Mexican Chicken Casserole + Savings on Select Campbell’s Products

July 27, 2015, 8:39 am

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CampbellSavings #CollectiveBias

School is almost back is session! Already? Yes! As I sit at my computer, our son is actually standing out in the heat at marching band camp, and he’ll be starting school in just 2 weeks! For me, that means it is time to stock up on plenty of back to school groceries and come up with some easy meal ideas. The other day I talked about a few of my go-to breakfast options, and today we’re talking dinners! Since Noah has brand practice right after school, this means I need meal ideas I can whip up rather quickly after he gets home from band practice.

When it comes to easy meals, I often rely on Campbell’s products as starters and bases for my casseroles, soups, and other favorite recipes. During this back to school season, Campbell’s is also helping me to save money by offering some coupon deals on a few of my favorite products.

Pace® Picante Sauce – Save $1 on any Two (2) jars of Pace® Picante Sauce or Salsa.
Swanson® Chicken Broth – Save $0.50 on any TWO (2) cartons of Swanson® broth (26oz. or larger).
Prego® Italian Sauces – Save $1 on any TWO (2) Prego® Italian sauces.
SpaghettiOs® – Save $0.40 on any THREE (3) Campbell’s® SpaghettiOs® pastas.

Just visit the Walmart coupon page to download your Printable Coupons.

I recently took advantage of these coupon deals. In particular, I got a jar of Pace Picante Sauce and a box of Swanson Broth. I found both products in the same aisle at Walmart. The aisle features a variety of condiments as well as Latino, Italian, and Asian cuisine products.

Select Walmart stores also have special end camp displays for all of the featured Campbell’s products.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:

1 - 1.5 boneless, skinless chicken breast (shredded - enough to give you 2.5 cups or so)

2 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup

3/4 cup Swanson Broth

1 - 1/4 cup Pace Picante Sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 bag tortilla chips, crunched

additional cheddar cheese for topping

Directions:

Boil a few pieces of skiness, boneless chicken breasts on your stove top. (In post cases, I do 3-4 chicken breasts, depending on size OR 7-8 chicken tenderloins.) Remove chicken from pot. Chop and shred chicken; then set aside.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix together 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, Swanson Broth and Pace Picante Sauce. Add chili powder and garlic salt. Mix until well combined. Stir in chicken and cheese.

Crush a bag of tortilla chips. (I use a 13 oz bag.) Grease a 13x9 baking dish, using cooking spray or stick butter. Pour half the bag of chips in to the pan. (Or use however much you need to cover the bottom of the dish.)

Pour casserole mixture over the chips. Next cover casserole mixture with the remaining chips. Finally sprinkle the top lightly with cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. When 5 minutes remain in the cooking time, sprinkle on a little additional cheese. Remove from oven and let set for about 5 minutes for serving.

Notes

TIPS:

If you like this casserole, you can also leave out the chips and use the casserole mixture for burritos!

You can also save time by boiling your chicken the night before, or use Swanson's canned white meat chicken instead of fresh chicken.

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2015/07/mexican-chicken-casserole-savings-on-select-campbells-products/

Need more easy meal ideas? Visit the Campbell’s Back to School Recipe page to discover some great ideas and tips!

I’d also love for you to comment on this post telling me your favorite Campbell’s product or an easy meal idea!

The post Mexican Chicken Casserole + Savings on Select Campbell’s Products appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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BBQ Chicken Sliders

August 1, 2015, 12:00 pm

≫ Next: Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

≪ Previous: Mexican Chicken Casserole + Savings on Select Campbell’s Products

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BackYourSnack #CollectiveBias

The summer grilling season is dwindling down, which means it’s time to think about after school snacks (and football food). For both of these, I often run to my freezer for solutions! Farm Rich has several options that we LOVE! When I was a kid, I ate their cheese sticks all the time, and nowadays I also enjoy their Crispy Dill Pickles, Boneless BBQ Chicken Bites, Boneless Buffalo Chicken Bites, and Chicken Wings!

These appetizers are so delicious, and since they cook up in about 15 minutes or less, they are perfect to serve for parties and last minute snacks and dinners. (When we’re short on time, our son loves nothing bette than a box of boneless chicken bites for dinner!)

And if you like to think outside the box, you can also use Farm Rich Snacks as the base for a creative, new snack.

Farm Rich products are located in the Frozen Appetizer aisle of your local. (At our store it’s the first freezer we see.)

