Chicken Ranch Pasta

This was so good and so easy and again....Justin liked it so that's a huge plus!!! And I got it off Pinterest {I LOVE Pinterest}!!The recipe comes from Plain Chicken as does the yummy picture...

It really turns out as yummy, bacony, and creamy as it looks!!

8 ounces penne pasta

1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp dry ranch dressing seasoning mix
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 
1/3 cup cooked, chopped bacon
2 cups cooked chopped chicken 

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In same pot melt butter. Add flour and stir. Cook flour for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue cooking until sauce thickens. Stir in ranch dressing mix and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Add chicken, bacon and pasta.  Stir to coat.

Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

This was soooo good!! John  and the kids loved it!! It will be a regular on the menu rotation for sure!!! And it's fairly inexpensive and super easy!!! It comes from The Country Cook, she has alot of great food!  The picture comes from her as well!! If you want a more detailed version of how to layer everything, visit her site to see all her pictures, she goes step-by-step!! 

Ingredients:
It was cheesy, bacony heaven!! We had corn and I made rolls using this recipe!!!
1 (32 oz.) bag frozen tater tots
1 (3 oz.) bag bacon pieces
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup milk

Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray

Layer half of the frozen tater-tots on the bottom
Sprinkle with a 1/3 of the bacon
Then a 1/3 of the cheese
Add the diced chicken on top and season with salt & pepper {I used some season salt too}
Then 1/3 of the bacon and cheese
Then the rest of the frozen hash browns on top
Finish with the remaining bacon and cheese
Pour the milk over the top
Cook until chicken is 165 degrees

Chicken Ranch Tacos

These were good and fast!! Had  'em for Sunday dinner!! The recipe and picture come from "Do you smell that"? She made hers on the stove top but I threw it in the crock pot and let it go for 4 hours while we were at church!! I followed the version off pinterest and it was very yummy!! Go visit her blog for stove top version.

Chicken tenders ~ I used a full bag of Tyson's and I threw them in frozen
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch mix
1 can chicken broth

taco shells
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
ranch
salsa
tomatoes
and anything else you like on your taco's

I just dumped in the frozen chicken, sprinkled over the taco seasoning and ranch, then added the chicken broth and let it go for 4 hours. Remove chicken, shred with fork, add back to crock pot until ready to assemble. I just put a scoop of chicken some cheese, lettuce, ranch, and salsa!

This was a really good, comforting, easy to make soup!! It comes from Chef Mommy {who sited 365 Days of Crockpot as the source on her blog}! The picture is hers too! Doesn't it look yummy? Well it is/was! The girls loved it, John loved it, Jace thought it was ok {he spotted the celery and it kinda went down hill from there ~ picky kid}, and Justin didn't try {which he wouldn't anyway I'm sure ~ again cause of the celery, little brat}!



4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half (I used fat-free half and half)
1 cup grated carrots (I diced mine) ~ I used the shredded one they have in the bag
1 cup diced celery

Directions:
Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken and rice (along with seasoning packet) in a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Take out chicken and shred with two forks and then add back into slow cooker. In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, and flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes. Served with quick baking biscuits! And I usually double recipes but this made enough to feed the family and have a little leftover for John's lunch!

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

I got his recipe from Good Food, Good Fun {she makes so many yummy things}which she adapted from Tasty Kitchen! This was really quick and easy and did I mention yummy??

6 pieces Frozen Chicken ~ I used a bag of frozen tenders
16 ounce Sour Cream
1 package (1 Oz. Package) Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 cans (10.75 Oz. Can) Cream Of Mushroom Soup ~ I used one big can, I think it's 26 oz.
Your Choice Of Noodles ~ I used curly egg noodles

In a slow cooker, add all of the chicken. In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, onion mix, and soup.

Pour mixture over the frozen chicken in the crock pot. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. When there is about an hour left, start boiling the noodle of choice. Take chicken out and shred. Add chicken and drained noodles back to the crock pot when noodles are done cooking. Mix well.
I added a dollop more of sour cream on top and some Parmesan cheese! We had green beans, rolls, and salad! The kids each had seconds!!!

