Taco Chicken and Chips

Do you have a lot of leftovers after Christmas? Do you anticipate leftovers after your New Years celebration? Looking for something yummy to eat before your New Years diet? This is a great way to use up your leftovers! I recently found this recipe in the most recent edition of my church's cookbook. I didn't have all the ingredients so I altered it to fit what I had in my kitchen. Feel free to do the same! I had leftover tortilla chips from a work potluck on Christmas, leftover cooked chicken in my freezer, and leftover shredded cheese and sour cream from an unknown time.

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
• 2-3 cups shredded, cooked chicken
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped pepper (optional, but oh so pretty if you use different colored peppers!)
• 3-4 cups crushed tortilla chips (mine were a little stale and this still turned out great! Finally a way to use stale tortilla chips! :-)  )

Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and taco seasoning. Mix and set aside. In a ungreased 2 quart casserole dish, cover bottom with half of your chicken. Top with half of soup mixture and pepper/onions. Layer half and cheese and half of chips. Continue with rest of chicken, soup mixture, onions/peppers, cheese, and chips. Pop in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

***Time Saving Tip*** Whenever I am cooking chicken for a recipe and have some leftover, instead of throwing "extra" into the dish, I freeze it in a Ziploc freezer bag. I do the same thing with "extra" onions, peppers, ground beef, etc. Since I did this, it made the prep time for this meal FIVE minutes!!! This is also a great way to save a little money too. By not adding "extra" ingredients into your dish and instead freezing them, you may not need to buy a pepper at the store this week or a package of chicken and can just use what you alread have stored away in your freezer!

Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Roast and Potatoes

Dylan loves ranch flavored anything so when I came across this recipe on Six Sisters Blog I knew I had to try it. I had also been looking for good pork recipes. I like pork because it is a nice change from the usual chicken we eat. If you haven't noticed, many pork recipes contain fruit. I don't really do fruit and meat except during very rare occasions. It just really doesn't do much for me. I was excited to find this recipe! It was a hit!

• 2 1/2 pound pork roast (I used a pork loin roast, Six Sisters used a pork shoulder)
• 4-6 potatoes depending on size (I used six small potatoes)
• 8 ounces cream cheese (I used reduced fat and it was fine)
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup

Start by spraying your slow cooker with cooking spray. Cut potatoes in half and place in bottom of slow cooker. Place pork roast on top. In a bowl, mix together cream cheese, ranch mix, and chicken soup (I used a hand mixer). Spread evenly on top of roast. I cooked this on high for four hours. Six Sisters states that you can also do low for 9-10 hours. This makes a big meal and could probably serve eight people. I'm excited to take this with me to work tomorrow for round two! And I think we may be having it for supper tomorrow night too...

***If you have never been to Six Sister blog, check it out! They have great crafts and recipes!***

Honey Mustard Bacon Chicken

I have had awful cravings for bacon lately. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to make it. It also reheated really well at work the next day and every one commented on how good it smelled. The chicken was really moist even after being reheated.

• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I used reduced-fat and it worked just fine)
• 5 strips of bacon
• 3-4 small chicken breasts (I used two large breasts and cut them in half width-wise with a kitchen scissors.)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack, it's what I had on hand)

In a large pan, cook bacon on the stove. Meanwhile, mix mustard, honey, and mayonnaise in a small bowl. When the bacon is done, set aside. (I always set my bacon on a plate lined with a couple pieces of paper towel to absorb some of the grease.) In the same pan briefly cook chicken each side. I did about two minutes on each side, just enough to start cooking the chicken. Pre-heat oven to 350. In a greased 11x7 inch pan or 9x13 inch pan, lay each piece of chicken in the bottom. Smother with honey mustard mixture. Top with bacon and cheese. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Sarah's Chex Mix

It's that time of year again! Snacks, snacks, and more snacks! It may be one of my favorite things about Christmas. Today I whipped up some Chex Mix. I used half my own way and half of the recipe on the box! I normally do not make Chex Mix for no reason but Dylan loves Chex Mix. Dylan and I have started a devotional this week called The Love Dare. It is a 40 day devotional and each day gives you a challenge or task for the day to focus on your marriage. So far a lot of the devotional has been about being thoughtful and showing love through actions. It focuses on being intentional in the way you relate and treat your spouse. The challenge for today is to do something thoughtful for your spouse. The one way to man's heart is through his stomach, right? I made him Chex Mix. I think we will like this special treat I made for him!

• 4 1/2 cups Rice Chex
• 4 1/2 cups Corn Chex
• 1 cup pretzels
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• 1 cup corn chips
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Pre-heat oven to 250. In a glass bowl melt butter in the microwave. Stir in seasoning salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl put Rice Chex, Corn Chex, pretzels, peanuts and corn chips. Pour butter/spice mix over top and stir gently until coated. Pour mix onto a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. After it is done baking, pour onto paper towels until cool. Store in an airtight container.

What thoughtful things can you do for spouse today?