Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

So I know I make fun of my boyfriend allll the time for never eating anything green. I still love him, I swear.

But the other day, nothing short of a miracle happened. We were in a cab going to an event and we had to grab dinner to go. I grabbed a chicken caesar salad from the pizza place and he grabbed two slices of pepperoni pizza, of course. I'm not a huge caesar fan in general, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Colin scarfed down his pizza and was just eyeing my salad like it was chocolate cake. He ended up trying it.....AND ENJOYING IT! I gave him the rest of my dinner because I was in such shock.

I found this recipe from Nikki at chef-in-training (I am borderline obsessed with all of her recipes). Colin had asked for Chicken Caesar Salad for dinner so I offered up this as a substitute because I have been dying to try out my new slow cooker. These were so easy and so good and so simple and I could clearly just rave on about them forever! Want to know the best part? My boyfriend actually was able to make them himself!

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Salad Sandwiches

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (mine were frozen)

1/2 - 1 Cup of your favorite Caesar Salad Dressing

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 cups shredded lettuce

4-6 hamburger buns

4 slices of bacon cooked (optional)

Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker with 1-2 cups of water. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Remove chicken from cooker and drain water. Place chicken on a cutting board and shred chicken. Place chicken back in the cooker and pour dressing, cheese, and pepper over top. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until mixture is hot. 

Assemble buns with lettuce and bacon and chicken mixture. Enjoy! 

Chicken Fajita Pasta, a long weekend, and an apology.

I am just going to a quick apology for disappearing for months and months and pretend like it didn't happen. I am very sorry though! I will be doing much better with the posts now that tax and audit season have died down and I hopefully have more time to myself.

So, happy week after Memorial Day Weekend! Over here in the NYC/NJ area, Memorial Day weekend is one of the biggest holidays of the year. It is the official kick off to summer and EVERYONE goes to some sort of beach house or getaway. I usually spend my weekend at my beloved Jersey Shore, but this year, my dad conned me into going to the Lake House up in the Finger Lakes. It wasn't supposed to be the warmest (60 degrees!) in NJ, so I figured it was a good weekend to skip. I actually forgot how gorgeous it is up there!

View from the dock 

My lake house

Colin & I on the dock

My roommate is in LA for a nice extended long weekend, so I conned my boyfriend to being a sub roommate to me for a few days so I didn't have to be alone. It is always hard to try and cook something he likes to eat, but I figured that chicken fajita pasta (from picky palate) would work. It was very very good and made a TON. I have been eating it for every meal since to not waste the leftovers, so if you have 2 people I would halve the recipe. 

Creamy Chicken Fajita Pasta

- 1 pound of your favorite small pasta

- 8 ozs of cream cheese

- 2 cups milk

- 2 boneless chicken breasts 

- 1 packet of dry ranch mix
- 1 package of pre-made Fajita veggies (I just cut up peppers and onions since my store didn't have them)

 - 1 tbsp olive oil. 

Cook your pasta according to directions. Boil or grill your chicken until done all the way through and cut up into small pieces (or shred). Whip the 8 oz of cream cheese until light and fluffy. While pasta is cooking, use a small pan to heat milk and ranch mix for about 5 minutes or until very hot. Slowly add the whipped cream cheese to the milk and ranch mixture. Stir until cream cheese is totally melted. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil into pan and cook vegetables until soft, about 5 minutes. Strain pasta and combine with chicken and veggies. Pour over sauce and enjoy!! 

Buffalo Chicken Burritos

I have a new obsession. Has anyone tried the Kmorr Buffalo Chicken flavor Rice Sides? It is amazing. Seriously, go out and buy it.

 I'll admit I wasn't the first person to jump on the buffalo chicken bandwagon. I hate spicy food and it was still a little much for me, but I am slowly attempting to incorporate it. Anyway, they don't sell this at the supermarket by me. Therefore, it can never be an impulse meal. I have to call my boyfriend and ask him to go buy it for me and then he has to bring it to me next time I see him.

This was an accidental miracle finding. My boyfriend hates most side dishes that aren't fried. He doesn't eat any vegetables so I figured this would be a good middle ground for both of us since he loves all things buffalo chicken. After I made this the first time, I knew I needed to stock up on it because I could use it in so many things.

First recipe I thought of was some sort of buffalo chicken burrito. Oh my goooooooooodnessssss were they good. So simple to make too! Perfect for any picky (or non picky) eater!

Just look at them! 

Buffalo Chicken Burritos (serves 2)

1 package Kmorr Buffalo Chicken Rice Sides

3 skinless thin chicken breasts

4 pieces of bacon

4 whole wheat soft taco tortillas

Ranch dressing (optional)

Guacamole (optional) 

1. Cook your rice according to package directions.

2. Cook your bacon according to your preference. Once bacon is done, coarsely chop into bite size pieces.

3. Boil your chicken in a salted pot of water until cooked. The chicken should be all white when cut through the middle.

4. Assemble tortillas on a flat surface by pouring a about 1/5 of the rice, 1/4 of the chicken, one piece of bacon and ranch/guacamole if desired. Roll up into a burrito and serve. Continue with other 3 tortillas.

I also have enough of the rice left over for lunch today at work :) 

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

I think I lived off of mac & cheese when I was younger. I wish I was kidding. I revamped my diet to include things other than neon cheese in a foil packet, but once in a while I get that craving. My current craving has been lasting a few weeks so I finally pulled the trigger and decided to make it.

Guilty side note, this was on the same day that I made the butter cookies. I can't resist free time!

Anyway, my roommate doesn't eat chocolate. Therefore, I like to cook for her since she is much more adventurous than my boyfriend in that department. She also LOVES buffalo wings and I knew she was having a bad day, so I figured buffalo chicken mac and cheese from Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour could do the trick for both of us.

First, you just choose whichever pasta you'd like (I was always a fan of the shells) and cook/drain according to directions.Also, don't forget to cook your chicken! While that is cooking, make the sauce in a sauce pan. First, melt and let the butter bubble in a sauce pan. Then, whisk in some flour until it turns about golden-ish. Pour in your milk and let it thicken! (I may have missed the thickening step...). Add your cheeses until melty and smooth and then add the wing sauce. Yummmm.

Combine everything in a  9x13 dish....

Add some breadcrumbs to the top and some more cheese to coat...

then bake  @ 375 for 25 minutes until golden! 

Ingredients: 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
1 tbsp. flour
4-6 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups milk
4 oz. grated monterrey jack cheese
1/3 cup sharply shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
Ranch dressing (optional)

Bake @ 375 for 25 minutes in a 9x13 pan.