Rediscovering Quesadillas

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

We have a new favorite, quick and easy meal or snack at my house - Quesadillas. They are so simple to make from whatever you have on hand. I am completely surprised by families sudden enthusiasm for quesadillas. When they were little, my kids would always turn their nose up at the option of quesadillas when we went out for Mexican. The good news is that they ate Mexican food and didn't just ask for the hot dog or chicken nuggets.

Anyway, back to the quesadilla explosion. It all started one day with leftovers. We had grilled some chicken the night before and had some leftover. Most of the chicken was eaten as a topping for salad, but there was a small amount left and my husband asked for a quesadilla. We took the leftover chicken and chopped it up, placing it on one tortilla in a small skillet and then added peppers, onions and cheese and warmed it up to melt the cheese. Since that day, they have become a go to request for a leftover or grab what you want type meal.

I generally have some tortillas on hand because soft tacos are a popular go to menu option, but lately I have had to add tortillas (Chi Chi's tortillas are our go to brand) to my 'pantry' shopping and make sure that I have an extra pack on hand, so that we don't run out.

I think my favorite part is how versatile a quesadilla can be. You can chose to have no meat or whatever meat you have on hand (typically leftovers) - chicken, ground meat, sausage, pepperoni. You can use any type of cheese - cheddar, mozzarella, goat. You can add a variety of vegetables - onions, hot peppers, bell peppers, squash. You can serve it with any number of dips - sour cream, salsa, queso, ranch, pizza sauce. Essentially, you can make it your own and everyone can have their own variety with ease.

My small skillet is the perfect size to fit a soft taco shell. It's non-stick and the quesadilla only takes a few minutes to warm over a medium heat. I also like that it is easy for the kids to make their own too. It may just be a phase, but for now quesadillas are a quick, easy snack or meal option for our family.

What is your go to snack? How do you repurpose leftovers?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product samples for my family to try. I also receive thought starters, information and photos that can be used in a post.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

Each year, it seems, I set very similar resolutions. I like to think of it as a plan to lead a happier, healthier life. I like to believe that each year, I make some progress, but there is always room for improvement. I would like to continue to lead a happy, healthy lifestyle:

by finding more opportunities to be active - whether formal exercise or sneaking it in with fun

by eating healthier - including more vegetables and fruits each day, finding healthier ways to enjoy familiar favorites and trying new meals/recipes that are easy to prepare, tasty and reasonably healthy

by taking time for myself - sometimes you need an escape to allow yourself to destress and process through things, so making time to enjoy a good book, go for a run, have dinner with a friend, etc. are all ways that I can decompress and make sure that I am the best me that I can be.

This past week, when I mentioned that we were having Sloppy Joes for dinner, my husband seemed less than excited, so I felt like I should come up with something different to make for dinner. I had come across a recipe earlier on Pinterest for Buffalo Chicken Rolls. There were a few things that I knew that we wouldn't like and a few ideas I had to make it simpler, so when I went shopping on Friday after work, I picked up a few ingredients that we didn't have on hand - slaw, egg roll wrappers and ranch dressing - to try to make my own version of Buffalo Chicken Rolls.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

12 egg roll wrappers (roughly 4 square inches)
1 12.5oz can Hormel Premium Chicken Breast (in water), drained
1/2 c Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (more or less to taste)
1 cup shredded cheese
shredded cabbage or bagged cole slaw
Small bowl of water
Nonstick cooking spray
Ranch dressing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a small bowl, combine the chicken and the cheese.

Add the buffalo sauce and stir to incorporate. Set aside.

Lay out the 12 egg roll wrappers.

Place a small handful of the shredded cabbage on the bottom corner of the egg roll wrapper. Top with the chicken and cheese mixture.

Fold up the bottom corner of the wrapper, over the stuffing mixture to cover completely.

Fold in the left corner and then the right corner, so that the tips meet in the middle.

Roll the wrap up one time, leaving the top corner open. Using your finger, apply some water to moisten the top corner. Fold that down over the filled roll and press gently to seal.

Repeat with remaining rolls.

Spray your cooking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place your rolls on the sheet and lightly spray your rolls.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the rolls begin to crisp and turn a light brown color.

You can use wonton wrappers too!

Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.

Some notes:
I actually assembled the first three rolls before adding hot sauce to the mixture. My daughter is not a fan of spicy stuff, so I figured it would be best to have some that were plain.

I used mozzarella, because it was what I had in the refrigerator, but I think that cheddar cheese would also be a good option.

If you are a purist, you could use Blue Cheese and Blue Cheese dressing, I suppose, but we aren't fans at my house.

The chicken is about 9 oz, once drained, you could also use leftover chicken for a quick meal.

I am a big fan of buffalo chicken. I know it is not always the healthiest option, since the wings are generally fried. I was pleasantly surprised that each of these rolls turned out to be only about 115 calories. The cabbage made a great filler - giving the rolls more volume and a bit of a crunch too.

The family enjoyed them. My husband even said that I could make them if we had friends over for the Super Bowl. We also talked about making mini-bites using wonton wrappers instead. I'm assuming that wonton and egg roll wrappers are similar, so I might just give that a try.

This post shared at the URS Cabbage Edition.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some of the information for this post.

Cow Appreciation Day = FREE Chick-fil-A

This Friday, July 8th is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A Restaurants.

"Come dressed like a cow from head to hoof and we’ll reward you with a FREE meal. (If you’re a little chicken, don’t worry, a partial costume still receives a free entrée.) And calves in costumes get free meals too; so bring in the whole herd for some family fun."

Need some help with your costume or additional information on this promotion, you can find it on the official Cow Appreciation Day website.

We were just at our Chick-fil-A on Tuesday and they had all sorts of signage promoting this offer, but it is always best to call ahead before heading out to make sure that your location is participating.

Tyson Grilled and Ready

We use chicken for a lot of meals at our house. When I am grilling chicken breasts, it is not uncommon for me to grill extra for the next night's meal. Sometimes though, weather is just not on my side. We have a George Foreman grill, but we bought it years ago before the trays were removable and it is a pain to clean so I am lazy and just don't use it. So, I have occasionally purchased the refrigerated pre-cooked chicken breasts for use in salads and pasta dishes to save some time (and effort). For me, the challenge with the refrigerated product can sometimes be using it before it expires - menus change and items get lost in my refrigerator, only to surface a week after the usage date.

I recently was contacted about trying Tyson Grilled & Ready refrigerated and frozen products. Knowing the luck I have had with not always getting to use the refrigerated product, I decided to try the frozen chicken. My husband picked it up for me and grabbed a bag of the Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast.

We tried it for the first time this week (he picked it up weeks ago, I just never got a chance to use it. See what I mean!). I liked that the bag is a resealable bag, allowing me to use as little or as much as I need and to set the rest back in the freezer for future use. In addition, there is a bag inside of the bag, which I have to believe would help it stay fresher longer before opening. I was glad to find that I could pull out just a few pieces, they weren't all frozen together.

The preparation was simple. You can warm it in the microwave, but 3 to 5 minutes in a skillet is all the prep time needed for this already cooked chicken. From my perspective, you could warm it in a skillet and add to your recipe or even just add it right from the freezer into the pan with the rest of your ingredients.

The chicken was juicy and flavorful. I liked that it was available in a plain grilled/oven roasted variety with just simple seasonings. The fact that is was plain allows it be very versatile and to work in recipes, on salads, in pasta and more.

I like to use diced chicken with pasta. One way I prep it is to simply add the already cooked, diced chicken to a skillet with fresh diced tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes work out of season) and some Italian seasoning. Toss it with some angel hair pasta for a quick, light and flavorful dish. It's also an easy thing to add to some linguine and Alfredo sauce for another easy meal option.

In addition to the Oven Roasted Diced Chicken variety that my husband picked up for us to try, the Grilled and Ready line is available as Chicken Breast Fillets, Chicken Strips, Southwest Chicken Strips, Fajita Chicken Strips and even Seasoned Beef Strips. The products, other than the breast fillets which are only available frozen, are available either frozen or refrigerated.

The Whole Breast Fillets are their newest addition to the line and I plan to try them next. They are fully-cooked, lean, boneless, skinless recipe-ready chicken breasts - the perfect protein for any entrée, salad or sandwich. I like that they are 98% fat free and contain no preservatives. I'm thinking that the Whole Breast Fillets, which also can be microwaved, would be a great option for packing an easy to prepare, lean protein in my lunch.

Giveaway
Would you like to try some? In addition to the coupons that Tyson provided for me to try the Grilled and Ready product line, I received coupons to share with readers. Two (2) A Busy Mom of Two readers will each win one coupon for one FREE Tyson Grilled and Ready product.

How to enter: Leave a comment sharing what dish you would use the Grilled and Ready Chicken (or beef) in.

Bonus Entries:
Additional entries:
· Follow @ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter. Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a comment with a link to your tweet. (this can be done daily)
· Follow this blog or sign up to receive e-mail updates (upper side bar). Leave a comment letting me know that you follow or subscribe (or if you already are a subscriber).
· Include my button on your side bar or a link to A Busy Mom of Two in your blog roll. Leave a comment with a link to your site.
· Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook.
· Write a post about this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your post.

Giveaway will remain open until July 7th at 6pm. Winners will be selected using Random.org random number generator. The winners will be contacted by e-mail (please make sure that your email address is either in your comment or clearly visible on your profile or blog) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner may be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. A coupon for a free bag was provided by Tyson, so that I might try the product and share my experience. In addition, coupons were provided for a giveaway.

Tyson Any'tizers

As a Busy Mom, I frequently am looking for mealtime and snack time solutions. Some nights, we need a quick and easy dinner because we have some sporting activity or school event to get to. Some nights, we need something that is not too heavy for dinner because we had a big or late lunch. Some nights, we are entertaining and are looking for a quick snack.

What one product can help with all of these scenarios? Tyson Any'tizers. With 26 varieties to choose from, there are many that my family would love (we haven't tried them all yet!).


If I'm looking for a quick and easy dinner, there are many meal solutions. Like pairing Chicken Breast Chunks with Tso Sauce with some fried rice or getting the Pop Corn Chicken Bites and adding them to a tossed salad.



If I'm looking for a light dinner, then some of my choices might be Honey Barbecue Boneless Wyngs, Stuffed Chicken Pepperoni Minis or Pork Mini Ribs. A simple to prepare protein that I can have with a vegetable side for a meal that's not too filling (and simple to prepare too!)

For a snack while entertaining, we always enjoy things like the Buffalo Style Hot Wings or the Tequila Lime Flavored Wings. These eat up in a hurry - simply microwave for 3 - 5 minutes and you have a hot treat to share with company. It's great to have a hot appetizer and not have to hang out in the kitchen preparing it.

Giveaway
Would you like to try some for yourself? I have the opportunity to allow two readers the chance to each try a bag for free.

Primary Entry:
Head over and check out all of the varieties of Any'tizers here. Leave a comment answering the following question: Which variety are you most interested in trying and how would you use it?

Additional Entries:

• Share this giveaway with friends - on your blog, on Facebook or by e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared.

• Follow @ABusyMomofTwo on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. You may complete this entry once per day.

• Follow A Busy Mom of Two. Subscribe to updates in your feed reader or in e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know that you signed up, or that you already subscribe.

Giveaway will remain open until January 5th at 6 pm. Two winners will be selected using a random number generator. The winners will be contacted by e-mail (be sure to leave one!) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I received no compensation for this post. I received coupons to try the Any'tizers myself and to share with two readers through this giveaway.

Free Chicken from Chick-fil-A

First, if you are one of the first 250,000 to join the Chicken Wave, Chick-fil-A will mail you a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A Original Chicken sandwich. You can join the Wave here. (They were only at 11,000 members this morning)

Even if you don't get to join the wave, make sure to head over to Chick-fil-A on Labor Day. From 10:30am to close, they are giving away a free Chick-fil-
A Original Chicken Sandwich to all who come dressed in their favorite sports team gear. My family participated in their Labor Day event last year. It was fun. Surprisingly, we were nearly the only people at the restaurant (I had expected crowds). All four of us were dressed in team gear, so we each got a free entree and shared some waffle fries, a milkshake, and two small drinks. Dinner cost us less than $8 and we played on the playground.

Firecracker Chicken

Based on the name, maybe I should have posted this one last week. This is a tasty treat, that we don't have often, because, well, it's fried chicken.

Firecracker Chicken

4 pieces Chicken (you can use bone-in or boneless)
1/4 c hot pepper sauce
1/3 c flour
2 Tbsp yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
cooking oil

Place chicken in a plastic bag and pour hot pepper sauce over chicken. Seal and refrigerate for 1 - 24 hours, turning occasionally. In another plastic bag, combine flour, cornmeal and salt. Add chicken, shaking to coat. In a 12" skillet heat 1/2" oil over medium heat. Add chicken to skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly, until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Drain on paper towels.

Recipe can easily be increased for more chicken.

For more chicken recipes, check out The Ultimate Recipe Swap Chicken Edition at Life As Mom.

For additional recipes, check out The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Summertime Means Grilltime

At our house, we will occassionally grill in the winter, but the snow sometimes gets in the way, but the summer is primetime for the grill. One nice thing about the grill is that you can excellent flavor without warming up the house with the oven or stove.

Much of what we make is very basic - Cheeseburgers, Barbeque Chicken, Steak, Hot Dogs and the like. Sometimes we will mix it up and grill Marlin or prepare a special spice rub or marinade for our chicken or steak.

One such marinade that we enjoy, primarily on chicken, but can be used on pork or beef, is Citrus Balsamic Grill.

Citrus Balsamic Grill

1/3c Lemon Juice
1/4c Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp Baslsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp garlic, finely chopped
2 1/2 # chicken or beef

Combine marinade ingredients and mix well. Place mixture over meat. Marinade for 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Grill until done as desired.

Serve with griled peppers, onions and tomatoes. If desired, split the marinade and put some on the vegetables.

Then for dessert, try these. I am a huge S'mores fan - I think it is the warm, gooey marshmallow with the chocolate that is melting that I find so appealing.

Grilled S'Mores

2 graham crackers, broken into halves
1 milk chocolate candy bars (1.55 ounces each), divided in half crosswise
2 marshmallows

For each S'more, top one graham cracker square with one candy bar half, one marshmallow and another graham cracker square. Center the S'more on a sheet of aluminum foil. Create a foil packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Grill 4 to 5 min over a medium grill.

I use the shelf in my grill, so that the graham crackers aren't too close to the heat source. This recipe can easily be doubled and more.

For more grilling ideas, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Grilled Foods. For more recipes, check out The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.