Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos

It seems like it has been forever since I cooked.  I haven't done much of it since Adalyn was born.  Unless if you count popping some corn dogs in the oven cooking.  Josh and I have been feeling awful from the lack of health food so we decided it was time to go grocery shopping and have a somewhat of a healthy meal plan.  I saw this recipe on Pinterest the other night and thought it sounded amazing!!!

It was so easy and quick to make and you can even freeze them and have them another night.  I didn't know how they were going to turn out so I made half a batch.  I also made my own version of this. 

Here is my version (click above for the actual recipe):

2 cans of chicken (in water)  {the actually recipe calls for shredding chicken, but when you are cooking dinner and worrying about kids you don't have time for all that!!}

1/2 stick of cream cheese softened ( (I used Neufchatel cheese)

bacon bits  {actual recipe calls for real bacon, but as I said earlier..I didn't have time to fry up some bacon}

1/2 packet of dry ranch dressing mix

1 cup of pepper jack cheese  {actual recipe called for Monterrey jack cheese, but I thought this gave it some more flavor}

10 - 6 inch tortilla shells

non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Make sure your cream cheese is soft.  I just threw mine in the microwave for a few seconds.  Mix in chicken, bacon bits, cheese and ranch mix.

Spray cookie sheet.  I then used a cookie scoop to scoop my chicken mixture on my tortilla shell.  I used two big scoops but the recipe calls for 2-3 tbls.  Roll the shells up and put the opening part down on the cookie sheet.  Repeat until all the mixture is gone.

Spray the tops of the tortilla shells with non-stick cooking spray.  

Put in the oven for about 10 minutes.

They turned out so good that I brought some leftovers for lunch today!!!  This will be on our future meal plans!  

Meal Organization

Update: I counted and we haven't been to Walmart in 17 days!! That is unbelievable to me!!!!

I told y'all a few weeks back that I was trying to come up with a way to not go to the grocery store as much.  I also wanted to have ideas for dinner so I was worrying about what was for dinner that night.  I am not completely done but I have started this and it is working out well. 

Step One
Look for a whole bunch of recipes.
I went out on the internet and found a whole bunch of recipes that I wanted to try.  I looked on Pinterest for most of these.  I combined those recipes with some that are our favorites and came up with a list of about 15-20. 

Step Two
Make a list of ingredients.
Once I decided on recipes I typed up a list of the ingredients I needed for each recipe.  For example if one of the recipes were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips (no we don't eat this for dinner but its just an example!!), it would look like this:

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches/Chips
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Bread
Chips

I did this for every single recipe I wanted to make. 

Step Three
Decide on what meals you want to cook for however many weeks.
I made a calendar in Word and decided what meals I wanted to cook on which days.  I wanted to buy enough groceries so we wouldn't have to make our "big" grocery trip but once every three weeks.  I included the days I knew Josh would be late so I could make easier meals that night. 

Step Four
Make a grocery list
I looked back at the list of ingredients to see what I already had in the fridge/pantry and typed out my grocery list. 

Step Five
Go grocery shopping!!!

We had a lot going on the first week so I don't think I made a single meal.  But since life has slowed down a bit I have made a few of these meals and it has helped so much having a plan!  Some days I don't eat exactly what is on the calendar for that day, but I choose one of the meals that I know I have all the ingredients for. 

I think this saves us some money too because we aren't going to Walmart numerous times in a month.  Because you and I both know that if you go to Walmart you can NEVER stick to your list.  I did go to Publix once since then but that was to buy fruit and some veggies. 

I will post some of my recipes soon.  I want to try them out first to make sure they are good before sharing them. 

Oatmeal Cream Pies

(My picture)

In my last post I told y'all I was making these and if they turned out good I would tell y'all about them.  Stop what you are doing and go get the ingredients....they are awesome!!!!  I made them at my mom's last night and she already had all of the ingredients and Josh's Aunt T had given me the marshmallow cream puff so I was good to go!

Here is the site that I got the idea from.  I found them on pinterest but I like to show y'all the actual site to give them credit.  So go over and check out her page with all the pictures.

Ingredients for Cookies

1 stick of butter (room temperature)

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/4 cup of flour

1 1/2 cup of oats

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Beat the stick of butter and brown sugar together.  The recipe called for 5 minutes.  I did it for that long and the mixture got nice and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl I stirred the rest of the ingredients together.  I then put the dry ingredients slowly into the butter mixture and mixed it really well. 

Heat oven to 375.  Spoon mixture (tablespoon size) onto a cookie sheet and bake.  The recipe called for 8-10 minutes.  I'm not sure if it was my mom's oven or if I made them smaller, but it did not take me 8-10 minutes so watch the first batch carefully to see how your oven cooks them. 

While you are baking the cookies you can make the yummy goodness in the middle.

Ingredients for yummy goodness in the middle

1 stick of butter

1 (7oz) marshmallow creme

3 cups of powder sugar

1 tsp of vanilla

Mix the butter and marshmallow creme until blended together.  Slowly add the powder sugar and vanilla.

Once cookies are cooled place a good amount of filling on one cookie and sandwich together another cookie.

I ended up making a double batch of cookies and had enough filling for all of them.  It just depends on how much filling you want on each cookie.

My family loved these.  I am not a fan of oatmeal pies but they were amazing.  Don't forget to check out the actual website I found these at here.  She deserves the credit!!!

 FYI, the cookie dough is delicious.  The cookies themselves are delicious.  I can't wait to try them with chocolate chips in them too! 

Golden Oreo Cheesecake - Yes Please!

Who loves Golden Oreos?  I do!  We don't have these at our house because I will eat every single one of them.  I'm not a huge fan of regular Oreos but put the Golden Oreos in front of me and I will eat every.last.one.of.them. 

Ingredients:

28 Golden Oreos, divided 18 and 10

3 tablespoons, melted Butter

1 cup Caramel bits (or 24 wrapped caramels)

1 tablespoon water

2 pkgs (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup Marshmellow Fluff

1 egg

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take out cream cheese so it will be soft.  Crush 18 Golden Oreos (cream and all).  I used my Pamper Chef chopper, but you could use a plastic bag or food processor. 

Pour crumbs into a 9 inch square pan.  (My pan wasn't cleaned so I used a 9 inch round pan) Add 3 tablespoons melted butter and combine using the back of a spoon to mix and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool 10-15 minutes.

While crust is cooling unwrap your caramels, or if using caramel bits, pour into a bowl and add the 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside.

Now coarsely chop the remaining 10 Oreos. Set those aside as well.

Beat the softened cream cheese and marshmallow fluff with a mixer on medium speed. Beat until combined and smooth, scraping down the sides half way through.

Add the egg and beat for 30 more seconds on medium speed until all mixed together.

Stir in the coarsely chopped Oreos.

Pour the batter into the crust. Spread evenly into the pan. Now melt your caramels and water in the microwave for 60 seconds. Stir halfway through. When melted, drop by spoonfuls onto the batter. (I did not end up using all of the caramel)

Using a knife, swirl the caramel into the cream cheese batter. Don't go too deep or you'll mess up the crust.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until center is set. Cool for 20 minutes on wire rack and then transfer to the refrigerator for 4-24 hours. Cut into squares when completely cooled. Enjoy!

I will have to tell you that this was so much better the second day.  So if you can bake it in advance!  You will not be disappointed. 



No baking is complete without this little man helping and eating the batter!  I love baking with him!