Another childhood favorite! I love this meal for lots of reasons...its Mexican food, it involves chips, and you can eat it with your hands! But now that I am old enough to make it myself I have found the real reason why my mom made it so often. It only involved one pan! Yes only one pan! So clean up is so easy. :)

The name chicken over chips is just a small name for this dish. It involves a little bit more than just chicken and chips but you get the gist! NOTE: I had one wrong ingredient in the picture below but when I list the ingredients at the bottom it tells it correctly.

1. Cook and stir chicken in hot oil until thoroughly cooked and lightly browned. I seasoned with a little bit of pepper.

2. Next, add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and bring to a boil. After it starts boiling, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. (This is where I had the wrong ingredient in the picture, I set out Rotel tomatoes when it should of just been a can of plain tomato sauce...oops sorry!)

3. After the 5 minutes of simmering, add the corn and cut pepper. Now you can add mexi-corn or regular corn and any color of pepper or mix of them all. I had regular corn and a green pepper. After adding these two ingredients bring back to a full boil.

4. When it has started boiling again just stir in your rice! Cover, turn off the heat, and let stand for 5 minutes.

5. Serve over tortilla chips with cheese and sour cream on top!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serving size: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless chicken breast cut in strips
1 can (13 oz) of chicken broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can (8 or 12 oz) corn or mexicorn
1 green, red, or orange pepper cut into strips (or mixture of them)
1.5 cups Minute Rice
tortilla chips
cheese
sour cream (optional)

The name of this post is already a mouthful...how can I even start describing these? Ummmm....AMAZE-balls....literally....balls! :) haha Well I thought that was funny.

I love anything meatballs, but they have to be ground chicken or turkey since I do not eat hamburger or pork. But do not let that stop you! These have so much flavor that you won't even notice that they are ground turkey.

The ingredients are simple: ground turkey, one egg, breadcrumbs, onion, some seasoning, and BBQ sauce. But the taste  is not simple. My husband and I scarfed the whole batch...oops! I'll blame it on my husband, I only had one sandwich (not!)

Okay let's get going. Here is what you need:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and then let chill for at least an hour. Let me let you all in on a little secret. I have researched and researched on the best way to cook meatballs because I have the common problem of my meatballs falling apart or them being burnt on the outside but still gooey on the inside. So here are some of my tricks on making a good meatball:

1. Make sure your meat mixture is chilled before rolling it into a ball.
2. Make sure it is not to "wet" or "soggy." To fix this problem don't add a lot of liquid ingredients. If you do however need to add liquid ingredients then add more bread crumbs then what is stated.
3. Make sure that if you include onions that they are really finely chopped. The smaller the better. If they are big it will force your meatball to crack open.
4. If you choose to cook your meatballs on the stove, cook them on medium heat for a longer time. This way they don't burn so much on the outside and cook all the way through.

About #4. I do not cook my meatballs on the stove anymore. It is too hard and takes too long. Standing there over a hot stove, constantly turning the meatballs so they don't burn is not fun. I either bake them or boil them. I will post a recipe where I boil them sometime. But baking is so much easier! You roll in a ball, place on baking sheet and pop in the oven. Then you only have to rotate once!

2. Okay, so after you have mixed all the ingredients and it has chilled, roll them in 1" to 1.5" diameter balls. I have found that placing them on parchment paper on top of your baking sheet makes for such an easy clean-up!

3. Heat your oven to 375 degrees and bake for 35-40 minutes rotating them half way through your baking time. For me I flipped them at 20 minutes.

4. Next, pull them out of the oven but keep the oven on. You are now going to cover them in BBQ sauce and then put back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

5. Place in a roll or just on sandwich bread and yum yum yum! Try not to eat as many as I did though :)

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40-45 minutes
Yields: 25-30 meatballs

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground turkey
1/3 cup of finely chopped onion
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (or more if your mixture is too wet)
1 teas. garlic powder
1 teas. chili powder
1/2 teas. paprika
1/2 teas. pepper
1 tbsp. BBQ sauce

You will also need more BBQ sauce later on when you dip or coat each meatball with the sauce and put back in oven for 5 more minutes.

