Crispity Crunchity Chicken Strips

Looking for a filling meal, and need it fast? This recipe can be ready in less than 20 minutes, and is absolutely delicious. The Goldfish crackers add the perfect amount of crunch, without taking away from the chicken's natural flavors. 

Ingredients

nonstick spray

2 1/2 cups crushed Goldfish crackers

2/3 cups buttermilk ranch salad dressing

4 chicken breasts (cooked or raw, cut into 1 inch strips)

1. Preheat oven to 425*
2. Line a baking pan with foil, and lightly coat the foil with nonstick spray.
3. Place the crushed crackers in one dish, and the ranch dressing in another.
4. Dip the chicken strips into the ranch, allow excess to drip off; then dip in cracker crumbs to coat evenly. 
5. If raw chicken - Arrange onto pan and bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
6. If cooked chicken - Arrange onto pan and bake for 5 - 8 minutes, or until heated through.
7. Serve with additional ranch dressing, and eat up!

White Trash Toffee

I found this recipe one day when I was looking up recipes for Heath Candy Bars. Casey's favorite candy is Heath Bars, so I decided to give this a whirl. It's really called Saltine Toffee... I like my title a little better :) Now this may seem like a funky combo for a treat, but it's actually super delicious!! You can't even tell that it's made with Saltine crackers, it is a little chewy, and it just tastes awesome. I made some and it was gone by the next morning. BUT I think it tastes even better the day after it's made...just my opinion!

Ingredients
1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Line a cookie sheet (with sides) with foil and spray foil with nonstick spray.
3. Place a layer of saltine crackers over entire surface of cookie sheet.
4. In a saucepan combine the sugar and butter, stir until boiling over medium high heat.
5. Once boiling, boil without stirring for 3 full minutes.  Immediately pour over the saltines, trying to make it as even as possible. (it won't cover every cracker)
6. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from over, and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let the chips sit for a minute to warm up, then spread the melting chocolate over every cracker in an even layer. 
7. Top with chopped nuts.
8. Cool completely for an hour or so, and then break into pieces!

Reese's Rolls

Okay so over Thanksgiving, I bought a Taste of Home Best Holiday Recipes magazine. There's over 320 recipes in here, and I'm going one by one trying them all!! Tonight after dinner I made what's called Crescent Bundles Surprises.....But I modified the recipe to fit my taste, and renamed it Reese's Rolls :) These treats were sooooo easy to make, and tasted amazing. They were the perfect combination of light and sweet, and made an awesome little dessert. I really hope you enjoy these bad boys, because I will definitely be making these things a lot!

This picture shows Snickers inside, 
but Reese's taste better!

Ingredients 
1 tube (6 count) Pillsbury "big & buttery" crescent rolls
6 Reese's peanut butter cups
1/4 cup Cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 375*.
2. Separate the crescent rolls into 6 triangles; cut each one in half, so you end with 12 triangles.
3. Cut each Reese's cup in half. Place one half on each of the 12 triangles.
4. Fold the dough over the candy, and seal the edges. (After I folded the dough over, I rolled each piece between my palms making little balls with the candy in the center)
5. Place each roll on an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Bake for 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Then remove and place each roll on a wire rack.
7. Cut a small hole in the corner of a sandwich bag, and fill the bag with frosting.
8. Pipe the frosting on each roll, while still warm.
9. Eat up!!

Bird's Nest Breakfast Cups

Alright...so as weird as these little breakfast cups may look in the picture, they are actually super cool in reality. I saw these in a magazine and instantly wanted to make them! When I cooked them, they made me think of something you'd see at a restaurant. They are simple, delicious, and just look fancier than normal scrambled eggs and bacon. You must try them!

Ingredients

12 bacon strips

6 large eggs

6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Mexican blend)

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning OR parsley

salt & pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat for 2 minutes on each side (until partially set, but not crispy)
2. Preheat oven to 350*
3. Coat 6 muffin cups with cooking spray; wrap two bacon strips around the inside of each cup.
4. Scramble the eggs in a bowl, and fill each muffin cup with roughly 1/4 cup egg mixture (about the same as one whole egg)
5. Top each cup with a tablespoon of shredded cheese, a sprinkle of the seasoning, and a little salt & pepper.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until set. Cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan.
7. Yum!

Chick, Chick, Chicken & Rice

I decided to make this recipe at the very last minute, and I am so glad that it was super easy to do! And super quick as well. I was trying to think of what to cook for dinner, and then I saw a can of Cream of Chicken...I hadn't had that stuff for years, but it just sounded so good. So we came up with this little number, and here we are :) 


Ingredients
1/2 cup water (for cooking chicken)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 (10.75 ounce) cans Cream of Chicken soup
1 1/2 cups water (for actual recipe)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 cups uncooked instant white rice
2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli (I used broccoli with cheddar cheese) 

1. Cut the chicken into about 1 inch square pieces. Sprinkle the chicken with a little of the seasonings, and with your hand pat the seasoning into the chicken. 
2. In a skillet over medium high heat, cook the chicken in the 1/2 cup of water for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from heat.
3. In another skillet, add the soup, 1 1/2 cups water, and all the seasonings. Heat to a boil over medium high heat.
4. Stir in rice and broccoli, then add the chicken. Cover and cook on low heat for about 5 more minutes.
5. Let cool and enjoy. And feel free to add more seasonings to taste!

Let's Make Whoopie....Whoopie Pies That Is....

• SO I know what you're thinking...Whoopie is dirty, right? Well you're wrong! I got the idea to make "whoopie" as a joke, but then decided they looked really tasty. So I searched and searched for the perfect recipe. And finally I came up with one, taking little bits and pieces from multiple recipes. So a little history... for years my dad worked as an independent distributor for Little Debbie Snacks.... therefore, I had my fair share of Oatmeal Creme Pies. I mean, who doesn't love those things! I could eat them for hours on end :) Because of this reason, I decided to go with Oatmeal Whoopie Pies. Uh yeah, YUM. Please enjoy as much as I did!!
• 
  
• Ingedients
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup shortening

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a cupcake baking sheets.
2. Cream butter or margarine with the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and mix well. Stir in the salt, cinnamon, baking powder, boiling water, baking soda and flour. Mix to combine. Stir in the oats.
3. Drop cookies into the prepared cupcake pan, filling each cup 1/4 of the way. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Take a spatula and flatten each "cupcake" until it's a chubby little cookie. Let cookies cool.
4. To Make Filling: Beat egg white. Mix in the milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Beat in the shortening and remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Beat until light.
5. Put a spoonful of filling on one cookie, and smash another cookie on top. Making a bunch o' cute sandwiches. 
6. ENJOY!!

Chicken Parm....The Healthy Way

This recipe, believe it or not....Is actually good for you. Usually I think of this dish as super greasy, but this particular dish is baked instead of fried. And for all you Weight Watcher guru's out there, this recipe is only 5 POINTS! Can you even believe that? Yeah I know, exactly my reaction, too. But nonetheless, this dish is delish :)

Ingredients
4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara sauce
cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450*. Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.
2. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. 
3. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.
4. Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake for 20 minutes. Turn chicken over, and bake another 5 minutes. 
5. Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. 
6. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
7. Eat up!!