Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Rolls:

And I'm back for our second round of stuffed chicken!

If you haven't seen my post on Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken, you can check it out HERE.

You can't really go wrong with a good ole' pepperoni pizza.

I love pizza as much as anybody, and just thinking about all the different variations of pizza out there, is just amazing!

But sometimes, I just crave some classic thin, crispy crust, extra sauce, perfect amount of cheese, lots of pepperoni piece of pizza!!!! There is just no substitute!

You know what? I have been married for over 6 weeks, and I have yet to make a pepperoni pizza, come to think of it! Definitely adding that to the menu for next week, because now that's all I can think about!!!

Anyways!!

This recipe is in no way a substitute for an old-fashioned pepperoni pizza,

BUT

it was very, very good! We loved it!

It was so, so fun to make, and the flavors were awesome!

It's perfect as is, but it would also be fantastic to pump it up too!!

Think some spicy pepperoni, some sauted peppers, onions, mushrooms, some chopped black olives....the list could go on and on!!!

So no matter whether you're feeling classic and traditional, or adventurous, I hope you try this out!!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup marinara sauce

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 cup chopped pepperoni

12+ whole pepperonis

3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Butterfly each piece of chicken, and then pound them out to make sure it's all flat and even; set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, chopped pepperoni, 1/4 cup shredded cheese, and the Parmesan cheese. Mix until well combined.

Divide the sauce mix between all 4 pieces of chicken. Spread out over the chicken breast, to within 1/4 inch of the edges.

Gently roll up each piece as tightly as you can, like a burrito. Secure with toothpicks.

Place, seam side down, in a greased baking dish.

Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and spread out to evenly coat each piece.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 50 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads almost 155 degrees F.

Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese, and top with whole pepperoni.

Bake for 10-12 minutes more or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let stand for 5 minutes. Remove toothpicks.

Serve!!!

Baked Ranch Chicken Tacos:

Oh my goodness, I just love tacos!!!!!

I don't know if I could seriously, honestly nail down a specific favorite food, 

but it would definitely be a toss up between tacos and Japanese. 

Actually, maybe it would be tacos and something else Mexican. 

No, it would be tacos and that Cuban restaurant that Bradley currently has me addicted to.

Or it could be tacos and peanut butter............never mind, I'm not willing to make that choice.

Well, whether you're a taco-addict such as myself, or quite possibly a hater, I definitely hope you give these fantastic, awesome, incredible tacos a try!

They are quite unbelievable, and quite unlike any other taco I have had.

I don't know how to explain them, to help convince you!!

It's a creamy, chicken taco, basically!!

With Fireworks!!!

I don't know, I just hope you try them out and enjoy them as much as we did!

And you could totally use this mix in a bunch of different ways! 

If you aren't a fan of the hard-shell tortillas, try:

-in a soft tortilla wrap

-on a taco salad

-shred the chicken and use it as a dip for tortilla chips

-in a quesadilla

And the sky's the limit, when it comes to the topping choices!

Enjoy!!

2-3 large chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package (1/4 cup) taco seasoning

1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing

12 taco shells

Shredded cheese

Taco toppings of your choice

Heat oil in a medium skillet, over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook and stir until lightly browned, and chicken is cooked through. Drain off any excess liquid.

Return to the heat, and sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken. 

Cook and stir until the seasoning has completely coated all the chicken

(DO NOT ADD ANY WATER).

Add the ranch dressing, and cook and stir until evenly coated and heated through.

Stand taco shells up in a baking dish. 

Divide the chicken mixture evenly between the shells.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees F for about 8 minutes, or until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Serve with your favorite taco toppings!!!

Baked BBQ Chicken Nachos:

Happy Thanksgiving week, y'all!!!!!!

I'm so excited for this week! 

Yes, because this is mine and Bradley's second thanksgiving together, 

and first thanksgiving being married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And we have soooooo much to be thankful for!!!! 

But, also I'm excited because.............................

