Crockpot Cookin': Fiesta White Chicken Chili

The arrival of fall always brings a special kind of joy to my heart. My late mother's birthday falls during this season and my late Grandma Cleva always marked when the calendar would once again turn to "Golden October". The sights and sounds of autumn bring an extra gleam to my smile. This is a favorite crockpot recipe in our household for the fall season that fills our home with a hearty fiesta aroma along with some lightened-up ingredients. You can add as many fun garnishes as you like. I love to sprinkle ours with miniature tortilla crisps I find in the salad section of the grocery store along with 2% shredded cheese and a dollop of light sour cream. I hope the arrival of fall brings you and yours many happy new memories! 

"Southern Fried Bride's Crockpot Fiesta White Chicken Chili"

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked OR raw, chopped

3 cups water

1 (10.5 oz.) can Campbell's low-sodium chicken broth

1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern white beans

1 packet McCormick's "White Chicken Chili" seasoning

Optional garnishes: 2% shredded cheese

                              light sour cream

                              tortilla crisps

Place chicken in bottom of crockpot. In separate bowl, combine water and chicken broth. Add packet of seasoning and stir well. Add white beans and stir until well-combined. Pour mixture over chicken in crockpot. Set crockpot on low and cook for 8 hours. Serve, if desired, with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla crisps. Enjoy!

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Labor Day Cookout Memories: "Grandma Cleva's Potato Salad"

Labor Day cookouts bring precious memories of my Grandma Cleva, who would dazzle with her potato salad everywhere from potlucks to picnics. Exploring the ins and outs of everything potato salad was a fun kitchen adventure for me. Maybe you will take this recipe and embark on your own kitchen adventure and share it with your family or loved ones at a gathering. Most of all, I hope this end of summer season finds you creating some treasured memories of your own with friends and loved ones!

“Grandma Cleva's Potato Salad”

6 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled, cubed & cooked

1 cup light mayonnaise

1 heaping tablespoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup sweet pickles, chopped

2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped

Optional: 1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon paprika

1 egg, hard-boiled & chopped

Peel potatoes, dice into cubes. In large pot, bring water to a boil and add potatoes. Cook 25-30 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place cubed potatoes in large bowl. Stir in mayonnaise. Add mustard and salt to mixture. Add onions, pickles and eggs. Toss gently to combine well. Transfer into serving bowl. Garnish, if desired, with parsley, paprika and chopped egg. Serve warm or cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving. Serves 10-12. Enjoy!

Summertime Recipe Corner: "Peach Paradise Ice Cream Pie"

On my recent visit home to Oklahoma, I made sure to venture over to the nearby town of Porter where their annual Porter Peach Festival in July was getting underway. There is an orchard there I especially love to visit and I cannot leave their store without partaking in another tradition: sampling their assortment of peach desserts. They had marvelous peach topping served on top of vanilla ice cream and wonderful peach cobbler. I had so much fun surprising family and friends I visited with sacks of Porter peaches!

This recipe is a peachy dessert treat without having to heat up your oven in this summer heat. My easy, no-bake peach ice cream pie also works great with regular versions of the ingredients listed, but using the light ingredients I list for my recipe will shave off extra calories, fat and sugar. Hope today will find you just "peachy"! 

"Southern Fried Bride's Peach Paradise Ice Cream Pie"

1 quart light vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened

1 cup sugar free or light frozen whipped topping, thawed 

1 large OR 2 medium peaches, chopped 

1 (8 oz.) ready-made reduced fat graham cracker pie crust

In large bowl, combine first three ingredients. Beat with mixer at medium speed until well blended. Spoon into pie crust. Cover pie and freeze at least 4 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

A Favorite Summertime Cake

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite summertime cakes: lemon cake. It brought to mind a most wonderful memory of the many times when I would make this cake in my Oklahoma kitchen with Grandma Cleva by my side. 

 

"Southern Fried Bride's Lively Lemon Cake"

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 package (4-serving size) Jell-O lemon flavor instant pudding

3 teaspoons baking powder

3 large eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 13 x 9 baking pan with cooking spray. Place flour, sugar, dry pudding mix and baking powder into large bowl. Set aside. Place eggs, oil, extract and water in large mixing bowl. Blend with mixer on low speed for one minute. Add dry mixture in thirds until all of dry mixture has been added. Increase mixer to medium speed for two minutes. Pour batter into pan and place in oven. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and place on cooling rack. Frost cake, if desired, when it cools.