The other day I purchased a few different Farm Rich products, and I decided to transform the Boneless BBQ chicken Bites in to some delicious BBQ Chicken Sliders. This is such a fun idea! Using one or two boneless wings per slider, makes one box of these Chicken Bites go from enough food for a dinner for one, or appetizer for two, to an instant sandwich platter for the family!

These little babies are also simple enough to serve on school nights (particularly when our son has to stay after school for marching band practice), and yet they are delicious enough to serve any time for anybody. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to serve them up for a party, and they will be perfect to to serve up on Football Saturdays!

And they are so easy to make and versatile. Just add your favorite toppings! A few things I like are found in the recipe below.

BBQ Chicken Sliders

Ingredients:

Farm Rich Boneless BBQ Bites (about 12 pieces)

12 slider rolls

shredded iceberg lettuce

shredded cheddar cheese

ranch dressing or mayonnaise

Directions:

Cook Farm Rich Boneless BBQ Bites as directed on packaging. Dip in bbq sauce.

Cut slider size rolls down the middle to create tops and bottoms. One the top side of the roll, place about a tspn or ranch dressing or mayonnaise. Spread over the top and then add lettuce.

On the bottom of each roll, place one BBQ chicken bite. (If using some of the smaller pieces in the package, you may use two on one roll.) Then sprinkle with a little cheddar cheese.

Place the top of your sandwich over the bottom, and you've got a delicious slider!

Serve these up alongside other Farm Rich snacks like fried pickles and cheese sticks!

Also, try this same idea with Farm Rich Boneless Buffalo Bites!

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2015/08/bbq-chicken-sliders/

Are you an expert snack creator? If you, you should enter the Farm Rich Back Your Snack Contest. Read the contest rules for full details.

And look for demos of the finalists in select Walmart stores September 19-20 and October 10-11. Check here to see if your store is on the demo location list.

What’s your favorite Farm Rich product? Do you have a favorite snack hack or a fun way to transform frozen appetizers. Please comment on this post!

The post BBQ Chicken Sliders appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

August 31, 2015, 7:24 pm

≫ Next: Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry with Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice

≪ Previous: BBQ Chicken Sliders

This week is our first Football Saturday of the season! And you know what that means! It’s time for me to decide what sort of foods we’ll be indulging in as we watch the games! A while back, I FINALLY got around to trying this recipe for Copy Cat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets! These things are amazingly good, and are definitely a great choice for your football party menu, whether it’s just you & your family or a whole army of football junkies!

I have to tell you, when I first told my husband I was making this recipe, he swore there was no way they would taste like Chick-Fil-A. (He can be quite the skeptic at times!) But when I made them, he and Noah both completely approved! (Yes! Victory!)

Gary was very impressed with the taste, and very surprised by how much they tasted like Chick-Fil-A. I think the secret is the powdered sugar inside. And then the second secret is the use of peanut oil for cooking. Before this I’d never cooked with it, but it definitely turned out great for this. The second time I made them, however, I bought canola oil instead, because it is WAY cheaper (like $3 vs $10).

I would say that the peanut oil definitely gives the nuggets a more authentic Chick-Fil-A appeal, but the nuggets were just as delicious with the canola oil. My husband basically said he couldn’t really tell the difference at all, and he’d rather just have the more budget friendly oil. To quote him, “It if doesn’t save us money, I’d rather just go to Chick-Fil-A, and then we don’t have to cook!” (Good point!)

Anyway…I recommend trying the peanut oil at least once, and then you can make up your mind!

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

Ingredients:

4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts

2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

4 TBSP powdered sugar

4 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

peanut oil (for best results) or canola oil

Directions:

In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk.

Chop chicken in to nugget size pieces.

Place chicken in milk mixture,and cover. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours. (This will help your nuggets to be extra tender!)

In a gallon size resealable bag combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper. Seal and shake to combine.

Place about 2 inches of oil in a medium deep pot. (I used 2 bottles of Peanut Oil....I can't remember the size of the bottles. It was probably a quart size or a liter.)

Over medium high heat heat oil until hot. (The oil will usually start to swirl a bit when it is hot. But you can easily test it by placing a small drop of water in the oil. It if sizzles, you're ready to go!)

Take 8-12 pieces of chicken at at time and shake in bag of breading mix. Then add the pieces to the pot. (To make it easier and safer, I place the pieces of chicken in a large slotted spoon. Or you may also use tongs.)

