Cream of Chicken soup mix

I love this mix recipe! It takes a little more time versus using condensed soup from a can, but it is healthier, less expensive, and takes up less pantry space.  This recipe replaces about 9 cans of cream of chicken condensed soup and can be stored in a plastic container or quart sized mason jar.

Here is the link to the original recipe:  Make ahead cream of chicken soup mix

Cream of Chicken dry mix

Stir together and store in airtight container:

2 cups dry milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

2 Tbsp dried onion

1/4 cup chicken bouillon powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp ground thyme

I also like to add a little garlic powder (about 1 tsp)

Stir 1/3 cup dry mix with 2/3 water in a small pot over medium heat until thickened and add to your recipe. This replaces a can of condensed soup. 

Here are links to my favorite recipes using the mix:

Hamburger Stroganoff http://www.julieseatsandtreats.com

Crockpot chicken and dumplings  http://www.imitationbydesign.com
*I also add some chopped carrots and celery to the crockpot in this recipe

I also use the mix in my own recipe "Crockpot Tangy Chicken"

2 chicken breasts
4 peeled potatoes
2 peeled carrots cut in large chunks
cream of chicken soup mix with water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried onion
1/4 c white vinegar

Spray bottom of crockpot and add chicken breasts.  Place potatoes and carrots on top.  Add 1/3 cup dry chicken soup mix to 2/3 cup water in a pot and cook on medium heat until thickened.  Stir in vinegar, garlic powder, and dried onion.  Pour mixture over vegetables and chicken in crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Other recipes: The mix is great in whatever version of hashbrown casserole you like (I make mine with hashbrowns, cream of chicken soup, sour cream and cheese)

You can also use it as your soup base for creamy soups.  I add a little more milk, some chicken broth, seasonings and peeled/diced potatoes and carrots for a potato soup.

This week's insanity and menu!

Talk about a crazy week!! Three appointments, semester exams, and phase one of the house tiling project!

Pulling the old floor up was a group effort for sure!  On Saturday, the baby cooperated by taking a long nap and Austin helped daddy pull up the bamboo in the living room while I packed up the kid's bathroom and kitchen before the tile removal. We learned this the hard way when Ryan took all the old tile and hammered thin set out of the master bath, there was dust over EVERYTHING!  We had to wash all our clothes and wipe all the stuff down in the bathroom, closet and bedroom. So as much as taking every single thing out of the two rooms was a huge pain, it was worth it!  I also realized that we have enough towels and kitchen supplies to last us a lifetime and got rid of the things we don't use.

Even with all the craziness of the weekend,  I was able to watch the rest of Downton Abbey Season 4 and a few episodes of The Paradise (another excellent British period drama) and even took a nap on Sunday after church!

We had the day off for MLK day, so I entertained the kids while the old tile was removed from the bathroom, kitchen and entry way. We went out to breakfast and then to the Springs Preserve with our family membership. When we got home, the baby napped while the rest of us cleaned up the dust from the cabinets and fixtures. It was nice to do a good, deep cleaning before I start moving things back over next few nights. Train ride through the Las Vegas Springs

Waiting for the flash flood exhibit to start!

We ate out a few times this weekend simply because we didn't have access to cook at home, but I planned ahead enough to save for the rest of the week. 

Savings from last week:

*Waited to run an errand across town until Austin's Dr. appointment which was nearby so I could combine trips and save on gas

*Made breakfast muffins, pancakes, and granola bars

*I made enough white chili to freeze a quart for another meal this week and a pint for lunch 

*I made homemade corn bread to serve with the chili and froze the leftover pieces 

*I made two small pans of lasagna to freeze for quick weeknight dinners

*We used a gift card someone gave me for one of our meals out

This week's menu:

Tuesday: one of the freezer lasagnas with a salad  lasagna recipe 

Wednesday: leftover chili and cornbread 

Thursday: BBQ chicken sandwiches (2 frozen breasts with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low) serve with buns and veggie sticks

Friday: creamy one pot pasta  recipe here

Saturday:

Breakfast: pancakes 

Lunch: out

Dinner: crockpot chicken and dumplings

2-3 frozen breasts in crockpot, add 2 cups broth, 1 can cream of chicken soup (I make my own dry mix found here), sliced carrots and celery, dried onion and garlic powder.  Cook on low 6-8 hrs, 30 min before serving, stir the pot and break up the chicken and add a can of refrigerated biscuits (I slice each biscuit in 3 strips).  

