Tasty Tuesday ~ ‘Jacked Up’ Chicken – Bacon Bake

WHOOOAAA – aaaaaamazingggggg!!! SERIOUSLY – you have to make this!

A few weeks ago I had a chicken, bacon melt and it was so good and I kept thinking of how I could make it a FREEZER MEAL… so I searched the giant internet’s recipe files and I tried a few sauces and VOILA, the Jacked Up Chicken Bacon Bake was created!

My original sandwich housed Swiss cheese but I figured Pepper Jack would put this dish right over the edge and it sure did!!

Here we go….

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut in ½ width wise) I used 4 breasts divided
• ½ lb cooked bacon
• 2 cups cheese – This time, I shredded and used Pepper Jack but have used sliced swiss before too… You just need to completely cover the chicken.
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 box stuffing mix
• 1 stick of butter

 

DIRECTIONS:

• Slice chicken breast (width wise) so the breasts are thin and place breast into a greased (spray Pam) casserole or 9 x 13

• Cover chicken with strips of bacon

• Cover bacon with cheese

• Mix soup, milk and sour cream – pour over cheese

• Melt stick of butter, mix stuffing into melted butter – pour over sauce and “push” into topping

 

• Cover dish with foil and bake covered for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven then remove foil covering and continue baking for another 15 minutes

 

• Pull from oven, allow to sit for 5 minute then serve

 

Monday Matchups ~ HERE’s the deal….

Happy MONDAY my friends!

 

How are you?? Ready for the week ahead? It’s EASTER… I hope to goodness this means SPRING is upon us!! This week we need to get the eggs dyed… and get the desserts made!

 

HERE is our MEAL PLAN – HERE

Stay Tuned for the posting of the new Chicken Bake I created!!

 

No more UPS at Rite-aid so I skipped a plan there but I did plan a GREAT CVS trip!! – HERE

 

I planned MY favorite deals at TOPS – HERE

I went today and got $243 worth for only $83 out of pocket… AND I earned $1.40 in gas points!!

 

Now – on to the CRAZY week…

 

SO – favorite meal?? Favorite deal?? Share something with us!!

Weekly Menu ~ Meal Plan

~ WEEKLY Meal Plan ~

On my SUNDAY FUNDAY cooking day I came up with the most amazing Chicken Bake – think of those yummy chicken, bacon melts… I even upped the stakes with Monterey Jack cheese. Stay tuned for that recipe on this week’s Tasty Tuesday!

I also pre-planned the week’s meals and of course shopped for everything we will need – for the meals and for EASTER dinner….

Check it out ~

Monday – “Meat-Less Mondays”

TUNA MAC SALAD – I made a huge Mac Salad (tuna and tons of crisp veggies) for a “picnic” on Saturday and we are going to have that for dinner. Weigh in on the great mac salad debate HERE. Kids will have hot dogs with it. And then we color eggs!!

Tuesday – “TACO TUESDAY”

Cheesy Chicken Taquitos – This is our favorite ‘chicken enchilada’ recipe HERE.   Then I will make the Sugar Cookie Dough.

Wednesday –

LASAGNA SOUP – based on this recipe HERE and will make Garlic Bread with Cheese from a French loaf. Cut outs for BUNNY BUTTS!!

Thursday – PASTA NIGHT

Cheesy Smoked Sausage Skillet – recipe from one of my favorite sites HERE.   Make the Easter Bird Nests!!

Friday –

Good Friday Dinner Out – Extended Family… all go out for a fish fry / salad bar… or chicken fingers as my kids always prefer!

Saturday – To cook or not to cook…

Leftovers, Breakfast (cereal), Something New, or eating out – it all depends on what the weekend plans end up being AND whether or not the week’s plan stayed on track… Fill in as needed or have wine for dinner and make the masses fend for themselves – my favorite plan!! It will be a busy day of food prep for Easter Dinner so probably pizza!

