Mom and Pete were up from Albuquerque for Belley’s party so thought I’d look into my “Dinner” Pinterest board to try something new.  Voila . . . “Green Chili Chicken Bake”.  It was yummy and super simple!  Enjoy . . . . What do you think Uncle Lyndie?

INGREDIENTS:

• 3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 – 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 – 4 oz can chopped green chilis
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

1. Heat the oven to 375F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper until combined. Then stir in the green chilis and stir until evenly mixed.  The key here is just making sure that you are starting with nice softened cream cheese.
3. Lay the chicken breasts flat in a baking dish. Cover the chicken breasts with the green chili mixture. Then top with the monterey jack cheese.
4. Bake on the middle rack (uncovered) for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.
5. The recipe suggests serving over rice but I didn’t feel there was enough sauce to do that so I’d just serve it as the main dish.

Here’s the original link: http://www.thepinningmama.com/green-chili-chicken-bake-recipe/

We have a new “Kneaders” in town and I’m in love with their “Chicken Salad”.  I usually make my chicken salad a little sweet with grapes and walnuts.  Their’s is a little more savory.  I found this recipe on Pinterest but it didn’t include water chestnuts and dill which is in Kneaders Chicken Salad.  When I make this again, I’ll half this recipe:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)
• 1-1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1-1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 stocks celery, chopped
• 1 bunch green onion, chopped
• (I added 1/2 teaspoon of dill & about 1/2 can of chopped water chestnuts)
• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts; cooked and shredded (I used two of those large cans of cooked chicken from Sam’s Club)
• 6-8 rolls or bread of choice (depending on your bread choice – I think it made more than this, like 12 sandwiches) (I would recommend croissants)

Instructions

1. Mix vinegar, salt, pepper, dill, mayonnaise and sour cream together.
2. Mix celery, green onion, chicken and water chestnuts in separate bowl.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Let set overnight or for a few hours for the best flavor.

YUMMMMMM – here’s the link that I found (just remember to add the dill & water chestnuts): http://tinyurl.com/lbnuzcs

These are the most DREAMY Lemon Almonds you will EVERRRRRRR taste!  I’m not kidding!  I rarely shop at “Sprouts” but came across these one day and have introduced this addiction to some of my friends and family.  My daughter loves them too and asked me have to have at her bridal shower.  They’re a tad expensive, in my eyes, but soooo worth the occasional splurge.  I usually try to keep my purchase to a pound – mostly because they’re like homemade chocolate chip cookies – I just can’t eat one and they’re not exactly called skinny almonds, lol!  This mason jar is 24oz and 1 pound fills it nicely.

If you have a Sprouts near you, and you like lemon, it would totally be worth a trip for the almonds alone!  And how cute are they for a little Easter treat!  Just sayin’!

I love my Babycakes Cake Pop/Ball maker and Pancake Pen (that’s the tube in the background with the green lid).  I bought the Babycakes maker at Kohl’s some time ago and I found the Pancake Pen at Home Goods.  I made these for Amie’s birthday last month.  Her favorite cake mix is Funfetti so I made the cake mix from the directions on the box and put the batter in my Pancake Pen.

I sprayed the maker with a little Pam Spray and filled the 1/2 circles with cake batter.  The Pancake Pen makes it so easy.

About 8 minutes later!  I carefully pop them out with the little fork thing that comes with your kit and let them cool in the tray (also in your kit) before moving to parchment paper.

This is what happens when you over fill – you get Saturn Balls!  It’s really no big deal – you can easily break off the Saturn ring.

I prefer making the balls over making pops – they’re just easier to handle and they can fit in cupcake liners for a cute display.  I just melted some Wilton pink candy melts and dipped the balls to coat.  Then back onto some parchment paper to cool – add some sprinkles if you like while the coating is still warm. The cake mix box yielded about 60ish cake balls.  Love these little tidbits!

My new favorite breakfast!  I’m not much of a breakfast person but know that I should be.  I came across this post on Pinterest and thought I’d give it a try.  YUM!  Super simple – I use a 16 oz. mason jar, get it ready at night and voila, breakfast in the morning.  I actually take the mason jar to work and leave it in the fridge.  I usually heat it up a tad but if you’re European feel free to eat it cold, lol.  The recipe was a little “soupy” for me so I cut down the milk to 1/2 cup – this will make 2 servings.

Mocha Overnight Oats

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup milk (I use 1%) and 1/2 cup brewed coffee

2 TBS honey & 1 TBS cocoa

Add everything to your mason jar, shake and let it sit overnight or longer.

Here is the original link: http://houseofyumm.com/mocha-overnight-oats

I finished my chalkboard with my Spring/Summer 2017 To Do List!  I listed refresh the garden beds but forgot to list “plant the garden beds” lol.  I bought some “Bistro Chalkboard Markers” at Joanne’s.  I love the “bullet” tips and these fluorescent colors are so fun!  There are a ton more things I hope to get done this summer that I didn’t get on the list.  We’ll see how everything goes.  Happy Friday!

I’ve been wanting a chalkboard to put my “to do” lists on so that I have it right in front of my face.  I bought the chalkboard at Hobby Lobby it was just $7.50 (50% off ).  Then my grand plan was to put it in a picture frame because I wanted it more “chunky”.  Well the chalkboard is 23″x35″ and picture frames are 24″x36″ so the chalkboard was to small to attach to a frame.  I went to Home Depot and bought some 1/2″ quarter round trim for about $7 (16 ft.).

 I miter cut the 1/2″ quarter round and used my finish nailer and some wood glue to attach the trim to the chalkboard frame.

Then I painted the chalkboard frame and trim a semi-gloss white and used the finish nailer to attach the chalkboard to the rustic wood frame $25 (I bought it at Hobby Lobby, also 50% off ).

So for about $40 I have exactly what I wanted & I love it.  Now I just have to add my “to do” list to it, first off will be Spring/Summer 2017!

Artichoke Dip

Jalapeno Popper Dip

If you need some ideas for your Super Bowl Party this Sunday- try these two YUMMY dips!!  Here are the links from my website:

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Wow Me Wednesday . . .

Artichoke Dip

https://gettinmycountryon.com/?s=artichoke

I finally broke out a jar of my pepper jelly for Thanksgiving!  It was fabulous and gone in 30 min., lol.  I’m so proud to say that I made it with bell peppers from my own garden.  Here is the link to my recipe – so pretty for a Christmas appetizer!  Just pour a 4oz jar over an 8oz block of cream cheese and serve with Wheat Thins – YUM!

https://gettinmycountryon.com/?s=pepper+jelly