I GET TO SEE MY FAMILY THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been about 9 & 1/2 weeks since I have seen them (apart from FaceTime), and I CAN'T wait!!!!

Bradley's family is awesome, and they have been so sweet to me and have welcomed me in!

They have definitely helped me make the transition from Maryland to South Carolina a lot easier, but I am still excited to see my family again!

Anyways!!!!

This is not your traditional "thanksgiving" menu item, I know. But sometimes it's nice to break away from all the leftovers the day after Thanksgiving or sometime, and throw together something super fun, super easy, and super yummy for your guests. Or even just yourself!!

Honestly, we totally ate this for dinner, the first time!

But it would be awesome anytime!

I love nachos!! Plain ole' chips and cheese or fully loaded....I'm all in!!

After Bradley and I closed on our house in July, we went out to eat dinner with his family to celebrate. It was this super cool BBQ place, and of all the amazing things on their menu, the BBQ nachos totally jumped out at me!

And they were sooooooo good! Oh my goodness, I was in heaven!

So, I've been thinking about them ever since, and knew I had to make them!!

I looked at a lot of recipes, and they were pretty much all missing the one key ingredient.

Not the chicken.

Not the chips.

But the white queso. 

I'm telling you, it's what TOTALLY makes BBQ Chicken Nachos!!! 

After combining like 4 different recipes, I think I finally got it!! They were really, really good!

So whether its for a super quick dinner, or an awesome appetizer/snack, I hope you try them out!!!

Note: All amounts are just approximate. Feel free to add/take away anything/as much as you want!

3/4 of a (13 oz) bag of tortilla chips, any shape you want

2 cups shredded BBQ chicken

1 large onion

5 ounces white Velveeta Queso cheese

2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno peppers, diced

2 tablespoons juice out of the pepper jar

2 cups of shredded cheese, any kind

Additional diced jalapenos and sour cream for garnish, if desired

Cut onion in half, and slice thin. Saute in a skillet with about 1 teaspoon of butter, over medium-high heat, until tender, and beginning to caramelized; set aside.

Cut white queso cheese into small chunks. Add the diced jalapenos and the juice. 

Place in a small microwave safe dish,

Heat for 30 seconds, stir. Continue heating & stirring in 30 second intervals, until cheese is melted. Set aside.

I used a huge cast iron skillet, but you could use a large plate or serving tray, or a 9x13 baking dish, or cookie sheet, or seriously whatever you want! Just so it's oven safe!

Arrange half of the chips on the bottom of your serving dish.

Add a thin layer of shredded cheese over the chips.

Top with the remaining chips.

Drizzle the melted white cheese all over the chips.

Top with the chicken, and then caramelized onions.

Sprinkle with additional diced jalapenos and remaining shredded cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until everything is nice and hot and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!!!!!!

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken:

Something about stuffed chicken always looked so cool and "fancy" to me!

Like something you would make for a special occasion

(I have no clue why I thought this!)!!

When I really looked into them, I realized that they were actually not all that hard to make at all.

In fact, they are actually really easy! 

And relatively fast!

AND very fun!

AND a great stress-reliever, because you get to pound out chicken!

Anyways, so since being married, I have tried a couple different stuffed chicken recipes.

This is the very first one I tried, and we loved it!

It is a little spicy, but I mean, "Jalapeno" is in the title, so I'm sure you already guessed the spicy part! But it's really good, and the inside is so creamy, and just good!

Now, these don't look fantastic, but they really were good!

We used Turkey bacon, but you can use whatever you want.

We baked ours, but you could grill them instead. That would add an awesome smokey flavor, and great color too!!

Hope you try it out! 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons diced, pickled jalapenos

1/4 cup (2 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

4 slices pepper jack cheese

8 slices bacon

You can either butterfly the chicken, or pound the chicken into 1/4 - inch thickness; set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and jalapenos - I use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment, just to make sure they are thoroughly mixed, and the cream cheese is as smooth as possible.

Place a slice of pepper-jack cheese onto each chicken breast.

Divide the cream cheese mixture into fourths. Place 1/4 onto each piece of chicken, in the center on one side (just like a burrito or something).

