Bruschetta Chicken Skillet

Tonight I found a recipe on Hunts.com that was so easy and fast plus it was delicious! My kids loved it and so did my husband. I will for sure be making this again! Thank you Hunts! The original recipe can be found here

Bruschetta Chicken Skillet
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
1/8 cup dried basil
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 - 2 tsp garlic powder
thin spaghetti noodles

Stir together drained tomatoes, cheese and basil in a bowl, set aside. Next pound the chicken to 1/2-inch thickness. This can be done using a meat mallet, or even a rolling pin. Top the chicken evenly with the tomato mixture, pressing onto the chicken. Combine tomato sauce and garlic powder in large skillet; add chicken. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in centers (165°F). Serve over cooked thin spaghetti noodles. Enjoy.

Tangy Grilled Chicken Salad

I have decided I would like to start feeding my family healthier food. We have decided to start by cutting out high fructose corn syrup and food dyes. We also want to add more fresh ingredients to our meals. We thought a fresh salad would be a great place to start. We happened to stumble upon Tangy Ranch Chicken recipe on the back of the mustard container. We decided to turn this into a salad and it was delicious! My mom brought the lettuce straight from her garden- yum!

Tangy Ranch Chicken

2/3 cup Ranch dressing
1/3 cup FRENCH'S® Classic Yellow® Mustard
3 tbsp. brown sugar
4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix salad dressing, mustard and sugar. Pour sauce over chicken. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for 30 min. Grill chicken 10 to 15 min. until done.


Grilled Tangy Chicken Salad

tangy ranch chicken
romaine lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped avocados
craisins
shredded cheese (we used Gouda) 

honey mustard dressing (we used Brianna's homestyle)

Place lettuce on your place, add tomatoes, chicken, avocados, craisins and dressings and enjoy!

Salsa Chicken

Last night we were making Salsa Chicken by Mostly Homemade Mom for dinner when my kids said they wanted noodles for dinner. We had some left over Garden Delight noodles in the pantry that weren't being used, so we decided to cook those up. I had still planned on my husband and I eating the salsa chicken in tortillas. When my husband came home he suggested we eat it over noodles. So we did. It was AMAZING. So amazing that I took a picture of my leftover dinner that I am eating for lunch and decided to make a blog post. Thank you Mostly Homemade Mom!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup salsa

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 packet taco seasoning

1/2 cup sour cream
cheddar cheese

pasta cooked to your liking (we used love garden delite noodles)

Place chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning on chicken. In a bowl, combine soup and salsa. Pour over chicken. Cook on high 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add sour cream and then blend the mixture using a hand blender. Add shredded cheese and chicken, mix and serve over pasta.

Mac and Cheese

I may or may not be baking this as we speak. Don't judge I am pregnant and a sandwich just wasn't going to cut it for lunch today. This recipe originally came from Rachael Ray. We discovered it 4 years ago and have been making it ever since. Check out the full original recipe here.

Mac and Cheese
1 pound pasta
Salt and black pepper
onion & garlic powder or salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
3 cups cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400. Cook pasta to just shy of al dente. While pasta is cooking start your sauce. Add butter to sauce pan until melted, add flour and cook for about a minute. Whisk in milk and season with seasoning, bring to a bubble. Once to a bubble turn off stove top and stir in cheese until melted. Once pasta is done combine the pasta and the sauce. Pour into baking dish and bake until bubbly and golden brown.

This has become a favorite recipe at our house. We love to make different variations. You can add whatever you want to it and you can use different cheeses to make more of a 3 cheese pasta or whatever kind you like. One of our favorites is using Parmesan cheese, then blending up spinach into it. We also love to add broccoli to ours. You can also add breadcrumbs or corn flakes to the top. The kids love this and so does my husband. Enjoy :)

Wingers Sticky Fingers

We recently perfected this recipe while making a plate of sticky fingers to share. We were out of eggs and were surprised when these turned out better than any other we have made before. I have posted the new recipe below. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Wingers Sauce
6 TBSP Franks Red Hot
4 TBSP water
1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Combine in a sauce pan over low heat until smooth.

