Cheesy Chicken Dip with Mini Croissants

A couple of weekends ago I thought Hmm, what should I make for everyone as a grazing snack, one we can pick at all day. So I looked at what I had in the fridge and whipped this up. I call it Cheesy Chicken Dip with Mini Croissants. It was so yummy, you have to try it!!

Here are the ingredients with measurements:

• Garlic Salt 1 tsp.
• Onion Powder 1 tsp.
• Ground Black Pepper 1 tsp.
• Sea Salt 1 tsp.
• Margarine 1 tbsp.
• Parmesan Cheese 1/4 cup

• Croissant Rolls X2 (any size doesn’t matter)
  
• 2 slices American Cheese (for creaminess)
• Fiesta Blend Cheese 8 oz. (whole pack)
  
  • Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (cut up into bite sized pieces)
• Milk 1/4 cup
• Whipped Cream Cheese 3 tbsp.
• Sour Cream 2 tbsp.
  

   Directions for Mini Croissants:

• Preheat Oven to prepackaged directions
• After rolling out dough cut Croissants into mini triangles about an inch in diameter with pizza cutter, so easy that way!!
• Spread out onto cookie sheet and put into preheated oven. Bake for ONLY a couple of minutes they bake very fast. Mine took about 3-4 minutes so watch the stove the whole time or they will burn. Shown below is what they look like when they come out, puffed and crispy on the bottom. You don’t even have to use a spatula, you just tap the cookie sheet against the top of stove and they pop off.
  

     Now for the Cheese Dip Directions:

• Start adding butter, milk, whipped cream cheese and sour cream, stir with whisk until no lumps left, then dump Fiesta Cheese bag, American Cheese, and Parmesan cheese into pot and bring up to medium high heat, stir until all incorporated.

• Next add chicken chunks, stir again.
• Lastly add in the salt, pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder
• Cook until all the way melted and hot
• This is how it looks after it’s all cooked

   Ok this is so yummy, can I tell you.

 

The finished product, I left it in the mini crock pot I use for dips and man it was amazing. High in calories but the diet starts tomorrow, lol. Well I hope that you try this recipe. It’s so great for a Football party, cold day, Holiday, or just because! Have fun and hey, let me know if you tried it, would love to know what you think, so comment below!! PS: One tip I’d like to add is make more croissant rolls because they go so quickly so I would double the amount to 4 roll tubes.

Enjoy! ~Christina

Quote of the Day:
If we find a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

No waste proper Avocado picking, peeling, and storage tips and tricks

This is a quick follow-up to my Lemony Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich post where I used Avocado. Well I happen to think that I am a Master at Avocado picking and peeling with no waste.

Here is what I do: First, I test for how firm an Avocado is, depending on when I am going to use them, or if I am going to wait to use them. If I use them right away I make sure they have a little give, sort of semi-firm, the next day they should be perfect to use.  The color should be dark green almost black. If they are all the way black then they are too mushy and will be bruised and almost rotten inside. If I am going to wait a couple of days I buy the green ones and ripen them at home. I’m impatient so that is very rare for me unless I have no choice.

Tip: Be weary of the little sticker that says, RIPE, because that usually means they are not for you to eat, they are past their prime.

I then score with a sharp knife around the middle while turning the avocado.

Next I twist the Avocado to get two separate halves.

Shown here with nut attached.

So really, how do you properly get the nut out with the most meat left.  Pop knife into the nut while on counter, then hold half and twist it out and it should release. Now the Avocado I had was a bit too soft for doing this so it did get a little messy, but if it was a tad bit firmer it would have released with practically nothing attached to it. Easy!!

Score the half Avocado several times you can even do cross cuts too, but I have found slicing is easiest to remove and cut it in half shown here: why do I cut it in half again, well it makes it so easy to peel the skin right off. I don’t show the peeling part but if you have a perfectly ripe Avocado then the skin should peel off with no meat left in it. Like turning a page to a book, or peeling a banana. Be gentle and you’ll get everything out, no need to use a spoon. Guaranteed!!

Here’s the best part, if your not using the other half and want to use it the next day (recommended) then add lemon juice to it to stop it from browning and adds a little flavor too. 

Stick in a plastic baggie and get as much air out as possible, helps with no oxygen getting to it either. 

Turn upside down, well why you ask, well I’ll tell ya: this keeps it from getting any air to the meat. Then store in the fridge upside down till the next day, and you will find there is really no oxidation. So try it, hope this helped you out. ~Christina 

Lemony Avocado Tuna Salad Sandwich

So I love Avocado and try to put into everything, even my Oatmeal, just kidding! Anyways, this could be a lower calorie sandwich if you substituted the white Italian bread with Multigrain or Potato bread and using vinegar and olive oil dressing with herbs mixed in. I chose the fattening route, hey once in a while its ok. All in moderation.

You start out cutting up the lemon,

Add your whole can of tuna to a bowl and break it up, squeeze lemon onto tuna, mix in.

Now add 1/2 an avocado after you‘ve cut it up. I will be posting a short tutorial on an easy way to cut up an avocado without wasting any of the meat inside, following this post. 