Cook the nuggets until they are lightly browned. Stirring them once or twice through the cooking process. (The cook time will depend on how hot the oil is. Mine usually tends to get hotter as I go along, so my first mini-batch of nuggets may take up to 10 minutes to brown, while the final batch takes on a few minutes. Adjust your heat or cook time accordingly! And don't leave your nuggets unattended.)

Once your nuggets are cooked through, use a slotted spoon to remove them, and place them on a plate with a paper towel on top of it (to absorb any excess oil). Be sure to cut one of the nuggets to make sure they are cooked through. Repeat process until all nuggets are cooked.

Serve with dipping sauces like honey mustard, ranch, or barbecue sauce!

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2015/08/copycat-chick-fil-a-nuggets/

Got any favorite copy cat recipes? If some, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with Chick-Fil-A. This post is not sponsored, and the opinions are completely my own.

The post Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry with Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice

October 5, 2015, 10:52 am

≫ Next: 16 Favorite Foods of 2015

≪ Previous: Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #justaddrice #CollectiveBias

It’s Monday again! Do you ever struggle to come with delicious and easy weeknight meals that are easy and quick to make but still taste delicious? Then read on!

Today I’ve got a delicious Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry recipe that goes great with Uncle Ben’s® Rice and cooks up in about 30 minutes. It is a fantastic restaurant quality recipe, featuring lean protein and vegetables, and it packs a flavor punch! In short, it’s something the whole family can enjoy and Mom will approve!

I absolutely love Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice! This comes in an original or fast cook variety to fit your scheduling needs, and it goes with everything from Asian style cooking to grilled steaks! Other Uncle Ben’s® Rice varieties include:

Uncle Ben’s® 5 Grain Medley, Quinoa Pilaf
Uncle Ben’s® Brown Rice Medley Roasted Garlic & Herb
Uncle Ben’s® Brown Rice & Quinoa, Roasted Red Pepper
Uncle Ben’s® Basmati Medley, Savory Herb

I purchased Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice, Original Recipe at Kroger! You can find it aisle where rice, pasta, and bean products are located.

My husband Gary and I love eating at Chinese and Asian restaurants. We enjoy everything from take out and buffet eating, to sitting down and ordering off the menu. Recently we’ve tried our hands at making some of our favorite recipes from these establishments.

Gary actually developed today’s recipe for you. He’s such a great cook! He originally made this as a Chicken Stir Fry, and then I just suggested that we add the shrimp, water chestnuts, and rice. These ingredients add so much to this dish! (It’s so great when you have 2 people who can bounce ideas off of each other, especially in the kitchen!)

Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients:

Uncle Ben's® Long Grain & Wild Rice, Original Recipe (or Fast Cook Recipe)

1 bag frozen veggies (preferably an Asian blend with broccoli, red pepper carrots, baby corn, peas, water chestnuts, etc.)

1 can water chestnuts, drained (if you can't find a veggie blend that has these)

1 can baby corn, drained (if you can't find a veggie blend that has these)

2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts

1 bag large cooked shrimp, peeled & de-veined (or about 30-40 pieces)

a little oil, for cooking

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp minced onion

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 heaping tbsp four

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce sauce

Directions:

Chop up raw chicken in to small bite-sized pieces. Place in large skillet with a little oil, and cook until chicken is completely cooked. Then add pre-cooked shrimp to the skillet and allow the shrimp to heat through. (You can also purchase raw shrimp and cook it completely yourself. We just prefer to use the pre-cooked because it is more convenient.)

As you're cooking your chicken and shrimp, you can go ahead and start cooking your Uncle Ben's® Long Grain & Wild Rice, Original Recipe in a separate pot. (If you're using the fast cook version, then you can just wait until you're almost done cooking the stir fry.)

Once cooked, remove chicken and shrimp from skillet, and place on plate lined with a paper towel.

Then place frozen veggies in skillet. (Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet, if needed.) I like to use a an Asian veggie blend that includes broccoli, red pepper, carrots, baby corn, peas, and water chestnuts, but if I can't find this, then I buy canned water chestnuts and baby corn. Both of these ingredients are option, but I find they add a lot in terms of taste and texture. Cook these on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until completely heated through.

