Rio Chicken (and DIY Ranch Mix)

I first found the recipe for 'Cafe Rio' Chicken here and thought it sounded really good. I guess it's a copycat recipe from an actual restaurant but I've never tried the real thing so I don't know how it compares. The first time I made this chicken I followed the original recipe exactly. It was good but, in our opinion, it had too much garlic and the spices needed a little tweaking. Below you'll find our version of Crock Pot Rio Chicken. It's a family favorite around here (you know I don't post a recipe unless it is!) and I hope you'll enjoy it as well!

Perfect Banana Muffins

Do you want perfectly spiced, perfectly sweetened, perfectly fluffy, perfectly melt-in-your-mouth banana muffins? Then you'll want to try this recipe. I promise I don't flippantly throw around the word "perfect." (You may remember my Perfect Apple Muffin post.) It's just that once you've found THE recipe you love the best and make time and time again you realize that it is indeed perfect for you. So when I'm needing a banana muffin fix and/or need to restock my freezer stash - this is it!
On the other hand, if I want to make loaves of banana bread I always use Great-Grandma's recipe. It's a texture thing. Both delicious. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Great-Grandma Bingham's Banana Bread

This is the banana bread I grew up eating. No matter which country we lived in or how many times we moved, when mom made banana bread it was this recipe she stuck with. I love it because it is easy to slice and it's not overly sweet. We love eating it sliced, buttered, and broiled just a bit til the edges are crispy. Sometimes we add a drizzle of honey over the top. SO good.

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

I don't have a picture to share with this recipe because it disappeared so quickly when I served it at my little fella's birthday party last week. I believe I'd better double the recipe next time! I intend to make it again ASAP (as in tomorrow!) and I might add a picture to this post later. But I thought some of you would want to make it this weekend as you host friends and family. It is kind of a big weekend for food and football. Or so I'm told anyway. I'll use any excuse to make and serve food. Especially when it means I can make this dip!

Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Dip

via fabhousewife

Ingredients:

 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast
 1-1/2 cup  red hot sauce (approximately 12 oz bottle)
 8 oz cream cheese
 1 cup Mexican cheese blend (or your favorite blue cheese or gorgonzola)
 3/4 - 1 cup cup Ranch dressing.
 

Instructions:
Bake or poach the chicken breasts. Shred the cooked chicken.

In a bowl, combine shredded chicken with the hot sauce and set aside.

Spread 8oz block of cream cheese into the bottom of casserole dish.
Top with buffalo chicken.

Sprinkle on the cheese.
Drizzle some Ranch dressing, to taste.   

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, until dip is melted and bubbling.

Serve with tortilla or pita chips and/or vegetables for dipping.

Notes:

I used two large chicken breasts. I baked them in the oven and then used my Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment to shred them. So easy! Of course two forks will do the trick as well, just not as fast. 

Use your favorite brand of hot sauce. I just grabbed whatever the store brand was at Aldi but I'm sure Franks Red Hot sauce would taste great as well.

Season the chicken with as much or as little hot sauce as your crowd can handle. 

Same goes with the Ranch dressing. I have some Ranch haters in my house but they didn't complain a bit about this dip. 

ENJOY!

Honey Nut Cheerio Bars

I made these cereal bars for my daughter's K5 class the week we signed up for "special snack" and everyone enjoyed them. I figured the little ones probably didn't want nuts and such in their snacks. But next time I make these I'll be a little more creative in what I add to the bars. They are great for on the go snacks and breakfasts for young and old alike.

Baked Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I came across these pictures I took last year and realized I never posted the recipe! We love pancakes. We love cinnamon rolls. This gives you the best of both PLUS there's no standing over the stove top flipping pancakes and being the last person to sit down and enjoy them. I love that this make a giant pan of pancakes and everyone can sit down together and eat at the same time.  I just had to share this recipe now because these baked pancakes make a great Christmas morning treat.

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

Here is my current go-to recipe for cut-out sugar cookies. I'm a big fan of sugar cookies. Big fan. And I used to think baking cut-out sugar cookies was hard work and not worth all the mess. (Maybe it's because I always turn to this Dropped Cracked Sugar Cookie recipe when I need a fix asap)
But this recipe is not at all difficult and it's only as messy as you (or your little helpers) make it. ;)
Don't limit yourself to baking them only during the holidays! Trust me. After you make them once you'll be sure to make them again and again!

{Crock} Pot Roast

Who doesn't love a good and easy pot roast? I think it has to be one of my favorite comfort foods.
My family loves our tried and true pot roast recipe but figured it wouldn't hurt to try another recipe or two. Varying recipes for Mississippi Pot Roast had overtaken my pinterest and facebook feeds quite a few times before I decided that I must try it and see just what everyone is raving about.  The Mississippi Pot Roast recipe typically calls for 5 ingredients: roast, ranch dressing mix, Au Jus mix, pepperoncini peppers, and butter. When it came time to throw everything in my crock pot I realized I only had 3 of the 5 ingredients. So I improvised and the outcome was still fabulous. I guess I still need to follow that "famous" recipe exactly so I can join the masses in raving about it. But for now I'll leave you with my improvised recipe that had the little mouths in my house asking for seconds!

Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

We love pizza around here and this is my go-to pizza dough recipe when I don't have time to wait around for dough to rise or pizza to be delivered! It comes together in minutes and we can seriously have a fresh home-made pizza within 30 minutes! Like most of the recipes I share, this is an easy recipe to change up according to your tastes. Hope you'll try it out soon and see for yourself! 

Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

My mother-in-law made these little cupcakes for a bridal shower recently and I was excited that she had enough to share with me. I added them to the many sweets we baked for my sister's senior recital reception (lots of recipes coming this way!)

These cupcakes are perfect. Not too pumpkin-y and not too spicy. They're perfect with a little dollop of cream cheese frosting on top but they're also very satisfying on their own. Even people who aren't fans of pumpkin admit to loving these cupcakes. Give them a try!

Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

This is my Aunt Lynnette's recipe and I've loved it for as long as I can remember. I've always been pretty picky about my mac n' cheese. I'm all about real cheddar, real butter, and real rich flavors. My littles like to eat the blue box macaroni on occasion. Bleh. Not me. 

Anyway. This is a recipe any mac n' cheese lover will enjoy. It's super simple and easy to dress up or down according to your own preferences. 

Creamy Mexican Chicken Dip

Ingredients:
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (I used homemade, see notes)
1 cup shredded cheese
1 10-oz can of diced tomatoes and green chiles (Rotel)
chopped or shredded chicken

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Stir all ingredients together in 2-quart baking dish.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve hot over rice or with tortilla chips.

Notes

• It's not very often that I have any cans of condensed soups on hand so I typically just whip some up as needed. On this particular day I had recently skimmed over this recipe and went from there. I ended up with about 4 cups of the homemade cream of chicken. Here is another good source for cream of soup recipes.

• I used a heaping cup of shredded cheddar cheese but another great option would be the zesty mexican cheese. You can always add a little zest of your own by tossing a few pinches of taco seasoning in with the cheese.

• For the chicken I just grabbed a large chicken breast from the freezer, thawed it, seasoned it with homemade taco seasoning, baked it and chopped it up. This dip is a great way to use up your leftover meats. Any shredded chicken or pork, even cooked ground beef or Italian sausage would be great!
• Oh, and if you make this dip and find a way to photograph it to make it look at all appetizing...hook me up with a better photo, would ya? Just trust me when I tell you that this really does taste better than it looks! ;)  ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Granola

Here is one our favorite go-to snack recipes. It's simple to make, easy to jazz up, and a great healthy (depending on your add-ins ;) ) snack to have any time of the day or night. 

I hope you and yours will enjoy it as well!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love this cookie recipe! Both the dough balls and baked cookies freeze well. And I must admit that the dough or cookies being frozen is the only thing that will stop me from eating my weight in them! Seriously good stuff. I apologize for the sub par photo. Just trust me when I tell you that this recipe is excellent and you will thoroughly enjoy these cookies!

Creamy Corn and Turkey Chowder

 If you know me at all, you know I love a good homemade soup. You also know that I'm one of those cooks that wings it and just throws this and that into a pot until it looks and tastes right. I'm trying to pay more attention to measuring ingredients and writing things down so that I can tweak and replicate recipes and share with others. So here you have a post Thanksgiving recipe for Creamy Corn and Turkey Chowder. Whether you  follow the recipe or not, I hope you enjoy it!

Dropped Cracked Sugar Cookies

I love a good sugar cookie. I love it even more when I can whip up a batch in minutes and totally skip all the steps of rolling and cutting out shapes!!! Roll the dough in festive colored sugar or sprinkles for your next party or skip the rolling in sugar step and frost them instead.

Tender Baked Chicken, Potatoes, and Greenbeans

Here's a simple go-to recipe to throw together when you want a hot meal ready to dish up when you return from church or work. I'm a firm believer in having lunch ready or at least close to being ready when we return from church if I want to keep my sanity and my family happy!

Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli (aka Best Broccoli EVER)

Personally, I thoroughly enjoy broccoli. My family...not so much. My husband will eat it when I make homemade cheese sauce for him to drown it in but my children don't care much for it even with the cheesy goodness on top. Then I found Ina's recipe and fell in love with roasted broccoli. And so did my family!
I feel like I need to make twice as much as I think I need for a meal simply because it's impossible for me not to snitch a helping (or two) when I pull it out of the oven! This seriously could be the main course on its own. Try it for yourself and let me know how everyone likes it!

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

If you love the biscuits they serve at Red Lobster, you will be thrilled to add this recipe to your favorites! This is the closest I've come to a copycat recipe and it's so simple and quick to throw together. A great addition to any meal. Do yourself a huge favor and serve these with this barbecue chicken. 

It's a crazy easy meal that your whole family will love!

Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken

I am forever grateful to my friend Elizabeth for sharing this recipe with me! Just as I'm forever grateful that she shared the perfect apple muffin recipe with me. Great recipes are meant to be shared! That's a huge reason behind my starting this blog. So without further ado, here is a fantastic barbecue chicken recipe for you to try at your earliest convenience. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!