Crispy Ranch Chicken

The kiddos may have finished school ten days ago, but I myself just finished yesterday. I am officially back! Those classes kicked my butt!   I know that I have slacked a little for the last few months, hopefully I can make up for it!  I have still been crafting, cooking, and creating I just haven't had time to blog about it all.  Life. Is. Crazy.  I am ready for summer vacation and FUN FUN FUN!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon Pepper
• 2/3 Cup Panko Crumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Ranch Salad Dressing
• 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• About 3 Chicken Breasts

Serves 4-5

First I pounded the chicken breasts to about a half inch thick and then I cut them into thirds.  My chicken breasts were pretty big, so you may only be able to cut them in half.  Next, combine all of the dry ingredients on a large plate and place the ranch dressing in a shallow bowl. 

One piece at a time, dip the chicken into the ranch dressing and flip to cover then dip to coat each side with the panko mixture.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  

Cook chicken for about 8 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through and golden brown.  Remove chicken from skillet and place on paper towel for about a minute and then serve.  

I served with Spicy Potato Wedges and Steamed Asparagus.

Creamy Garlic Ranch Pork Chops and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is by far one of the easiest recipes that I have EVER made!  If you are hungry for comfort food but are short on time, give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 pork chops (I usually buy boneless ones that are about 1" thick and cut them in half length wise to cut  down on cooking time)
• 1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix
• 1 can Cream of chicken soup
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

First combine Ranch packet, garlic, and cream of  chicken soup in slow cooker, then add in pork chops and stir together.  You don't need to add any additional liquid to the slow cooker the meat will create enough juices.

Cook on LOW for 3-4 hours depending on thickness of pork chops.  Mine took about 3 hours and they were about 1/2 inch thick.  Serve with Garlic mashed potatoes,  the gravy that will be created in the slow cooker is delicious!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Loaded Potato Topping

Our family likes to put this on just about any potato- including Baked Potato, Potato Wedges, Flattened Redskins, and Waffle Fries.

Ingredients

• 1/2 block 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons Hormel Real Bacon Bits
• 2 teaspoons Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing Mix
• 1-2 tablespoons of milk (use more or less to adjust desired consistency)

Combine all ingredients in bowl. Mix with hand-mixer until ingredients are well mixed. Add milk to adjust consistency.

Enjoy on top of any type of potato!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Mouth Watering Pot Roast

For dinner tonight, I am making my husband's favorite- Mouth Watering Pot Roast. I actually think the recipe title is Mississippi Pot Roast, but we call it mouth watering because the flavor is so good our mouths actually water when we think about it!

The best thing about this roast is that it's super easy and since you make it in the slow cooker, you can make it in the morning and forget about it until dinner. You can use a lot of substitutions as well, in fact I'm using one today because I do not have one of the ingredients.

Ingredient List:

• 1.5/2 lb. Chuck Roast
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet Au Jus (I am out of the Au Jus so I'm substituting for 4 cubes of beef bouillon)
•  3/4 stick of butter (adjust this according to your taste, original recipe calls for entire stick)
•  4 pepperoncinis

One of the most important things I would like to point out is that you DO NOT add any water or broth to this. The beef drippings and butter create enough.

Directions:

1. Put chuck roast in slow cooker
2. Empty ranch packet then Au Jus (or in this case bouillon cubes) on top of beef
3. Put butter on top
4. Place each pepper around the butter
5. Cook on low 6-7 hours until meet is tender.