a great summer sandwich! Be sure to sprinkle just a bit of salt and pepper on those tomatoes too to really bring out their garden fresh flavor.

Cajun Mayonnaise Recipe

A great all-purpose mayonnaise with a Cajun kick, that goes great on just about any sandwich, as a salad dressing, or spooned over fresh garden tomatoes.

Try it on this Classic Turkey Club or drizzle some on those gorgeous garden tomatoes!

Here's what you'll need to make my Cajun Mayo:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon of chopped, fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon spicy Creole mustard
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Cajun/Creole seasoning, or to taste
• Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Add that all to a bowl.

And whisk it up.

Cover and refrigerate.

More Sauces

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A diner classic, Patty Melts are made with very thin, oval shaped burger patties, and served on thin grilled rye bread, with caramelized onion, and Swiss cheese. Just amazingly delicious!

Classic Patty Melt

Patty melts have been around forever and are a classic diner food, but I don't hear much about them anymore. I happen to love them though and what's not to love? A thin burger - read that again, thin burger - on grilled rye with caramelized onion, sandwiched between melted cheese - it's pretty much good ole comfort food.  When's the last time you had one?

My Mama's Shrimp and Fettuccine recipe, made with shrimp and andouille sausage, cooked in a buttery sauce tossed with fettuccine, fresh herbs, artichokes and pimentos.

Shrimp and Fettuccine

This recipe for Shrimp and Fettuccine was in my Mama's collection and written in her hand which always makes me nostalgic and miss her even more than usual.

She had written at the bottom of the recipe, "this dish will make them scream for more," which always makes me smile. Well, I don't know about all that, but I can say that this is definitely a restaurant quality pasta dish that, despite the inclusion of artichokes, The Cajun gobbles up and declares delicious!

That's a winner to me.