Ranch Style Chicken

  Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/2 whole (juice of) Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• Crushed Red Pepper (optional To Taste)
• 6 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 pound Thick Cut Bacon
• Bacon Grease
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese, to taste
• Canola Oil

To begin, make the marinade. In a large bowl mix together ½ cup Dijon or country/grainy mustard with ½ cup honey, juice of ½ lemon, ½ teaspoon paprika, and ½ teaspoon salt and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like things a little spicy. Set aside.
Next, rinse the chicken breasts, place between two sheets of waxed paper and pound to around ½ to ¾ inch thick with a mallet. Next, add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.
While the chicken marinates, fry up some bacon. When finished cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the bacon grease and clean out the skillet.
When the chicken is done marinating, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and pour off excess marinade. Heat half of the reserved bacon grease with an equal quantity of Canola Oil in the clean skillet over medium-high heat. When the grease is nice and hot add two or three pieces of chicken to it. Cook until brownish/blackish, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes per side. Remove chicken to a large baking sheet. If cooking many pieces of chicken, repeat skillet process and remove finished chicken to baking sheet. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from over.
Lay a few pieces of bacon over each chicken breast. Sprinkle shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top of the chicken as generously as you like. Return pan to oven for an additional five minutes until cheese is melted and bacon is sizzling. Serve immediately.

**In PW's cookbook, it says to grill the chicken instead of fry it over the skillet.  Approx. 3 minutes per side on the grill and add the bacon and cheese while 2nd side is cooking.  This is how we did it and it was fabulous! I'm sure it's great either way though.

Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/01/ranch-style-chicken/ 

Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 1/2 cup white rice (modified from 1 cup in original recipe)
• 8 oz. wild rice (modified from 16 oz. in original recipe)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• Garlic salt
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil, onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in a pan over medium heat for 10 minutes. Prepare wild rice and white rice according to package instructions.
2. Stir in chicken, rices, and a dash of salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Reduce heat to low.
3. In a medium pan over high heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, vegetable broth, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Continue to whisk until boiling. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheddar and continue to stir until melted. Transfer chicken and rice mixture to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over rices and top with remaining cheddar.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Serves 8-10

Recipe: http://rachelschultz.com via Pinterest

Crispy Chicken Tortilla Rollups & Avocado Crema

* I made the filling the day prior to assembling and baking these to save time, and it turned out great.  I did, however, make the mistake of covering with foil to keep warm in the oven.  Do not do this.  They ended up becoming soft and more like enchiladas than crispy rollups.  Still very tasty though!

Main Ingredients:

• 12 ounces shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup jack cheese (divided)
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (divided)
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 1-2 sliced green onions
• 2 grated or minced garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 1 tsp. cumin
• the juice of  half a lime
• 1 tsp. salt
• a finely diced seeded Serrano pepper
• 1 container Greek yogurt (I used 32 oz)

Additional Ingredients:

• approx. 12 taco-size tortillas 
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• dried cilantro (I used fresh...finely chopped)
• chipotle chile powder for sprinkling (I used regular chile powder)

Avocado Crema:

• one large ripe avocado (or two small)
• one container of plain yogurt 
• the juice of half a lime
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder (I substituted Frank's hot sauce since I didn't have chipotle chile powder and it was perfect)

 
Preheat oven to 400. Make the chicken filling by combining the main ingredients in a bowl, using only 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses.  

Heat 1/3 cup canola oil and two grated garlic cloves in a small saucepan over med heat. When the oil is hot, turn off the heat and let the garlic infuse into the oil for 5-10 minutes. 

Assemble the tortillas by adding about 2 tbs. of the filling along the lower third of 12 flour tortillas -- sprinkle additional 1/2 cup of cheese. Roll up and place seam-side-down on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat.

Brush the tortilla rollups with the garlic oil and sprinkle with salt, cilantro, and chile powder. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping over halfway through cooking so both sides are able to brown and crisp. Sprinkle the tops with cilantro and red chili powder.

While the rollups bake, make the avocado crema. Add avocado to a bowl and mash until creamy. Add one container of plain yogurt, the juice of half a lime, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. chipotle chile powder (or hot sauce). Stir well to thoroughly combine and scoop into a serving bowl (or individual salsa cups). 

Recipe: www.wendyweekendgourmet.com via Pinterest

 

Baked Chimichangas

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 4 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 15 oz can refried beans
• 7 burrito size flour tortillas (or 10 taco-sized)
• 1 8 oz package Mexican four cheese blend
• 1 16 oz jar salsa verde, divided
• 1 T vegetable oil

In a large skillet, combine ground chuck, onion, and chiles.  Brown and drain.  Add tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, and taco seasoning to pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer stirring frequently for 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture is very thick.  Stir in refried beans.

Preheat oven to 450.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Spoon about 1/2 cup meat mixture into center of tortillas.  Top with 3 T shredded cheese and 1 T salsa verde.  Fold like a burrito/envelope and flip so seams are down.  Brush with oil.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Top with remaining cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, if desired.


Recipe: Paula Deen, taken from Carissa Bolinger's blog- http://maryannapowellandlola.blogspot.com/

Baked Tacos

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 can refried beans
• 15 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 pkg taco seasoning or 2 – 3 Tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning
• 1 – 2 cups shredded cheese
• 18-20 hard taco shells
• Your favorite taco toppings.

First step is making the hard taco shells:
Working with 6 corn tortillas at a time, wrap in a barely damp cloth or paper towel and microwave on High until steamed, about 30 seconds. Lay the tortillas on a clean work surface and coat both sides with cooking spray. Then carefully drape each tortilla over two bars of the oven rack. Bake at 375°F until crispy, 7 to 10 minutes.

Brown ground beef. Drain off any fat and add refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
Spoon mixture into taco shells.
Place filled shells into a 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.

Recipe: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

**One of the bonuses of Justin's job is that his clients cook for him!  One day he came home with these brownies and I about died, they were so good.  This is the recipe, straight from her email to my blog.**

Ingredients:

• 1 regular sized box chocolate brownie mix (I just used a basic one, without anything added)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup chocolate milk (I put hershey's syrup in regular skim milk)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup choc chips, divided (I used white chocolate chips)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 30 caramels (Kraft)
• 2 cups shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat the brownie mix with the eggs, chocolate milk, and oil
until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Spread into the prepared baking dish and bake until the center is barely
set, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir in the
caramels until completely melted and incorporated into the cream. Remove
from the heat and stir in the coconut. Spread in an even layer over the
cooled brownies.

Melt the remaining choc chips in the microwave at 15 sec intervals, stirring
between intervals. Drizzle chocolate in a criss-cross pattern over the
coconut topping. (NOTE: I did NOT do this...felt like it was too much)

Place baking dish in the refrigerator for at least 30 min to set before
slicing into bars. (Can be frozen...)

Recipe: Christine Shipfer

Breakfast Enchiladas

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked bacon, sausage, (or diced ham as in the original recipe)
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 8 green onions, finely sliced
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 10 eight-inch flour tortillas
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt  

Lightly spray 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.

In large bowl, stir together bacon/sausage/ham, bell pepper, green onions and 1 cup of the cheese. Place 1/3 cup of the mixture down the center of each tortilla; roll up and place seam side down in baking dish.

Prepare Egg Mixture. In large bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, flour and the salt. Pour over the tortillas. Cover then bake or refrigerate overnight to be baked in the morning.

 

Bake Enchiladas

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover baking dish then scatter the remaining cup of cheese over enchiladas. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover, and then bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until set and cheese melted.

Serves: 6
Recipe: http://www.inspiredtaste.net/12643/breakfast-enchiladas-with-ham-and-peppers/