Breaded Ranch Chicken

At my wedding shower I asked everyone to bring their favorite recipe so that I could start my own collection of family recipes. A good friend of our family gave us this breaded ranch chicken recipe and it was the first recipe from my new collection that I tried. My husband normally only likes chicken on the grill but this recipe changed his mind. The chicken is so moist and the flavor is awesome especially if you are a big fan of ranch dressing like myself. I served the chicken with brussel sprouts and mushroom risotto from Trader Joes (if you haven't tried this risotto I highly suggest it).

Ingredients:

3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
6 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup butter - melted

Directions:

In a shallow bowl combine cornflakes, parmesan cheese, and ranch packet.

Dip chicken in melted butter then roll in cornflake mixture to coat.

Place chicken in a greased 9x13 pan, uncovered.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Pulled Chicken Suiza Sammies

I found this recipe and had to make it that night because these sounded so delicious. These were so easy to make and full of flavor. For the chicken I just picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to make this an even quicker meal to make. I served these with one of my favorite sandwich sides, Alexia's frozen onion rings mmmmm.The chicken mixture tastes a lot like the filling to an enchilada so the next day I used the left overs to make nachos and they were fantastic.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped (all I had was half an onion)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 cups salsa verde
1/2 cup sour cream
1 rotisserie-style chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded
4 sandwich rolls, split
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat the broiler. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the lime juice and honey, then stir in the salsa and heat through. Mix in the sour cream. Add sauce a little at a time to your bowl of shredded chicken. YOU MAY NOT NEED ALL THE SAUCE depending on how much shredded chicken you have. Stir in the sauce to coat.

Pile the chicken mixture on the roll bottoms. Top with the cheese and broil to melt. Set the roll tops in place and serve with your favorite side.

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Tater-Topped Casserole

Who doesn't love tater tots? When I told my husband a few years back that I was going to make a recipe with tater tots he thought I was crazy and warned me that he wasn't going to like it. Well this is now one of his most requested dinners. The recipe calls for shredded cheddar cheese but I have always used shredded mexican shredded cheese because its what I usually have on hand. I also add minced onion and garlic to the meat when browning it. This is one of those dishes that you can't knock it till you try it. I always top my serving with a little bit of ketchup too :)

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1/4 cup  milk

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)

1 cup Mexican Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or any cheese blend that you prefer)

1 lb. (1/2 of 32-oz. pkg.) frozen tater tots ( I usually use the Ore Ida Onion Tots)

 

Directions:

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Brown meat in large skillet and spoon into 2 quart casserole dish.

 

Mix soup and milk in a bowl and poor over meat. Top with frozen veggies, cheese, and tater tots.

 

Bake for 45 minutes or until tots are golden brown and casserole is heated through. 

 

Source: Kraft Foods

Frito Skillet

I love Mexican food! This is one of my favorites because it is a mix between nachos and taco salad. We have always used ground turkey breast but I'm sure this would be great with ground beef.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean  ground beef or ground turkey breast

3/4 cup water

1 pkg.Taco Seasoning

2 cups Frito corn chip

Mexican shredded cheese

2 cups shredded lettuce

Directions:

Brow meat in large skillet. Add water and seasoning mix; cook as directed on package.
   
Cover meat mixture with chips and then top with shredded cheese; cover. Cook on low heat 5 min. or until cheese is melted.
 
Top with salsa, sour cream, and sliced olives.  

White Trash Dip

The best part about football season is getting together with friends and of course eating a lot of food. The reason this is called white trash dip is because it is super cheap to make and quite frankly doesn't look all that pretty. Despite the name the look of this dip it is a crowd pleaser and seriously addicting.

Ingredients:

2 8oz packages of cream cheese

1 can of hormel chili with no beans

8 oz of shredded mexican cheese blend

Directions:

Soften cream cheese and spread into pie dish

Pour can of chili on top of cream cheese

Place shredded cheese on top and heat either in the oven or microwave until melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

Easy Crockpot Potato Soup

All I can say is mmmmm heaven! Thank god for pinterest otherwise I may have never discovered this recipe. This recipe couldn't get any easier it literally took me 5 minutes to throw everything in the crockpot and dinner was ready when I got home from work. Make sure that you use regular cream cheese because the non-fat won't melt. I didn't have an onion so I substituted the chopped onion with 3 tbsp minced onion. After serving I topped the soup with chives, bacon bacon (tastefully simple), shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Ingredients:

1 30oz. bag of frozen, shredded hash browns {I used Ore Ida}

3 14oz. cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

1 pkg. cream cheese 

Directions:

In a crockpot combine everything except cream cheese. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.

About 1 hour before serving add the cream cheese. Cut the cream cheese into cubes for faster melting. Keep heated until thoroughly melted.

Source: Adapted from Pearls, Handcuffs, and Happy Hour

Cranberry Orange Spread

This is one of my favorite recipes to make during the holidays. When I first made it I was skeptical because the ingredients just didn't sound like they would go well together but I was SO wrong. Word of advice don't taste test before letting it refrigerate overnight because it has a totally different taste. I usually serve it with crackers but you could use pretzels or even graham crackers.

Ingredients:

1 8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1 tbsp frozen orange juice (melted)
1 tsp of sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

Directions:

Let 1 tbsp of frozen orange juice melt in a medium size bowl.  While juice is melting let cream cheese softened and chop dried cranberries. (I used food processor to chop cranberries)

Blend all ingredients except cranberries with the melted orange juice with mixer. Then mix in cranberries by hand. Refrigerate overnight.