Perfect Picnic Chicken Salad

I decided to take the night off from cooking on Friday. I still needed to run to the grocery store for a few items so I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Wegmans prepared foods section. We ate half of it for dinner and I used the other half to make chicken salad for lunch on Saturday.
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sweet relish
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 hard boiled egg diced (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken cubed

 ***makes enough for 4 sandwiches**
Mix all ingredients, except egg, together in a bowl. After they are all mixed together add in the diced hard boiled egg. I do this last because I don't want it to get smashed.

Serve chicken salad on croissant or toasted whole wheat bread. This is perfect for lunch or GREAT on a hot summer night when you don't want to eat hot food. BTW I think that the chicken salad is SO much better when it sits for a few hours in the fridge. The flavors mix together nicely!

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!

Grandma's Green Beans

 I had made a big breakfast for my family this morning and there was a couple of pieces of bacon left over so I decided to throw them in the fridge until dinner time to make these Green Beans.  I have only ever made this dish for a large group, but I am going to scale it back a lot so that I can make it for just my family.  This sweet and salty side dish goes great with just about anything, especially BBQ!

Ingredients:

• 1 can French style green beans (drained)


• 2 slices of bacon 


• 1 1/4 teaspoons Soy Sauce


• 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar


• 1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Salt


• 1 Tablespoon Butter

Preheat oven to 350.  I usually make these when I already have the oven on for something else so I just throw them in at whatever temp the oven is already set to. Combine all ingredients in an oven safe bowl and bake for about 20 minutes stirring them halfway through.  

I served them with the Maple Dijon Chicken and Broccoli and Cheese Rice (recipe to come soon!)

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes the menus!

Green Beans are a family favorite veggie so I make them often...

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

Grilled Green Beans


B.B.B. Bacon Bean Bundles

I am a PROUD Mommy!

Now that both of my boys are in school, they both bring home lots of projects and assignments that make me SUPER proud. I want them to know how proud of them I am, so I have decided that I am going to create a better way to display their prize pieces. In the past, I have taped them to the kitchen cabinets, hung them on our (teeny tiny) bulletin board, and hung them on a magnet board in the play room. I have seen lots of ideas that involve framing the item, collecting to put in a scrapbook, or taking pictures of the pieces to compile for a photo book. I love the idea of being able to EASILY change out and showcase a new piece. So I decided to to make a couple of cork board frames to hang in the kitchen. Since almost anyone that comes over will see them I wanted them to look tasteful as well. I bought a roll of cork from my local craft store and I used two black 11X14 frames that I already had at the house. I used my cutting mat, a box cutter, and a measuring tape to cut the board to the correct size. Then I simply put the cork pieces in the frame and then hung (ok my husband hung) the frames in the kitchen. The frames can either be hung horizontally or vertically so I can change them to meet the needs of the current masterpiece!

Ritzy Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

We spend most weekends in the fall watching football so we eat our fair share of chicken wings. Now that football season is officially over our family was in need of a chicken wing fix. This variation on macaroni and cheese was the perfect solution.

Ingredients
3/4 cup (divided) Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
2/3 cup (divided) Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 tablespoons Butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups of Milk
1 tablespoon flour
Ritz Crackers(about 12)
2 Chicken Breasts cooked and either cubed or shredded
1 lb box of Medium Shell Pasta
1/3 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (I use Buffalo Wild Wings Mild Sauce)
Ranch Dressing

Directions:
Start by cooking pasta following directions on box. While pasta is cooking begin the cheese sauce. First melt 4 tablespoons of butter in medium sauce pot. Once butter is melted whisk in 1 tablespoon of butter to form a roux. Cook 1-2 minutes. Turn heat down to low as you add in the milk. Once the mixture begins to thicken a bit add in 1/2 cup of Monerrey Jack and 1/3 cup of Cheddar. Continue stirring until cheeses are melted and mixture is nice and smooth.
Next stir in the 1/3 cup of Wing sauce. When pasta is done, drain and return it to the pot and stir in chicken and sauce. Lightly grease a 9X13 baking dish and pour in macaroni and cheese. For the topping- crush up about a 10-12 Ritz Crackers and sprinkle on top. Top with remaider of shredded Cheddar and Monterrey Jack. Bake 20-25 minutes at 375.
You can drizzle the macaroni and cheese with a little more wing sauce and a little ranch dressing. I served this with carrots and celery and blue cheese dressing. 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!

Check out our 8 Pocket Utility Aprons for Teachers and Hairdressers (and others)

Both magical moms have been busy with our newest Etsy item, these adorable half aprons! We started making them specifically for teachers, but they are great for hairdressers and vendors. I even made one for my aunt to wear at school and they are a hit with all the teachers.

We have several different patterns to suit your style needs! There are two basic styles, a canvas one with straight corners, and a fully lined cotton version with rounded corners.

They are very high quality and super cute! They would make a great gift for teacher appreciation day or just something to give at the beginning of the school year. And trust me on this one, teachers have enough Bath &Body Works, hand soap, coffee mugs, decorative teacher desk items and apples!

Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa-Nacho Average Chicken Taco! (And gluten free)

This is one of my favorite twists on taco night at our house. It's so full of flavor and super easy to make.

Chicken Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1-2 cans Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can favorite beans (I used pinto this time but use black a lot of the time as well)
1 packet taco seasonings
Corn tortillas ( you can use flour tortillas but then it's not gluten free)
Your favorite toppings- sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocados

This is pretty simple, you just put it all in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours until chicken is easily shred able with fork. The sauce will be pretty runny so I usually take the lid of and turn to warm and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up. This chicken really has the best flavor!

Salsa Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen , I bet you could even use canned as long as it didn't have added sugar and you rinsed and drained very well)
1/4 cup diced red onions
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you want it spicier)
About a handful of chopped cilantro
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine. You can add many ingredients to this salsa such as chili peppers, oranges, etc but this was just what I had on hand. If you've never had mango salsa on tacos, this might sound a bit odd, but I promise you these flavors are so incredible together! My husband was so skeptical at first ("I do not want fruit on my tacos!") but this is now his favorite way to eat tacos. Think of how good kettle corn popcorn or salted caramel is... The sweet and salty go so well together. It gives boring old tacos the twist it needs (especially if you eat them often like we do).

I hope you'll take my word and try this wonderful recipe out. Enjoy!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness, Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

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!

Follow the Magical Moms on Facebook and Pinterest for weekly menu ideas, crafts, and Disney Magic.