Sunday:

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: leftover chicken and dumplings 

Dinner: at the in laws

Creamy One Pot Pasta

This is a recipe I tweaked from Pampered Chef.  It is a great option for a meatless meal or side dish, but you can add chunks of chicken or ham if you do want some meat in it.  This is my go-to meal when I'm craving something creamy and savory yet low in calories.

Creamy One Pot Pasta
Ingredients:
2 cups Penne pasta
2 cups chicken broth
dried onion
garlic powder
4 oz light cream cheese (half of an 8 oz block)
2 cups steamed vegetables (I usually used carrots and broccoli, but peas would be good too)
optional: cooked chicken or ham pieces

Directions:
Pour broth and pasta in a pot and bring to a boil.  Add a little dried onion and garlic to your liking.  While pasta is cooking, chop and steam vegetables.  When pasta is al dente or most of the liquid is absorbed, stir in  the cream cheese until creamy then add vegetables and meat.

Serves 4, approx 200 calories per serving

The most delicious lasagna you will ever eat!

Lasagna Recipe
My friend Candace made this for us while I was recovering from surgery last year.  It was so delicious, I asked her for the recipe and have been using this one ever since!  The recipe on the Ronzoni box just can't compare.  She used whole wheat lasagna noodles, which really makes the difference.
This recipe makes one 13X9 large pan, but I split it between 2 8X8 smaller pans so I can get two dinners out of it for a family of four.

1-lb. hamburger
1-lb. Italian Sausage
1-8oz. tomato sauce
1-6ox. tomato paste
1-can "Progresso" Italian Style Whole Peeled Tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
1 pkg. Ronsoni lasagna noodles
2 lb. cottage cheese
1 lb. mozzorella cheese
parmesaun cheese

DIRECTIONS...
1. Brown hamburger and Italian Sausage together.
2. Drain the grease off the meat with strainer and paper towels.
3. Add following: tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano.
4. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
While simmering your meat cook the lasagna noodles. (about 6, use 12 if you are making 2 8X8 pans)
LAYERING...
SPRAY PAN WITH PAM
1. layer of noodles on bottom
2. sprinkle mozzorella cheese
3. half of cottage cheese
4. half of meat
REPEAT ONE MORE TIME.
BAKE 375 20-30 INUTES
(about ten minutes before it is done in the oven sprinkle parmesuan cheese on top and put back in the
oven for a few minutes)

Top of the World Savings and this week's Menu

It was a smooth week back to school! My students reviewed for finals last week and this week will be semester exams, so three days will be early student release days!  Another interesting thing that happened this week is my hair has become curlier.  I always let my hair air dry when I shower at night and I noticed one night it was curly all over not just underneath like usual.  This makes my hair styling time much shorter, so I hope it stays!  In other good news, I ate very well this week, walked 30 minutes each day and am already down 4 pounds from my holiday 10!

Savings this week:
* The Stratosphere is offering locals free tower rides every weekend this month, so I took the kids on Saturday.  Austin really wanted to ride the Big Shot, so I splurged and bought him a ticket.  Afterward, we had lunch at one of the cafes inside the casino that had a 20% off coupon for locals.  This was the only meal we ate out all week.

 At the top of the Statosphere

My fearless children looking down at the city

*I made banana breakfast muffins and pancakes to freeze.

*Ryan cut Austin's hair.

*I made two freezer meals for nights this coming week that I will not have time to cook.

*Made homemade chocolate pudding pops

YUM!! I love this popsicle mold set!  

*Ryan finished restoring the kitchen from our water damage in December.  We were able to order the tile for the rest of the house.

