Super Bowl Recipe Corner: "Pizza" with Pillsbury and a Game Day Giveaway!

I have fond memories of my family using Pillsbury products when I was a little girl and I continue that tradition in our household. I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to collaborate with them on a Super Bowl snack project. I received a fun game day gift pack with a pizza pan, pizza cutter, football-shaped wood cutting board and a coupon to try their new Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain for free at my local grocery store.    

If you're a regular reader to this blog, you know that I love New Orleans and am overjoyed that the Super Bowl is being played there this year. I created a pizza recipe with a NOLA flair. 

"Southern Fried Bride's Cajun Crab and Corn Pizza" 

1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain
1/2 cup tomato sauce 
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (or a combination of oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper) 
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese blend
1/2 cup lump crab meat
1/2 cup fresh corn or canned corn, drained
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400°F for dark or nonstick pan (425°F for all other pans). Spray 14-inch round pizza pan with cooking spray. Unroll dough; place on pan. Starting at center, press out dough to edge of pan. Bake 8 minutes, or until crust edge begins to set, and remove from oven. Add tomato sauce and cajun seasonings. Stir well. Add sauce mixture to crust and spread evenly to inside edges of crust. Sprinkle cheese over sauce mixture. Spread crab meat across crust. Top with corn, green peppers and sliced mushrooms. Bake 9-13 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. To serve, cut into 6-8 wedges. Enjoy! 
   
My husband and I loved the texture of this crust with the ingredients. We thought it was crisp and tasty, with the outer crust a full texture that was not too hard of a texture, just the right amount of softness that we like. 

You can download a coupon for $1.50 off one package of the new Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain here.

One of you will win your own gift pack that contains a coupon for a free Pillsbury Artisan Pizza Crust with Whole Grain, an EZ-Baker pizza pan, football-shaped bamboo wood cutting board and a pizza cutter.

To enter, leave a comment below and tell me your favorite pizza topping, if you have one. Entries close tomorrow night, Super Bowl Sunday, at 10:00 pm EST. Winner will be announced immediately. Good luck!

Disclosure: The product, gift pack, information, and additional sample have been provided by Pillsbury
through MyBlogSpark."

Go Red For Women and a Heart-Healthy Recipe

February is here, one of my favorite months of the year. Today is National Wear Red Day®, part of the Go Red For Women movement established in 2004 by the American Heart Association along with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Each year, on the first Friday in February, millions of women and men come together to wear red, take action and commit to fighting this deadly disease. Heart disease played a role in taking the live of three of the most important people in my life: my mother and both of my maternal grandparents. I made the decision early on to be proactive about my health and have routine medical tests to keep track of my heart health.  

 

 According to the Go Red For Women website, they set out to dispel the myth that heart disease was "an old man's disease" by creating a passionate, emotional, social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health as well as band together and collectively wipe out heart disease. It challenges women to know their risk for heart disease and use the tools that that Go Red For Women provides to take action to reduce their personal risk. This year marks 10 years of this important initiative and in that time, tremendous strides have been made in the fight against heart disease in women, including 21% fewer women dying from heart disease and 23% more women aware that it's their No. 1 health threat. I am happy to participate today by wearing red, spreading awareness with you through these important statistics and sharing my favorite heart-healthy "red" dessert recipe.

 

 This month also brings the President’s Day holiday and this is one of my favorite cherry desserts. I like the story handed down that President George Washington at age 6 was given a hatchet of his very own and went about chopping everything outside that came his way, including a cherry tree his father was very fond of. Instead of being dishonest, he told the truth to his father that he was the one who cut into the tree. His father told him that his honestly in telling the truth was more valuable than a thousand of those trees. This cherry dessert uses one of my new favorite heart-healthy ingredients: steel cut oats. It makes a great choice for a lightened-up "red" treat- and that’s the truth!

