Crispy Cheddar Chicken

It seems, like lately, the only thing my 2 1/2 year old will eat is chicken nuggets. I have now found that if I make my plate first, he wants a bite of mine and then says he likes the food :) These were a hit for him, and one of the best things, it is a freezer friendly meal!! Looks like I will be making these for the freezer pretty soon.

Thanks to Jamie Cooks It Up for this recipe. 

*My only suggestions is that if you like your chicken really crunchy, put it on a wire rack to bake so that the bottom gets crispy as well. I usually do, but didn't this time.

Pre-bake

Ingredients:

4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves of Ritz crackers

1/2 cup milk

3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tsp. dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for sauce:

10 oz. can of Cream of Chicken soup

2 Tbsp. sour cream

2 Tbsp. butter

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 400F
• Cut chicken breasts into 3 large chunks (you will have 12 total)
• In a small food processor, grind up the ritz crackers
• Pour the milk, cheese, and ritz crackers each into their own bowls
• Season cracker mixture with salt and pepper
• Dip the chicken into the milk followed by the cheese and then the crackers. Each time, make sure you press ingredients into the chicken to really coat it
• Spray a 9x13 baking dish and lay chicken down inside (*This is where I would use a rack so that chicken fully gets crispy)
• Sprinkle the chicken with parsley
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
• Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes for chicken to get crispy
• In the meantime, combine cream of chicken soup, butter and sour cream
• Whisk together and cook over medium heat until sauce is hot (*I added in some milk to make the sauce a little bit creamier bc it was a little too thick for me)
• Serve chicken with sauce on top

**Freezer meal**

Assemble chicken and put in a freezer pan. When ready, remove pan and let it thaw for 24 hours. Cover with foil and bake as above. If you want the sauce, it's best to make it fresh.

Garlic Alfredo Tortellini

It's been awhile, but I have been busy trying out new recipes. Unfortunately, I keep forgetting to take pictures. My most recent one was the Christmas girls party that I had at my house. Every finger food was a new recipe. I will have to make again to get some pictures!

Last night Kyle was home and I wanted to make him a new recipe, but I also was craving Tortellini.

Thanks to Damn Delicious for this great & easy recipe.  

The sauce

Ingredients:

1 package Tortellini (I choose Cheese & Prosciutto) 

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

1 cup milk

1/2 cup half and half

2 oz. cream cheese, cubed

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. chopped parsley

What To Do:

• In a large pot of boiling water, cook Tortellini according to package directions
• In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat
• Add in garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute
• Whisk in flour until lightly browned
• Gradually whisk in milk and half and half (constantly) until sauce lightly thickens
• Stir in cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until melted
• *If sauce is too thick, you can add a little bit of milk to make it thinner
• When all cheese is melted, add in tortellini and toss until coated
• Top with parsley & serve