Carefully roll up like a tortilla - fold in the sides, and roll from top to bottom as tightly as you can.

Secure the end of one piece of bacon with a toothpick, and wrap the rest of it around the chicken, securing the other end with another toothpick. Repeat with another piece of bacon.

Repeat this process with the rest of the chicken and bacon.

Place on a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper, but that's optional), seam side down.

Bake at 400 degrees F, for 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees F in the chicken. Place under the broiler for a few minutes, if you want the bacon to be more crispy.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving!

Enjoy!

Note:

-Grill over medium heat for 20-30 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

-You can also get these totally ready up until the baking stage earlier in the day. Refrigerate until ready to cook!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Wraps:

Okay, here we are for round 2 of recipes coming from OUR kitchen!!!!!!
Not that this is the second thing we made. I should have posted them in order, but I was not that organized! The very first thing we made, were these amazing muffins that Bradley had found a mix for. We made blueberry ones and chocolate ones. Oh my, they were good!
That is one awesome mix, and I will be sharing all the details about that ASAP!!

The second thing, was he made me Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta!!
Homemade.
With no recipe.
And he had never made it before.
And it was amazing!
Seriously, he got the short end of the stick in this deal!
Unfortunately, I will neither be sharing pictures or recipes for that right now...
or anytime soon, actually...because I have neither.
How sad is that. People - take a picture of your first big meal, okay?
Okay.
Anyways,  I don't remember what any of that had to do with anything!
BUT, I am still married to the most amazing man on earth, in case you were wondering!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anywaysssssssssss!!!!!!!!

So, wraps are fun.
You can put just about anything in them, and personalize them to your taste.

This one might sound a tiny bit strange, and you might think that some of the ingredients don't go together all that well, but please don't knock it till you try it!

They are super easy to make, and we both loved them!
I hope you try them out!!

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

1/2 - 3/4 cup BBQ sauce, depending on your taste

Canned Pineapple (crushed or chunked), drained well

Chopped Onion

Lettuce or Spinach

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas

Heat the oil over medium heat in a small skillet or saucepan.

Add the chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir for a minute or so, to combine.

Add BBQ sauce (more or less depending on how saucy you like it). Cook and stir until heated through.

To serve, place desired toppings in the center of a tortilla.

Gently fold in the sides, and then roll tightly.

Enjoy!

Note:

-My very favorite Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas come from HERE.

-If you don't have time to cook and shred some chicken, a rotisserie chicken from the deli would work perfect for this.

-We used Sweet and Spicy BBQ sauce from Kraft, but I'm sure it would be good with any kind!

-We prefer spinach in ours, but lettuce is awesome too!

-Get adventurous and try whatever cheese you have on hand!

{Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas}

So, I would like to start out by saying this is a very exciting post for me.

Not only because it's a great recipe that I can't wait to share with you

(although, don't get me wrong, because it definitely is!).

But mainly, 

because this, my friends, is a milestone post in my life! 

THIS, is the very first recipe I am sharing with you being 

MARRIED!!!!!!! 

To my best friend, by the way!!!

AND............straight from MY kitchen!!!

*****Oh.My.Goodness!!!*****

Like, I'm married, y'all!!!!!

 And I have a kitchen!!!!!!!!

That is mine!!!!!!!!

Well, it's Bradley's too, so okay....this is from OUR kitchen, then!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!!

I'm trying not to be more excited about that fact, than the recipe itself, but........

YEP!!!

SO not working! 

Sorry!

Married life is just the best, you guys!!!

Anyways!!! 

Attempting to move on now!!

This recipe was great!

I mean, not as great as being married to your best friend but,

like maybe if you didn't have a best friend, then this dish could be your best friend or something!!

It's pretty much that good!!

Pretty much!

I always got Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas at this Mexican restaurant while visiting my brother in New Mexico. I just couldn't get enough of them, they were so good!

But, I have never seen them in any other Mexican restaurant, and I was pretty bummed about that.

