Chicken Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ever in the mood for some good 'fried food?  These are fun because they are small and fun to eat.  The star of this dish is the avacado dipping sauce! Pass me a spoon!  I could eat it alone! (But I didn't)

Chicken, Bacon and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon, chopped

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cans of chicken (yes, cans)

Water

Tortillas

Vegetable Oil (Canola oil works too)

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut up

1/4 cup mayonaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 Tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

dash of dried dill weed

dash of Garlic powder

dash of black pepper

Directions: 

TAQUITOS

Cook bacon until crisp.  Drain and chop.

Combine bacon, cream cheese and chicken in a small bowl. 

Cut each tortilla to smaller circles that are about 3 inches in diameter.  Spoon some of the filling of the chicken mixture into the center of each tortilla.  

Roll and secure closed with a toothpick. 

Heat oil in a heay saucepan to a depth of about 3 inches to 350º

Add the taquitos to the oil in batches and cook until well browned on all sides.  Remove and drain on paper towels.

AVOCADO SAUCE

Mash avocado.  Mix with mayonaise, sour cream, milk, vinegar, salt, parsley, onion powder, dill, garlic and pepper. 

Serve with taquitos for dipping. 

Source: Mommy I'm Hungry

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

My new favorite thing to do is to cook chicken in the crock pot.  Usually, I'll throw in a few chicken breasts with some chicken broth and let it do its thing until it's ready to shred.  This recipe was right along the same idea, only there are yummy flavors added!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 limes, juiced (depending on how lime-y you want it.  Consider added only 1 lime or 1 1/2)

1/2 cup cilantro

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/2 cup of water

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients into the crockpot.  Cooke on low for 4-6 hours.  Once the chicken is cooked, shred with a fork.  Stir to combine. 

Serve on taco sized tortillas and top with your favorites (cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes...)

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

This turned out so yummy.  I love crock pot cooking.  I just wish my crock took longer to cook so I could use it during the week to cook dinner while I'm at work.  Usually, I reserve my crockpot meals for the weekends.  Now, I'm looking forward to a nice cool Saturday evening when I can try this again!

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used bone-in thighs and pulled the meat off, I didn't realize that you could buy thighs without the bones!)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

6 Tablespoons cider vinegar

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 1/2 teaspoons cold water

rice, cooked

Directions:

Place chicken in crockpot.  In a bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is tender. 

Remove chicken to platter and cover with foil.  Skim fat from liquid and pour the  remaining liquid into a saucepan and bring to a boil.  

Combine water and cornstarch until smooth.  Gradually stir into the liquid and stir until sauce is thickened. 

Serve over veggies, chicken and rice.

Source: Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Cream Cheese Cinammon Rollies

Nothing makes me happier then when I make a dish for someone and later they ask me to make it again!  This weekend, my family went to Park City for a reunion and I made these for breakfast one morning.  Two days later, my older brother asked if I'd make them again.  Honestly, I didn't exactly want to get up before everyone again and make breakfast (it was MY vacation too, ya know!).  But how could I say no?  My eagerness to please dominated my desire to sleep in a bit longer. 

It seems like these are meant to be a breakfast item, but I see no reason why they can't be made as a dessert.  They are similar to a Churro, but smaller and the insides are a cream cheese filling. 

Cream Cheese Cinammon Rollies

Ingredients:

1 loaf of white bread

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 container cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, melted

Cinammon and Sugar mixed together to sprinkle over the top

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º

In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and soft cream cheese until smooth. 

Using a knife, cut the crusts off each slice of bread. Then with a rolling pin, flatten the bread.  (I like to do a few at a time, so the bread doesn't dry out)

Scoop a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture onto each piece of flattened bread, and spread it over the surface area of the bread.   Then roll up the bread, removing any excess cream from the seam. 

Brush melted butter over all sides of each roll and then sprinkle all sides with the cinammon/sugar mixture. 

