Two Great Recipes in One Post

Here are two very easy and simple recipes that can either be made separately or done together.  The first is a basic & easy way to cook chicken breast in the crock-pot.  I used my small 1.5 quart sized crock-pot which was perfect for the size of chicken breast I was cooking (just enough for Aaron and I). The chicken will be really moist and somewhat healthy, since it was cooked in it's own natural juices. 

You could actually just make "Ranchy Chicken" at anytime when you have a different recipe that calls for cooked shredded chicken.  Make it ahead in batches and throw it in the fridge or freezer till your ready for your next meal. Than pull it out, let it thaw out (if you froze it) and bam...you just skipped a few steps and your chicken will have an extra bit of flavor (than if you were to use plain chicken breast).

RANCHY CHICKEN:
1# chicken breast (boneless and thawed)
Dry ranch package

Rub chicken breast in about half of the dry mix, making sure to coat both sides. Let set for several hours, remember the longer you let set, the fuller the flavor.  [Mine set in the fridge for 2 hours.]

Cook in crock-pot with no other ingredients for 3 hours on LOW (or until fully cooked).  Let cool for 30 minutes in it's own broth before shredding the chicken with a knife.  [Mine literally fell apart without really cutting into it.]

Now the simple way to turn the "Ranchy Chicken" into "Buffalo Ranch Chicken" is by adding two little but very powerful ingredients:

1/2 cup Hot Wing sauce
1/4 cup Ranch dressing

Mix together with chicken until evenly coated, place back into crock-pot and cook on LOW for approx. 2-3 hours (depending on how intense you want the flavor to be; the longer it's cook, the bolder the flavor).

Serve as pulled chicken sandwiches, in tortilla or pita roll-ups, as a pizza toppings, mix in with mac 'n cheese, etc....the list of ways to eat this is ENDLESS!


REVIEW:
Now this is just my own personal way of cooking and making Buffalo Chicken, on a weekday for Aaron and I.  According to Aaron he said, "It's got just enough spice, which is nice"; meaning it's not too spicy and is really creamy with the addition of the ranch being added in.  If you prefer more kick from the hot wing sauce, add more of it or if you like less spice, add more ranch dressing.  This recipe is all about what your preferences are and when your cooking for yourself and one other person, you have more freedom to do that.  This is why this is sort of the ideal cooking for 2 recipe and depending on how you serve the shredded chicken, you may have enough for leftovers later in the week.  Try it as something different when you eat the second time and you'll never run out of recipes!

Enjoy!!

~ Kellie Anne











P.S - this recipe is the first of many that will be shot with my new DSL camera that Aaron got me for Christmas.  It took me a while (with the help of my sister), to figure out the settings on the camera and now I can't wait to shoot all my blog photos with it.  I just think it make the food turn out better and look more appetizing than when I took shots with my camera phone.

Mexican Chicken Bake

Are you craving chicken?
Maybe something, spicy?
And how about simple & easy? 

Then this is the recipe for you!

Ingredients & Directions:  
I took two thawed out chicken breast and seasoned both (top and bottom) with 1 tablespoon of black pepper, Greek seasoning and red pepper flakes.  I then placed them in a greased cooking dish and covered them with TOSTITOS® Monterey Jack Queso cheese sauce (about half a cup).  Place inside an oven that is set to 350 and bake for 45 minutes (uncovered).

That's it!

You can tweak the recipe to your liking.  For example, if you have more than two people, than you'll need more chicken breast (obviously) and if you want to add more spice, throw some salsa in with the cheese. 

I've seen all over the internet and on Pinterest how easy and simple chicken bake recipes can be and this one totally was. I think now I could easily switch out the ingredients and make it more Italian inspired or even Asian infused.

Hope you like it! :)
~Kellie Anne


One Skillet Chicken Parmesan Pasta

If you are craving the yumminess of chicken parmesan, but don't want to go through all the work of breading a chicken breast and frying it up (plus it's a lot healthier then going that route too), this is the recipe for you. Made this dish last night for supper and this is going to be one of my new go-to recipes for some obvious reasons:

Look at that melted cheesy goodness!

• It's quick- takes like 20 minutes tops!
• It's easy - everything is cooked in one dish!
• It's tasty - which is the most import thing of all, right!

Ingredients:

8 oz. of your favorite pasta
(I used whole wheat rotini)

1 jar (26oz) spaghetti sauce

2 cups water

2 lbs of cooked chopped chicken
(I cooked/grilled mine on the George Foreman)

1 cup grated parmesan, divided
1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp. melted butter

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

 

Directions:

In oven-safe skillet, combine pasta, sauce and water. bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15-18 minutes, until pasta is tender.  While the noodles were cooking, this is when I cooked the chicken breast (which cuts the time down), but you could use chicken that has been previously cooked.

 

Stir in chicken and half a cup of the parmesan cheese. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes.

Top pasta with mozzarella cheese.

 

Combine panko, melted butter, remaining parmesan, red pepper flakes and garlic powder. Sprinkle over mozzarella cheese.

 

Place under preheated broiler until bread crumbs are toasted and cheese is melted.  

This is what the finished project looked like!!

 

I can't wait to make this dish again for family & friends cause it is soo f*ck-ing good! (pardon my language).  Hopefully you will love it too!