This was a fast, easy, meal! We've had it before but this one had a little twist and John really liked it!! The recipe comes from Favorite Family Recipes as does the picture!!!

1-2 cans canned chicken {or you can use 2-3 chicken breasts that has been cooked, cubed, and shredded}

1 8oz. package cream cheese
2 T. milk

salt and pepper to taste

2 cans crescent rolls

2 c. crushed croutons

melted butter

Mix together first four ingredients. Separate crescent rolls into triangles. Spoon some chicken mixture into the end of each crescent roll, fold ends in, and roll up. Roll in melted butter and then in crushed croutons. Place on un-greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. If desired {which I did} mix together 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1/2 c. milk that you cooked in microwave for a few minutes and spoon over cooked crescent rolls. Serve with green salad.

Chopped Ranch Salad

I discovered this recipe from a couple of different blogs on the same day and they were pretty similar. One was from Blogging...It's whats for dinner where she just had the salad part and the other was from John's niece, Sherelle Christensen where she had something similar and put it in a pita! So good!! I just made a big bowl of this so my measurements aren't going to be exact! You could make enough to feed 6 or more or just make enough to feed one!!

Pita pockets ~ I used whole wheat
chicken ~ cooked and diced
tomatoes ~ diced ~ I used 3
1 lb. cooked and crumbled bacon
cucumber ~ peeled and sliced
2 head of hearts of Romaine
Prepared Ranch dressing
cheese of your choice ~ either shredded or diced into small cubes, if you use cubes I would add it to the mixture, if you use shredded I would just put it on top!!

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add ranch and toss to coat! Serve in pita's {I warmed them in the microwave for about 5-20 seconds to warm and soften a little bit} and top with cheese! Remember you can adjust this to feed alot or just a few! You can mix everything together except the ranch and keep in the refrigerator and add ranch as needed if you're making this for one or two people and have for several days! Next time I am going to add sprout and some diced avocados. Oh and salsa would be good too!!

Apricot Chicken

This is a yummy, fast, dinner!! Kinda like sweet and sour chicken! The boys weren't real fans because of the onions from the Lipton Onion Soup mix but hey, every once in a while I like to cook something I like!! This recipe comes from a blog called "Blogging...It's whats for dinner!" The picture is her too!!

1 package Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 8 oz. bottle Russian dressing

10 oz. apricot preserves

2.5 pounds boneless chicken of your choice ~ I used tenders

sticky rice ~ I just used regular rice and it was fine, prepared as directed.

Preheat oven to 350 Dump onion soup mix, dressing, and apricot preserves in dish and mix together well. Add chicken and stir to coat. cover with foil and bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken is baked all the way through depending on the size of your chicken. Serve over rice.

Swiss Chicken

This was SO good! It's my new favorite! It was so easy too! I have recipe that is kinds the same thing that you do in the crock pot but thos was s simple to throw in a casserole dish and bake! I am making it again soon! It came from a recipe blog called "Ok, Maybe Just a Sliver" and I didn't get a picture cause I was too busy eating it and scrapping the dish afterwards!

8 chicken breasts
slices of swiss cheese
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
2/3 cup water
box of seasoned stuffing
1/3 cup melted butter

In a 9x13 casserole dish place chicken, lay a slice of swiss cheese over each piece of chicken. Mix soup with the 2/3 cup of water and pour over cheese. Top withe package of stuffing. Drizzle melted butter over casserole. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. SOOOO good!

Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

This was really good! The kids gobbled it right up ~ even Justin! It comes from "Real Mom Kitchen" and the picture is hers also ~ it was gone before I had a chance to take one!!

2 cans (12 oz) evaporated milk (not fat-free)

1 (1 oz) pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix

3 C. cubed, cooked, chicken

1/8 tsp pepper

1 (16oz) lasagna noodles, cooked (I recommend reducing it to 8 oz to 12 oz) ~ I also used the ones that don't need cooked and it turnes out great too!

