Monday, December 12, 2011

Ranch Chicken



Do you all know about Pintrist? I'm sure you do, but just in case - go check it out! If you want an invite, let me know. It's a virtual pinboard of E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G!!! Quote, recipes, craft ideas, decorating tips, photography, etc... you can find anything & everything on Pintrist! And that's where I saw this recipe. It looked yummy & seemed pretty easy & kid-friendly (my top 3 musts!) so we tried it - and it was pretty good! My oldest, Luke, kept coming into the kitchen while it was baking with his nose in the air like a hound dog, sniffing & taking deep breaths & asking with anticipation when it would be ready. And he was no disappointed when it hit his plate - the kids all loved it! Woo hoo!

The ingredients list is pretty simple:


Chicken tenders - or just breasts cut into wide strips, corn flakes , shredded Parmesan cheese, a packet of Ranch powder mix & butter!

Put your corn flakes into a dish & smash them up just a little bit. Add in the ranch mix & Parmesan cheese & stir it up.


Melt the butter in the microwave, dip the chicken in it....


... and dredge it through the breading mixture.


Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam & then load it up with your chicken. Drizzle a little of the leftover butter over the top of your chicken strips.


Bake them at 350 for about 40 minutes.

**A tip - as this bakes the bottoms will likely get a little soggy. If you use a little of the extra breading mixture to make a bed for the tenders to sit on, the soggy will soak down into the bed rather than the bottom of the strip. Also, after the baking time was up, I pulled them from the oven, drained off the excess butter from the bottom of the pan & stuck them under the broiler for a few minutes to help them crisp up.


These were really good! I thought they were 'good enough' but the kids loved them which makes them woooooooonderful in my book! Less stress at the dinner table is always welcome in my home!


Ranch Chicken:

3 chicken breasts, cut into wide strips (3-4 per breast)
3/4 cup corn flakes
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 packet Ranch dressing/dip mix
1 stick butter, melted

Melt butter; set aside. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Combine cornflakes (slightly crushed), Parmesan & ranch mix in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in the butter then dredge through breading mixture & line them up in the prepared pan. Lightly drizzle with a little of the leftover butter.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Elf on the Shelf

I realize I haven't posted a recipe in far too long, but I wanted to start a post to add photos to! We've had out Elf on the Shelf (Horton) for a couple of years now & the kids have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes he just shows up sitting on a Christmas tree branch, sometimes sitting on a shlef, but sometimes he also likes to make mischief as he comes & goes each morning/night.

Here is is on the morning of the 9th - the Lego men were starting to get a little unsure of the giant visitor that kept invading their space so they decided to tie him up for an interrogation!


Stay tuned..... there will be more to come!

Updated - 12/12:
Here he is helping himself to a snack of a jumbo marshmallow & chocolate chips!

Makes sense - Buddy (from the movie Elf) has educated us all to the 4 food groups of an elf; candy, candy canes, candy corn & syrup!


12/13/11 - After all that sugar, the responsible thing was to brush your teeth!


Friday, December 2, 2011

Butterscotch Banana Pie

Wanna see just about the easiest pie ever?

Check it out:

Get a ready-made graham cracker crust, some bananas & a box of instant butterscotch pudding (& the milk to mix up the pudding).


Slice up the bananas into the bottom of the pie crust.


Mix up the pudding, according to the 'pie filling' directions (just uses a little less milk) & pour it down over the sliced bananas.


Then pop it into the fridge for a bit. It's soft-set within about 5-10 minutes, but give it longer for a good, firm set.

Plop on a dollop of whipped topping & you've got yourself a simple, easy & delicious slice of pie!

Happy pie eating!!

Butterscotch Banana Pie:

1 3.4-oz box instant butterscotch pudding
1 8 or 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
2-3 bananas (depending on size)
2 cups milk
whipped topping

Slice bananas & arrange in the bottom of the pie crust. Mix pudding, according to pie-filling directions. Immediately pour pudding over bananas into pie crust. Refrigerate about 1 hour. Serve topped with whipped topping.