*Before the summer ends, I must take a moment to remember the best Southern Plate recipes that we have enjoyed over the past few months. These three are winners because we have made them each more than once. I love that they are all SO delicious and SO easy to make!

First Up: Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
I made this for my sister Kristen’s birthday in July. She is famous for from-scratch Cherry Pie, so she loved this! 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (use the cheap stuff like me if you want, no shame in that!)
• store bought graham cracker crust
• 1 Can of pie filling of your choice (I love cherry or blueberry)

Instructions:
Make sure cream cheese is softened at room temperature to prevent pie from being lumpy. In mixing bowl, place cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix until creamy and smooth. Spread into pie crust and cover. Refrigerate several hours. Top with pie filling and return to refrigerator until completely chilled. Serve cold.
*Note: This is a soft pie. It won’t get firm so keep it in the refrigerator and serve cold.*

Next Up: ButterFinger Cake 
We first enjoyed this cake when my mom made it for Jason’s 26th birthday – another post on that coming soon. It was so good we decided to try it ourselves and have already made it for others as well!

 Jason and S both have birthdays in the month of August, so we celebrate together!

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil’s food cake mix
• 1 bottle caramel topping
• 1 can Condensed milk
• 1 large tub cool whip
• 1-2 Butterfinger bars

Instructions:
Prepare cake according to package directions. Immediately after removing cake from oven, poke several holes all over the top with a fork. Mix sweetened condensed milk and caramel together (it’s going to seem like a lot – but this is what makes it so good!), pour over hot cake, spread it over the entire cake. Chill well. After cake has chilled completely, spread cool whip over the top and sprinkle crushed Butterfinger bar on top of cool whip.

Last, but not least: Fiesta Chicken (yes, we do eat real food too!) 
This has become my go-to recipe for when I take food to people (Babies born, sick, etc.) It is super easy and best of all, is made in the crock pot. I normally just set the crock pot out the night before, line it with Slow Cooker Liners (miraculous invention!), and set out the ingredients. Then in the morning, it’s as simple as dumping in the ingredients, setting that bad boy on low, and you’re done! We normally make some easy rice to round out the meal.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Chicken breasts (whatever you have on hand and however much meat you want to use)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (can use fat free)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup salsa
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• 2 cups cooked rice
• cheese or other desired toppings

Instructions:
Place chicken breasts in bottom of slow cooker. Top with cream soup. On top of that add corn, black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. Stir lightly. Cover with lid and cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, stir in your cooked rice. Serve with favorite toppings and enjoy! This heats up really well.

Thank You Southern Plate!