But not anymore! 

These were super yummy, and very quick and easy to make!!

If you are looking for super spicy, I would had another can of green chilies.

But if you just want a bare hint of heat, then stick with one can.

Okay, I'll stop talking now so you can go make these!!

And so that I can go eat the last two that we have leftover!!!

And probably also kiss my best friend, too!!!!!!!

I hope you enjoy them!!!

(enjoy the enchiladas, I mean. Because you are so not kissing my best friend, sorry!)

10 white corn tortillas

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

2 cups shredded cheese, divided

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, divided

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

4 & 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies 

Note:

-You can use whatever cheese you like. A mexican blend would be fabulous. I used a provolone/mozzarella mix.

-It works great to let your chicken cook in the Crock-Pot. It keeps it really moist and then shreds super easy when it's done.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.

In a medium bowl,
combine chicken, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, 3 ounces of the cream cheese, and salt and pepper. 

Mix together. Honestly, your hands are going to be your best choice here!

Lay out the tortillas and divide the chicken mixture evenly between all of them. 

Gently roll up each tortilla and place seam side down in prepared pan

(I usually get 8 going down the middle, and then one on each side).

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. 

Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth.

Add chicken broth; cook and stir until it reaches a boil.

Stir in the remaining 5 ounces of cream cheese, and whisk until melted.

Remove from heat; add sour cream and green chilies. Stir until well combined

Pour sauce over the tortillas.

Sprinkle the top with remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes or until hot through and bubbly around the edges.

Place under a broiler for 3-4 minutes, or until the cheese starts to turn golden brown.

Let stand 3-5 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

{Honey Baked Chicken}

I will work at getting a much, much better picture of this chicken recipe for you,
because this one is not doing it ANY amount of justice whatsoever.
Super moist and tender on the inside, and ever-so-slightly crispy on the outside,
this chicken is super yummy!!! And so easy to make!
The combination of ingredients had me a tad skeptical at first,
but after making it the first time, I was hooked!
I don't know how to explain the flavor, other than that it would go with virtually everything...as a main dish with any kind of side dish, or in a salad, etc.
It's good straight from the oven or leftover cold.
I have only made it with bone-in chicken.
I'm sure it would still be good with chicken breasts, but keep in mind that a piece of chicken that has a bone in it, will be much more moist.
I hope you give it a try!!

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

6-8 chicken legs or thighs*

Arrange chicken pieces in a foil lined baking dish.

Combine the butter, honey, mustard and salt in a small bowl, and whisk until well combined.

Pour over chicken.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes until chicken is lightly browned, basting every 15 minutes.

Serve!

Chicken Chili:

My Fiance's (ah! I still can't believe I'm saying that!)
sister made this for dinner the day we got engaged.

I was not necessarily thinking completely clearly that day, because I was (and still am) in shock, 

but I definitely remember how good this was!

It smelled so amazing while it was cooking, and tasted even better!

My mom and dad couldn't get enough of it either! And my mom is not crazy about this type of thing, but she loved it! It was pretty much addicting!!

I don't know how to describe it...it's like chili, but could also be a dip, really, and it's just plain good!! So eat it with a chip or with a fork, it doesn't matter!

Rina was super kind and shared the recipe with me! 

Mine did not taste as good as hers, but it was still good, and I really hope you try it out!!

There is no way to take a picture of this and make it look good, much less as fabulous as it actually is! But please take my word for it...it's good!!

2 chicken breasts

1 can Rotel (tomatoes and green chilies), not drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 pkg. ranch dressing mix

1 & 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese

Tortilla chips

Place the chicken in the bottom of a slowcooker.

Top with Rotel, corn, beans, ranch mix, and taco seasoning.

Stir gently to combine.

Top with cream cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring once or twice to blend the cheese.

Shred the chicken before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips!

Note:

-If this recipe is tripled, it will fill a 5-quart crock pot.

-If desired, you can use 1 tablespoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and 1 teaspoon onion powder in place of the taco seasoning. Feel free to play around with the seasonings to your taste!