 

"Southern Fried Bride's Cherry Crunch Delight"

2 (21 oz.) cans no sugar added cherry pie filling 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour works great)

1/2 cup steel cut oats  

1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar

1/3 cup margarine, melted  

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray 8 x 8 baking pan with cooking spray. Pour pie filling into baking dish and spread evenly to cover entire dish. In large bowl, combine flour, oats and brown sugar. Mix in melted margarine until mixture has a crumbly consistency. Sprinkle across pie filling. If desired, sprinkle with chopped pecans. Bake 40-45 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

New Orleans Carnival Time Recipe: "Flameless Bananas Foster Bundt Cake"

New Orleans is a city dear not only to me, but also to my husband. He was a Hurricane Katrina medical volunteer in NOLA days after that tragedy and went on to spend 6 weeks in the area taking care of patients many times out of a makeshift medical tent. When it came time to choose our honeymoon destination, New Orleans was our unanimous choice. We had an amazing time.

Last month, I returned to New Orleans for the first time since our honeymoon. This was a solo trip due to my husband's work schedule. I decided that life was too short to continue my bucket list wish to visit NOLA during Christmastime, so I checked it off my list! I had the most amazing time. I spent treasured time with my sorority Little Sister Susan. We both have December birthdays and it was priceless to be able to celebrate together. I stayed at our honeymoon hotel, Le Pavillon Hotel in the French Quarter and how wonderful it was to see some of the same staff again.

It is now a time of celebration in NOLA known as "Carnival". This is the pre-Lenten celebration that leads up to Fat Tuesday. One of my favorite desserts was created in New Orleans at Brennan's Restaurant. I've invoked the name of this restaurant beloved in my heart before. Bananas Foster is an amazing mix of bananas, caramel, cinnamon and rum. This dish is traditionally prepared by igniting the rum. I created a recipe for an easy, flameless version. I choose to cook the banana mixture until it thickens and has a syrupy texture. I decided to pay homage to this favorite NOLA recipe in a cake: a bundt swirl cake with a flameless bananas foster filling.
   
In the coming days, I will be sharing reviews of two fabulous New Orleans reads with you, including giving away an autographed copy of one of the books. I will also share about my visit to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. The food, the people, the history: this city has it all.

 

 

"Flameless Bananas Foster Bundt Cake"

 

2 1/2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 stick butter, softened

1 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon Rodelle pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup "Flameless Bananas Foster Filling"

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 10 inch bundt pan with Baker's Joy spray or coat with cooking spray and sprinkle with flour. In large bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In separate mixing bowl, beat butter with mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add sugar and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream and mix well. Slowly add dry flour mixture to creamed butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Pour half of batter into the prepared pan. Add bananas foster filling mixture by the spoonful over batter around the pan, then lightly swirl together with wooden skewer or spoon handle. Cover with remaining cake batter. Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto a plate. Enjoy!  

 

"Flameless Bananas Foster Filling"

1 medium banana, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rum OR rum extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. When butter is melted, add brown sugar, cinnamon and rum. Stir to dissolve brown sugar. When mixture is bubbling at the edges, add chopped bananas and stir to coat bananas. Let bananas cook in the syrup, stirring often, until mixture has a thick and syrupy consistency.

Remembering Elvis' Birthday: "Peanut Butter and Banana Delight Cake"

I was brought up in an Elvis-loving household and I was taught full-well that January 8th was his birthday. Every year, this day doesn't pass that I don't reflect on my fond memories of his music and movies from my childhood years into adulthood. My favorite movie was "Blue Hawaii". Another favorite is "Viva Las Vegas". My favorite songs, well then this would be a very long post, so I will share a few at the top of my list: "A Little Less Conversation", and "Viva Las Vegas" and "It's Now or Never". This day also doesn't pass without memories of my late Aunt Arlena back home in Oklahoma. She had a personality as huge as her hair. She loved all things red. She drove a red Cadillac. When I was in the second grade, one day we were playing in the schoolyard and she drove by in the Cadillac, honked and waved at me. She was wearing a fur coat, so full of life and I thought to myself, "I want to grow up to be like her!" She was a huge Elvis fan and when she passed, her life was celebrated with me giving her eulogy, all of the family wearing red and her favorite Elvis songs playing.  I baked this cake to celebrate Elvis' life today. This cake made my husband so happy he was "All Shook Up". I see peanut butter and banana dessert combinations that tend to have a peanut butter frosting. I serve up my peanut butter and banana cake with a banana buttercream frosting and a light, fluffy peanut butter layer cake. I believe that tonight in the night sky, an especially bright star I see is my Aunt Arlena shining down a shout out from above because I made this cake on Elvis' birthday.