*I compared prices and found a great deal on cloth napkins on Amazon with free shipping and got them in three days.  

*I popped a few batches of popcorn with the air popper and put handfuls of popcorn in Ziploc bags for grab and go snacks for the kids.

*I brought water infused with DoTerra Lemon Oil in a reusable container to work each day. 

What's cooking? This week's meals:

*All recipes should feed a family of 4.  

Monday:  This is my monthly stamp club night and we do a potluck, so I shredded some crockpot chicken for Ryan to use for chicken tacos.

Tuesday:  Italian casserole with salad.  (Boil 2 cups penne, brown 1 lb of ground beef and drain fat.  I save 1/2 the meat to freeze for another meal and use the other half in the casserole mixed with 1 can of pasta sauce, 4 oz light cream cheese cut in small pieces.  Pour in baking dish, top with shredded mozzarella and bake 350 for 25 min.  If you freeze it, thaw in fridge the night before).  I made this over the weekend so Ryan can put it in the oven while I'm heading home from taking Austin to an appointment. 

Wednesday:  Crockpot Tangy Chicken (prepare the night before, 2-3 frozen breasts in bottom of crockpot, mix 1 can cream of chicken soup with 1/2 cup white vinegar and 2 T dried onion and pour over chicken, top with 4 peeled potatoes and 2 cups of carrots, refrigerate and put in crock on low for 8 hours in the morning)

Thursday:  hamburger stroganoff with egg noodles and salad (using the 1/2 lb frozen beef from earlier in the week, thaw and in a pan add 1/4 C melted butter, 1 T dried onion, a can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 cup sour cream, add a little milk for desired consitency, serve with cooked egg noodles)

Friday:  Baked chicken strips and sliced pan fried potatoes with veggie sticks (thaw chicken and cut in strips, dip in flour/egg/Panko bread crumbs, I like mine a little spicy so I add lemon pepper to the Panko for the last half of them, bake 350 for 25-30 min until cooked)

Saturday:  Breakfast:  oatmeal

Lunch: I will prepare sandwiches to take for a picnic lunch

Dinner:  White Chicken Chili  link to recipe

Sunday:  Breakfast: french toast
Lunch: leftover chili
Dinner at the in-laws

White Chicken Chili

This chili is SO GOOD!! A family made it at our church Chili Cook-Off a few months ago and I have made it several times ever since.  I made some adjustments to their recipe to make a smaller batch and utilize food storage items.  However, this batch still feeds us dinner and 2-3 lunches.  I put all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours.

Ingredients:

1 29 oz can hominy drained

1 15 oz can white beans rinsed and drained

2 small 4 oz cans chopped green chilis

2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

20 oz chicken broth (I use 2 tsp Better than Bouillon with 20 oz water)

2.5 cups milk (I use powdered milk with water)

2 tsp garlic powder

2 T dried onion

1 T ground cumin

1 lemon

1/4 C butter
1/2 C cornstarch

oregano/salt/pepper - a generous sprinkle of each

fresh cilantro

Melt butter and stir in cornstarch, dried onion and garlic powder to make a thick rue.  Put all other ingredients in large crockpot, add the rue and cut lemon, remove seeds, and squeeze in the juice.  Add the cilantro about 30-60 minutes before serving.  Top with shredded cheese.  The longer you cook it, the thicker it gets.

Enjoy!!

Weekend accomplishments and this week's dinner menu!

I spent most of Friday baking for the week and doing a massive kitchen cleaning which included going through all the cabinets and getting rid of what I don't use and moving some things around to maximize space.  Here's how I saved this week:

*I finally committed to stop buying paper towels and napkins.  I set up a basket by my sink for dish cloths and Ryan is going to install a towel bar close to the sink for towels.   I placed a decorative basket above the fridge for a convenient place to toss all the dirty towels.  *When I wash towels, I add a cup of white vinegar to the load.

*I baked a double batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins replacing the oil with applesauce and a batch of granola bars for our morning breakfasts on the go and treats.

