Baked Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel cheese)

12 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 cups cooked, shredded chicken (a rotisserie chicken works great for this!)

1 (1 oz) packet dry Ranch Dressing mix (here is a recipe for a homemade Ranch Dressing mix)

2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

3-4 Tablespoons green onion, chopped

20 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Salt

Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cover a large baking sheet (I use a cookie sheet) with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

Mix together cream cheese, chicken, bacon, cheese, and green onions. Add in about 1/2 of the dry Ranch dressing mix and taste- add more if you want more of a Ranch taste (I ended up using only 1/2 of the packet). Mix well. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into a flour tortilla and roll it up.

Place taquito seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat about 20 times (I had to use two baking sheets because all of my taquitos would not fit on one). Once finished, spray the tops of the taquitos with non-stick cooking spray (or you could lightly brush some olive oil on them) and sprinkle with salt (I like to use sea salt).

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (or until edges and tops are golden). Let cool for a couple of minutes. Serve with Ranch dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping (my husband also likes to dip them in “Salsa Ranch”- just mix equal parts salsa and Ranch dressing together).

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 cups shredded chicken
• 1½ cups salsa
• 2 cups shredded Colby and Monterrey jack cheese, separated
• 1 (14 oz) can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce.....I have found this is the best brand for this
• about 8 tortillas
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ can of cream of chicken soup

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl combine the cooked shredded chicken with salsa and 1¼ to 1½ cups of the shredded cheese.  Just depends how cheesy you want the middle to be.
2. Next dip a tortilla into the enchilada sauce, making sure every last inch of it is covered and place it in a 9x13 pan.  Place desired amount (about ⅛) of the chicken mixture onto the middle of the tortilla, and roll it up.  Scoot the tortilla all the way over to the edge of the pan.  Repeat for remaining enchiladas.  Your filling should spread to about 8 tortillas and your pan should be completely filled.
3. For the creamy topping, in a separate bowl, mix 1 cup sour cream with ½ a can of cream of chicken.  I like the mixture to be predominately the sour cream, so it should look more white than yellow.
4. Spread creamy topping over all the enchiladas. Top with the remaining cheese ( about ½ to ¾ cup cheese).
5. Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes.

Cold Veggie Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cans Crescent Rolls
• 16 oz. cream cheese. softened
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
• Assorted Veggie Toppings (optional):
• 1 cup broccoli, cauliflower
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green peppers
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• zucchini, mushrooms, green onions, cucumbers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread Crescent rolls onto large cookie sheet.
3. Press edges.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
5. Cool.
6. Mix cream cheese, mayo and ranch dressing.
7. Spread onto cooled rolls.
8. Sprinkle veggies on top, one at a time with tomatoes last.
9. Sprinkle cheese on top.
10. Cut into squares before serving.

Creamy White Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups

Ingredients

• 9 lasagna noodles
• 2 cups boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded*
• 8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided (2 cups)
• 1 oz. finely shredded Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup)
• 1 oz. finely shredded Romano cheese (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

See a Quick Sausage Gnocchi Recipe

 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare lasagna noodles according to the directions listed on package, drain pasta and align noodles in a single layer on a large sheet of wax paper.
• In a mixing bowl toss together shredded chicken, 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese and 3 Tbsp fresh parsley, set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer set on low speed, blend cream cheese until smooth, then mix in milk, dried basil, garlic powder, onion powder and season with salt and pepper to taste (I hardly used any salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Pour half of the cream cheese mixture into the chicken mixture and toss to evenly coat, reserve remaining cream cheese mixture.
• Spread 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture into an even layer along the length of each cooked lasagna noodle then roll noodles to opposite end. Spread 1/4 cup of the remaining cream cheese mixture along the bottom of a 9 x 9-inch dish or along 2/3 of a 13 x 9-inch dish (I tried fitting it into an 8 x 8 and it just wasn't going to happen so a 9 x 9 should work. I don't own a 9 x 9 so I had to compromise and use a 13 x 9 and just use 2/3 of the dish). Align pasta snugly and side by side in baking dish - 3 rows of 3. Cover each lasagna roll evenly with remaining cream cheese mixture, being sure to cover tops of pasta entirely so they don't dry while baking. Sprinkle tops evenly with remaining 1 cup Mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven 25 - 30 minutes until heated through and cheese has melted. Sprinkle top evenly with remaining 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley. Serve warm.
• *I like to slow cook the chicken, it seems like the easiest method and always yields tender results. To cook, I poured 1 can low-sodium chicken broth over 2 medium chicken breasts in the slow cooker and cooked 6 hours, then removed and shredded into very small pieces.

