Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 bottle Frank's buffalo wing sauce
1 package dry ranch salad dressing mix
blue cheese crumbles
hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.

Once the chicken has cooked, shred the meat finely with two forks.

Serve on hoagie rolls and top with blue cheese crumbles.

From All Recipes.



Adam and I were both big fans of this one. I modified the recipe a bit and it was delicious!

Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce

1 bag of salted pretzels, any shape
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs (I used egg beaters)
2 small, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1/2-inch thick
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (eyeball it)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
3/4 pound (about 2 1/2 cups) sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
2 heaping tablespoons spicy brown mustard, such as Gulden’s

Place the pretzels in a food processor or blender and grind until fine. Transfer the ground pretzels to a shallow dish, add the thyme and some pepper, and mix to combine. Crack and beat 2 eggs in a second shallow dish with a splash of water.

Coat the chicken breast in the ground pretzels, then in egg, then in the pretzels again.

Preheat a large skillet with the EVOO, enough to go 1/4 inch up the sides of the skillet. Add the pretzel-coated chicken breast to the hot oil. Cook in a single layer, in two batches if necessary, about 3-4 minutes on each side, until cutlets' juices run clear and the breading is evenly browned. Transfer the finished chicken strips to the oven to keep warm.

While the chicken is frying, heat a medium saucepot over medium heat, melt butter and add the flour. Cook flour and butter for 1 minute then whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in cheese and mustard with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and remove from heat.

Transfer the fried pretzel-crusted chicken to a serving plate. Serve the mustard-cheddar sauce alongside.

From Rachael Ray.



We were all fans of this one, especially the cheese sauce. It is definitely going in the rotation!

Crockpot Bacon and Cheese Chicken

3-4 chicken breasts
12 pieces cooked and crumbled bacon (I used less)
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup Ranch salad dressing (I used fat free)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Place the chicken in the crockpot. In a small bowl, combine the teriyaki sauce and the ranch dressing. Pour sauce over the top of the chicken. Add the shredded cheese and the crumbled bacon to the crockpot, getting between the chicken pieces,if you can.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4.



I thought it was tasty. Adam thought it was okay. B wouldn't touch it!

Little Egg & Bacon Tarts

3 pieces Frozen Puff Pastry
12 whole Eggs
500 grams Chopped Bacon
50 grams Sliced Mushrooms
1 bunch(es) Chopped Chives
½ cups Cream Cheese
½ cups Grated Parmesan
12 pinch(es) Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cut 12 rounds from the puff pastry to fit a medium-sized muffin tin. Place rounds into the muffin tin, pressing down to the base and shaping a little to fit.

Crack one egg into each flan. Sprinkle each egg with bacon. Place a couple of slices of mushroom on top of the bacon, then 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cream cheese. Sprinkle with chives and top with parmesan and freshly ground pepper. (See note below for variations.)

Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is crispy and flans are nice and brown on top.

Note: the mushrooms and chives could be replaced by any of your favorites: sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, etc. and any choice of herbs.

From The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen.



As I'm sure you can tell from the picture, I went WAY off of the recipe here. I used a can of crescent rolls instead of puff pastry, which was enough to make 6 tarts using a large muffin tin. I used bacon bits instead of fresh bacon (it's what I had), Egg Beaters instead of eggs, nixed the mushrooms and parmesan cheese. I also added in chopped spinach and gouda cheese (because everything is better with gouda). I also eye-balled everything, so I have no clue what my exact measurements were.

Next time I think I'll mix the cream cheese in with everything else, it was a little odd just hanging out on top by itself. We all really liked these, they were very similar to Panera's egg souffle.

Gingerbread Cookies

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. molasses
1 egg
4 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground nutmeg

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; blend into the molasses mixture until smooth.

Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm. Let cool for 10 minutes on pan. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Frost or decorate when cool.



From Good Things Catered.

I decorated them using Royal Icing, from Good Things Catered.

Asian Buffalo Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1 cup hot wing sauce
4 tsp garlic powder

Mix together the teriyaki and wing sauce. Place chicken breasts on aluminum foil in oven safe dish and spinkle the garlic powder over the chicken breast. Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

This was really tasty and a bit spicy (probably not kid-friendly). Next time I think we'll cook these on the grill instead of baking them.

From Spark Recipes.

Chicken Parmesan Burgers

For the burgers:
1 lb. ground chicken
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
Salt and pepper

For serving:
Pasta sauce
Mozzarella or provolone cheese (sliced or shredded)
Sautéed mushrooms (optional)
4 hamburger buns

In a medium bowl combine all of the ingredients for the burgers. Mix well until thoroughly combined. Form the mixture into 4 patties. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.