Chicken Strips
Milk
seasoning salt
salt
pepper
flour
raw chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into strips)
vegetable oil

Start heating oil in a large pan/pot. Pour 1 - 2 cups of milk in a container. Put flour in separate container, add seasoning salt, salt and pepper to taste and mix together. Place your chicken in the milk mixture and let sit for a minute or two. Next dip the chicken into the flour mixture until covered. Place the covered pieces back in the milk and then dip in the flour mixture once more. Place coated chicken on a separate plate. Once oil is heated to about 350, place the chicken in the oil. You can place around 6 chicken strips in the pan at a time. Let them cook for about 10 mins, flipping halfway through. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is done, or cut the thickest one open to check. Place the done chicken on a cooling rack and then dip into the sauce immediately. Dipping the chicken in right way will help the sauce stick to the chicken. It's now time to dig in. Serve with ranch and celery. Enjoy!!

Sticky Finger Rice Bowl

A few months ago I found an amazing Winger's sticky finger sauce recipe here. We have used it to make sticky finger salad and sticky fingers. It is the best. Well tonight I was craving the sticky finger rice bowl, so we made it :) Here is what I came up with.

Sticky Finger Rice Bowl

chicken cut into strips/pieces

rice

veggies

homemade wingers sticky finger sauce

First start making the chicken sauce. The recipe for the sauce can be found here. Here is the recipe so you don't have to go there to find it:

6 Tbsp Frank's Hot Sauce

4 Tbsp water

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

Heat all in pan until the sugar is dissolved. Instead of regular franks sauce we used their Red Hot Wings Sauce: Sweet Heat BBQ this time and it was sooo good. Regular Franks is amazing too.

Next cook the chicken in a few tablespoons of oil until done. Drain most of the oil. Add the sauce to the chicken and cook for a min or two, mixing well the whole time. Take pan off heat and mix a bit more. Let the chicken sit in the sauce for a bit.

In the meantime cook the rice and veggies. While rice and veggies are cooking- start the sauce to put on top the rice.

Sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
a spoonful or two of wingers sauce

Add all ingredients into a small sauce pan except 1/4 c water and cornstarch. Mix those together in separate bowl and then add to the rest. Bring to boil, then turn down to low and keep warm til everything is done.

Once rice and veggies are done plate up the food. Place desired amount of rice on plate, top with veggies, chicken and sauce and ENJOY!

Potato Soup

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
garlic powder
seasoning salt
pepper
onion powder
2 heaping spoonfuls sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tbsp corn starch
cheddar cheese

Combine potatoes, broth and seasonings to taste. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Mix milk with corn starch, pour into soup. Reduce to low. Add sour cream and have cream, mix til blended. Add cheese, mix, serve and enjoy :)

roughly based off of this recipe: http://manouvellemode.blogspot.mx/2012/01/creamy-potato-soup.html

Calzones

Tonight pizza was on the menu. I knew Thomas needed something a little more filling for dinner, so I decided to make some calzones for the first time ever. They didn't turn out the prettiest, but they were AMAZING!

Calzones

1 Jiffy Pizza Dough Mix
melted butter
desired fillings

Make the Jiffy pizza dough as instructed on box. Split dough in half. Roll one half into ball and then roll out into a large circle.  Spread desired sauce onto half of the rolled out dough, leaving the edges clean so that you can pinch it closed later. Add topping on top of that. Fold dough over and pinch edges. Transfer to greased cookie sheet. Brush top with butter. Bake at 375 for 20-30 mins or until done.

Suggested toppings: BBQ sauce with chicken, cheese and spinach; ranch with chicken, cheese, spinach and tomatoes

Chicken Parmesan

2 raw chicken breasts cut in half
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
garlic salt
onion salt
italian seasoning
4 slices mozerella cheese
spaghetti sauce
angel hair pasta
olive oil

In a pan mix together milk & eggs. In a seperate pan mix together bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, onion salt and italian seasoning. Add however much garlic salt, onion salt and italian seasoning you prefer. Dip chicken into milk/egg mixture, then into bread crumb mixture. Heat about 2 tsp of olive oil in a frying pan.