As your veggies are cooking, mix together chicken broth, soy sauce, worcestershire, and seasonings in a separate bowl or cup. Once your veggies are heated through, stir in your sauce. Then add your chicken and shrimp back in to the skillet. Stir until all veggies and meat are well coated with sauce.

Serve your stir fry with Uncle Ben's® Long Grain & Wild Rice on the side, or serve the stir fry on top of a bed of the Uncle Ben's® Long Grain & Wild Rice. Enjoy!

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2015/10/chicken-shrimp-stir-fry-with-uncle-bens-long-grain-wild-rice/

Here’s a nice photo of the cooking process:

And here’s the final product! Just add rice!

Be sure to check out other great Uncle Ben’s® flavor options for great recipe ideas. Also, leave a comment on this post tell us a a rice flavor or recipe that you love!

The post Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry with Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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16 Favorite Foods of 2015

December 30, 2015, 8:35 pm

≫ Next: Friday Favorites – Week 317 – With Lemon Recipes

≪ Previous: Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry with Uncle Ben’s® Long Grain & Wild Rice

At the end of each year I like to look back and revisit some of my old posts, and one thing I always like to do is share a round up of some of my favorite food posts from the year. Everything looks delicious, if I do say so myself, so I had to hard time picking these out, but finally I came up with 16 goodies! I have everything from breakfast to dinner, snacks, appetizers, and of course, dessert. Hope you find something here that you’d like to try for yourself in 2016! Cheers!

Gingerbread Cookie Milkshake

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

Buffalo Pepper Jack Nachos

Red Velvet Angel Food Mug Cake

Honey Garlic Chicken

Orange Julius Smoothies

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Rocky Road S’mores Cheesecake

Coca-Cola Pulled Pork Nachos

Candy Apple Bites

Caramel Pecan Tassies

Chicken & Shrimp Stir Fry

Peanut Butter Pie

Cake Mix Milkshake

Oatmeal Cake

See anything you like?

I’d love for you to leave a comment letting me know which recipe you’d most like to make, and if you’ve done a similar round up post on your blog or you have a favorite recipe of the year, please leave the link here…or better yet, link it up at our Friday Favorites linky party!

The post 16 Favorite Foods of 2015 appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Friday Favorites – Week 317 – With Lemon Recipes

April 21, 2016, 5:40 pm

≫ Next: Crockpot Ranch Chicken

≪ Previous: 16 Favorite Foods of 2015

Hello all! Welcome to this week’s Friday Favorites. This week I’m celebrating one of my favorite flavors of the season: LEMON!

I hope you enjoy these lemony recipes from our friends! And as always, I invite you to share your recipes, crafts, tips, and more at this week’s linky party!

Friday Favorites Banner 2016 3

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Homemade & Yummy
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Dandelion and Lemon Biscuits

Dandelion and Lemon Biscuits from Craft Invaders

Easy Lemon Chicken Kebobs

Easy Lemon Chicken Kebobs from All She Cooks

Lemon and Herb Chicken Fettuccine

Lemon Herb Chicken Fettuccini from Simply Stacie

Thanks for joining us this week. Please link up your recipes and projects below!

The post Friday Favorites – Week 317 – With Lemon Recipes appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

↧

Crockpot Ranch Chicken

September 12, 2017, 10:07 pm

≫ Next: Tangy Dr Pepper® Chicken and Grill-gating Fun

≪ Previous: Friday Favorites – Week 317 – With Lemon Recipes

I absolutely LOVE crockpot meals. In most cases, you just throw your ingredients in to the crockpot and wait for everything to cook up! It’s easy, and it’s such a time saver! It’s also great, because I can throw everything together early in the day when I’m less busy, and I can be at ease, knowing that dinner will be on the table, without me having to scramble around in the evening.

And most crockpot meals go a long way. I can cook and have a couple of days of leftovers, or I can freeze the leftovers to use for another day. Today I’m sharing a recipe for Crockpot Ranch Chicken! I love anything flavored with ranch, and this particular recipe also uses my favorite vegetables: carrots and potatoes.

Like a lot of recipes, this one is also very versatile. You can switch up your protein. (Boneless porkchops are delicious with ranch sauce!) And you can also change up or add other vegetables. Green beans, cauliflower, or broccoli would be great with this sauce!

