Bacon Ranch Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

3-­4 Chicken Breasts

6­-8 Tablespoons Ranch Dressing

8-12 Slices Bacon

4 Ounces Cheddar Cheese or Colby Jack Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place your chicken breast in a baking dish.  Spread 1-­2 tablespoons of ranch dressing on each chicken breast.  Wrap with slices of bacon. Bake on top rack for 25­-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Top with cheese and return to oven for 3-­5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Ranch Cheddar Chicken Thighs

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 package Ranch Seasoning Mix (I didn’t have a packet of dry so I used 3 oz of ranch dressing)

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

6 chicken thighs (skin removed)

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 Ritz crackers, crushed (or panko breadcrumps)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, cheese, Ranch Seasoning and garlic.

Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken in a single layer onto the prepared baking dish and top with mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with crackers.

Place into oven and cook until completely cooked through and golden brown on top, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.

My chicken took a little longer than 30 minutes.  I liked the combination of flavors. You could still taste the ranch even though I used liquid instead of a ranch packet.  

Chicken Ranch Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

2 blocks cream cheese (room temp)

1 ranch dressing dry packet

1 can (12 oz) chicken (white chunk chicken drained)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix cream cheese and ranch mix together until well blended. Fold in chicken and cheese. Chill for an hour before serving with crackers or vegetables. 

This dip was simple to make.  It tasted fine as is but I decided to dress it up a bit with another block of cream cheese and a package of real bacon pieces.  This took the taste from ordinary to awesome.  I served it with ranch flavored wheat thins and ritz crackers. 

Chicken tortilla wraps

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 tortilla

Shredded chicken breast

2 tbsp cream cheese

Fat free ranch

Shredded cheddar

Bake or grill chicken breast.  Shred when cooled. Spread cream cheese onto tortilla.  Drizzle with ranch dressing.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese to taste.  I used about 1/8 of a cup.  Add chicken.  Roll tight and refrigerate.  Cut into sections before eating.

This is a great way to use up chicken breast.  Easy to make snack or lunch idea.  

Cheddar bacon ranch rollups

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

2 blocks cream cheese

6 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled)

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 ranch packet

Pack of flour tortillas

Let cream cheese soften to room temperature.  Add ranch packet, cheese and crumbled bacon.  Spread on onto tortillas.  Roll up and set in fridge to chill for a few hours.  Slice up before serving. 

These were ok.  Not my favorite rolls ups ever. Just a bit bland.  I think next time I would add some green onion and a little garlic powder to the cream cheese mixture.  Or maybe a few more pieces of bacon. They were definitely easy to make though and they all got eaten at the party so that’s what counts. 

Beer cheese dip

Review by Lyndee:

Ingredients:

2 blocks cream cheese (I used reduced fat)

1 pkg dry ranch dressing

1/3 cup of beer (I used Bud Light)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix ingredients until blended. Put in fridge 3 hours before serving.

Once I got this mixed up it seemed a little salty from the ranch packet.  I added a small container of plain greek yogurt and a little more beer. The creaminess was much better and it definitely helped reduced the salty taste.  You can serve this cold or heat it in a small crockpot.  We used club crackers and have also had it with pita chips.  Delicious and super easy to make!