Chicken & Bacon Cheesy Pasta Bake

For this week's recipe I wanted to provide you with something that had a small ingredient list, was a quick week night meal, and easy! I found this recipe through Facebook actually. Occasionally, I will be scrolling along and come across a delicious recipe that someone shared or liked and I take a picture of with my phone so that I can save it for later (and then often, not even make it!)

This recipe stuck out to me and after a fairly busy weekend and working a busy, extra shift at work on Sunday... this was perfect to whip together for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• package of bacon
• 2 cans of cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 box (16 oz) spiral pasta
• garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste

How to:

• Cook & crumble bacon.
• While bacon is cooking, cut chicken in to bite-size chunks.
• Set bacon aside.
• Prepare pasta according to package directions.
• Drain/dump bacon grease from pan, cook chicken in pan. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.
• Drain pasta, return to pot. Add chicken, cream of chicken cans, 1 cup of shredded cheese and some of the crumbled bacon. Stir to mix well.
• Pour in to prepared baking dish. Top with remaining crumbled bacon and then remaining shredded cheese. 
• Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and top is beginning to brown.

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Freezer Burritos

Last week marked the official start of school for everyone (who hadn't already started), including the newest student in our household-- my husband!!

To help with ease of meals for him, I made two different kinds of burritos that we froze. They turned out to be really delicious and froze great! I was worried with freezing the tortilla shells that they would get soggy over time but, I took one to work the other day with me and it was yummy!


Variety #1: Black Bean and Rice Burritos

Ingredients:

• 3 cans of black beans
• 3 cups of rice
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 2 packets of taco seasoning (or make your own with this recipe here)
• 8 oz of pepperjack cheese, shredded.
• 8 oz. monterey jack cheese, shredded.
• This recipe makes approx. 16-20 burritos (accommodate with that many shells)

Make it:

• Make your rice according to package.
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Place 1-2 tablespoons of the filling on a tortilla, roll up like a burrito- tucking in the ends.
• Wrap the burrito in tin foil.
• Place in a freezer bag.
• Pull out of freezer when you are ready to eat and microwave 1-3 minutes, to warm.

Variety #2: Beef, Refried Beans, & Rice Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1 can of refried beans
• 2 cups of rice
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of enchilada sauce
• 1 can of golden & white corn
• 1 package of shredded mexi-cheese
• chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic all to taste.
• This recipe also makes 16-18 burritos (accommodate with that many shells)

Make it:

• Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned.
• Make rice according to package.
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Place 1-2 tablespoons of mix on a tortilla shell.
• Wrap it up like a burrito, tucking in the ends.
• Wrap the burrito in tin foil and place in a freezer bag.
• When ready to eat, pull burrito out of freezer and microwave 1-3 minutes, to warm.

I enjoyed mine with a little guacamole on top!!





















recipes adapted from Pinterest pins: black bean and refried beans

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)


xoxo

Homemade Granola Bars

Welcome, I am back at the Delicious Dish Tuesday and this week I have some awesome homemade granola bars that make the perfect snack!
These bars are gooey, chewy, and yummy!!
There is really great flavor with chocolate and peanut butter but also oats, dried fruit, and flax seed!

Ingredients:

1 cup dried oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanuts (optional)

1/4 cup dried cranberries

Make it:

Mix everything together in a large bowl really well.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Then roll in to balls or spread on to a platter to make in to bars.

If making in to bars, after I spread it on the dish I put it in the freezer for a little bit so that it would stick together better before cutting them up.

Store in an airtight container refrigerated!

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

xoxo

Italian Pasta Salad

The best compliment to last week's burger recipe is a yummy pasta salad. The two together make the perfect summer pair. I love pasta salads in the summer; super easy to make, refreshing, and cool!!
Here is my husband's favorite pasta salad that I make {year round} because he likes it that much!

{Summer} Italian Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

~1 box of bow tie (or your choice) of pasta

~1 bottle of Italian dressing (I often eyeball it, but use about 1/2-3/4 of a bottle)

~1 bag of cubed colby jack cheese

~1 large or 2 small bell peppers, cut up and diced

~salami deli meat

~package of pepperoni

Make it!

1. Make pasta according to directions on box.

2. When pasta is done, drain and rinse under cold water.

3. Slice and dice: bell pepper, salami, and pepperoni.

(I used about 6-7 pieces of deli salami and about 1/2 a package of pepperonis

4. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

5. Enjoy!!

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Check out the links above for more yummy recipes!

Thanks for stopping by today!

xoxo

Cheesy Ranch Burgers

Hello there! For today's Delicious Dish Tuesday I wanted to share with you a quick recipe that will pack some punch in flavor to your burgers but does not take a lot of time or money!! (We all know those two are key!)

Cheesy Ranch Burgers

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger meat

1 dry packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix

2 cups mild cheddar cheese (or colby cheese)

package hamburger buns

Make it:

Mix together meat, ranch packet and cheese until well incorporated. 