Preheat the broiler. Spray the broiler pan with cooking spray. (Alternatively, cook the burgers on an outdoor grill or grill pan.) Broil the burgers for 4-6 minutes on one side, then flip and broil for 4-6 more minutes on the other side until fully browned and cooked through. Remove from the oven, top each burger with pasta sauce and cheese. Place back under the broiler for 30-60 seconds until the cheese is melted. Top with sautéed mushrooms if desired, and serve on toasted hamburger buns.

From Annie's Eats.

Fabulous Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Powdered sugar, for rolling
1 recipe Glacé Icing

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.
Add vanilla, almond, and lemon zest.
Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.
Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.
Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake cookies for 7-8 minutes.
Wait until cookies are cooled before icing.

This recipe made 30-32 big, thick cookies.



From Good Things Catered.

Glacé Icing

1 lb powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 C)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole milk
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp extract (almond, vanilla, etc)

With a whisk, combine sugar and milk until smooth (no lumps!) Then stir in corn syrup and extract.

You will use this same recipe for both glazing and piping. The way it is right now is the consistency you want for glazing. It's smooth and thin, like in the picture below. It easily runs off the whisk in a pretty thin drizzle.

To prepare the icing for piping, you just add more powdered sugar. Just eyeball it. You can't really mess it up because if it's too thick you just add more milk and if it's to thin, you add more powdered sugar. I add it in small amounts until it's a good consistency. For me, it's when it gets to a point where it's relatively hard to whisk it by hand. When I pick up the whisk, it still runs off, but in a very slow, thick stream now.

Take your glazing icing and separate it into bowls if you want to color it. Use gel food coloring (you can find it at craft or cooking stores) for more intense colors.

From Our Best Bites.

Crockpot Angel Chicken

6 boneless chicken breasts (I used 4)
1/2 cup butter
1 pkg dry italian salad dressing mix
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup white wine or 1/2 c. chicken broth
4 oz. onion & chive cream cheese
1 pkg angel hair pasta, cooked according to box directions

Place chicken in crock pot. In a sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in the Italian salad dressing mix, soup, cream cheese & wine. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Pour over cooked pasta.

Artichoke Chicken Pasta

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced (I used the kind in the jar)
3-4 leaves of basil, chopped
Zest of one lemon, chopped finely (I used lemon juice)
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them, with a mallet, until they are 1/4 inch thick. Place chicken into a large zip lock bag and add the ingredients above. Mix so the chicken is evenly coated with marinade. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add chicken breasts and cook for 4 minutes then flip. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until juices run clear. Remove from heat and let sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing into bite size chunks.

1 can of artichoke hearts
1 handful of grape tomatoes (I used 2 plum tomatoes diced)
1 clove of garlic, minced (I used the kind in the jar)
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
Cheese tortellini, prepared per instructions
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1-2 tbsp butter
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Cook the tortellini per instructions. While the pasta is cooking, add the artichoke hearts, tomatoes and minced garlic to the the hot skillet you cooked the chicken in. Add more oil if needed (I didn't need to). Sauté and stir frequently for 60 seconds. Add the tortellini, chicken chunks, lemon juice, butter, Parmesan, basil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Enjoy.


Next time, I think I'll saute some onions in pan with the artichokes, tomatoes and garlic.

Blueberry Baked French Toast

1 Family Size Bag Stacy’s Pita Chips - Simply Naked
7 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
6 oz fresh blueberries (optional)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (use a little more)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

Grease 9 x 13 inch baking pan with butter. Pour in bag of pita chips and arrange evenly.

In a bowl mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla.

Pour egg mixture over pita chips. Cover pan tightly with foil and place in refrigerator overnight, or at least six hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pan from refrigerator. Sprinkle blueberries over the top.

Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Slice butter and add to bowl, then use pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture.

Sprinkle flour mixture over the blueberries and make sure it’s evenly distributed.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Chips on top should be crispy and crunchy.

Remove from oven and cut into squares. Drizzle with blueberry or maple syrup and serve warm.



From The Pioneer Woman.

Sausage Pita's

1 package of breakfast sausage
lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
tomato
Italian dressing
pita bread

Cook the sausage and drain off the excess oil. Cut the pita bread in half and pull it open. Mix the sausage, lettuce, tomato, cheese and dressing together and stick it in the pita. Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Pizza

1 pre-made pizza crust (we use whole wheat)
peanut sauce
pre-cooked chicken strips/cubes
green onions
carrot strips
mozzarella cheese
chopped peanuts

Cover the pizza crust in the peanut sauce, then layer the other ingredients on top. Bake it in the oven according to the instructions on the pizza crust.

Crockpot Swiss Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
4 slices of swiss cheese
1 box of stove top stuffing
1/4 cup water

Dump the box of Stove Top into the bottom of a crockpot sprayed with non-stick spray. Place the chicken on top of it. Place the swiss cheese slices over the chicken. Drizzle the water along the edges of the crockpot. Spread the soup on top. Cook 'til the chicken is done!