Sunday –

Easter Dinner – 10 Guests, so dinner for at least 15 – Baked Ham, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Corn, Rosa Marina, Fresh Rolls and Cresents… and many Easter Treats and a Birthday Surprise for Papa – thinking Cream Puff Dessert.

 

SO – what are you making this week??

 

TOPS deals ~ week of 3/29

TOPS deals for the week ~ I am not seeing a ton of COUPON deals, but still some great prices and options…. Here is what I will do:

 

GAS BOX DEAL #1 – EARN 200 BONUS GAS POINTS WHEN YOU BUY 6 items:

*Stock up CHEESE, Capri Suns, and KRAFT dressing, remember 200 BONUS points essentially saves you $1 per item…

Kraft Shredded cheese – $2.50 and Cracker Barrel slices and Bars – $2.50 or Kraft Singles – $3.00

Capri Sun 10ct – $2.50 (- $.75/3 Capri Sun 10 ct coupon 3/1 SS)

Kraft Dressing – $2

 

GAS BOX DEAL #2 – EARN 200 BONUS GAS POINTS WHEN YOU BUY 6 items:

Pantene -$3.00

– $5/3 Pantene shampoo or conditioner coupons from the 3/29 or 3/1 P&G

OR -$2/1 Styler coupon from the 3/1 P&G or 3/15 SS

*When figuring value of gas points, the stylers are FREE

 

Sugardale Ham – $1.79/lb

 

Cheerios (all kinds) – $2.50

– $1/3 General Mills (3/22 SS) or the $1/2 Cheerios protein ( 3/1 SS)

 

Smithfield bacon – B2G3

 

Coffee Mate Creamer – $2.50

 

Pepsi 12ct , 8ct, or 6ct – B2G3 or Coke 2 Liters – $1 or 7up 5 for $5 when you buy 5

 

Nabisco crackers $2.00

-$1/2 Triscuit Tops coupon from the 3/8 Smartsource = $1.50 each

 

Tostitos or Lays – B2 Get 2 FREE

 

Birdseye or Steam Fresh – $1

-$1/2 Steamfresh (2/22 SS)

 

Pillsbury Crescent rolls $2

 

Bison Sour cream – B1G1

 

Potatoes – B1G1

 

Kozy Shack pudding – $2.50 (.75 tear pad right by pudding) or Jello Pudding – $1

 

Philly Cream cheese – $1.67

– $1/3 Kraft Cream cheese (3/15 SS) = $1.33

 

Banquet sausages -$1

French’s french fried onions – $2.99

 

Dole Canned pineapple -$1

– $1/3 Dole fruit (3/22 SS)

 

Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles – $1

– $1/2 Pennsylvania dutch (3/8 SS)

 

CVS ~ week of 3/29

CVS – how I have missed our daily weekly sessions…. But FORGIVE me, PLEASE accept me back… Rite-aid ditched me (no more UPS)… I should have known… You were right… CVS is the answer!!!

I need to restart and build back up to the momentum of rolling about $20 worth of ECBs every week and this week is a GREAT one for stocking up… not only for EASTER candy, but on the P&G goods as well… last year I did the DAWN deal (3x – I ordered) and I just ran out about a month ago…. I don’t have the stock of coupons to do that again, but I will for sure do it for what I can!

First – the candy…. Get 4 bags of M&Ms and 3 bags of Hershey (kisses, miniatures, and mini eggs – all great for baking for Easter – or just for eating!) for $8!! 7 bags of candy for $8 = WOWZA!!

Then I will pick one of the P&G deals (below) to roll the candy UPS…. And then I will use the $10 UPS from P&G to get the FREE Tena and buy some Nutella!

AWESOME bargains at CVS this week!!! Who is with me???