Make in to hamburger patties and grill up!

Enjoy!!

What is your favorite way to make burgers in the summertime!?!

Have a great day!

xoxo

Baked Ziti

Working twelve hour night shifts, and three in a row, sometimes calls for easy meals that you can just throw together. Enter: Baked Ziti. This recipe pulls inspiration from Eat, Drink, & Be Mary's recipe Spalfredo and this Pinterest pin. The addition of Alfredo sauce to this normally "red sauce" dish adds creamy, gooey deliciousness!! Sounds odd I know, but I would say... a must try!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

~1 box of Penne noodles (or really, any of your choice)

~1 jar of your choice of spaghetti sauce

~1 jar of Alfredo sauce

~1 lb. ground beef (or your meat of choice or none)

~1 small bag of mozzarella cheese

~1 can of sliced mushrooms

~1 small onion (chopped and diced)

~1-2 Tbsp. minced garlic (to your taste)

~Parmesan cheese to taste

Make it:

~Cook noodles as directed on box, al dente.

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~Saute mushrooms, onion, and garlic in medium to large sized skillet

~Add in ground beef to skillet and cook until browned.

~Add spaghetti sauce to meat mixture and stir well to mix.

~Drain noodles and add to a 9x13 inch baking dish. 

~Pour on the Alfredo sauce and mix well with the noodles.

~Pour the meat/sauce mixture on top of the noodles and Alfredo sauce.

~Sprinkle with Parmesan to taste.

~Cover mixture with mozzarella cheese.

~Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top!

(Sorry for the quality of pictures or lack there of some. 

Sometimes working nights does weird things to you and forget things very easily, like a picture of how it looks on your plate!)

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Check out the links above for more yummy recipes!

Thanks for stopping by today!

xoxo

Breakfast (or anytime) Quesadillas

Last week I had bought some chicken sausage at the Farmer's Market and could not wait to try it out. Sometimes to make weeknight meals a little easier we have to switch things up around here, for instance having breakfast for dinner! When I thought of the idea of breakfast quesadillas to use the chicken sausage, I was excited. Boy did they turn out yummy!

Ingredients:

1 package of chicken sausage

5 eggs

1 green pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

package of crumbled goat cheese

package of tortillas

salt and pepper, to taste

How to:

1. Cook sausage in pan until browned, breaking in to pieces.

2. Break eggs in pan and scramble up with sausage. Cook until done.

3. Pre-heat panini maker.

4. Take tortilla and layer sausage/egg mixture, then peppers, onions, and tomatoes on one half of the tortilla. 

5. Sprinkle on goat cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Fold over quesadilla. Place on panini maker until slightly browned and warmed.

7. Enjoy!

Do you like to make your favorite breakfast dishes for dinner sometimes!??

What is your favorite?

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Thanks so much for stopping by this week!

xoxo

Oven Roasted Zucchini

Another Pinspired recipe for today's Delicious Dish Tuesday!
I loved making this Oven Roasted Asparagus awhile back and thought I would give zucchini a try for a nice summer treat and it was tasty!!
Find original pin here.

Ingredients:

2-3 small/medium zucchinis

minced garlic

salt/pepper

olive oil

parmesan cheese

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First cut zucchini in half lengthwise and then in half again.

Place some tin foil on a cookie sheet and arrange zucchini on it.

I am very bad at measuring when I am cooking but I just mixed everything but the parmesan cheese in a bowl to taste.

Then, I brushed it on the zucchini making sure to get most of the garlic that falls on to the slices.
Sprinkle on parmesan cheese.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 11-13 minutes.

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Thanks for checking out this week's recipe!!
Check out the link ups above for more yummy recipes! ;)

xoxo

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

This week's recipe is a Pinterest inspiration.

I love caesar salad and this recipe, with the addition of pasta, is the perfect blend of salad and pasta for summer!!

See original Pinterest pin here.

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 chicken breasts, grilled

6 oz. penne pasta

4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped or shredded

1/2 med. size cucumber or 2 small ones

1 roma tomato, chopped

2-3 green onions, chopped

1 carrot, shredded (I chopped up baby carrots)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup croutons

Caesar salad dressing, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package. Drain water, rinse with cold water and set aside to cool.

2. Chop grilled chicken in to small chunks.

3. In a large bowl, toss together the veggies, pasta, romaine, chicken, parmesan, and croutons.

4. Add caesar dressing to taste and enjoy!

This salad has great flavor and crunch! 

I wasn't so sure about how I was going to like the addition of the pasta but I loved it!

So did my hubby! And it made great leftovers!! My co-workers thought I had bought it at the store.

The Link ups:

(Full Time Mama, Eat Drink & Be Mary, and Coping with Frugality)

 

(Martinis and Bikinis and Green Fashionista)

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo