Hot Chicken Salad

My friend Amy made this years ago at a playdate and I have served it many times since!  It is great for any occasion, or even just for dinner.  It is so easy and never disappoints!

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Hot Chicken Salad

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups chopped celery (I leave this out...not a fan of celery!)

1 cup toasted, sliced almonds

1 1/2 cup mayo

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Crushed BBQ chips

Mix the first 4 ingredients together and put in oven safe bowl or dish.  Cover with cheese and then top with crushed chips. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and serve hot.

Crazy easy and crazy good!!  Enjoy!  :) 

Italian Pepperoni Bites

Do you have any recipes that you have had forever, but have forgotten about them??  This is one of those!  I cut this recipe out of a magazine YEARS ago and haven't made it in forever!  I'm so glad I stumbled across it because I forgot how yummy and easy it was!!  I think these are intended to be an appetizer, but I make them a little bigger and we eat them for dinner.  Either way, try them!  They won't disappoint!!

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Italian Pepperoni Bites

1 package (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni, chopped

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 tomato, chopped

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp prepared pesto

2 packages (10 oz each) refrigerated flaky biscuits

Preheat oven to 350.  In bowl, combine pepperoni, cheese, tomato, mayonnaise, and pesto.

 (Now, the original recipe says to cut each biscuit in half and to use a mini muffin pan, but I don't cut them in half and use a regular muffin pan.)  Place biscuits into greased muffin cups, pressing gently to fit cups.  Spoon 1 tablespoon (more if you are doing regular cups) into each cup.  Bake 20 - 25 minutes.  Serve warm.

How good do they look???  :)

You can serve them as an appetizer, or throw a salad together and have them for dinner.  They are SO GOOD!!!  Enjoy!  :)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

I've had this recipe pinned  from Life As a Lofthouse for a while now and finally got around to making it.  I can't believe I waited this long...this is AMAZING!!!!  I was shocked at how good it was.  My husband actually said that he would prefer to have this any day over our favorite Chinese food restaurant...what?!?  It really is THAT GOOD!  If you haven't made this yet, run to the store and buy the ingredients.  This will NOT disappoint!!!

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Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The Chicken Coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch (you really don't need this much...I had A LOT leftover)

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 325.  Rinse chicken breasts with water and cut into cubes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat and then dip into the eggs.  Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook chicken until browned, but not cooked through.  Place the chicken in a 9X13 inch greased baking dish.

 Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and pour evenly over the chicken.

 Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

I'm not exaggerating...this is truly fantastic!!!  This will definitely be a regular meal at our house!  Enjoy!  :)

Fruit Skewers

OK, so this is not a recipe.  This is a fun little side that I love to make!  Anytime I am asked to bring fruit to something, I always make these cute little fruit skewers .  They are so simple, but look much more elegant than bringing a bunch of fruit mixed up in a bowl!  :)  I had a brunch to go to this past week and signed up for fruit of course.  There were only 7 of us, so I didn't make many, but this pic will show you how pretty they turn out.  I've done these for baby showers and other events where I make MUCH more than this and just layer them around the plate...they look so nice and always get eaten up. 

 Hope you think these are as cute as I do! Enjoy!  :)

Cheez-It Chicken

My friend Trina texted me a recipe the other day that she thought I would like.  Once I saw how easy it was, I knew I just had to try it!  The best part was that I already had the ingredients.  Chances are, if you have kids, you have the ingredients too!  Thanks Trina and Winner Dinners for this easy, delish recipe...we'll definitely be having it again soon!  :)

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Cheez-It Chicken

8 chicken tenders (I am funny about chicken tenders...don't like the tendons in them - YUCK, so I just sliced 3 chicken breasts into strips)

1 cup sour cream (I only used about 1/2 a cup and used Light sour cream)

3 cups Cheez-Its, crushed

1/2 cup butter, melted (I only used about 1/4 cup)

Here goes EASY...crush the Cheez-Its in a large ziploc bag.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Roll the chicken tenders in the sour cream and then in the Cheez-It crumbs.  Place them in a baking dish.  Drizzle with the melted butter.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  Seriously, it doesn't get easier than this!  Only 4 ingredients and about 4 minutes of prep time.  Dinner is served!

This chicken turns out really moist on the inside, but super crunchy on the outside.  My 5 year old devoured it and even said at one point that it tasted like Chick-fil-A...SCORE!  BIG mommy points there!  Enjoy!  :)

Roasted Asparagus

If you like asparagus and want the easiest recipe EVER, then this is for you!  It is hard to even call it a recipe when it only has two ingredients, but since I got it out of a cookbook, then I'll call it a recipe!  Here ya go:

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Roasted Asparagus

1 pound fresh asparagus

Olive oil-flavored cooking spray

Snap tough ends off 1 pound fresh asparagus.  Coat asparagus with olive oil-flavored cooking spray, and bake at 450 for 10 minutes or until tender.

It really doesn't get any easier then that for a quick, wonderful side dish!  Now, if only I could get my son to take a bite!!  Enjoy!  :)

Sweet and Tangy Braised Chuck Roast

While at home for Thanksgiving, my Dad made an amazing roast!  It is very different from the standard roast that you are probably used to...it has some really unique ingredients that give it a little bit of sweetness.  I couldn't believe it when he told me what was in it.  So, don't be alarmed by the ingredient list when you see that there are cookies in it...embrace it!  Trust me!  This was super easy because it is a crockpot meal and tastes wonderful!

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Sweet and Tangy Braised Chuck Roast

6 (2-inch) gingersnap cookies finely crushed into crumbs

1 cups peeled baby carrots

2 large celery stalks cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces

1 medium onion cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup dry red wine

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/4 cup raisins (I skipped this...not a raisin fan!)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (about 2 pound) beef chuck roast

In a 4 1/2 - 6 quart slow cooker, combine gingersnap crumbs, carrots, celery, onion, wine, vinegar, raisins, salt, and pepper.  Place roast on top of vegetables.  cover with lid and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-6 1/2 hours or until roast is very tender.  Place roast on warm platter. Skim and discard fat from cooking liquid.  Serve roast with vegetables and sauce.

The roast literally fell apart as I was taking it out...SO GOOD!!  Enjoy!  :)