M&M’s; 9.9-12.6 oz – 4/$12 = $3 each

-$1 M&M’s 9oz+ (exp Sun 5/3/15) RP 3-22

OR -$1 off 2 M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, Dove or Unwrapped Bites Products, 6oz+ (DND), exp. 4/12/15 (RP 03/01/15)

Get $4 ECB (wyb 4/12 – limit 1)

= as low as “Only $1” each

 

Hershey’s kisses, eggs, or miniatures & cadbury mini eggs 7.1-15 oz – 3/$9 = $3 each

-$1 off 2 Hershey Candies bags 8 oz+ (cvs coupon on coupons.com)

AND -$2 off 3 Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s, Miniatures, Eggs, Cadbury or Whoppers Bags, exp. 4/5/15 (SS 03/22/15) [8-oz.+]

Get $2 ECB (wyb 3/9- limit 1)

= $1.33 each

 *cute cookies I made (birdnests) with Cadbury Mini Eggs

P&G Deal, Spend $30 and earn $10 ECB

*most P&G coupons only allow 4 like coupons to be used so you may have to split up your orders…

 

Best deal I see is Pantene Stylers, shampoo and conditioner – 3/$10 or $3.33 each

Available coupons:

-$2 Pantene Styler or Treatment Product, exp. 3/31/15 (P&G 03/01/15) [ETS; Limit 4]

-$2 Pantene Styler or Treatment Product, exp. 3/31/15 (SS 02/22/15) [ETS; Limit 4]

-$2 Pantene Styler or Treatment Product, exp. 4/30/15 (SS 03/15/15) [ETS; Limit 4]

-$5 off 3 Pantene Product, exp. 3/31/15 (P&G 03/01/15) [Excludes 6.7-oz. and trial sizes; Limit 4]

-$5 off 3 pantene products must include shampoo and conditioner or styler excludes 6.7oz (ets, exp 04/30/15) 03/29/15 pg

 

BUY – 9 Pantene Stylers =$30 – $18 man. Coupons = $12 out of pocket and get back $10 ECBs = 9/$2.00!!

 

You could also do Shampoo/Conditioner:

9 Pantene Shampoo/conditioner = $30 – $15 mq (3 x $5 mq) = $15 and get back $10 ECBs = 9/$5.00

 

Or mix and match:

6 Pantene Shampoo/conditioner $20 – $10 (2 x $5/3 mq)

3 Stylers $10 – $6 (3 x $2 mq)

$30 – $16 = $14, get back $10 = 9/$4

 

Deal also applys to this rebate: -$15 mir wyb $50 covergirl, pantene, olay, secret, ivory, aussie, clairol, safeguard, herbal essences hair & body wash, olay body, head & shoulders, & vidal sassoon color (applies to price paid after coupons) 03/01-04/30

 

If the “renewal” is included, I may “borrow” a card to stock up on the DAWN during this sale…

Dawn 9 oz – $.99

-$0.50/1 Dawn Hand Renewal, Power Clean, Bleach Alternative or Oxi, exp. 3/31/15 (P&G 03/01/15) [ETS; Limit 4]

* will need to do multiple deals at 4 each to reach the ECB

 

If you can PRINT 2 coupons, you can get 2 packs of liners FREE:

Tena – bogo 50% off AND get $4 ECB wyb 2 (limit 1)

active liners 26 ct – $3.99

-$2 TENA® Product at CVS Pharmacy Stores (man. Coupon printed from coupons.com)

-$14 TENA Underwear or $7 TENA Pad [request on website, sent by Mail]

 

And a GREAT price if you are a NUTELLA fan:

Nutella – $2.99

– $2 mfq (2/1 ss, EXPIRES 3/30)

= $.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughtful Thursday ~

*Dreamin’ of summer…. a friend reposted this pic today and it couldn’t be more fitting…. THESE are OUR boys and THIS is exactly what they should be doing!!!

Thoughtful Thursday ~

A review of the week so far….