Crockpot Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

6 Red potatoes, cut into a few pieces (you could also use Russet potatoes)

2-3 cups baby carrots

1 large (23 oz) can cream of chicken soup (or 2 regular sized cans)

2 (1 oz) packages of ranch dressing mix

3/4 cups milk

Directions:

Spray a large crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Places vegetables in the bottom of the pot, followed by the chicken.

In a medium bowl, mix cream of chicken soup and milk. Pour over chicken. Place lid on crockpot and cook on high for 3-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours* or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are done**.

*Cook times may vary by crockpot.

**The chicken and potatoes will be done before the carrots. If you like for your carrots to be soft, you may want to cook boil them on the stove for for about 20 minutes before placing in the crockpot.

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2017/09/crockpot-ranch-chicken/

This meal is definitely a favorite of mine, so I hope you will give it a try. I’d also love to hear from you! I’m currently on the lookout for some new crockpot recipes to try. If you have something you’d like to pass on to me, please leave a comment with your recipe link, or share it on social media and tag me!

The post Crockpot Ranch Chicken appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Tangy Dr Pepper® Chicken and Grill-gating Fun

October 3, 2017, 8:16 am

≫ Next: Grilled Hot Wings + 6 Tips to Make Your Summer Cookout a Success

≪ Previous: Crockpot Ranch Chicken

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GrillGatingHero #GrillGating

Tangy Dr Pepper Chicken and Grill-gating Fund

It’s that time of year again! Time to break out your favorite fan gear, whip up your favorite recipes, and get ready for fun-filled football Saturdays! Every fall I enjoy sitting in front of the television with my husband on Saturdays and watching our favorite college football team (and any other college team who’s playing). Whether we have a house full of people or it’s just our family at home, we always have a good time, and we always enjoy our share of delicious homegating and grill-gating food! Today I’m going to share a recipe for grilled chicken. It features a Tangy Dr Pepper® marinade, and can be used for your chicken fingers, boneless and bone-in wings, or any other meat of your choice!

Homegating

For most football Saturdays, we have one or two main entrees and a few finger foods to complement them. For these days, there are a few products I always like to have on hand. They include RITZ Original Crackers, Hidden Valley® Ranch Salad Dressing, Dr Pepper, and Glad® Press’n Seal.

Kingsford Charcoal

And when we are taking the party outside, we always have Kingsford® Charcoal to throw on the grill.

You can shop for all your grill-gating and tailgating supplies at your local Walmart. They have all our favorite brands at unbeatable prices.

Dr Pepper

While shopping, be sure to look for Dr Pepper’s college football packaging.

During football season, you can also find special displays of RITZ, featuring their Family size package.

Recently we enjoyed some grilled chicken fingers and wings. For this recipe, we created a marinade, featuring Dr Pepper. This is an easy marinade to make, and it’s also very versatile. You could use it on pork chops, steak, ribs, and even fish!

Tangy Dr Pepper Marinade

The Dr Pepper is the secret ingredient to a marinade that ensures tender meats. It also adds a hint of sweetness, that complements the other sauces and spices used in this marinade.

dr pepper marinade

After placing your marinade and meat in a bowl or dish, Glad Press’n Seal helps to create a leak-proof and airtight seal for a perfect marinade process. Here’s the recipe!

Tangy Dr Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:

1 12 ounce Dr Pepper

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp hot sauce

2 tbsp minced onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Chicken or other meat of your choice

Directions:

Mix all wet ingredients in a large bowl or casserole dish, big enough to accommodate your marinade and meat. Add minced garlic, minced onion, and cayenne pepper. Mix well. Add chicken or other meat you intend to marinade. Place Glad® Press'n Seal over the top of your container. Refrigerate overnight.

Place meat on grill using Kingsford® Charcoal. You may place your meat directly on the grill or wrap in foil before grilling. To grill boneless chicken tenders as seen here, you should grill your chicken for 12-15 minutes. For bone-in wings, grill 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve with Hidden Valley® Ranch Salad Dressing.

Optional: Dip chicken barbecue sauce or buffalo sauce before serving with Hidden Valley® Ranch Salad Dressing.

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2017/10/tangy-dr-pepper-chicken-grillgating-fun/

Find these great products and more grill-gating inspiration here.