~Kellie Anne

 

yet another Buffalo Chicken Mac 'n Cheese recipe - Crock-pot style

If your a fan of Pinterest like I am, you know that there are a million, probably closer to a billion recipes floating around on the site.  You may have also noticed all of the recipes for macaroni and cheese on the site; it's crazy how many different ways you can make such a staple food (well it is in our house, I guess).  Yet here I am, going to show you another way that you can make mac 'n cheese with the ever popular ingredient of buffalo wing sauce and made in the crock-pot.  Full of kick and easy to make, it's sure to be a hit in your kitchen!

 
Ingredients:
  4 chicken breast - thawed out and cubed
  1 medium onion - chopped
  1 can of Cream of Chicken
  Frank's Hot Wing Sauce - amount is all based on your love for the spicy-ness
  1 cup sour cream
  1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  1/2 cup ranch dressing
  8 oz of cooked elbow noodles
  Salt & Pepper for taste

  Directions (by pictures):

In a large crock-pot (mine is a 5.5 quart), place the chicken and onion inside.

Combine cream of chicken and wing sauce together.  I used the can from the cream of chicken and used about 3/4 of a can of the wing sauce.  Like stated above its completely up to you on how much of the yummy-goodness (wing sauce) that you'd like to use.

Mix sauce concoction with the chicken & onions; cook on LOW for 6 hours.
 

* * I didn't get a picture of the water boiling or the noodles cooking; but  you all know what that looks like :) **

 

When the noodles are almost done, add the dressing, cheese and sour cream to crock-pot



OMG! It already looks yummy and I haven't even added the noodles yet!!



Noodles have been added and my taste buds are ready to chow down! :)
But wait, once the noodles have been added let everything continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes




Now you can enjoy it! :)
Looks like Aaron is giving this dish a thumbs up and he takes one of his final bites!


I will some day post up the recipe of the Buffalo Chicken Mac 'n Cheese that we also love to eat that is made with a from scratch cheese sauce and done on the stove top and oven-baked.  But for right now, I'm going to add yet another mac 'n cheese recipe to the already growing list on Pinterest! :)

~ Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - Garlic Skinless Chicken (for one)

I wish I would have know about this website in college - www.101cookingfortwo.com; it is FABULOUS!! :) There is a large variety of main dishes, desserts, beverages and even doggie treats (for my little Oscar).  I found it through Pinterest (of course) about a year ago, but haven't really had a chance to do anything from the site yet. This blog is also great cause they show step-by-step photos.  Well, my boyfriend is off to a Super Bowl party and I'm home alone so why not give it a try.

I had thawed chicken breast in the fridge and after picking from the over 15+ recipes (just in Chicken-Skinless Breast category alone), I selected this tongue-tied name of dish: Pan Seared Oven Roasted Garlic Skinless Chicken Breast.  I had to shorten the title not only for the blog but to remember it in my head for future reference. 
 

Garlic Skinless Chicken (for one)


Ingredients: 
   1 Skinless boneless chicken breast (well trimmed)
   1 T olive oil
   2 cloves garlic minced
   salt
   pepper

Instructions:

   Simmer olive oil in pan (I used a my cast iron skillet for this dish) over medium heat. Add garlic and "bloom" for 1 minute. (I had to look up what that meant and basically it means to start to brown). Remove from heat, tilt pan and remove as much of the garlic as possible to a small cup; leaving the oil and place back over the medium heat. Salt and pepper to taste then place in pan smooth side down and sear till brown.  Remove from heat and flip chicken. Spread bloomed garlic over the breasts evenly. Take pan from stove top and place in preheated 350 degree oven and roast until internal temp of 165. This will be about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the breast (my chicken breast only took about 15 minutes to cook).  Remove from oven and pan. Let rest for 5-10 minutes prior to serving.

  Chicken was really moist (as it should be I guess since it's cooked in oil) and the garlic added some great flavor.  I can see this ate alone (like I did today) or on top of pasta, rice or maybe even cut in slices on top of a salad. 
Enjoy!

~ Kellie Anne

Something New Sunday - "Crack" Chicken

I am a Pinterest-addict and my boyfriend doesn't object to me trying to new recipes that I have found. I came across this recipe on Pinterest and the caption was titled "Crack" Chicken, which instantly got my attention.  Surprisingly, this was one of the first recipes that I have found off Pinterest where I actually had all the ingredients in my house.  I want to give credit where credit is due, so here is the original link where I found the recipe: http://www.mytimepassages.com/blogs/pinterest/2012/01/pinterst-winfail-bourbon-crack-chicken-crockpot-style/

“Crack” Chicken – Crock-pot Style

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless (uncooked) chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup light apple juice
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili sauce (you can use ketchup depending on your spice level)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

Coat chicken with cornstarch.

 

Whisk all ingredients into crock-pot and add chicken.

 

Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4.

 My "Non-Professional" Review: 
      I can see why they call it "Crack" Chicken cause it's highly addictive and I ate WAY to much of it (but that was fine, cause like I said, it was delicious).  It's also highly addictive because of how easy it is to make and if you are a looking for a easy-peasy recipe, this is it!! Literally, when everything can be mixed in the crockpot and you can walk away, it doesn't get much easier than that.
      I love spicy food and for me, this dish has the perfect amount (but you can always cut back the amount of red pepper that you use and use ketchup instead of chili sauce if you don't like spice). The raw chicken was fully cooked during the four hours and was really moist too.  The sauce does need something to soak-up all the yummy sauce and I thought that rice would be a perfect. Welp, I didn't have any so I did pour the chicken and sauce over penne pasta (but I do know next time I make it, I will have some rice to eat with it).


I'm gunna leave you with one last photo of my almost 'finished' product

Enjoy!!

~Kellie Anne