Place coated chicken in pan and cook until browned on each side. Place in greased baking pan. Top with a spoonful of sauce and one slice of cheese. Bake for about 30 mins at 350 until chicken is done.

While chicken is cooking boil the pasta and heat or make the sauce. Serve with corn, breadsticks and pasta and enjoy!

(sorry about the horrible pic, I was in a hurry)

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Adapted from this recipe

1 or 2 large chicken breasts
2.5 cups crushed cornflakes corn flakes
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk
2 T olive oil
1 12 oz package of Ronzoni Garden Delight noodles (we used rotini)

Sauce:
1/2 container of 10 oz Philadelphia Cooking Cream (Italian Cheese and Herb Flavor)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c milk

Start the water for the noodles. Put cornflakes, flour & salt, and milk in 3 separate containers. Cut chicken in half (horizontally, to make chicken thinner). Dip chicken in the flour, then the milk, then the corn flakes. Heat olive oil in sauce pan. Place chicken in olive oil and cook for about 5 mins, until golden brown on the bottom side. Flip the chicken over, place a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 7 mins, until done all the way through. Watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. Once the chicken is done place it on a plate, put tin foil over it and place aside. In the same pan (make sure there is not very much oil left in it, just drops) that you cooked the chicken in combine cooking cream, cream of chicken, broth and milk. Whisk together and let cook until bubbling. Place noodles on plate, top with sauce and chicken. Serve some veggies on the side and ENJOY!!

Penne Florentine

We thought of this recipe while making our Chicken Pizza last week. We hope you enjoy it!

Pasta Mixture:
1 package penne noodles- cooked to al dente
1 chopped tomato
1/2 - 1 cup chopped spinach
chopped cooked chicken (however much you want)

Toss together. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sauce:
2 T butter
1 T - 2 T flour
1 c milk
1/2 c - 1 c Parmesan cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup

Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour to butter. Cook until bubbly. Add 1/2 c milk and cook again until bubbly. Turn stove off and parm cheese. Mix until smooth. Add cream of chicken soup and 1/2 milk. Mix again until smooth.

Combine sauce and pasta mix.

Put in buttered casserole dish, sprinkle cheese over top. Bake until brown and bubbly.

We didn't have extra cheese for on top, so ours isn't very brown on top, but it was really bubbly

We were lazy tonight, but normally we would serve it along side broccoli and bread sticks or garlic bread. Enjoy! It is so delicious and your kids will love it too!

Little Thomas was very happy with dinner tonight

Chicken Pockets

recipe adapted from a recipe from Robyn Stafford

Filling:
1 cooked shredded chicken breast or one can of canned chicken
1-2 cups of chopped broccoli
3 oz. cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
onion powder to taste
garlic powder to taste
handful of Parmesan cheese

Mix together in a small bowl.

Pockets:
1-2 packages Crescent rolls (depending on how many you are feeding and how full you want your pockets)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Open package of rolls. Lay them out on pan and configure them into desired shape, fill with filling and pinch shut. Here are two different shapes you can make:

Dip each pocket into 1 melter butter butter then bread crumbs. Place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sauce:

1 can cream of chicken soup, diluted with milk, if you want thicker sauce don't add full can of milk.

Heat slowly in small sauce pan over stove or microwave.

After baking serve with sauce.

This recipe came from my fabulous mother in law and I added some of my own things to make it my own. We LOVE this meal, but our kids aren't fans yet, so we usually cut some of the chicken breast off before shredding for them and save them some broccoli and serve it with rice or just cook them up some noodles. I have served this for guests many times and always get a great response. We have put chopped spinach in the pockets instead of broccoli and served broccoli on the side also. Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do! Feel free to make it your own as well.

