Tortilla Chip & Pepper Jack Crusted Chicken w/ Avocado & Jalapeno Ranch

The picture for this recipe has been floating around all over Pinterest and Facebook. Once I read the name of it, I was hooked and had to try this!! Of course, please don't compare my picture to the original picture :)...mine is awful looking

If you do not like Mayo, please try it. I absolutely dislike Mayo, but decided to try it anyways. I didn't add as much as it said to.

Thanks to Bacon, Butter, Cheese & Garlic for this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

One 12 oz. bag tortilla chips

4 oz. Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp. cumin

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. lime juice

Sauce:

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup sour cream

1 packet ranch dip mix

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1-3 Tbsp. diced jalapeno slices from a jar

1 tsp. lime juice

2 avocados

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Put about half the bag of chips into the food processor and blend
• Mix the shredded cheese and crushed chips together
• In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin and lime juice
• Dredge the chicken into the mixture and then into the chip mixture
• When all the chicken is coated, put in the oven for about 30-35 minutes
• While chicken is cooking, start on the sauce
• Blend all the sauce ingredients together in a food processor and serve over the chicken

Tomato Basil Chicken

Although we are trying to eat healthier around our household, we still need some carbs from pasta :). It is hard to turn down Italian dishes because there are so many. Thanks to Menu Musings for this great and easy recipe. (And fattening one if you decide to use all the butter)

There is nothing better than FRESH ingredients especially during the summertime and when you can find a farmer's market anywhere now days.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

kosher salt and black pepper

2 Tbsp. EVOO (olive oil)

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

2 tsp. minced fresh garlic

4 Tbsp. cold butter

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese

Any type of pasta that you want to serve with it (I choose bowtie bc I had a lot leftover in the pantry)

What To Do:

• Season your chicken breasts with kosher salt and black pepper
• Add a couple of Tbsp. of EVOO into skillet and let the oil heat up pretty hot
• In the meantime, start boiling your water for your pasta &  then cook 
• When oil is hot and the chicken sizzles when it touches it then add your chicken
• Cook about 5-6 minutes per side
• After the second side has been cooking for about 4 minutes, add in the tomatoes
• Next add in the fresh basil, cold butter and then the minced garlic last
• To help season the sauce, add in some more salt and pepper
• Stir all the ingredients and let the sauce start to mix together
• If pasta is still cooking, you can remove the chicken and cut into slices
• Divide the pasta into bowls, top with chicken, pour the sauce over it and then add some fresh grated cheese

Saucy Italian Chicken

Like I have said plenty of times...nothing better than a crock pot recipe when things get busy (plus having a little one). I don't want to spend all my time in the kitchen when I don't get all day with him and my husband.

Of course the chicken was tender and the recipe had good flavor. I ended up making the full recipe, but only did 2 chicken breasts instead of 4.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup tomato sauce

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 Tbsp. Splenda

1 tsp. dried onion flakes

*I added in some extra garlic and a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes. I also coated the chicken with Kosher salt before I put it in the crock pot.

What To Do:

• Spray crock pot with cooking spray
• Place chicken in the bottom (you can even do frozen chicken if needed)
• Mix together remaining ingredients in a bowl and the pour over the chicken
• Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours (7 hours was definitely long enough)

Monterrey Chicken

The picture of this recipe on Pinterest looks amazing. I had been wanting to make these for awhile and decided to throw it in our meals for the week. Ours does not look anything like the picture because we cut out the tomatoes (rotel) and the green onions. Kyle is not a huge fan of chunks of tomatoes on a slice of chicken so I just made it simple.

I bet that it is really good with the tomatoes, green chilies and the green onions. I might have to make this one night and he can just eat chicken the regular way.

Picture is from mybakerlady.com

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless breasts

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

1/4 cup real bacon bits

1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes; drained

1 5 oz. can fire roasted green chilies (I would have just used the original rotel)

sliced green onions

salt & pepper

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Season chicken with salt and pepper
• Grill chicken breasts until no longer pink inside
• Place chicken on a foil covered baking sheet
• Combine tomatoes and chilies in a bowl (or just use rotel)
• Top each chicken with a tablespoon of BBQ sauce, cheese, tomato/chili mixture, green onions and bacon bits
• Place in oven and bake just until the cheese has melted

Caramelized Baked Chicken

This recipe originated from Food.com. It called for Chicken Legs/Wings, but I always use Chicken breast. With the amount of time that it cooks for, it is tender, but I am going to try it in the crock pot next time so that the chicken is falling apart.

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 Tbsp. olive oil (to help it from sticking to the pan)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp. ketchup

1/4 cup honey

2 garlic cloves; minced

salt and pepper

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Place chicken in a baking dish (I used foil to make sure that the chicken didn't stick to the pan)
• Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt and pepper
• Pour over the chicken
• Bake for 1 hour or until sauce is caramelized

Red Potato Side Dish

I am always looking for nice ideas for side dishes. I feel like I always cook the same thing over and over. One of my addictions is potatoes. There are so many different ways to cook them and season them with. I found this one off of Pinterest and decided to try it.

While in the middle of cooking, I decided to not add the Parmesan cheese. I will try it another time. Below is the original recipe. Even though I did not add the cheese, the potatoes still had a really good flavor to them.

Ingredients:

Red potatoes

EVOO (olive oil)

Zesty Italian Dressing Mix

Minced Onion

*I also added a pinch of salt and a dash of garlic powder and pepper

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. With the skin left on, cube the potatoes
3. Add them to a clear baking dish that is lightly sprayed with cooking spray
4. Drizzle the EVOO on top and mix so that it evenly coats the potatoes
5. Add the dressing mix, minced onion and any additional seasonings to the potatoes
6. Mix so that the seasonings coat the potatoes
7. Cook for 45 minutes 
8. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and return to oven for cheese to melt

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Chicken

Kyle and I are trying to eat healthier since we are both wanting to get back into shape. It's hard to do sometimes since I see so many recipes and some are not all that healthy for you. I guess I should stop looking at them haha.

I didn't take a picture of the chicken as I was trying to hurry and make the rub so that I could get Coyt fed, bathed and ready for bed. 

Perfect night for Kyle to grill & plus corn is so good right now so why not just throw that on as well.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. onion powder

salt to taste

1 tsp. chili powder

5 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

*I also added some garlic powder

What To Do:

• Combine first five ingredients (plus garlic powder if you decide)
• Rub over chicken (we halved the recipe and did 2 chicken breast, the rub might seem like a lot, but it's not - trust me)
• Grill chicken on each side for about 4-5 minutes

Ta Da - your done!!