1 1/2 to 2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 to 2 C mozzarella cheese, grated

Cook the chicken and noodles first at the same time. Once noodles are done–rinse in cold water and set aside (it keeps them from sticking together). Combine evaporated milk (don’t use fat-free version) and Ranch dressing in a 3 quart heavy saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently until dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir in chicken and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes (don’t do any less), stirring frequently. Layer half of lasagna noodles, poultry sauce, and cheese in well-buttered 9×13 pan. Repeat layers again. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Served this with some corn and rolls!!

Chicken Pot Pie

This was very good!! I remember as a kid though picking off the top of my chicken pot pie and that's exactly what my kids did...all of them!! But it was easy to throw together and the taste was so yummy on a cold fall day! John really liked it! I got the recipe from Everyone's Gotta Eat! She has a lot of things I want to try!!

Filling:

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

1/2 cup onion

2 cups mixed frozen vegetables

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of celery soup {just realized I left this out on accident and it still tasted great!}

1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken broth

Combine and place in lightly greased 13x9 baking dish.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour (recipe below)

Combine and pour evenly over filling.Bake at 350° for about 1 hour or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

Self-rising flour ~

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Combine. Makes about 2 cups

Again I doubled the filling of soup and veggies, except the onions, and added about four potatoes, cubed ~ I always remember pot pie having potatoes! Then I made the crust as directed and poured over the top! I also did use a little bit bigger casserole dish that I have since I doubled it to hold everything and not have it bubble over everywhere! It was a filling meal in itself so I just served it along with root beer floats...a drink and dessert in one!!

Chicken Cashew Casserole

This is a family favorite!!

1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped celery
2 c. chicken
¾ c. rice ~ uncooked
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
½ T soy sauce
1 can chicken broth
1 c. cashews
Chow mien noodles

Saute onion and celery in a little butter until tender. Mix together remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover with Chow mien noodles. Bake @ 350º for 25 minutes.

Lemonade Chicken

This was so yummy! Kinda like sweet and sour chicken! But make sure to use the exact amount of lemonade...I used too much and it was a little "lemonady"!! It comes from "Good Food, Good Fun" recipe blog!! She has alot of good recipes! And as always I doubled the recipe for leftovers!! Didn't get a picture...it disappeared so fast!

4-6 chicken breasts
¾ lemonade concentrate
3 T. ketchup
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vinegar
2 T. cornstarch
2 T. water
Minced onion, salt, pepper,garlic powder, and thyme to taste!

Put chicken in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Before serving remove chicken, shred with forks, return back to sauce and serve over rice!

Paprika Chicken w/ Sour Cream Gravy

This comes from the Campbell Soup website. And as always I'll double this recipe to have leftovers.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
1 can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
2 green onions, sliced (about 1/4 cup)
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
Directions:
Stir the flour, paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and red pepper on a plate. Coat the chicken with the paprika mixture. Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes or until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet. Stir the soup and green onions in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the sour cream.
We had green beans, jello, and rolls. It was a good Sunday meal.

Chicken Ranch Tacos

Found this quick meal on the Betty Crocker website. Quick and easy!

1 box (4.7 oz) Old El Paso Stand 'N Stuff™ taco shells ~ these are a clever invention and fun to use
3 cups cut-up deli rotisserie chicken (from 2- to 2 1/2-lb chicken) or cooked cubed chicken
1 package (1 oz) Old El Paso taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/4 cup sliced green onions

1. Heat taco shells in oven as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, in medium microwavable bowl, place chicken. Sprinkle with taco seasoning mix; toss gently to coat. Microwave uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Stir in 1/2 cup dressing.
3. Spoon warm chicken mixture into heated taco shells. Top with lettuce, tomato, cheese and onions. Drizzle with additional ranch dressing, if desired. Served with Spanish rice.

Hot Chicken Salad Casserole

This recipe comes from a blog "Simply Said". She has a super cute family and is very talented in home decorating and much more.