• A MEAL PLAN review – HERE
• Our Favorite “DEEP DISH” pizza recipe – HERE
• A fun, easy – no bake, goodie (peanut butter and chocolate)recipe – HERE
• Favorite Rite-aid deals (last week of earning UPS) – HERE
• Staring back at CVS – HERE
• What to buy at TOPS this week – HERE

 

Some ~ oh so exciting ~ PERSONAL thoughts:

• March 26^th and it is FRIGGEN snowing…. Snowing so much I had to dig through the 87 cases of Girl Scout Cookies still in my car to find my damned snow brush again…
• BTW – I have your damn Girl Scout Cookies!
• OH – I also have all your stupid fundraiser chocolate!
• I need to get better at delivery of above goods or just quit selling them as I never seem to have all the money at once and it sure seems to cost me more than the benefit…. Anyone else pay $40 for a box of candy bars that you never even got one of?? (Let alone $200 for 1 box of thin mints??)
• Speaking of “these kids” I have a good one for you… the oldest (aka the good child) pulled this one and although I didn’t put it on facebook – where I tell all (LOL) – I do have to document it for future reference…. The house rule is phones have to go on the kitchen counter before bed time…. I have been lax in verifying this has been occurring until I discover the child “who likes a girl” – agh – is on this phone LATE into the night…. So I take the phone and put it on the counter…. When getting ready to go to bed myself, I notice the phone looks “funny” and that is because it is NOT the phone but the IPOD strategically placed in the phone case to fool – someone – someone else though cuz Mama is on it my friends! I raced into said child’s room so fast and sure enough at MIDNIGHT he was “face-timing” away…. BRAT!!! Now there is NO phone usage for 2 solid weeks! But OMG – that is all of Easter vacation…. I am a HORRID mother….. OMG!!!! STOMP, SLAM, UGH!!!!!   (LOL – now we know he is truly my kid after all….)
• The weekend is upon us and it brings my Friday off with a “Girl’s Night” (whoohoo) and a “Date Night” (Dinner out, no kids – whooohoooo again!) Saturday so I am ready to proceed….

 

 So – go ahead – give your opinion…. WHAT do you think about any of my HOT topics??

 

Happy Weekend upon us! What great plans do you have??

 

 

 

Tasty Tuesday ~ Peanut Butter Bon-Bons (no bake with krispies)

Peanut Butter Bon-Bons (no bake and with Krispies)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 TBS melted butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1½ cup crushed crisped rice cereal( measure out then crush)
• 1½ cup chocolate chips or melting discs…

INSTRUCTIONS:

Begin by melting the butter, then mix peanut butter in…. add powdered sugar and rice krispies.

Mix until combined. Get your hands in there and mix it well… Form into small one inch balls. I made 2 dozen balls.

Place the balls on a wax paper lined cookie tray and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before covering in chocolate.

Melt chocolate in microwave by heating for 30 seconds then stirring and repeating process until it is melted and smooth. OR melt over a double broiler – I use a large glass bowl in a pan of water…

Place a toothpick in each peanut butter ball and dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate and roll around until coated. (Using a fork to lift also helps….)

Place the chocolate ball on the cookie sheet lined with wax paper and remove the toothpicks from each ball.

Place the balls back in the freezer to let the chocolate set. It should take an hour or two.

It is BEST to store these in the freezer as well – if you truly have any left to store…

SO EASY… SO GOOD!!!

 

Tasty Tuesday ~ OUR Deep Dish Pizza Pie

OUR Deep Dish (AKA thick crunchy crust) Pizza Pie

*Pizza Dough made in Bread Machine

Now I know this is NOT your traditional deep dish pizza, but it is how we make our own deep dish! The crust is a “never fail” pizza crust and when used in a greased baking dish, it makes for a thick and crispy delicious crust! We then double layer the cheese and pepperoni and have the KELSEY DEEP DISH PIZZA PIE!

I love that the crust is pretty forgiving… I can start it in the am and get to it when I get to it… the kids can make their own pizzas or we can make this delicious pizza pie!