Chicken Noodle Casserole:

My mom and grandma used to make this casserole all the time when I was little, and it was always one of my favorite dishes! 

I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do!

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small cubes
1 & 1/2 batches homemade cream of chicken soup (click here)
1 can evaporated milk
1 (15 oz.) Jar Cheez Wiz cheese sauce
1 (12 oz.) package spiral pasta
1 & 1/2 cups peas
Crushed cornflakes

Cook noodles according to package directions; rinse and drain. 

Mix together the chicken cubes, pasta and peas in a large bowl; set aside. 

In a saucepan, whisk together evaporated milk, cheese sauce and soup over medium heat until everything is well combined. 

Pour over pasta mixture and stir until evenly coated. Pour into a greased casserole dish. 

Sprinkle generously with cornflakes crumbs (covering the whole top of the casserole). 

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the center is hot and the pasta is tender. Serve!

Note:
-The amount of cornflake crumbs depends on the size of your casserole dish. The bigger the dish, the more crumbs you will need!!
-You can easily make this ahead of time and refrigerate. You will just need to allow extra baking time, since it will be very cold.

{Smothered Chicken}

And yet another Pioneer Woman recipe!!!!

She just makes good food, what can I say!

My family loves the Cracker Barrel restaurant, and several years ago, they used to serve a dish called Smothered Chicken. It was fabulous, and we all loved it. Unfortunately, for some reason they stopped serving it. So as I was diligently reading through my newest cookbook, I came across this recipe. 

Ree Drummond called it Ranch-Style Chicken. 

I tweaked the recipe a little to what I had, and my family's tastes, but it's pretty much exactly like what Cracker Barrel used to serve!

My family loved it, and it was really easy to make!

I hope you try it!!

9 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts (please see note!)

3/4 cup honey

3/4 cup Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 & 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 - 1 teaspoon chili powder, depending on your taste

9 large slices, thick-cut bacon

2+ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place chicken in a zip-lock bag. 

In a small bowl, whisk together honey, mustard, lemon juice, paprika, 

salt and chili powder until smooth.

Pour over chicken and seal bag, removing as much air as possible. 

Gently toss bag back and forth to coat all the chicken.

Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Line a baking sheet with foil, and coat lightly with cooking spray. Place the bacon slices on the pan, and broil (at least 6 inches away from the element) for 5-7 minutes. Flip the bacon slices, and broil 5-7 minutes longer, or until chewy; set aside on paper towels until ready to use. Discard the bacon grease, but keep the foil on the pan.

Meanwhile, grill chicken on medium-high heat 3-4 minutes on each side, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees; set aside.

To assemble, place the chicken on the foil-lined baking sheet. Take a piece of bacon, and cut or tear in half, and lay both pieces on top of the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Serve!

Note:

-You want 9 "pieces" of chicken. If the chicken breasts are very thick, you will need to cut them in half, length-wise (before you marinade them)...this will make 2 pieces of chicken. So the number of chicken breasts, will depend on how thick they are, and therefore how many "pieces" you will get. I hope that makes sense!

-You can use more or less chili powder, depending on how spicy you like things. My family is not into that, so I just used 1/4 teaspoon. 

Chicken Spaghetti:

My boyfriend has given me some of the best cookbooks over the past few months!
This recipe comes from one of them, and it is awesome!
It did take a little while to put together, but it's not hard at all,
and you get two dinners out of your effort!!
The flavor is really good...if you are more of a "spicy" food loving type of person, you may want to add some chopped up jalapeno peppers, or amp up the cayenne pepper a few notches!
Otherwise, it's a perfect comfort food dish! Cheesy and Creamy!!
I hope you give it a try!

6-8 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 pound spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
1 (4 oz.) jar diced pimientos drained
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, finely diced
2 batches cream of mushroom soup mix (click here)
2 & 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

In a large skillet, cook the chicken until no longer pink in the center; set aside.
Cook spaghetti according to package instructions to al dente; drain and place in a large bowl.
Add the chicken, pimientos, finely diced vegetables, and 2 cups of cheese to the pasta; use two forks to combine.