Bake about 20 minutes until the rollies are nice and toasted. 

**My mom suggested adding some orange zest to the filling.  BRILLIANT!  I will be trying that added ingredient next time!

** I re-made these a few months later and experimented with nutella and strawberries for the filling rather than the cream cheese mix.  The possibilities are endless!

Carnita Roll Ups

You know how when you think of certain meals you've eaten your mouth literally starts to water.  That's the reaction I get when I think about this meal.  

So easy and so so good!  

It calls for salsa so I knew my husband wouldn't eat it.  

Lucky me!  

I ate half of what I made over the course of a few days and the rest of the meat is in my freezer patiently waiting for me.  I'm thinking about pulling it out tonight so it can thaw in time for lunch tomorrow.

 Carnita Roll Ups

Ingredients

4 lb pork tenderloin roast

1 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup Coke (NOT DIET)

salt and pepper to taste

7- inch tortillas

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Directions

In a crock pot, place pork.  Season with pepper.  Add salsa, brown sugar and coke.  Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours (or until cooked)

Once pork is cooked, remove from the crock pot and shred.  Remove half of the sauce in the crock pot and return the shredded pork. Mix together so all the meat is covered in sauce. 

On a cookie sheet, spray lightly or use a baking mat.  

Preheat oven 375º

Lay out a tortilla and fill with 1/4 cup of pork.  Roll tight. Repeat with as many as you can. 

Sprinkle the tops of the tortillas with cheese and bake about 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and let cook

Serve with ranch, sour cream or any type of dipping sauce. 

Source:  Sugar N Spicegals

Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shells

I love easy cooking.  

This dish grabbed my attention at first because I realized that all I had to do was spread the filling over the shells.  That means I didn't have to stir (wow, that makes me sound really lazy)

Talk about easy cooking.   

Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Shells

Ingredients:

1 box of pasta (your choice, but I used shells)

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 of a 10oz package frozen chopped spinach: thawed and drained of excess liquid

nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 bottle of marinara sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray at 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.  Cook the pasta according to directions; drain and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan and egg.  Stir until smooth.  Add the garlic, spinach, nutmeg, basil, red pepper and salt and pepper. 

Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish and top with half of the marinara sauce.  Spoon the spinach mixture over the sauce in and even layer.  Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese over the mixture.  Cover with the remaining pasta and sauce.  Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. 

Cover wtih foil and bake for about 25 miniutes.  Remove foil and bake another 5 or 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and edges are slightly browned.  

**You can prepare this a day ahead.  Cover with foil and place in fridge until you are ready to cook.

  

**Freeze the leftovers too!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

This is incredible. 

 I wish I had made two.  

If you are someone who loves the  Buffalo Chicken Dip that is all the rage right now, then you will L.O.V.E this dinner.  I was secretly hoping my husband and kids wouldn't like it so I could have eaten more.  Being able to have this for leftover lunch the next day was the highlight of the day!  Sooo good!

Buffalo Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Olive Oil

1 pizza dough (I bought my from the store, but you are welcome to make your own)

8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

3 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce

1/3 cup Ranch (or Bleu Cheese) dressing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425º (or whatever the dough packages says...)

Cut chicken into cubes and season with your favorite seasonsings.  I usually go to THIS style of seasoning for basic chicken dishes .  Heat oil in a skillet and add chicken when hot.  Cook chicken completely then add 1/4 cup of the wing sauce.  Stir to coat the chicken and let simmer for a minute or two.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Flour a flat surface and roll the dough into a rectangular shape. 

Mix the dressing and remaining wing sauce and spread across the dough.  Top with chicken (make sure it's cooled) and top with mozzarella and cheddar cheese.  Go crazy and add some more wing sauce over the top of the cheese if you want. 

Begin at one end of the dough and roll, but tuck in the ends so none of that gooey, goodness escapes during cooking.

Place on a greased cookie sheet or a baking stone and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into it (if you can wait).