*Made pancake mix and cooked a batch to freeze.  This is the mix I use Perfect Pancake Mix.  I love this blog and I am also going to try her Quick Mix

*Made a double batch of laundry soap.  Here's the link to my friend's recipe: The Prudent Homemaker laundry soap

*Recieved a box of hand-me-down clothes from my sister-in-law that my daughter can wear in the next year or two.

*Roasts were on sale at Smith's so I bought a few for double duty dinners.

*Signed up for the 30 day Amazon Prime trial.  I think the more online shopping we do, the better deals we can find and then we can save on shipping

*Took the kids to Home Depot on Saturday for the free kids workshop. My son made a cute desk calendar. 

Some other thoughts I have been thinking about are 1.  I'm pretty upset with the whole Target data breach thing as it affected us and we had to get a new debit card issued.  I will probably save money on unnecessary purchases (esp their dollar section) if I stop shopping there.  2.  I also really do not like going to Walmart, but it is the closest store to my house other than Costco, it's where I get my prescriptions, and there are a few things I do buy here that are hard to find elsewhere and a better price, so I may limit my Walmart shopping to once a month when I get my refills.

Weekly Menu:
I thought I would start sharing my weekly menu this year as well.  Hopefully you can get some ideas on how to maximize time and still cook delicious food so you don't have to eat out.  As you can see, I do crockpot meals multiple times per week and do double duty dinners often!

Weekday breakfasts are the baked goods I prepare and freeze, thawed the night before.
For weekday lunches, I eat leftovers or make a quick wrap and Ryan eats at his parent's house that is close to his office.  My son's school has awesome catered hot lunch, so I do pay for that 3 days a week and then make him a sack lunch the other days.  I send some things with my daughter to supplement her meals at the babysitter.

Monday:   crockpot beef rump roast and vegetables  (prep night before, refrigerate and put on low when you leave in the AM)  I add a little worscheshire and A1 to the top of the roast, vegetables on top and sprinkle garlic powder.  Leftover meat will be shredded after dinner and separated into two containers, one will go in the freezer.

Tuesday:  Leftover shredded beef taco salad

Wednesday:  crockpot pineapple teriyaki chicken with quinoa and steamed broccoli (night before, place 3 chicken breasts in pot, pour can of pineapple chunks and 1/2 cup Yoshida's teriyaki sauce, cook on low 8-10 hours in the AM)  15 minutes before dinner, boil quinoa and cut/steam veggies.

Thursday:  Lasagna and salad (When I make lasagna, I make it in two smaller pans and freeze one.  Tonight's dinner will be the frozen one from last week's cooking.  I love lasagna, but it's time consuming if you want to do it right, so I usually make them on school breaks)

Friday:  BBQ chicken pizza (I cook two chicken breasts in crockpot with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce on low all day
to use as my pizza topping then make the dough when I get home from work)

Saturday:
Breakfast:  Pancakes (extras will go in freezer)

Lunch:  I will probably take the kids on a morning outing, so this would be our one eat out meal for the week.

Dinner:  Beef Stew (using the leftover frozen beef from Monday's roast, I will cut up veggies and make a stock with water, Better than Bouillon, worscheshire, and seasonings in the morning and cook in the crockpot on low 8 hours)  I will experiment with the Quick Mix I posted above and make some biscuits.  Any leftover stew will be frozen in pint size Mason jars for lunches.

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Omelets

Lunch:  Leftover beef stew with toasted cheese sandwiches

Dinner:  Family Dinner with the in-laws

Light Yogurt pie

 Once a month, I bring a dessert to my in law's house for Sunday dinner.  I was thinking a frozen pie sounded good, so I searched on Pinterest and found an easy recipe on kraft.com that called for 2 containers of yogurt and a tub of Cool Whip in a premade graham cracker crust.  Here is my take on the recipe with a homemade crust.

Light Yogurt Pie

Serves 6-8 (depending on size of slices), when sliced in 6 pieces, yields 180 calories per slice!

