Crispy Chicken Strips

Did you stock up on yummy tortilla chips too? And now you're stuck with 6 bags of crumbly crushed chips that nobody will eat? Don't throw them out - make crispy chicken strips!

I made a whole pan full of these crunchy, crispy yummies and froze half. Most tortilla chips are pretty salty on their own, so I didn't even add any seasoning. The lemon juice really helps keep the chicken tender while you bake, I couldn't really taste the lemon, but it made the chicken soft. Low fat, practical and delicious!

Husband Rating: 4 stars

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 Tbsp (3/4 cup) butter, melted
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice chicken into long, thin strips. (My Albertsons chicken breasts were pretty fat, so I cut them in half both ways, if you need to pound them out to be an even thickness go for it.) Place flour in a shallow dish. In another dish combine melted butter and lemon juice. Pour tortilla chips into a large ziploc bag, run over with a rolling pin to make tortilla chips finely crushes and even sizes. Place chicken in flour dish and lightly cover then submerge in butter lemon juice mixture. Toss chicken into ziploc bag, shake to coat. Layer on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and coating is golden.
Serve with cucumber stacks, carrots and your favorite dipping sauce.

Freezer Instructions: Place cooled chicken into a ziploc bag, label and date. To reheat microwave for 1-2 minutes or warm in skillet. Use within 2 months.

Taco Salad

Remember the great super bowl deal where we all stocked up on tortilla chips and dip? Well, weeks later and all I'm left with is 6 bags with the crumbly chips at the bottom. After such a sweet deal can I just throw them away *gasp* and be wasteful? Recipes to the rescue, using those chip crumbles at the bottom of the bag.


Husband actually really enjoyed this meal and requested it for lunch the same week. Ta da! It's delicious with your stockpile ranch dressing, nacho cheese, guacamole and sour cream, or you can be like my husband and smother it in Frank's hot sauce. Delicious!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

6 oz. ground beef
3 Tbsp. onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning
1 bag of your favorite salad (I like romaine!)
1 roma tomato, diced
1/2 can of olives, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips (I just dump in the crumbles from the bottom of the bag)
Ranch or your favorite dressing

In a skillet over medium heat cook ground beef. Add onions and taco seasoning. In a large bowl layer lettuce, tomatoes, olives, ground beef, chips and cheese. Toss well. Drizzle with ranch dressing and serve.

Asparagus Alfredo

Yes, it is not a typo, I made asparagus. Husband has issues with most green vegetables and I told him all he had to do was taste it, then he could officially say he hates asparagus. While I was sauteing the asparagus with garlic and onion in a little bit of butter he came in the kitchen wondering what smelled so good. It was perfectly cooked, just a touch of crunch, and delicious in this creamy alfredo. I threw some grilled chicken on the side so he wouldn't be scared of this vegetarian meal, but next time we're going meatless! Hooray for asparagus and hubby trying something new!

Husband Rating: 4 stars

10 asparagus stalks (or 1/2 lb.) , cut into 2 inch pieces

12 oz fettuccine noodles

1/2 cup half-and-half

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. onion, diced

1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Grilled chicken, optional

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions. In a large skillet saute onion, garlic and asparagus in butter until tender. Add half-and-half, milk and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper. (Sauce will be runny, it will thicken as you toss it with the starchy noodles.) Drain noodles and toss with sauce. Garnish with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

For the grilled chicken, I sliced one chicken breast into thin strips. I tossed it in a pan with a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Over medium heat I cooked it until no longer pink and seasoned with Cajun Seasoning, hence the "blackened" look. Yum!

Free 8x10 photo today!

I'm one of those Walgreens dorks who can't wait for the ad every week. This week I got a Gillete razor for 99 cents and a pack of Trident Layers Gum (yummy, I might add) for 24 cents.

Today is FREE 8x10 photo day. They usually have one free photo event per month. A few months ago I even got a photo dvd of our wedding, sweet! Anyway, you can order it online and have it shipped (extra $) or just pick it up in the store. Here is the link to order, just enter "freephoto" when you check out and you're on your way!

I went a little overboard and made a collage in my design program of my baby, made the size 8x10 and in an hour or so I can pick up my free photo.

I heart Walgreens

Coupon Heads Up!

I've added a fabulous new feature to my blog that I hope you will use!

If you look down here on my sidebar you will see coupon links from coupons.com.

Coupons.com is the best place for printing coupons. They have a great selections from grocery, meals, treats, medicine, toys, diapers, shampoo and everything else. The cool thing is, when you do your online couponing you print directly from my site! Use the arrows to scroll through the coupons and select the ones you want to print. Every time you print coupons here, you are supporting my site!

So print away coupon friends, and support your local housewives:)

Apple Cinnamon German Pancake

I wish I would have taken a better picture of this, because this photo just doesn't represent the deliciousness! We've always been german pancake fans, easy to whip up and soooo yummy. We usually goop on the syrup, but I decided to go for something a little different this time. I had 3 apples sitting in my fruit basket that were reaching the end of their life, I had to do something! This turned out so delicious, we didn't use a drop of syrup and it was still rich and filling. I can't wait to try this with peaches!!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

Pancake:

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place 2 Tbsp. of butter in a 13x9 baking dish inside the oven while preheating to melt the butter. When butter is melted, rotate pan so it covers the bottom. In a bowl beat eggs and milk. Add salt, vanilla and flour. Whisk until smooth. Pour into pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Filling:

3 apples, peeled and sliced

3 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. sugar

In a skillet over medium heat, stir together sugar, butter and apples until tender. Spoon into the center of the german pancake. Cut and serve. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

P.S. Funny note, a few hours after dinner husband put a piece in the microwave and warmed it up. He put on a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. When I gave him a weird look he said it reminded him of homemade apple pie, hehe.

Buffalo Chicken Fingers

This recipe is super easy to double or triple if you have a crowd coming over. I like to dip these in ranch with celery on the side, but any yummy sauce will do! Husband usually sneaks in a dash or two of Frank's Hot Sauce, yum!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chili powder
Oil for frying

Slice chicken into strips, about 8 strips per piece.
In a bowl beat egg with a fork. In a separate bowl
combine flour, salt, pepper, onion salt, garlic powder
and chili powder. Dip chicken into egg and then coat
with the flour mixture. Fry in 1/2 inch oil until golden
brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side.