"Peanut Butter and Banana Delight Cake"
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter chips, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon Rodelle pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups 2% milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and dusting of flour. In mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In separate large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add vanilla. Add dry flour mixture in thirds, alternating with milk, until all of dry mixture and milk have been added. Set aside. Melt peanut butter chips on top of stove by placing chips in small saucepan over low heat and stir often until chips are melted OR in microwave by placing chips in microwave-safe bowl and microwave at Medium (50%) for 1 minute and stir. If chips are not melted, microwave at Medium an additional 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each heating, until chips are melted and smooth when stirred. Add melted peanut butter chips to mixture and mix until well combined.  Divide batter evenly into baking pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

"Banana Buttercream Frosting"

1/2 stick butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons 2% milk
1 teaspoon banana extract

Place butter in mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed until fluffy. Gradually add confectioner's sugar, banana extract and 3 tablespoons milk until all ingredients are blended. Increase to medium speed and beat 5-6 minutes until light and fluffy. If mixture becomes stiff, add additional 1 tablespoon of milk. Spread frosting over cooled cake. Enjoy!

Game Day Recipe Corner: "Easy Crockpot Sausage Queso Dip"

Tonight's going to be a big football game night, especially for Alabama and Notre Dame football fans as their teams play for the national title in the collegiate NCAA National Championship. My husband and I will be tuning in to this game. How about you? Here is a super-easy and tasty crockpot cheese dip recipe I will be serving up at kickoff while we cheer on...the Crimson Tide!

"Southern Fried Bride's Easy Crockpot Sausage Queso Dip"

1 lb. Jimmy Dean light sausage, browned and drained

2 lbs. American cheese, cubed

1 (10 oz.) can Rotel diced tomatoes 

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

Brown sausage. Drain. Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Place crockpot on LOW heat setting. Cover with lid and heat one hour. Keep on LOW setting until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Recipe Corner: "Stampede Trail Bars"

During this time of year which brings all the post-holiday organizing, taking down the decorations and storing them, here is a recipe for a quick and easy snack or dessert. These make great bar cookies or my favorite way of serving them is cutting them in bite-size pieces.   

 

"Southern Fried Bride's Stampede Trail Bars"

 

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1 egg

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup raisins

Optional: ¼ cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix together peanut butter, honey, egg, oil and almond extract until well blended. Add in oats, brown sugar and salt. Mix well. Stir in white chocolate chips, raisins and coconut. Transfer mixture into 9x13 baking dish. Take spatula or spoon and gently shape mixture to fill entire layer of pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: 15 square bars or 30 bite-size bars. Enjoy!

New Year's Eve Recipe Corner: Easy Party Cheese Ball

2012 is coming to a close and time for New Year's Eve parties to begin! I am serving up my recipe for my favorite crowd pleasing appetizer. I serve this easy party cheese ball with Ritz snowflake-shaped crackers for a fun touch.

 

 

 

"Southern Fried Bride's Easy Party Cheese Ball"

2 pounds 2% light shredded cheese

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 cup light sour cream

1 package light cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon paprika

Coating mixture:

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In large mixing bowl, combine cheese, onion powder, sour cream, cream cheese and paprika. Mix until well blended. Form mixture into ball shape. Set aside. On wax paper or standard size plate, combine coating mixture of parsley and chopped nuts. Roll cheese ball over coating mixture until well coated. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Remove wrap before serving. Serve with crackers. Enjoy!