Stir together the cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, season salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Add to the pasta mixture and stir until well combined.
Pour into 2, greased baking dishes.

To Freeze:
-place a piece of wax paper on top the casserole, pressing down to actually touch the pasta mixture.
Cover the dish with a lid or foil. Freeze for later use!
Thaw completely and move on to the baking step!

To Bake:
-Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese (honestly, I used more like 1 cup of cheese per pan at this point!).
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until hot through and bubbly.
Serve!

Super Sticky Baked BBQ Chicken:

We love grilled chicken legs in my house! Especially when they've been grilled with BBQ sauce and are nice and sticky! So yummy!

However, we have trouble getting them cooked all the way through, without burning them on the outside.

I was majorly craving some good BBQ, chicken legs, so when I came across this recipe, I decided to give it a try. I was not prepared for how fast, how easy, and how delicious the recipe would be!!

I made them for the 4th of July, and everyone loved them! They actually tasted SO much like grilled chicken legs!

I couldn't get a picture that truly showed how thick and sticky the BBQ sauce was, or how moist and tender and perfectly cooked the chicken was! But trust me, it was good!!!

I hope you try them out!!

8-10 chicken legs or thighs (with the bone-in and skin on)

2 cups BBQ sauce

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil. Coat the foil with cooking spray.

Rub each piece of chicken with olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; flip chicken and repeat with salt and pepper on the other side. Place chicken skin side down.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove chicken from the oven, and raise the temperature to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, if there are a lot of juices in the pan, drain off, blot off with paper towels, or use a basting bulb to suction out. Pour BBQ sauce in a bowl, and using a pastry brush, coat each piece of chicken (on both sides) with the sauce. Return to the oven for 7 minutes.

Baste the top of the chicken with more sauce; bake for 7 more minutes.

Again, baste with the remaining BBQ sauce, and bake for 7 more minutes.

Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving!!

Note:

-Sweet Baby Ray's is our favorite BBQ sauce, but you can use any kind you want.

-I also like to make this a "Make-Ahead" dish, by letting it cool completely after baking, and place it all in a crock-pot lined with a slow-cooker bag. The next day, I just pull it out of the fridge, and put it in the crock-pot base on LOW for about 3-4 hours to heat all the way through!

Fruit and Nut Chicken Salad:

I love Chicken Salad! Pretty much any way it's fixed, but this is possibly my very favorite way!
Eat it with a fork, on a sandwich, with some crackers, tortilla chips...however you would like it!
A lot of people turn their nose up when they find out that there are grapes in the salad, but don't knock it 'till you've tried it, because I promise it's good!!!

3-4 cooked chicken breasts, diced or lightly ground in a food processor (about 4 cups cooked chicken)

1 cup finely chopped celery

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup red or green grapes, halved

1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tblsp. honey

2 tblsp. mustard

dash or two of pepper

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, celery, onion, grapes and nuts and mix until combined. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, honey, mustard and pepper. Add to chicken mixture and mix until everything is well combined. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve!

Note:

-I have made this with or without grapes and both ways are delicious.

-This is great way to use Rotisserie chicken, if you find it on sale (click HERE for a post on Rotisserie Chicken)

2 Ingredient Italian Chicken:

This chicken is so easy, so moist and so delicious! It may very well be one of my favorite ways to have chicken! 

We love it with a big toss salad, but I'm sure there's a ton of other ways to eat it too!

Let me know how you serve it!!

4-5 medium size boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed

1 (16 oz.) bottle Zesty Italian Dressing

Place chicken in a crockpot. Pour the dressing all over. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours (low for 5-6 hours) or until it easily shreds with a fork. Shred it all up and mix it well with all the juices in the crock-pot. This helps keep it all super moist. Serve it over a salad or any way you choose!

Chicken-Bird Salad:

I love this card!
Every time I see it, I just have to laugh!
I couldn't figure out what to name this recipe, until I saw this!


Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, on a night that we really didn't feel like cooking anything, we had some leftover shredded chicken in the fridge. We mixed together this quick chicken salad and it was SO, SO good! My mom and brother didn't really care for it, because they don't like relish, but me and my sisters LOVED it!!
We had it with plain potato chips, but you could certainly eat on a sandwich or however you like.
I hope you try it out!

{Sorry for the terrible picture! It tasted great, though!}

2 cups shredded, cooked chicken

1/3 cup mayonnaise (we use miracle whip)

1 tblsp. zucchini relish

Mix altogether and chill until ready to serve!

Note:

-You may want more or less mayo, depending on your preference.

-This would be a great use of a rotisserie chicken. I also like to just cook some chicken breasts in a crock-pot on high for a few hours, and then shred it up once it's cooked. You don't need to add any water to the crock pot while the chicken cooks. There's enough juices in the chicken and it makes it taste roasted instead of boiled.

Baked Chicken & Rice:

I'm typically one for the type of food that is just bursting with all kinds of flavor, a little spicy maybe, unique and different and just anything that is really good!! I just love food, I guess you could say (yes, I do have to exercise)!!!!

But every now and then, I just want something simple, kind of light in the flavor bursting department, but still yummy! 

Enter Chicken & Rice! 

I'm not normally fond of most chicken and rice dishes, but I found this one in my mom's recipe box and decided to give it a try! She said she used to make it all the time, for some reason, I can't remember.

However, I don't know why I can't remember it, because it turned out fantastic when I made it for dinner the other night and I think everyone really enjoyed it! 

I know this, because, for the first time in a long time, there was only a teeny, tiny bit leftover!

I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as we did!

1 cup long-grain rice (not the minute rice)

2 stalks of celery

1 medium onion

2 batches of cream of chicken soup (see note)

1 & 1/2 cups water

Salt and Pepper to taste

5-6 chicken breasts, cut into strips (see note)

Pour rice into a 9x13-inch baking dish that has been generously coated in cooking spray.

Place celery and onion in a food processor or chopper and pulse until chopped very fine; 

sprinkle over the rice. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup and the water.

Cut chicken into 1 & 1/2 inch strips. Lay flat on top of the rice. 

Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. 

Pour chicken soup mixture over all.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed into the rice and the chicken is no longer pink in the center. 

Note:

-If you are not making this gluten-free, then you can just use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup. If you are making this gluten-free, then click HERE for a fast and easy homemade "can of cream of chicken soup." You will need to make the equivalent of 2 cans for this recipe.

-It may take more or less chicken, depending on the size of the chicken breasts you use. Mine were very small, and 5 was enough. I just laid them across the bottom of my pan, to see how much I would need.

-I've not had this problem, but in the original recipe, there was a note that said if the rice is drying out before you chicken is done, just add small amounts of water every so often until the chicken is done. Make sure all the water is absorbed before you serve it!

Chicken Zucchini Boats:

Our garden did not do well this year for some reason, so we're kind of missing our usual over-abundance of zucchini! However, someone very generously shared some of their over-abundance with us, so now we're making all things zucchini!

I was rather skeptical of this recipe when I first saw it. It was just pretty unusual, and I wasn't really sure. But I went ahead and gave it a shot, and I'm SO glad I did!!

All the flavors blended together really well, and it turned out to be a rather simple, yummy dish!!

I hope you try it out!

2 large zucchini 

4 medium chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch bites

salt and pepper

1 medium yellow or red onion, diced

2 cups corn (fresh or frozen, but not canned)

1 tblsp. minced garlic

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Place chicken pieces in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute over high heat, until chicken is done and liquid is mostly evaporated. Add onion; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add corn and garlic. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until all liquid is evaporated.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop out the flesh of the zucchini, leaving a 1/4-inch shell. Dice the scooped out zucchini and add to the chicken mixture, if desired. Place zucchini shells on a cookie sheet. Fill with chicken mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with desired amount of cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted.

Slice and serve!

