Bacon and Chicken Mac and Cheese

8 oz uncooked elbow macaroni

10 slices Apple-wood smoked bacon 

8 oz skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 

1 TB canola oil 

1 TB all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups fat-free milk 

1/3 cup Cream of Celery

3/4 cup (3 oz) shredded six-cheese Italian blend

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp chopped fresh dill

1/8 tsp salt 

Cooking spray 

1/2 cup shredded colby-Jack cheese


1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes or until done.
3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Andes Mint Cookies

yield: 3 dozen

1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 (10 oz) bag Andes Mint Baking Chips


preheat oven to 350 degrees


1. Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add both sugars and beat until light and airy.
2. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time. Wait until the first one is fully incorporated before adding the next egg.
3. In a seperate bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (excluding the chips) and add to the butter mixture until fully combined. Mix in the Andes Baking Chips last.
4. Chill dough for 30 minutes before portioning into 36 evenly sized balls. Lightly press with your palm to flatten the cookie a bit before placing on a parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Bake the cookies for 8 – 10 minutes (I prefer mine softer, around 8 minutes). Cool on the baking sheet 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

24 oz Medium salsa

Juice from one lime

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1.25-oz. package taco seasoning

1 can diced Jalapenos

6 boneless chicken breast halves, defrosted

 In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning* and jalapenos. Add the chicken and coat with the salsa mixture. Allow the chicken to cook, covered, in the slow cooker on Low setting for 6 hours. Serve chicken with salsa mixture spooned over top, or shred and use as a taco filling.  It is also great shredded, with black beans, and in a tortilla.

If you love chicken, you will love this.  OMG!  This was amazing!

* I used homemade taco seasoning. Here is the link for the homemade taco seasoning recipe.

So I was told that I needed to start a Food Blog.  So here it is.
I love to cook.  I love food.  So I want to share with you my favorite recipes that I like to make and EAT!