Tatertot Casserole

1 bag of tatertots
1 lb ground beef
1 package of ranch dressing powder
1 can green beans
1 can corn
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook ground beef, drain and add ranch powder. In a bowl mix together the cream of mushroom + cream of chicken with 1 can of milk (just fill up one of the soap cans with the milk you have in the fridge). Mix until smooth. (I used my hand blender to make ours smooth). In separate bowl mix together the corn, beans and beef. Add 3/4 of the soup mix. Pour mixture into greased casserole dish. Next top the mixture with tatertots in whatever way you want. I like to just dump the bag out and spread them as evenly as possible, but Thomas likes to put them in perfect rows.

Pour the remaining soup over, and top with grated cheese.

Cook at 350 for about 30 mins or until tatertots are done and casserole is brown and bubbly.

Enjoy!! Your kids will LOVE this- I know ours do.

Chicken Pizza

Pizza Dough
Cheese
Cooked Chicken
Chopped Tomatoes
Chopped Spinach
Garlic Ranch Sauce (recipe to follow)

Spread pizza dough on pan of choice.(we bought some pre-made mix and just had to add water). Spread garlic ranch sauce over dough,

sprinkle cheese, chicken, tomatoes and spinach and then top with a little more cheese.

Follow instructions for your pizza dough on how long to cook. Enjoy!

It is an easy and delicious meal and to make it a little healthier you can use wheat dough and use less cheese and sauce.

Garlic Ranch Sauce
Ranch
Garlic Powder

Put ranch in a bowl, add garlic powder to taste. Use on pizza :)

Taco Soup

Taco Soup
based off of a recipe from Melissa Borders, check out her blog here

1 onion
2 lbs ground beef
3 packages of ranch dressing powder
2 package taco seasoning
2 can corn- drained
1 can pinto beans
2 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes with chilies

Brown hamburger. Then add onions, 2 ranch dressing powder and 1 taco seasoning. Cook until the onions are translucent.

 Put in crock pot. Add all beans, tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning packet and ranch dressing packet. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

  Serve with sour cream, cheese and homemade tortilla chips (see below for recipe). Enjoy!

Homemade Tortilla Chips

corn tortillas
vegetable cooking spray
salt (if desired)

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cut corn tortilla chips into to desired shape (we cut ours into strips) and place on cooking sheet. Spray the top of the tortillas with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven and cook for 10-20 minutes at 425. Be sure to check often, they burn easily. Serve over taco soup.

I hope you enjoy these recipe as much as we do.

White Chili

White Chili by Mandy Bagley
1lb Chicken breast, 1 in. pieces
1 tbs veg. Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove minced
2 15 oz can great northern beans
1 15 oz can chicken broth
2 4 oz can chopped green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4-5 tbs corn starch
1 C. sour cream
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
mozzeralla cheese

Saute chicken with oil, onion, and garlic until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, chilies, and seasonings. Then you will only add half of the chicken broth. The other half mix corn starch with it until its all blended and not lumpy. Then pour in. Depending on how thick you want it. I like it thicker, you may need to add more corn starch. I only use 4-5 tbs. Then simmer for 30 mins.

Stir in sour cream and heavy whipping cream just prior to serving. You can top with cheese and enjoy!!

We serve ours with tortilla chips or crescent rolls. Also one of the best parts of this recipe is that if you want it to have a little less kick you can add one less can of green chilies or just add more sour cream. It is customizable to every person eating it. You can make it exactly how it says and if it is to hot for someone eating it they can just add more sour cream to theres. Also to make it go farther sometimes I add 2 cans of chicken stock.

Parmesan Chicken

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. I was letting my husband do this post, but he has been so busy that he never got around to it so I am doing it instead. This is an amazing recipe that my friend Janette shared with me. It is simple and goes great with mashed potatoes and stuffing.

First mix about 1 cup of bread crumbs with 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Next add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. After that melt some butter and dip the chicken in it. Next coat the chicken in the bread mixture.

Put it in a pan (we use a glass 9 x 13) and bake it at 350 until it's done (usually about 50 min).

It is so easy and seriously amazing. We served ours a long side some homemade potatoes, stovetop stuffing and rolls. It is a meal your whole family with love.