Jalapeno Kettle Chip Crusted Chicken with Jalapeno Ranch

Ingredients:

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup mayo

1/4 cup lowfat sour cream

1/4 cup (plus 2 tablespoons) lowfat buttermilk

1 tablespoon Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (the powder)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

dash of cayenne

5-6 hot pickles jalapeno slices, finely chopped

For the Chicken:

4 chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 - 2 pounds total)

1 bag Jalapeno Kettle Chips, crushed

1 cup low fat buttermilk

1 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne

For the Jalapeno Ranch Dipping Sauce:

Mix ingredients together (adding additional buttermilk until desired consistency). Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the Chicken:

Preheat oven to 375º. Place an oven safe cooling rack in a large jelly roll pan and spray with non-cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together buttermilk, salt, and cayenne. Pound out chicken breasts to roughly 1/2" thickness and add to buttermilk mixture (toss to coat well).

Place crushed Kettle chips in a shallow baking dish. Pull one piece of chicken at a time out of the buttermilk and gently shake to remove some of the excess. Dip into the chips and coat thoroughly on both sides. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken breast are thoroughly coated.

Place into oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, until cooked through (cooking times vary based on chicken thickness and actual oven temperature). Serve hot with jalapeno ranch dipping sauce.

Cheesy Stuffed Garlic Bread Sliders

When there is an ice storm pummeling your state what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than with great friends, a crockpot of chili and these amazing stuffed garlic bread sliders? Simple to make and were the hit of the party.

Ingredients:

1 pkg slider buns, like Kings Hawaiian

1 (10 ct.) pkg sliced mozzarella

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp garlic salt (I used garlic powder instead of garlic salt)

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Topping

4 Tbsp butter, melted

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2-1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Slice slider buns in half lengthwise. In bowl mix together your butter, garlic, garlic salt and Italian seasoning. Spread butter mixture on both cut sides of buns. Layer bottom of sliders with cheese and top with upper layer. In another small bowl mix together your topping mixture and pour over tops of buns, spread over tops with a spatula. Cover with tin foil and bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let cool a bit, cut and serve.

Baked million dollar spaghetti…with a twist

I’ve seen this recipe all over Pinterest and decided to try it but I switched it up a bit. I used a sausage and ground beef mix and added alfredo, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. It did not disappoint!

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked two minutes shy of directions and drained

½ lb. ground beef

½ lb. Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can spaghetti sauce (I used Hunts)

1 jar alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. parmesan cheese 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add the beef, onions, garlic, salt and pepper into the pan and cook on high. Once browned, turn off the heat, drain the liquid left in the pan and mix in half a cup of spaghetti sauce and half a cup of alfredo. Add the cooked spaghetti to the remaining 5 cups of the spaghetti sauce and alfredo, toss to combine. Mix the cream cheese, red pepper flakes, parmesan, Italian seasoning and 2 cups of mozzarella cheese in a bowl. Add half the pasta/sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Add the cream cheese mixture and top with the remaining pasta/sauce mixture. Add the meat sauce mixture on top of the pasta and top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let set for a few minutes before cutting like a lasagna and serving. 

Original Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti, cooked two minutes shy of directions and drained

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Kosher salt and pepper to taste (I used ½ teaspoon Kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper)

6 cups Quick and Easy Marinara Sauce

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

parsley, chopped (optional as a garnish)