Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps

I think that one of the best things to buy to make meals stretch is a rotisserie chicken. My favorite comes from Costco- they are big and you can get a ton of meat off of them. When I get a chicken, I use it to make soups, casseroles and these tasty wrap sandwiches. These are especially good in the summer when you don't want to heat up the house with your oven.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Wraps
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
8 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 cup ranch dressing
Flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
In a large bowl, mix chicken, cheese, bacon, onion and ranch. Cover and refrigerate for up to three days. To make one wrap, spread 1/3 cup chicken mixture on tortilla, top with lettuce and tomato. Roll up and enjoy!

Chicken Packets

I have been so sick this past month. I haven't been cooking or eating much of anything. Tonight though, I made dinner for the first time in weeks. I think my family really appreciated it, because there was not one crumb leftover! It also could have been that they love Chicken Packets too!

Chicken Packets
2 cups cooked chopped chicken  (I usually use a rotisserie chicken, shredded)
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup crushed croutons
2- 8 oz. packages. crescent rolls
1/2 stick butter, melted
Mix chicken, chives, cream cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°. Unroll crescent rolls (each tube contains 4 rectangles), press to seal perforations. Place 1/4 cup filling in the middle. Fold over and seal edges. Brush with melted butter and then sprinkle crouton crumbs over the top of each packet. Bake for 20 minutes or until the packets are golden brown.

Oven Ham Sammies

Do you ever have one of those days or weeks where everything is a battle and you are just drained? This was me yesterday. I just felt like I had no more left in me to give. Thankfully I had this little number on the menu, or we would have been eating cereal for dinner, I am not saying that is bad, but that is often what we eat when I am tired or overwhelmed. These are super fast, easy, really cheesy and yummy! All great things in my book!

Oven Ham Sammies
Recipe found on Tasty Kitchen
Picture from Pinterest

16 ounces Thin Sliced Deli Ham
12 slices Swiss Cheese
1 package King Hawaiian Rolls, 12 Count
½ cups Butter, Melted
2 teaspoons Onion Flakes
1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
½ teaspoons Ground Mustard

Put ham and cheese in between sliced rolls. Mix all other ingredients and spoon over sandwiches. Let set overnight or several hours. Bake on 350F for 15 min before serving.
See, it really couldn't be any easier!

Popcorn Cake

I am going to share a recipe that just about rocked my little world! (How is that for dramatic!) I adore popcorn. It is one of my desert island things that I would want.
When I saw a picture for a popcorn cake on Pinterest, I knew that I would be making it! I made it for my son's 10th birthday party. It was amazing! Try this recipe, it super simple. Try it even if you don't have a special occasion, you will thank me!

Popcorn Cake

Original recipe from Cookies & Cups

1 stick of butter

1 bag of mini marshmallows

2 bags of buttered popcorn

2 cups FROZEN M&Ms

1 1/2 cups broken pretzel sticks

Start by popping your popcorn. Once your popcorn is all popped, sift through and remove all the unpopped kernels. Place in a large bowl, and stir in the M&Ms and pretzels.  Grease a Bundt pan and set aside.  Melt your butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the entire bag of marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are all melted. Pour over the popcorn mixture and stir until everything is all coated in the marshmallow topping. Transfer to the pre-sprayed Bundt pan. Cover with foil and let it set up for an hour. Run a knife along the edges and invert on your serving platter.

Sloppy Joes

This year I have volunteered my time working the mid-week meal ministry at church. There is one lady who does all the shopping, recipe picking, and most of the cooking. My part is to help with last minute needs, serving and cleaning up. But last week, she was sick, so my dear friend Cathy and I said that we would try to do what the main lady does. We made these Sloppy Joes. They came out wonderful! We had people say that they weren't big Sloppy Joe fans, but, these were so good! I hope that your family likes them as much as my church family did!

Sloppy Joes
1 lb ground beef
 2 -3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup barbecue sauce 
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar


In a large skillet, brown ground beef, celery and onion, drain the fat.Stir in remaining ingredients, simmer covered, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If Joes appear too soupy, leave cover off and let moisture evaporate. Cook until it's the consistency you like for serving on toasted buns.

Baked Chicken Fajitas

My family has a little, ok, a big love affair with Mexican food! We love our enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, rellenos, quesadillas, and of course, fajitas! I have a fajita recipe (here) that I love, it is our standard. But, there is always room for one more awesome fajita recipe, right? This is for baked fajitas. I loved the idea of baking the fajitas, it was super easy. The results were delicious! The leftovers also made for really tasty quesadilla fillings!
Baked Chicken Fajitas
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 - 4 oz. can diced green chiles
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/3 cup lime juice
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
Tortillas
Grated cheese and assorted fajita toppings
Preheat oven to 400°. Grease a 13x 9 in. baking dish. Mix chicken, onion, chiles, bell pepper in the dish. Pour oil and lime juice over the top. In a small bowl, mix the spices together. sprinkle over the chicken mixture and toss lightly to coat. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve on tortillas with cheese and any other toppings that you want and have handy.

Taco Rice

Some of you may know that I home school my boys. I love doing it, but sometimes having to make three meals a day is overwhelming! Taco Rice is a recipe that I discovered while blog hopping a couple of years ago. I found the original recipe here on The Picky Apple. It is a great recipe that I can make a batch of and keep in the fridge for the boys and I to reheat and throw into tortillas for a quick and easy lunch. One batch will last us for a couple of lunches.
Taco Rice
1 lb. ground beef
Taco seasoning to taste- the recipe I use is here or you can use whatever you like
1 can Rotel- we use mild, but if I were cooking for my husband and I, I would use hot- we like the spice!
2 cups cooked rice
Brown meat and drain. Combine all the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve in tortillas with all the traditional taco toppings.