Easy Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad

I'm sure you've seen the Suddenly Salad boxes in the grocery.  My friend Wanda made the bacon ranch one then added some shredded chicken and green onion.  That's it.  She served it with warm croissants and cherry tomatoes.  Brilliant, quick and DELISH!

Southwest Pasta

This is VERY similar to the chicken pasta a few posts ago, but I added to it and wanted to share the yumminess.

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat farfalle (bow-tie pasta), uncooked

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (or 1 lg. can of chicken)

3 slices  OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled (or use Hormel pieces)

1 can  (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

3/4 can black beans

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

4 oz.  (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, cubed

1/2 cup  water

1/4 tsp.  pepper

3 Tbsp.  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
MEANWHILE, cook chicken in large skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until done, stirring occasionally. Add rest of ingredients; mix well. Cook 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.
DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add sauce; mix lightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Andrew didn't even get a chance to taste this one...Cliff and I had it for lunch on one of his rare days off of work.  It was gone before Andrew made it home from school. 

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Butter, Melted
• 1 pinch Freshly Ground Pepper
• 1 pinch Coarse Salt
• ½ cups Hot Pepper Sauce, Divided (I used Frank's)
• 1 pound Chicken Tenders
• ¼ cups Ranch Dressing
• 4 whole Large Jalapeno Cheddar Tortillas
• 4 slices Bacon, Cooked And Coarsely Chopped
• 2 whole Eggs, Hardboiled And Roughly Chopped
• 2 cups Shredded Romaine Lettuce
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 whole Roma Tomato, Diced 

Preparation Instructions

Combine the butter, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and 1/4 cup of the hot pepper sauce in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for an hour or more.

Cook marinated chicken over medium-high, about 8 minutes total. Remove chicken from heat and roughly chop it.

In a small bowl, whisk the ranch dressing with 1/4 cup of the blue cheese crumbles. Or buy blue cheese dressing.

Heat up the tortillas in the oven or microwave and start crafting your wraps. Layer some chicken in the center of a tortilla, followed by bacon, eggs, romaine, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, cheddar, the dressing and a few more good dollops of hot pepper sauce.

Roll up the burrito and tuck in the corners. You can throw it on the grill if you want, or if you’re a ravenous freak, go ahead and slice it in half and demolish.

OMG.

I will be using the little bit of leftovers for in a lunch salad tomorrow.

The Real Scoop 
by Andrew

This was too spicy for me.  

I focused more on the side dishes - watermelon and Mom's awesome deviled eggs.

Peanut Butter, Chocolate & Bacon

While staying at Mom's, we tried this recipe that sounded like it had the fixins of something wonderful...

We found it on the Betty Crocker website.

Chocolate-Topped Peanut Butter-Bacon Bars

1 pouch Betty Crocker® peanut butter cookie mix
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup
1 egg
10 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 9- or 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
• 2 In large bowl, stir together cookie mix, oil, syrup and egg until soft dough forms. Reserve 1/4 cup bacon for garnish. Stir remaining bacon and peanuts into dough. Press evenly in pan.
• 3 Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle with chocolate chips. Return to oven; bake 1 minute. Immediately spread chocolate over bars. Sprinkle reserved 1/4 cup bacon over chocolate. Cool completely, about 1 hour or until chocolate is set.
• 4 For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. 

I'm sorry to say that this one gets a bad review.  Perhaps it was the high Ohio humidity, but the cookie was extremely soft - to the point it tasted stale.  Unfortunately, there wasn't much bacon taste, even though I actually used more than the recipe required.  This one had so much potential!

The Real Scoop
By Andrew
I jumped up and down when I saw all three of my favorite foods in one recipe, but YUCK. 

I'm done with recipes for a while.  I need to go do something more manly.

Turtle Burgers

When I was little, my parents called me "Turtle."  I am sure it was because of the lightning-fast pace in which I moved.  So imagine my dismay when Mom sent me this recipe....

While your plain hamburgers are cooking, cut a hot dog for the head, feet and tail. When burgers are done, toss in the hot dog parts to brown and curl. Lay a slice of cheese on the burger, and use "heat 'n serve" bacon and weave it like lattice on top of cheese. Attach the head, feet, and tail with toothpicks.  Pop them in the microwave to warm the cheese and burger. Turtle Burgers are the only seafood I will eat!  P.S. These could be made ahead of time and just heated in the oven.    Mom served these to my dad as a joke.  Anyone notice a divorce notice in the St. Marys paper?  LOL