White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. white cake mix
• 1 (5 oz-ish) pkg. instant white chocolate pudding (or vanilla pudding if you can't find white chocolate)
• 1 c. sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• ½ c. water
• ½ c. oil
• 1½ c. white chocolate chips, chopped into smaller pieces
• 1 c. raspberry pastry or pie filling (I used the "Solo" brand pastry/cake filling, but raspberry PIE filling works great too)
• 2 (8 ounce) pkgs. cream cheese, softened
• ½ c. butter, softened
• 3-4 c. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Grease and flour a bundt pan and preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Mix first six ingredients together with a beater. Fold in white chocolate chips.
2. Fill prepared bundt pan with half of the batter. Spoon half of the raspberry filling in separated spoonfuls over the batter (so it looks like separate clumps of filling over the top). Using a knife swirl the filling through the cake. Do not overdo it! Only swirl around 2-3 times.
3. Pour remaining batter in evenly and spoon in remaining pie filling, repeating the "swirling" process above.
4. Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 mins. (do the "knife test" to determine doneness). If the knife does not come out clean, keep placing back in the oven for 3-5 min at a time until it does.
5. Remove from oven. Let cool for 20 mins. Remove from pan. (I think it tastes best if you put it on a serving plate, wrap it well in Saran Wrap, and let it sit overnight in the fridge before frosting and serving..)
6. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar (start with 2 cups then keep adding more until it is nice and thick).
7. Note: To get the frosting like in the picture. Fill a Ziplog bag with the frosting and cut off the bottom corner depending on how big you want the "frosting strips". Frost cake by squeezing out the frosting from the outside of the cake toward the middle.

S’mores Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 (4.4 oz) milk chocolate XL Hershey Bars
• 1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and 8 by 8-inch baking dish and line with two sheets of parchment paper, leaving a slight over hang on each side, and butter paper (if you don't care to lift the bars out in one, for easier cutting, you can just butter the baking dish without lining).
• In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, graham crack crumbs, baking soda and salt for 20 seconds, set aside. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined.
• Divide dough in half and press one half of the dough into an even layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Place chocolate side by side over dough layer. Top chocolate with marshmallow fluff, spreading into an even layer. Take about golf ball size pieces of remaining dough and flatten into small shingles and layer side by side over marshmallow fluff (work to keep any of the fluff from showing through). Bake in preheated oven 27 - 30 minutes until top is lightly golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares (use parchment overhang to lift bars from pan before cutting. I recommend cutting just before serving as the filling will being to run a little). Store in an airtight container.

Scallop Linguine

Ingredients:

6 oz dry linguine pasta

8 large sea scallops (about 1/2 lb)

1 shallot, minced

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup dry white wine (a nice Chardonnay works great)

1/2 cup cream

1 handful freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add linguine and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

Heat the 1 tbsp butter in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the scallops. Cook scallops for about two minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook your scallops! Place scallops on a plate and set aside while you finish the sauce.

Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan, along with the shallots. Saute shallots for about 4 minutes, until soft. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, getting all the little shallot bits up off the bottom of the pan. Add cream and simmer for about 3 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to the sauce, along with the scallops and the handful of cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Time:

20 minutes