Southern English Pea Salad

This Southern English pea salad is a refreshing and delicious side dish, perfect for any gathering. Made with peas, bacon, herbs, and a creamy dressing, it’s sure to be a hit at your next potluck or holiday dinner.

It’s the perfect side dish for Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. I don’t know where English pea salad originated from, or why it’s so dang good considering it’s the world’s shortest list of ingredients, but I do know that any time someone shares a photo of a Southern Potluck or church spread, there’s that pea salad!

Last Fourth of July, we had Cade’s mom, brother, and his family and a friend over for a fun day of swimming and eating. Yes, I did wear a red bathing suit. Yes, I did get mistaken for the lifeguard 100 times. I have had the worst time trying to find a bathing suit that wasn’t cut crazy high or crazy low all year and this one I love, though I will watch where I wear it now. 

But back to the BBQ — we swam, the kids became exhausted, and we headed back to the house where we cooked up classic burgers thanks to our 2 hamburger secrets post, and a selection of our favorite summer salads including this green pea salad, our tomato mozzarella salad, and Nancy’s Southern Grape Salad. We finished the night off with our dreamiest Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting EVER.

Green pea salad is considered to be low-carb, gluten-free, and a slightly healthier option to pasta salad (though we have a pasta version of this recipe too if you prefer). But this doesn’t mean it’s straight up healthy — it contains bacon, cheese, and mayonnaise, after all.

What Ingredients Do I Need for This Salad Recipe?

Although English pea salad has a few different names, it’s all the exact same thing — cold pea salad. You may hear it called pea salad, English Pea Salad, Southern Pea Salad, Green Pea Salad, or, as we’ve called it, Southern English Pea Salad.

Here’s what goes into this easy potluck side dish recipe: 

• Frozen Peas
• Mayonnaise
• Apple Cider Vinegar 
• Salt and Pepper
• Red Onion
• Bacon
• Cheese (Colby Jack or Cheddar Cheese is our favorite)

Some recipes also call for hard-boiled eggs, which we left out this time as I’m really enjoying it as a straight up pea salad lately. I’ve added it into the recipe as optional in case

The Most Perfect Moist Chocolate Cake [+Video]

Homemade Chocolate Cake like this is not easy to find. This is the Most Perfect Moist Chocolate Cake recipe, and that’s coming from an obsessed cake tester!

Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe with Chocolate Frosting

You all know how I work. It’s why we have the best Traeger Ribs, Buttermilk Pancakes and Banana Bread recipes among a gazillion others. I get all sucked into finding the best of the best for a specific recipe and I can’t let it go until I’ve achieved it.

And friends, I’ve discovered which chocolate cake is best. If you’re needing chocolate cake for a birthday or a family celebration, you just step right up.  (Who am I kidding, just make it because you are surviving the crazy these days.)

Everyone I know loves a moist chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, but no one has great luck with a homemade chocolate cake without just using a cake mix. I am crazy giddy to share all of my secrets!

Don’t go crazy, but this is a chocolate cake recipe without butter. That’s for a very specific reason. As much as I thought that butter would be all the difference in flavor, it just wasn’t the truth. The flavor didn’t count enough for how much the cake lacked moisture.

Apparently butter doesn’t make cakes moister, which makes sense. Butter has a high water content that evaporates as steam in the baking process so it can’t keep the moisture like an oil can. If you really want to use butter you can, just use equal amounts or half and half, but all oil did lead to a better chocolate layer cake!

Homemade Chocolate Cake Ingredients

As I already mentioned, the moistness of this homemade chocolate cake is thanks in part to the oil used in the batter. Our other secret? Buttermilk! Yep, this is a buttermilk chocolate cake.

Any time a recipe calls for buttermilk, it makes me think it’s going to be a fancy recipe. But in reality, this chocolate cake from scratch couldn’t be simpler to make.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this moist chocolate cake recipe:

1. All-Purpose Flour: I’ve tested all sorts of flours but had the worst luck in a chocolate cake with cake flour.
2. Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Do not use dutch-process cocoa powder, but opt for an unsweetened cocoa powder, which will give a better rise. Try Hershey’s or a similar brand just in the grocery store. Not crazy trip to a gourmet store needed.
3. Espresso Powder: Espresso powder is optional, but listen, as one who does not drink coffee for religious reasons I really do believe this makes a difference in the chocolate flavor.
4. Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Yes, use both!!! I’ve tried many baking powd

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake is a yellow cake crust topped with a creamy pumpkin layer and the most popular pumpkin dessert at our Thanksgiving table.

This is the very first recipe I had ever made from the Food Network. Paula Deen inspired something in Cade and I and that is the only reason this blog exists.

Cade’s from the South and as super poor newlyweds we didn’t have much entertainment that didn’t cost money and since cable was free in our apartment we would watch Paula cook up delicious foods and I got to learn about Cade’s Southern side.

It was so fun to surprise him with classic southern dishes like, Fried Chicken, Southern Macaroni and Cheese, Perfect Pecan Pie and Tomato Basil Pie. But then we saw a few pumpkin recipes using pumpkin puree like, pumpkin cake, pumpkin gooey butter cake and other pumpkin dessert recipes.

We just knew Thanksgiving was going to be extra special.

