Does this look familiar?

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

I’m sure most of you can recognize the woman on the cover, if not, head to The Pioneer Woman to see what all the buzz is about.  Ever since this cookbook came out, I’ve been pining over it – with all its crisp and clear pictures and witty descriptions, but I would only allow myself to look and not touch.  That all changed this weekend!  I can’t wait to try some of the recipes.

If any of you have the cookbook and have tried some recipes – please leave a suggestion of which to try first.  I’m so excited!  I really do have the best friends, family, and readers in the world!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut in strips (cubed works well, too)
• 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
• 6 cups frozen southern style potatoes or obrien potatoes, thawed
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup corn flake crumbs (he left these out)
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted  (San left this out as well)
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped about 3-4 (you can pass on this as well if you don’t have it on hand)

He added some southwest seasoning as well as garlic powder and salt/black pepper to the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  After cutting your chicken into either strips or cubes, add any seasoning you would like or leave it plain as the recipe states.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, add the hot sauce.  If you like your food really spicy, you can add even more.

In a greased 9×13 inch pan, pour in the potatoes and mix in the ranch and soup.

After mixing all of that together, top with cheese.

Then top with the chicken mixture.

And add more cheese if you’d like.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  The recipe tells you to leave the chicken uncooked until baking with at total baking time of 55 minutes.  San precooked the chicken and cut the cooking time in half.  I would recommend doing it his way as well.  It’s quicker and that way you know the chicken is fully cooked. Now that looks delicious!  For the complete step by step recipe, head over here.

If you like a little spice in your life or just like buffalo sauce, you should give this a try.  It’s very simple, uses mostly ingredients you probably have on hand, and is apparently so delicious your loved one will make it again just so you can blog about it!  I can’t wait to try it myself!  I’m not a big buffalo fan, but since this has ranch in it as well, I’m sure it is as delicious as San has been telling me.

I have been thinking of doing away with my weekly Revamping Recipes posts every Tuesday, but will probably do them every once in a while.  I don’t know how interested everyone is in what I am making, and since I am home, I don’t eat a weekly meal since I am not cooking for myself.  Is there anything you would be interested in reading about every week that I could use to fill the spot?  Perhaps an inspiration board, some photography lessons, a weekly craft, decorating inspiration, thrifty finds?  I’d like to know what you like to read about and I’d like to consider creating a new weekly installment to fill the recipe void.  Or do you like the weekly recipes?  Please let me know in the comments section or email me at dreamindomestic @ gmail dot com.

San was a sweetheart again this week and whipped up something he’s been wanting to try for a while now.  He was nice enough to take some photos to share with you all!  This is a recipe he found in an issue of Men’s Health as a delicious alternative to tuna sandwiches.  San and I are huge fans of seafood and love tuna sandwiches, but San said this recipe blows the tuna variation out of the water!  I can’t wait to try it myself.  In the meantime, here’s how he did it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 lb. cooked shrimp
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• Pinch of salt and pepper
• Garlic powder to taste
• Southwest seasoning (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons of mayo (depending on how large the shrimp are)
• Juice of one lemon (San left this out)
• Hoagie rolls
• Slices of cheese (any kind – optional)

Start by chopping the onion.

Add the hot sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, seasoning, and mayo and mix it together.

Then add the cooked shrimp.

Brown some hoagie rolls.

Add the shrimp mixture.

Top with cheese and enjoy!

Apparently these are the best sandwiches in the world (says San) and are incredibly easy.  If you are looking for something like tuna sandwiches but a little different, I dare you to give these a try.  I’m going to make them as soon as I get a chance.  I can’t wait!

Are you a fan of shrimp – have you ever had a sandwich like this?

This post is a part of Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

I feel bad leaving you all with the wrong way to make these, so I don’t want to dilly dally around – you need to know the right way because these are amazing.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground turkey breast (preferably Jennie-O which is pictured – it’s not as sticky as other brands)
• Any seasoning you think would taste good.  San used:
• Kosher salt
• Honey chipotle barbecue sauce
• Mrs. Dash southwest chipotle seasoning
• Black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Any kind of sliced cheese
• Any kind of bread or bun
• Any vegetable (San used a mix of lettuce and spinach and tomatoes which are not pictured)

Start by taking the thawed ground turkey and adding all of the seasonings.

Then mix it all together well and separate into four patties (or however many you want depending on the thickness). Cook them on a skillet or on the grill for a few minutes on each side until the outside is slightly browned.

Add a slice of cheese and let it melt. Place the burger on a bun or regular or toasted bread and add the toppings.

And voila!

Now, that is definitely the right way to make these – I’m drooling!  I am telling you, these are amazing and so much healthier than ground beef, as long as you buy ground turkey breast.  It’s a little more expensive, but just as tasty if you add some low-calorie flavoring and add some love into the mix.  You won’t be sorry!

I hope this guide has served a better purpose than the last one of how not to make turkey burgers.  I’m ready for a long summer of eating these at least every other week mixed with jalapenos and all sorts of goodies!

This post is a part of Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

The chicken is not pictured.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 an onion, diced (I used a whole small red onion)
• 1/2 cup diced peppers (all green or a mix, like I did tonight)
• 2 15-oz cans cream of whatever soup, a combo of mushroom and chicken is quite nice.  (I used one can of cream of chicken and one can of cream of celery because I don’t care for mushrooms – also the cans my grocery store carries are only 10 oz. so I used two 10 oz. cans of tomatoes to make up for it)
• 1 15-oz can Rotel tomatoes or your store brand of tomatoes with green chilies or a can of diced tomatoes and a small can of diced green chilies
• 2 cups or so cooked diced chicken
• 12 corn tortillas, cut or torn into pieces
• 2 cups grated Cheddar cheese or a Mexican blend

I started by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and cutting up the onion and pepper – gorgeous already!

Then I cooked the diced chicken and vegetables in the oil until the chicken was fully cooked and the vegetables were soft.

  When the chicken was fully cooked, I added both cans of tomatoes and soup (since my grocery store didn’t carry any 15 oz. cans of either the tomatoes or the soup and I wanted to make sure I had enough mixture to use in the casserole) and mixed it together.

Then I ripped the twelve tortillas into random pieces and got layered 1/3 of them on the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish.

Then I layered 1/3 of the chicken mixture on top of that along with 1/3 of the shredded cheddar cheese.  I repeated this two more times until all the ingredients were used up.  Look at how colorful it is!

Then I baked it for 40 minutes and it came out look beautiful!  This recipe looks and tastes a lot like the Chicken and Chip Casserole, but this one is a little better because the tortillas are already soft and didn’t get soggy like the chips did.  I liked that this recipe gave me options, even though I would change some ingredients anyway.  I didn’t stick completely to the recipe, but it still turned out tasting delicious.  This is such a simple, fun, and delicious recipe anyone could make and most people would enjoy.  Add some jalapenos for a kick if you like things spicy.  Seriously, if you never tried Chicken and Chip Casserole yet, then you have to try King Ranch Chicken Casserole.  You won’t be sorry!

This post is a part of Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.