 

CRUST Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 TBS sugar

2 TBS oil (flavored olive oil is delicious)

1 cup and 2 TBS water

1 packet yeast (2 tsp.)

Pizza sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice

In order, place the above ingredients into bread machine and set the dough setting…. Once complete put dough in a greased bowl and spray top of dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and allow dough to double in size… within 1 hour my dough was pushing the top of the towel.

Spread dough into a GREASED 9X13… or 2-9 inch pie pans. You can also use dough on a standard pizza pan or stone but the greased ‘edge’ pans will create the thick puffy crust. Bake dough for 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven… allow to cool to the touch then prepare pizza to your liking….

Turn oven up to 425 degrees ~

Create your pizza; we use sauce, a layer of mozzarella, a layer of pepperoni, another layer of mozzarella and a final layer of pepperoni… it’s like a pizza lasagna of sorts…. Of course you could add tons of veggies at any point…

Bake for 18-20 minutes until cheese is bubbling and outer crusts have browned! YUMMMOOOO

Monday Matchups ~ an overview….

Happy MONDAY my friends!

How are you?? Ready for the week ahead?  What ‘cha got going on??

 

So for this week, I did a MEAL PLAN – HERE

It includes lots of new recipes to try and this week I will update you on the pizza and peanut butter bon-bons we made. Check it out and share your meal plans with us! We all love new ideas!!

 

I planned a simple RITE-AID Ups roll (FREE shampoo)– HERE

I also reviewed a couple FREEBIES at CVS (mascara – I love it!) – HERE

 

I planned MY favorite deals at TOPS – HERE

It is a new GAS POINT earning cycle and based on the rain checks I have I am hoping to hit $1.00 off per gallon this week alone! Do you get rain checks?

 

Now – on to the CRAZY week…

 

SO – favorite meal?? Favorite deal?? Share something with us!!

Weekly Menu ~ Meal PLan

 

~ WEEKLY Meal Plan ~

Being “Sunday Funday” I got to spend the day in the kitchen – of course I actually did that on Saturday too… the kids and I made homemade pizzas and these delicious Peanut Butter Bon Bons ~ I’ll share my recipes this week!!

I put a HUGE roast in the cooker that we had for dinner with roasted veggies and fresh rolls and there are plenty of leftovers for hot beef sammies later in the week.

In order to prep ahead for the week and make dinner quick and easy; I fried 3 lbs. of burger and premade the taco meat for Tuesday and set aside 2 cups for easy sauce for Thursday. Then I cooked 3 chicken breasts for Wednesday’s dinner – which I put together already as well.

Here is our week plan:

Monday – “Meat-Less Mondays”

Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing – found this recipe HERE and can’t wait to try it with a few deviations to our preference…. spring mix, the craisins and mandarin oranges, and toasted almonds AND sunflower seeds! Not sure if my family will AGREE this is a full meal or not, but I am trying to convert them!!

Tuesday –TACO TUESDAY

BAKED TACOS – found this recipe HERE, so simple – yet brilliant! I also love that I can prep the meat ahead of time and can quickly and easily throw this in the oven!

Wednesday –

Creamy Chicken Broccoli Pies – found this recipe HERE and loved the sound of it… also appreciate that I can prep them all ahead of time and we can simply bake them for dinner!

Thursday – PASTA NIGHT

Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce –

Friday –

BBQ Beef Sammies  – taking the leftover beef from Sunday’s roast and reheating in beef broth then adding BBQ sauce prior to serving…. On garlic butter toasted rolls…. YUMMMMM

 

Saturday – To cook or not to cook…

Leftovers, Breakfast (cereal), Something New, or eating out – it all depends on what the weekend plans end up being AND whether or not the week’s plan stayed on track… Fill in as needed or have wine for dinner and make the masses fend for themselves – my favorite plan!!

 Sunday –

Chicken Dinner – Not quite sure what to make yet, some yummy baked chicken dish… I’ll have to study some more recipes first!

 

SO – what are you making this week?