Note:

-You can add in the extra, chopped zucchini or you don't have to. I think it was very good added it, but it's completely up to you.

-I think this would be great with any kind of leftover, cooked chicken you might have - marinated, grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, etc.

-As you can see from the picture, the zucchini I used were very large! I'm talking over a foot long, bigger around than a softball. If you are using smaller zucchini, you will want to adjust the recipe, and also the cooking time. You want a fork to be able to just barely poke down through the flesh of the zucchini.

-This is not a dish that would work well to prepare ahead of time. Zucchini has a very high water content, so once cut, the longer it sits, it will produce more and more liquid.
-Click HERE to view MyRecipe Magic, where you can find the nutritional info for this recipe.

8-Hour Chicken Marinade:

I love to mix up a meat marinade in the morning and let the chicken, pork, steak or whatever it may be, just soak there all day! It's almost like a slow-cooker meal, really. Prep it in the morning and let it just get better and better as the day goes on! 

This one is definitely better the longer is goes! I really don't know how to describe the flavor - it's not sweet, but not tangy or spicy either! The ingredient list kind of surprised me, but everything went together really well and I thought it was really yummy! I served it just plain with roasted asparagus and french fries on the side, but it would also be great chopped up over a salad as well!

Hope you try it out!

1/4 cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I only had Honey Dijon, so that's what I used)

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons lime juice

4 & 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 chicken breasts

Place chicken in a gallon zip-lock bag. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken and seal bag, getting out as much air as possible. Shake well to evenly coat. Chill for at least 8 hours (can be more). Place chicken breasts on grill and discard remaining marinade. Grill until done!

Teriyaki Stir-Fry:

We used to live right at the bottom of the hill from one set of my grandparents. We went up there all the time, but there were two special times we went - when grandma made Buckwheat Cakes or when granddaddy made stir-fry! Oh my, they were both SO good!! And of course, neither one of those recipes was ever written down. Mainly because they didn't even use recipes themselves!

 

This stir-fry definitely doesn't even come close to granddaddy's stir-fry, but it still tastes pretty amazing......and just reminds me of grandma and granddaddy's house!!

I hope you give the recipe a try!

 

 

 

1 & 1/2 tblsp. olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tblsp. ketchup

3/4 cup honey

1 & 1/2 tblsp. minced garlic

dash of pepper

1 & 1/2 (16 oz.) bags stir-fry vegetables

3 cubed, cooked chicken breasts

Hot cooked rice

 

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic and pepper. Place vegetables and chicken in a large skillet with 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir until vegetables are heated through. Add sauce and stir well. Bring to a boil, and cook and stir for about 3-5 minutes or until sauce becomes slightly thickened and caramelized. Serve over hot rice!

 

Chicken Quesadillas:

We had a few corn tortillas left from the Chicken Enchiladas from last week that I wanted to use up and so I threw this together. And they were so good! This is just a basic recipe. You could make them as is, or add whatever you like! I hope you try them out!

2 corn tortilla wraps

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2-3 tblsp. shredded, cooked chicken

1 tsp. butter

In a small skillet, melt half the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tortilla. Top with half the cheese and the chicken. Add the remaining cheese and other tortilla. Cook until the tortilla on the bottom is slightly crisp and golden brown. Very carefully, pick the "sandwich" up. Add the other half of the butter and gently flip the "sandwich" over. Cook until slightly crisp and golden brown. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into quarters. Serve immediately.

Note:

-I used canned chicken, but you could certainly use whatever you have.

-I did not season the chicken at all, but I think that taco seasoning or any seasoning you like would be great.

-Use ground beef instead of chicken.

-Try out a different type of cheese.

-Make it a main dish, appetizer or snack.
-We also like these with Mozzarella cheese and Pepperoni, and use pizza sauce as a dipping sauce.

-We liked to dip this in salsa or ranch dressing, but I'm sure lots of other dips would be yummy too!

-Here are some add in's that I think would be really yummy: onions, peppers, tomatoes, spinach...let me know what you liked in yours!!!