The post Tangy Dr Pepper® Chicken and Grill-gating Fun appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Grilled Hot Wings + 6 Tips to Make Your Summer Cookout a Success

June 11, 2018, 4:38 am

≫ Next: Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta – Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

≪ Previous: Tangy Dr Pepper® Chicken and Grill-gating Fun

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MakeYourSummer #MADEFORDOERS #CollectiveBias

Summer time is party time! My husband and I love to have cookouts during the summer, and we are sort of famous for our last minute impromptu get-togethers, featuring my husband’s grilled masterpieces, and my amazing sides and desserts. Today I’m excited to offer you an easy but unique recipe for your next cookout, plus tips to make your summer cookout a success from prep to clean up.

Party Time Clean Up Essentials

When it comes to parties, most people focus on the food first and then the decorations, but you must not forget other essentials like plates, cups, eating utensils, and of course, something to help guests to clean their hands. VIVA® Vantage® Big Roll Paper Towels come in a convenient 6 pack that is perfect for your party. I love putting out a roll of paper towels, because it is easy, convenient, and cost effective. Also, in the event of a spill, you just grab a roll and get to cleaning!

Paper towels can also be a big help for cleaning as you go before your party begins. Just wipe down tables and counter tops as you work, so the messes don’t add up! Then after the party is over, I like to grab my favorite spray cleaner and a roll of paper towels for quick clean up!

New Kleenex® Wet Wipes Gentle Clean are also a convenient product to have on hand. These are safe to use on hands and your face.

Summer parties are often outdoors, which means no sink is immediately available, and so it’s great to offer guests some wipes for personal clean up (especially if you are serving a messy food like ribs, wings, or ice cream).

I recommend placing a package of Kleenex® Wet Wipes at the center of each of the tables where people will be eating, as well as an additional package next to your messiest foods, which may require the use of the wipes (ie – right next to your tray of hot wings).

You can find both of these products in the bath tissue, facial tissue and paper towel aisle at your local Kroger. I used my Kroger Plus card and was able to save $5 on the VIVA® Vantage® Big Roll Paper Towels 6 pack!

The Kleenex® wipes found on the facial tissue aisle. I actually found them on the same aisle as the paper towels. I found them at the opposite end of the aisle, in between bath tissue and facial tissue.

Place Non-Food Essentials in One Place

I have been to so many parties and get-togethers where everyone appears lost! Where are the plates? I can’t find the cups! I forgot to get a paper towel. Where are the forks? The confusion can be solved rather easily, by placing all of these essential items at the end of your buffet, all together in one place.

Fun Theme

Even the smallest party can be made more fun with a few decorations. My stepson recently graduated high school and will be leaving in August to join the army, so for his upcoming party, I would use some simple red, white, and blue decorations. I LOVE patriotic decorations to begin with, so this is an especially fun theme for me. Plus, with Memorial Day and the 4th of July being summer time holidays it is very easy to find paper plates, balloons, tablecloths, and other fun decorations and party favors to go with this theme.

Make Ahead Menu Items

To shorten prep time and make less mess on the day of your party, choose a few make ahead menu items.

Casseroles that can be mixed up the night before and simply warmed in the oven the next day are great.
You can also make salads the night before. (We always make our potato salad a day ahead!)
No bake desserts are also great for this, as well most other desserts from homemade cookies to pies and cupcakes.

Unique Menu

Think outside the box when planning your menu; just a few unique menu items can take your menu from bland and basic to original and full of flavor.

Right now we are brainstorming party ideas for Noah. My husband and I LOVE to do cookouts, and we also love doing appetizer parties, so my idea is to do a combination of the two. I’d like to serve hamburgers and hot dogs (because it is easy and everyone loves it), but I also want to throw in some of our favorite appetizers like hot wings, sausage balls, and buffalo chicken dip.

You could also add a few appetizers to your menu if your are having a fish fry. Or offer up veggie kebobs alongside your grilled steaks or barbecue chicken.

Fresh fruits and salads are also great additions to your backyard barbecue, and of course, you never want to forget the dessert!

Fire Up That Grill!

If you’re serving appetizers at your next cookout, I have a simple, yet unique recipe. Where I live hot wings are not typically served at a barbecue. They are usually reserved for tailgating parties and holiday parties, so just having them at a summer party is an interesting menu twist for us. And if that’s not enough, these wings are GRILLED! Usually when people think of wings, they think of wings fried in a fryer.

Grilling your wings will add extra flavor that frying just won’t do, and because you aren’t using any oil, and the fat from the wings drips down into your grill, your wings will actually be a lot more healthy!