When you think of home and home cooked meals there is always one that just stands out above the rest. A meal that you can remember being served for as long as you can remember. A meal that is just so good every time you have it. Well that is what this meal is to me. My mom made the best chicken roll-ups so I am here to share it with you today!

This is a crescent stuffed with chicken, mushrooms, and cream cheese...mmmmmmm!

1. First, boil your chicken in water. When it has cooked all the way through, take it out and let it cool. Then shred into small pieces. You should have from 1.5-2 cups of cooked shredded chicken.

2. While your chicken is cooking, in a separate bowl combine your butter, cream cheese, pepper, and mushrooms. I didn't have a can of mushrooms so I needed to saute some fresh ones. You want your mushrooms to be soft.

3. When you chicken has cooled and has been shredded add it to your bowl and mix all the ingredients together really well. I have found it best to just mix with your hands. That way you can get the cream cheese and butter mixed in so that there are no clumps.

4. Next, lay out all of your crescents. You will need two cans totaling 16 crescent triangles. Put a nice big spoonful towards the larger end of the triangle. Depending on how much chicken you added you may not be able to fill all 16 triangles. I put 1.5 cups of chicken in my mixture and was able to fill 13 of them.

5. Roll up the crescents making sure the ends get tucked in and you have sealed all openings.

6. Dip each roll into melted butter and then cover with the bread crumbs. My mom always added a little bit of chopped nuts into the bread crumbs so I do too! Then place on greased cookie sheet.

7. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 18 minutes or until brown and cooked through.

8. When there is about 5 minutes left on the timer start heating up the gravy to pour on top. Combine one can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup of milk in a pot and cook until warm.

9. When everything is done, place crescent rolls on plate and top with your gravy sauce and enjoy!


Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Yield: 16 crescents roll-ups

Ingredients:

mixture inside crescent -
6 ounces cream cheese
4 tbsp. soft butter
1/4 teas. pepper
3/4 cup mushrooms
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 cans crescent rolls (16 crescents)

dip crescents in before baking-
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
4 tbsp. melted butter

gravy on top-
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of milk

Well it snowed again today...more like rain, sleet, hail, snow, wind, and freezing cold!  The weather couldn't make up its mind. So like I have said before, the best thing on cold and stormy days is soup! This is a very low calorie and healthy soup that is still very tasteful. This is my mom's favorite so I think of her every time I fix it :)

1. You first need to wash and cut your veggies. You will need 1/2 cup of carrots, 1/2 cup of celery, and 2 cups of broccoli. Mix all of it together in a pot along with 3 cups of fat free, low sodium chicken broth.

2. Set pot over medium-high heat and add your spices in as well. 1/4 teas. of pepper, paprika, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer.

After the broth and vegetables are simmering, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 6-8 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

3. While your soup is simmering, in a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup of fat free half-and-half and 3 tbsp. of flour. Blend really well so there are no clumps. Also shred half a block of cheese or 1 cup.

4. After the soup simmered for 6-8 minutes and your vegetables are soft, stir in the half-and-half/flour mixture and blend well for 1-2 minutes. Then add the cheese and again blend really well.

5. Serve with a nice warm roll and cozy on up!

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serving size: about 5 cups or more

Ingredients:

3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 teas. pepper or seasoned pepper
1/4 teas. paprika
1/4 teas. nutmeg
1 cup fat free half-and-half
3 tbsp. flour
1 cup shredded cheese


Nutritional Facts: for 1 serving or 1.5 cups

Calories - 185
Calories from fat - 125
Sodium - 763 mg  32%

Mmmmmmmm....Mexican Food! My favorite kind of food. It's more like comfort food to me. So I'm busting out all of my favorite things Mexican; beans, rice, salsa, and tacos! Not to mention that my husband is an even bigger lover for Mexican food.

Just to get your mouth watering before we even start... here is a glimpse of what is to come! (I'm not a photographer so I just hold the camera and click haha but let's be honest...none of us actually prepare our food super fancy all the time. Especially when we just want to shove our faces full of the deliciousness.)