4 C. of cooked cubed chicken
4 C. of celery ~ chopped
1/4 cup of fresh onion or 1 tsp. dried onion
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup mayo
1/2 tsp accent salt or plain salt
1 small jar pimento
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
MIX ALL TOGETHER and put into 9 X 13 casserole dish ~ put in fridge overnight (or just long enough for flavor to set in)
When ready to cook, add crushed potato chips and cheese if desired.
Cook at 400 for 25-30 minutes

As always doubled the recipe, had plenty of leftovers. Served with green beans and Bisquick biscuits. And please...DO NOT let my "fabulous" photography stop you from trying this!! It is really yummy!

Chick~Pot Pie w/ Puff Pastry

This recipe comes from "Back To The Cutting Board"...

"Chicken Pot Pie Soup" - Made from scratch ~ adapted from this recipe on RecipeZaar.com

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

Small onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 cups potatoes, cubed
1 can green peas, drained
1 can corn, drained
6 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 to 1 cup flour (see note below)
2 tbsp. chicken bouillon, ground up
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups of milk
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Puff pastry dough (I use Pillsbury Cresent Recipe Creations)

The Process
1. Put potatoes in a pot with 1 cup of chicken broth and enough water to cover them. At the same time, put your carrots in a pot with enough water to cover them. Cover and cook both vegetables until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions in a few teaspoons of oil until soft and translucent, about 5-8 minutes.
3. In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add in bouillon, pepper, garlic, broth and flour (see note below). Stir until smooth.
4. Gradually add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until it boils, simmer for a minute, stirring constantly.

Note: I like this soup to be thick, more like actual chicken pot pie. You may want it to be soupier, though. My recommendation is to start with 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of broth and bring to boil with milk (don’t skimp on the milk) like instructed. If you think it’s too soupy add more flour about 1/4 cup at a time until it thickens. If you add more flour, add another tablespoon of the ground up bouillon, too, or else it’ll taste too flour-y. If it’s too thick for your liking, add in chicken broth, about 1/4 cup at a time until it gets to the right consistency.

5. Add chicken and then each vegetable one at time and stir carefully between each addition.
6. Roll out your pastry dough about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3×3 inch squares. Bake in 375 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, until puffy and slightly browned on top. Serve on top of soup.

As always I double or triple my recipes so we have leftovers! This really did taste like a chicken pot pie and the kids loved the puff pastry on top! They haven't had puff pastry before and thought it was quite great stuff!

Catatlina Chicken

It doesn't get any simpler than this...
You could use at much as as little as you want, depending on the size of your family. I always double mine for leftovers and John's lunches the next day, so this is what I did...

1 package of chicken tenders from Sam's ~ defrosted, washed, and patted dry.
Spray crock pot lightly.Put chicken in crock pot.
Added 2 bottles of Catalina salad dressing and cook on low for 6 hours.

We had oven roasted potatoes, corn, rolls, and Jello.
You can also cook it on the grill. Just marinate the chicken for a couple of hours prior to grilling and discard marinade.
Simple and delicious!!

Sweet~n~Sour Chicken

This is soooo yummy!!
I usually use 1 bag of chicken tenders or you can use 6-7 chicken breasts
Dip chicken in egg then cornstarch and brown in oil. Set aside on plate.
While chicken is browning...mix together:
1 - 20 oz crushed pineapple
¾ c. vinegar
2½ c. brown sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch
2½ c. beef stock
½ c. finely chopped green pepper
1 T. lemon juice (plus splash more)
½ bottle of teriyaki sauce
Boil till clear and thick.
Put some sauce in the bottom of 9x13 pan.
Add chicken, cover with more sauce {reserve some of the sauce for dipping}, cover with foil and bake @ 350º till chicken is done.
I cook it for about 30-45 minutes.
Serve over rice!!

Chicken Filling for Crepes'

12 crepes ~ {see recipe below}
2-3 c. cooked chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
¼ c. chopped onion
slivered almonds

Saute onions in a little butter. Add remaining ingredients ~ reserving some of the soup and stir till everything is mixed together. Place a large spoonful on each crepe and roll up. Put into a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Spread some of the soup on top and sprinkle the cheese and almonds. Bake @ 350º for 20-30 minutes.