Ranch Chicken Tacos

 

Chicken Ranch Tacos

These were so easy and perfect for a late Saturday lunch. All you need is chicken, taco seasoning, ranch, and whatever toppings you want. I got the recipe from Do you smell that?

Ingredients: 

2 -3 cooked chicken  breasts

1 packet taco seasoning

ranch dressing

Directions: 

Put your cooked chicken in a pan on medium high heat. Let them get warm, then sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. Don't add any water here. Just mix it up dry. (Pictured below). Stir to get all of the chicken coated. Let it go about 5 to 7 minutes and then add the ranch dressing. I didn't measure the ranch, I just poured it in until it all looked well coated, but if you want to have a measurement it's about 1/8 cup. 

Then dish it into taco shells and put whatever toppings you want on it. This was really delicious and filling. I've never  made chicken tacos before but these are going to be a new favorite.

Pop-tarts

I feel like a real homemaker after making these. Homemade pop-tarts? Really? Maybe this is taking it too far. Just kidding! They were so easy and fun to make. I was thinking this would be a fun party idea. Come over and make some homemade pop-tarts! It doesn't have a good ring to it though. I'll have to work on it. But, this recipe is awesome because it uses pie crust and I've had pie crust in my fridge since Thanksgiving. I don't know why I bought so much. So this turned out great! I got the recipe from Bake Me More

Ingredients: 

pie crust (homemade or store bought)

jam or preserves

 1 cup powdered sugar

milk

sprinkles 

Directions:

Cut out even rectangles to  form the pop-tart. If using store bought dough, cut four rectangles out of the middle of the circle, then roll out the dough and you should get two more rectangles out of it. Then, put about a teaspoon of jam or preserves on one half of the dough. (pictured below.) In the picture, I put a little bit too much. But I used my homemade strawberry jam and it was so delicious!  I also used apple cinnamon preserves on a few of them. But the strawberry ones were way better! Then put the other rectangle piece of dough on top and pinch the edges together. Then bake at 425 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until slightly brown.

 

My first batch that came out of the oven, pictured above had too much filling in it and that's why the strawberry ones broke open on top. 

Frosting: 

To make the frosting, put one cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and then pour milk in until is a thick syrup consistency. When pop tarts have cooled, put frosting on top and add sprinkles. Then eat, while the filling is still warm! They are like an amazing fluffy pastry in your mouth! Try it for yourself!!

Chicken and Rice

So, for those of you who don't know, I am a personal trainer. This might be kind of shocking to hear after you see what I like to cook. But, everything in moderation right. Well, I have this client who is amazing. She is one of my favorite people and after work one day she invited me over for lunch and after lunch she said she had a gift for me..... so she went and got it and she brought back a recipe book from American's Test Kitchen. It's called Simple Weeknight Favorites. Underneath the title it says, "More than 200 No-fuss, FOOLPROOF meals".  I was so excited! I opened it up and every recipe I looked at seemed pretty complicated. Either the recipes had a lot of steps or they called for ingredients that I have never used/ heard of before. But, I was determined to try something out. So, I tried "Chicken and Mexican Green Rice Skillet Supper." It was really tasty and it was a pretty quick meal. It was even better the next day for lunch though once all of the flavors had soaked into the rice a little bit longer. Yum!

Ingredients:

8 (3-oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed (I used 4 because there are only 2 of us)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped fine

2 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (poblano chiles are really mild chiles. I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy. These didn't have much spicy to them at all. I had never cooked with poblano chiles before, but I found them at Fresh and Easy in the refrigerated section if anyone is having a hard time finding them.) If you're looking for more heat you can add minced jalapeno's instead.

3 garlic cloves minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (14oz) can green enchilada sauce

1 1/4 cup water

1 cup long-grain white rice

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

   

 

Directions: 

1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until well browned on 1 side, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

2. Add onion, poblanos, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet and cook until softened, about  5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add enchilada sauce, water, rice, and any accumulated chicken juices and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle chicken into rice, browned side up, cover, and cook over low heat, stirring every 5 minutes, until rice is tender and chicken registers 175 degrees, about 20 minutes. 

3. Stir in cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Edible flower arrangement

We were having a work celebration for hitting budget this past Friday and I was trying to figure out somehing to bring for my boss and his wife. They just had a baby a few weeks ago and so I was thinking of a "congratulations on the baby, thank you for having me in your home" sort of gift. So I figured I would make this edible arrangement that my mom sent me a link to last week. I made a Christmas tree edible arrangement in December and this was so easy compared to that. I thought this one was a lot more fun to make too. When I gave it to my boss he didn't even know I made it. He thought I bought it. Then, one of my co-workers asked if I had made it and when I said yes. My boss looked at me shocked, "You did?" That sure made me feel good. Yes, as a matter of fact I did make that professional looking edible arrangement. :)

Here is the link to the tutorial Edible crafts

Ingredients:

pot holder- I got mine at Michael's

head of lettue

Flower shaped metal cookie cutter

Kale

pineapple

cantaloupe

strawberries

grapes

wooden skewers

gum drops or drops

Directions:

To start, cut the lettuce to fit the container. Then place kale over the lettuce to hide it.

Cut the pineapple into discs about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Cut out the pineapple flowers from the discs.

Place the wooden skewer into the lettuce. Then place a gum drop on the skewer first to keep the pineapple from falling down. Then place the pineapple on, and lastly the cantaloupe. Make melon balls from a melon ball kitchen tool. Then use strawberries and grapes to decorate the rest of the bouquet.