Cheddar Ranch Chicken

Here’s a freezer recipe that was sooo delicious: CHEDDAR RANCH CHICKEN. I thought I had made this before so I didn’t get any photos of after it was done. Then I realized I was thinking of the Ranch Parmesan Chicken, not this Cheddar Ranch chicken. Po-tate-o po-tah-to 😉

We actually liked this one even better, I think the cheese made it extra tender.

adapted from thisthatkelsey.tumblr.com

WHAT YOU NEED:

4 boneless chicken breasts – uncooked
1/2 c. mayo
2 Tbs. dry ranch seasoning (packet)
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
Cooking spray

WHAT YOU DO:

If preparing right away…

• Preheat oven to 425F
• Place chicken in a baking dish
• In a small bowl, combine mayo, ranch, and cheddar cheese
• Spread this combination on top of the chicken
• Sprinkle the Panko on top and spray lightly with cooking spray
• Bake for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked

If freezing…

• In a gallon ziplock freezer bag, combine chicken, mayo, ranch, and cheddar cheese and knead together to mix
• Label with a permanent marker as pictured above, then freeze
• Prepare according to directions on freezer bag

PHOTO SOURCE: Beauty in Everything http://thisthatkelsey.tumblr.com/post/50415844061/cheddar-ranch-chicken

Need more freezer meal ideas? Here’s one for Cheesy Pork Chops and Potatoes

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DIY Gift Jars

Here are some gift jars I put together over Christmas, to give as teacher gifts. The kids and I filled them with trail mix and attached a gift card to the twine. Of course, you could switch up the fabric and string for an anytime of the year gift.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Jars with lids
• Jar labels
• Fabric
• Coordinating twine or string
• Contents for the jar (trail mix, baking mixes, little trinkets, office supplies, school supplies, etc).

WHAT YOU DO:

Place a lid/ring on the fabric and cut a circle around it so that enough sticks out over the jar.

Fill jar and label.

Attach fabric between the lid and the ring then put the lid on the jar.

Add string or twine.

DIY Felt Bird Ornaments

It’s Christmas in July! Ha 🙂 I just found some pics of a flock of felt birds I made as Christmas tree ornaments. I used patterns from downeastthunderfarm.com, and different colors of wool felt and embroidery floss.

They looked pretty “special” since I am not really a sewer. I watched some YouTube videos before I started because I needed to learn even the most basic stitches. But here they are, in all their holiday glory…

UPDATE: I used the leftover materials from the bird ornaments this year, and ended up with felt dog ornaments!

Buffalo Chicken and Feta Pita Pocket

Here’s an easy, fast, and light lunch idea: Buffalo Chicken with crumbled feta served in a pita pocket.

WHAT YOU NEED:

– 100 calorie pita pocket — I used an Oroweat multi-grain pocket thin
– approx 1/3 c. greens (lettuce, spinach, etc)
– 2 oz baked chicken breast, shredded or cubed
– 1 oz crumbled feta cheese
– drizzle of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce

WHAT YOU DO:

Open pita pocket and stuff with remaining ingredients.

 

Estimated Nutrition Information:

• 235 cal
• 8 g fat
• 22 carbs
• 5.3 fiber
• 21 g protein

Skinny Bang Bang Chicken Salad

Here’s a healthy chicken salad I made, based on an earlier Skinny Bang Bang Shrimp recipe. It has just 4 ingredients and you can adjust the spiciness level with the amount of sriracha sauce you use. Instead of mayo it has plain 0%fat Greek yogurt.

I ate this straight out of the bowl (it’s not that pretty, but it tastes awesome), though you could also serve it in a pita pocket, or on bibb lettuce leaves as a wrap.

WHAT YOU DO…

• Combine the following four ingredients:
  • 4 oz. baked chicken breast, shredded or cubed
  • 1/3 c. nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbs. Frank’s Red Hot Sweet Chili Sauce
  • Sriracha, to taste

Optional: serve on bibb lettuce as wraps, or stuff into a whole wheat pita pocket.

Estimated Nutrition Information:

195 calories

1.5 g fat

11.5 g carbs

0 fiber

33 g. protein

Greek Yogurt and Granola Fruit Bowl

Here’s a fruit, granola, and yogurt combo I just ate for breakfast. It was delicious, filling, and healthy! If you really want to get fancy with this you could layer everything into a mason jar, parfait-style.

WHAT YOU DO:

Just combine these 4 ingredients!

• 1/4 c. Greek nonfat vanilla yogurt
• 1/4 c. lowfat granola
• 1/4 c. blueberries
• 1/4 c. sliced strawberries

Estimated Nutrition Info:
175 cal
2 g fat
35 g carbs
4 g fiber
9 g protein

• Servings: 1
• Time: 5 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

WHAT YOU NEED:

1/4 c. Greek nonfat vanilla yogurt
1/4 c. lowfat granola
1/4 c. blueberries
1/4 c. sliced strawberries
WHAT YOU DO:

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and serve.

Estimated Nutrition Info:

175 cal
2 g fat
35 g carbs
4 g fiber
9 g protein

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Zucchini Pizza Bites

Here’s an easy snack I made with a zucchini from our garden: Cheesy Baked Pizza Bites

WHAT YOU DO: Slice a zucchini, and place the slices on a foil lined baking sheet. Top with marinara sauce (or pizza sauce) and shredded Parmesan cheese. Broil in the oven for 3-5 mins, or until cheese starts to bubble and brown.

Have a few extra minutes to make a similar recipe? Try this Roasted Eggplant Pizza. It has a homemade sauce, and is awesomely delicious.

 

Quick and Easy Falafel Salad

Here’s a quick and easy Falafel Salad I made, and I “cheated” by using Trader Joe’s Heat and Eat Falafel from the freezer section…

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Trader Joe’s frozen falafel, prepared according to package directions
• Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, or other greens
• Sliced tomatoes
• Banana Pepper Rings (fresh from the garden recipe here)
• Salad dressing

WHAT YOU DO:

Arrange lettuce, tomatoes, and banana pepper rings on a serving dish. Top with falafel and dressing.

 

 

{Fresh from the Garden} Easy Pickled Banana Peppers

Our garden veggies are finally starting to grow – hurrah! Here are some sweet banana peppers that grew in some of my container pots.

I love eating the jarred, pickled kind for tons of different stuff especially sandwiches, nachos, and salads. So I decided to try my own, using a recipe I adapted from cucinakristina.com. This is what I ended up with (I halved the recipe below since I used just a few peppers in a 8 oz jelly jar)…

Easy Refrigerator Banana Peppers (lasts for up to 3 months in the fridge).

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 2 mason jars (approx 1 qt. ea.)
• 1 lb. banana peppers (or enough to fill the jars)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 3 c. white vinegar
• 2 c. water
• 2 Tbs. Kosher salt
• 1 Tbs. sugar

WHAT YOU DO:

• Slice banana peppers into rings. Remove ribs and seeds (I left a few seeds in).
• Fill each jar full of banana peppers. Add 1 clove of minced garlic to each jar.
• Make a brine: in a small saucepan, mix the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Heat and stir until the completely dissolved. There is no need to bring to a full boil,  just enough to dissolve the sugar and salt. Cool the brine completely.
• When cooled, fill each jar with pickling brine, seal, and store in the refrigerator.
• Let the peppers sit and “pickle” for at least 24 hrs before eating.

Here are some of my other recipes to check out if you liked this one:

Salt & Vinegar Cucumbers with Fresh Dill

Wasabi Sesame Soy Cucumber Salad

Banana Peppers on a Pork Chop-Topped Salad

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Portabellos

Fresh & Easy Guacamole

Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Salad

Delicious Lemon Feta ‘Shroom-Fest