Our First Thanksgiving Home as Newlyweds

Cade and I had been married for just shy of a year and we had gone home to Washington for the holidays. It felt so special to finally be a married couple enjoying the time with family. We had been thinking up pumpkin ideas for weeks.

I can’t remember why I was making pumpkin recipes, it must have been that we decided to not do pumpkin pie or something but either way this gooey butter cake ended up being what I chose and my whole family has been hooked on Paula Deen’s Gooey Butter Cake recipe ever since.

Now, I’ve waited this whole time, choosing to not post any Food Network recipes because I totally get how hard those chefs work, but after almost 12 years I decided that:

• it’s one of our favorites
• it’s already all over the web
• you want to know the recipes that people are obsessed with so you can make it a family favorite too!

What Ingredients for Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake Crust

• Egg
• Butter
• Cake Mix

Start off by making the crust with the above in

Havarti Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese

Oh sweet little piece of deliciousness. This grilled cheese sandwich has become one of our absolute favorites. The simplicity of it is what reeled me in years ago when I saw it featured on a popular talk show. There is a secret ingredient that totally makes this sandwich!

The sandwich has a caprese feel which is one of my favorite flavors in case you couldn’t tell by this caprese sandwich, caprese burgers, roasted tomato caprese soup with mini mozzarella grilled cheese bite croutons (seriously to die for), and grilled caprese chicken.

Everyone we’ve ever made these grilled sandwiches for has been so hesitant about the ingredients list, whole wheat bread, havarti cheese, fresh basil, garden tomatoes, and the secret ingredient…HONEY. Yes, honey. And trust me it’s exactly what the sandwich needs. It’s like a little twist on the classic caprese flavors.

Recommended Equipment

• Nonstick Skillet
• Turning Spatula
• Electric Griddle – I use this if I’m going to make a whole bunch of these sandwiches at the same time

Before you Begin…

Get all your ingredients ready…slice the tomatoes, rinse the basil leaves, butter (or use olive oil) the bread. Then assembling the sandwiches is quick and easy!

Ingredients for Havarti Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese

Well, pretty much all the ingredients for this sandwich recipe are listed in the title, so no surprises here! Except for that secret ingredient! Don’t forget that one!

• Havarti
• Tomatoes
• Basil
• Wheat Bread
• Honey

My best tip for choosing ingredients for a grilled cheese sandwich is that high quality ingredients make a high quality sandwich! The details for the ingredients can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make Grilled Cheese

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Prepare the sandwiches by spreading one side of each of the slices of bread with either butter or olive oil and then drizzling the other side of each slice with honey.

Layer the cheese, tomatoes and basil, and then top with the other slice of bread. Place the sandwich on the preheated skillet and cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden and toasty. Flip and let the other side toast as well.

Pina Colada Hawaiian Pulled Pork Nachos Recipe

Hawaiian pulled pork nachos…crispy tortilla chips topped with tender pulled pork, loads of melty cheese, pinto beans, sauteed peppers and a creamy pina colada sauce! It’s what every nachos recipe should be!

Whether you eat them as an appetizer on gameday or a quick weeknight meal, these nachos will get devoured by all the people. My kids think they’ve died and gone to heaven when they get to eat chips for dinner!

This pork nachos recipe will knock your boots off. In fact, they will probably knock you naked. And it will be worth it. They are the best dang nachos I’ve ever had. EVER. And that’s saying a lot because I really thought we loved our Italian nachos with chicken, wontons, and that yummy alfredo sauce…mmmmmm. Seriously though, these rocked our world.

Ingredient for Pulled Pork Nachos

Here is what you will need to make this nachos recipe:

• Pork Butt: 3-4lbs, if you have leftover pulled pork from the night before, that works perfectly
• Pinto Beans: drained and rinsed, and heated through in a pan on the stovetop
• Colby Jack Cheese: you could really use any cheese you want, but colby jack has such a delicious flavor for nachos and gets so creamy and melty
• Tostitos Scoop Chips: I love using scoops because they make the perfect nacho bites, but you could us any type of tortilla chip you prefer.
• Mini Sweet Peppers: I like to chop them into thin strips and then saute them.
• Olive Oil: helps saute the peppers
• Pina Colada Sauce: see recipe below…so creamy with the perfect blend of pineapple and coconut!
• Other toppings: You can load these up as much or as little as you want. Feel free to add more toppings such as tomatoes, diced red onions, fresh pineapple chunks, chopped cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, black olives, jalapenos, etc.

For the Pina Colada Sauce

• Crushed Pineapple: Be sure it is crushed and not the tidbits or chunks and no need to drain it. You want that yummy juice in there for flavor!
• Cream Of Coconut: You can find this by the margarita mixes and alcohol. It is usually in a can.
• Sour Cream: creates the creaminess for the sauce, you could substitute plain Green yogurt if you want

The measurements for all the ingredients and the instructions for making this recipe can all be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can also save or print the recipe from there. If you save it, it will be saved in “My Recipe Box” which you can access from the top right corner of any page on the blog. So convenient!

What is the Best Pulled Pork?

These nachos, are super easy to make, and I love that you can make a fresh roast or just use leftovers from dinner the night before. BOO-YAH.  We’ve include a recipe for making the pulled pork here, b