Grilled Hot Wings

Ingredients:

5lb hotwings (drumettes and/or flats)

OR 5 lb chicken tenderloins (for chicken fingers or cut into boneless wings)

12 oz bottle cayenne pepper hot sauce

1 stick butter

1/4 cup steak seasoning sauce

1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Place wings on grill and cook on 250 degrees of heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until internal temperature is 160 degrees.

Just before wings finish cooking, make sauce: Pour hot sauce, steak seasoning sauce, and garlic powder in to a sauce pan. Add stick of butter. Simmer on low to medium heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.

Once wings are off the grill, place wings in a dish and pour sauce over wings. Serve with ranch or bleu cheese dressing.

Notes

To prevent burning and sticking, take a piece of aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray, place marinated wings on foil, and fold/scrunch foil to create a foil pack. Then place foil pack on grill.

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2018/06/grilled-hot-wings-6-tips-summer-cookout-success/

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Do you love cookouts and summer parties? Visit the Make Your Summer Social Hub for more unique grilling inspiration. And as always, I invite you to join the conversation by commenting on today’s post!

The post Grilled Hot Wings + 6 Tips to Make Your Summer Cookout a Success appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta – Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

January 9, 2019, 9:33 pm

≪ Previous: Grilled Hot Wings + 6 Tips to Make Your Summer Cookout a Success

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. The opinions are my own.

About a year ago I discovered the Instant Pot, and I was intrigued by all the recipes and blog posts I found online. After a couple of months of browsing I decided I would buy an Instant Pot when they went on sale for Black Friday. And I got one! My husband was a little skeptical at first. He wondered why we needed an Instant Pot. (After all, we already have a Crock Pot!) But I promised him, it would be worth it!

Thanksgiving night I was looking online at the Instant Pot and getting ready to place some Christmas orders, when my husband walked in the door with an Instant Pot in hand! (While running out the store, he decided this would be a nice surprise for my upcoming birthday.) Now I have to admit, at first I got a little intimidated by this contraption, but luckily my husband loves to cook too, and he was happy to help me with the first recipe I decided to cook. (Since then, he’s been more than happy to experiment with his own Instant Pot recipes!) And like a lot of things, once I got to working with the Instant Pot, I found it very easy to use!

Today I am sharing the very first Instant Pot recipe I decided to make. It is Crack Chicken Pasta, or if you prefer Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta.

Why I Love This Recipe

This pasta turned out so great! Personally I love anything that has Chicken Bacon Ranch in the name, so I was very excited to make this!

And I was impressed with just how easy it is to make this one-pot meal (pictures of the process are below).

I was also happy to serve this to our baby. He’s eating more table foods now, and he loved it. I just chopped up some of the chicken and noodles for his portion and then served him some veggies on the side.

Tips and Recommendations

If you wanted to make the whole dish healthier, you could add any vegetables you like; I’d recommend broccoli or perhaps a medley of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

I should also mention that Instant Pot Recipes like this one make a LOT of food, and they are very easy to freeze for later. (I have a a goal for 2019 to do a lot more freezer cooking!)

Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta – Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Ingredients:

1-lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 (1-oz) package Original Ranch dressing mix

3 cups dry penne pasta

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup real bacon bits.

3/4 of an 8oz package cream cheese

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat Instant Pot on Sauté setting; add oil, chicken, and ranch packet, stirring to coat. Cook chicken 2–3 minutes.

Add pasta, broth, and water to pot.

Close lid, lock pot. Make sure the pot is set to seal. Then choose Pressure Cook setting; then set it to 4 minutes. Cook pasta until time is up, then do a quick release and open Pot.

Stir in cream cheese, cheddar cheese and cooked bacon until combined; let pasta set

5 minutes to thicken. Serve immediately.

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2019/01/instant-pot-crack-chicken-pasta/

If you’ve been thinking about buying an Instant Pot and just haven’t gotten around to it, I completely recommend it. I have the Instant Pot 7-in-1 DUO60. I have the 6 quart, but this same model comes in 3 and 8 quart. The 6 quart is a good size for our family, and it allows me to make enough food for freezing or to giveaway, and it has all the functions and features we need.

And if you already have an Instant Pot, then I’d love to have your recipe recommendations! Leave a comment here or share with me on social media. (You can also link up your recipes at our latest Friday Favorites linky party!)

The post Instant Pot Crack Chicken Pasta – Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta appeared first on Simply Sweet Home.

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