Cut up your celery (for crunchiness) and add to the mix.

Add 2 tablespoons of mayo and stir.

I added salt at the end, but you could omit it. There are different variations you could do, so knock yourself out. It was a yummy sandwich. ~Christina

Bottomfeeder Snack Mix…Easy How To

Your probably wondering what Bottomfeeder Snack Mix is. Well it’s a term I’m using to describe the combined bottom of the bag snacks, I currently have in my pantry. I really get tired of the many wandering leftover snacks, so I decided to do something about it. Here is the before….

Here is the After, it was an Ahhh Moment. I dumped every snack that was dwindled down to the bottom into a Gallon sized baggie. Now it not only looks fresh, but its something my kids like. So now instead of throwing out the bottom of the bag scraps, they now have purpose, to be EATEN. Hope I’ve inspired you to clean out your pantry and repurpose your wandering leftovers. ~Christina

Day 26 CHALLENGE Homemade Chocolate Frosting & Have a Happy Easter!!!

Today was a bit crazy, not only is it the day before Easter (wink, wink for you parents), but for our family today is my husbands 39th birthday. I was running around so much and cooking and baking that it felt like Christmas time with everything going on. Well since I had forgotten to grab some frosting at the store when I bought his box cake, I wondered, hmmm could I make my own frosting, turns out on the back of a Hershey’s cocoa container (an absolute staple in my home and should be in yours too) they have a recipe for Perfect Frosting. I needed butter so went to get some, hence part of the running around today. I never knew I could make my own. I have made glazes in the past but was under the impression that bakers knew some deep dark secret not privy to the rest of us on how to make decadent chocolate frosting. WELL MY DEARS I HAVE MADE IT and is it YUMMY!!!! Let’s just say there was no talking when the cake was eaten tonight. ; )
Here’s what you’ll need for your frosting~

Here’s the directions~

It was so easy to make, it was a piece of cake, punny I know! Here’s the end result, talk about licking the spoon, licking your fingers, I think I got it on stuff just TOO lick it off it was so darn good. I will never buy the cartons of frosting ever again. Everyone agreed, it was just the right sweetness, ever so chocolatey and Mmm gooood!! Enjoy~
   

Oh and by the way Have a Happy Easter!!!

Day 23 CHALLENGE Easy Microwave Ranch Pretzel Pieces

I know that I have been on a recipe kick here lately, but I can’t help it. It’s not good for the waist but, my family is eatin’ good. When I am done on my posting CHALLENGES at the end of the month, I am going on a fitness challenge next month, lol! Here is a Recipe for Easy Microwave Ranch Pretzel Pieces, 3X as much as you would get in those little premade bags. So if your saving money this is not a bad way to go and they are homemade.

Well here’s what you’ll need~

1. 3/4 Cup of Oil
2. 1~Hidden Valley Ranch Dip or Dressing in the packet, some use Buttermilk. I don’t know the difference really, one might be a little richer.
3. 1~Tsp. Garlic Salt, you can use 1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder to substitute.
4. 1/4~Tsp. Dill Weed
5. WEGE of Hanover Sourdough Broken Pretzel pieces, (Hanover was near where I used to live in PA) or you could use the Sturgis Pretzels (in the box) and break them up yourself.
6. Bowl/Pyrex Measuring cup and a Spatula to mix

I don’t show the dill weed, I only had 1/4 of a teaspoon left and that’s what I needed.








Add your oil to Pyrex cup.Add the rest of the ingredients except Pretzels

 





Stir everything in the Pyrex cup til thoroughly mixed

Transfer the mixture to a big bowl, or you could use a big gallon sized baggy to mix.
  
Add pretzels pieces and mix well till every pretzel piece is well coated.

Microwave for 1~1/2 minutes/ 3X stirring mixture in between
 
Serve them warm and toasty and you and you’re kids will love ‘em! I had to stop eating them or my Vampire friends wouldn’t be able to visit, hehe!! It’s okay to have garlic once in a while, right?? A great snack….Till tomorrow!

Day 22 CHALLENGE Philly’s Chicken Primavera with Pasta

I love Philly Cooking Cream sauces, yum! I have tried the Original and Italian Cheese & Herb (shown) and they make life so easy in my chaotic household. I try to make recipes that are “Fairly” homemade as I love to cook, but alot of ingredients is 1. too expensive and 2. too complex, I like to make things easy. I decided to try the Recipe on the back of the container and it turned out really good, the hubs loved it! Here’s what you’ll need~

I used their recipe on the back, easy ingredients and easy making. I added more pasta, but you can add as much or as little as you want.

I brought water to a boil and added my Fettucine noodles~
 

I cooked my chicken in a pan and added the Asparagus Stir Fry Veggies per directions. Put the lid on and let it cook.

When it was time I added in the Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Cream, Yummmmy!!

Mixed it well~

Drained my Fettucine~ Then I added the noodles to my pan~


Mixed well again and cooked a couple of minutes then added to my bowl for serving~
 

Here’s the finished product. I made Garlic Bread and it went well with the meal. Bon Appetite’