"Southern Fried Bride's Lively Lemon Frosting"

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

2 drops yellow food color

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 tablespoons milk

Optional: 1/4 shredded coconut

1 dozen pecans, whole or chopped

With an electric mixer at low speed, mix powdered sugar and butter together. Once combined, add lemon extract and milk. If desired, add coconut. Increase speed of mixer to medium and beat for additional 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth and of spreading consistency. If frosting becomes too thick, thin frosting by adding an additional teaspoon of milk. Frost cooled cake and top, if desired, with pecans, if desired. Enjoy!

National Cheesecake Day and "New York Style Mini Cheesecakes"

Did you know that today is National Cheesecake Day? Since we are a household of two, rather than making an entire cheesecake, I make us personal-size strawberry cheesecakes. They are easy to make and are a big hit with my husband Craig. New York style cheesecakes, of course! They are perfect for making treats for one or two people but also make wonderful mini-size treats for a crowd. You can enjoy it by itself or topped with a number of fruit toppings. I top each of ours with a tablespoon of the strawberry preserves recipe I created for our wedding favors. 

"Southern Fried Bride's New York Style Mini Cheesecakes"

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Filling:
3 - 8 oz. packages light cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In regular size bowl, combine crumbs, 3 tbsp. sugar and butter. Press into bottom of each 4 mini (4-1/2-inch) spring form pans. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour 1/4 of the batter (about 1 cup) over the crust in each of the mini pans. Place pans on cookie sheet. Bake 40-45 minutes or until centers are almost set. Remove from oven. Loosen sides of cheesecakes with knife or metal spatula. Allow to cool before removing rims of pans. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving. Makes 4 mini cheesecakes. If desired, top with fruit topping of choice. Enjoy!

Vacations and visits and reunions, oh my! Plus: "Strawberry Mojito Layer Cake"

After 2 weeks visiting home in Oklahoma, after both mine and Craig's back-to-back 20 year high school reunions, The Southern Fried Bride is back in my pink kitchen and ready to serve up a fun summertime cake!  

     

      "Southern Fried Bride's Strawberry Mojito Cake"

2 ½ cups cake flour 

2 tsp. baking powder 

¼ tsp. baking soda 

¼ tsp. salt 

1 stick butter, softened 

1 teaspoon lime zest 

1 (4-serving size) strawberry gelatin mix

1 cup sugar 

3 large eggs 

1/2 cup strawberries, chopped

3 teaspoons lime juice 

2 teaspoons rum OR rum extract 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8” round cake pans with cooking spray. In medium-sized bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine well and set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, lime zest and dry strawberry gelatin mix. Beat with mixer with until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix until well combined. Add dry flour mixture in thirds until all of mixture has been added. Add strawberries and mix well. Add lime juice and rum. Mix until well-combined. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before frosting. 

"Southern Fried Bride's 7th Heaven Mint Frosting"

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

4 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

In saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Boil 3-4 minutes. If using a candy thermometer reads 242 degrees F (firm-ball stage). Without candy thermometer, you can do cold water test to check for firm-ball stage by dropping a little of the syrup in cold water and it should form a firm ball, one that stays in a ball shape when you take it out of the waterr, but flattens when squeezed. In large mixing bowl, add egg whites and cream of tartar and mix until foamy consistency. Slowly pour hot sugar mixture into egg white mixture, and mix on high for 6 minutes. Add peppermint extract. Continue mixing for 1 minute, or until frosting reaches desired consistency. Yield: frosts a 2 layer cake. Enjoy!

4th of July Favorite: No-Bake Apple Pie

The 4th of July is here! One of my favorite traditions on the 4th is making an all-American dessert: apple pie. This apple pie is a no-heating-up-the-oven required recipe perfect for this hot summer weather. It is a lightened up treat that can be enjoyed by diabetics as well as those who strive for healthier eating. You can substitute any of the sugar free ingredients in this recipe for the regular version, but I love the flavor created with the sugar free versions. I'm getting ready to come home to Oklahoma for a visit and I'm sure excited! Happy Birthday America and hope y'all have a "blast" on the 4th!

“Southern Fried Bride's No-Bake Amazing Apple Pie”

 5 medium apples, peeled and sliced
 1-3/4 cups water
 1 package (4-serving size) sugar-free JELL-O lemon gelatin
 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon Splenda brown sugar
 1 package (4-serving size) sugar-free JELL-O cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
 1 (8 inch) Keebler reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust
 Optional: 1 cup Cool-Whip Sugar Free whipped topping

In large saucepan, combine sliced apples, 1 1/2 cups water, gelatin, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 4-6 minutes or until apples are tender. Combine dry pudding mix and remaining ¼ cup water. Stir into apple mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Pour into crust. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Garnish, if desired, with a dollop of whipped topping before serving. Enjoy!