And trust me...it not only looks better but smells great in person! Okay let's get started. First let me share a few of my favorite side dishes I have on my plate.

The rice! Totally easy but by far the best rice from a box. Now if I want to spend a little longer in the kitchen I could whip up some nice homemade Spanish rice but...ehhh why reinvent the wheel!

Next, my favorite thing in the world! And I really am not joking. There is one grocery store by me that sells these beans and I buy it by the case load. I don't know what I would do without them. They are the smoothest, best flavored refried beans ever!

And lastly the salsa. Check out my post on the Mango Salsa. It is to die for.

Now for the Won Ton Tacos. If you have never worked with Won Tons before you are going to fall in love.

1. The first thing you need is shredded chicken. Nope! Don't reach for your frozen chicken and start boiling! I have an idea for you. Pick up a nice rotisserie chicken and shred it. It will actually give you enough for this recipe and more meals in the future. Like a nice chicken sandwich tomorrow :)

2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix together your chicken, BBQ sauce, Sesame dressing, and your chopped cilantro.

3. Now you just have to put it together. Take some Won Tons and lightly brush one side with olive oil. This will be the side facing outwards when you make the taco look. So after you brush the olive oil on one side place that side down on your baking sheet.

4. Next place a spoon full of you chicken in the middle of the Won Ton from one corner to the other corner. Then sprinkle some cheese on top.

5. Lastly, fold the Won Ton up to form a taco. The Won Ton doesn't hold together so I used toothpicks as a temporary hold.

6. Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until they start turning brown.

Prep time: 25 minutes

Bake time: 10-15 minutes
Yields: about 12-14 tacos

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of shredded chicken
2 tbsp. of BBQ sauce
2 tbsp. of Sesame dressing
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Won Ton Wraps
shredded cheese
olive oil

If you are like me you love chips and dip! Well tomato based salsa has been getting kind of old to me lately so with tonight's dinner I decided to make mango salsa! Super easy and oh my is it good. It has the perfect blend of sweet and spicy.

Just chop all your ingredients and mix well!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Yields: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 ripe mangos cut in small pieces
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 red or orange pepper
can of green chilies or one jalapeno diced with seeds removed
1/2 lime squeezed

Easy 4 ingredient meal coming to your dinner table. It only takes 5 minutes to get it ready and then you leave your crock-pot to do all the hard work! Seriously how easy can it get. Plus this recipe can be used in so many different ways. :)

All you need is 1 pound of chicken breast, a bottle of your favorite wing sauce, a packet of dry ranch seasoning, and one package of cream cheese.

1. Place your chicken in the crock-pot, frozen or thawed. Then pour half of the bottle of sauce in. Flip your chicken to make sure all sides are covered by the sauce. Then sprinkle the dry ranch packet on top.

2. Since my chicken was already thawed I only need to cook it on high for 3 hours. If you are using frozen chicken, let it cook for an hour or so more.

3. Half way through the cooking time place half of the cream cheese on top of the chicken. (4 ounces of cream cheese) Wait a bit for it to soften up before you mix it in.

4. Depending on the sauce you use, it is up to you if you want to use the other half of cream cheese. Since the sauce I used was quite hot, I needed to cut down on the heat so I included the whole package of cream cheese.

5. When the chicken is completely cooked then shred the chicken right in the crock-pot. The easiest way to shred chicken is by using two forks. Use one fork to hold the chicken in place and then use the bottom of the other fork to gently start pulling it away.

6. This can be used in a variety of ways. You can throw it in a quesadilla, put over rice, make it into a sandwich, or use it on top of a homemade pizza!

I used the meat as a sandwich since I had a lovely baguette that needed to be used and a spare avocado. I also drizzled a little bit of ranch on top for a little more extra juice.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 3-4 hours with the occasional stirring

Ingredients:

1 pound frozen or thawed chicken
1/2 bottle of favorite wing sauce
1 packet of dry ranch seasoning
1 packet of cream cheese, either 4 oz. or 8 oz.