For the graham cracker crust:

Crush about 6 sheets, I put them in a Ziploc and pound with a rolling pin

Add 2 tsp sugar to the bag and shake

Add 2 Tbsp melted butter and squish around in the bag

Press in pie pan or 8X8 square pan and bake 350 for about 5-7 minutes until lightly browned

While the crust is baking:

Mix a tub of thawed Fat Free Cool Whip with 2 containers of fruit flavored yogurt (small, individual sized).

I used Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt strawberry

Spread the whipped mixture over the crust when cooled to the touch and freeze for about 4 hours. You can also refrigerate it instead if you want a creamier pie texture.

This pie is so delicious and there are so many flavor possibilities like raspberry, blueberry, key lime, banana cream, orange cream! 

No butter, low sugar baking tips and recipes

I'm trying to watch it with the fats as my liver adjusts to life without a gallbladder.  I'm feeling pretty good and hoping this surgery was the right decision.  My sister brought over some huge mouth watering chocolate chunk cookies.  I ate one and a few hours later, it went right through me in the wrong way (if you catch my drift).  So in addition to my applesauce chocolate chip cookies, I have two great variations of popular baked goods.

**Tips for lighter baking:
1.  Replace butter and oils in recipes with equal measurement of applesauce or greek yogurt.  I prefer applesauce because it is a long term pantry storage item, less expensive, and adds sweetness to your recipe that allows you to cut sugar without losing flavor.
2.  Whatever the sugar content of the original recipe is, you can cut it in half and still have good taste.
3.  Experiment with other spices like cinnamon to enhance flavor.
4.  Use egg whites or if a recipe calls for 2 eggs, use one whole and the egg white equivalent of the other.
5.  Substitute all or half of the flour for whole wheat flour.

The following recipes have already applied the above suggestions.

Viva Mom's No Butter Banana Bread

The foundation for this recipe dates back to the 1960s.  It was my Grandma Jean's.  By cutting out a stick of butter, 1/2 of the sugar and using skim milk instead of evaporated milk, this bread packs about 140 calories per slice.  I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter.  A slice of this bread with some Smart Balance light spread is divine!

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup natural applesauce

2 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350, mix ingredients in order, pour in sprayed large loaf pan, bake 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the middle.  Cool 5 minutes in pan before turning over on rack.  You can also add some chopped walnuts or chocolate chips if you enjoy that in your bread.

Banana Oat Breakfast Muffins

Found this recipe on Pinterest.  It called for way too much sugar, so I used less.  It also called for greek yogurt.  I used a regular light yogurt (strawberry flavored) to add more flavor and moisture to the muffins.  The recipe yields a dozen, so you can double it if you want more.  I put these in sandwich bags in the freezer and pull them out to thaw in the morning or microwave 15-20 secs for breakfasts on the go.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup yogurt of choice 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 medium sized ripe bananas mashed

2 1/2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 400, spray muffin pan or line with liners.  Mix ingredients in order.  There are two options here depending on your preferences of texture.  You can blend everything in a processor so the oats are smooth or you can stir everything so that the oats stay whole.  I like to hand mix and have the hearty texture of the oats in my muffins.  Bake 15 minutes and allow to completely cool before removing from the tin.

Stay tuned for more light baking recipes and if you come across one you love, please share!!

Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love homemade cookies.  I can easily eat 4-5 without a second thought.  So can my boys!  I have been creating variations of cookie recipes for awhile now, and they are my common go-to these days as I need to really be careful with the butters and oils that I eat.

Now when you exclude butter from your cookies, they are going to puff up and be very "cakey".  However, I think they are more filling that way and my cookie monster still loves them.  At 89 calories each, you really can't go wrong.  If you want a buttery tasting, flat, moist cookie, well sorry that doesn't exist without adding butter.  I also suggest if you are storing these cookies for more than 2 days (is that even possible?) that you freeze them.

Viva Mom's Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients:

1 cup natural, unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs 
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375, mix applesauce with sugars, add soda/eggs/vanilla.  Add flours and mix til smooth.  Stir in chips.  Use ice cream scoop to measure 30 evenly sized mounds on sprayed cookie sheets.  Bake about 12-15 min until golden brown.

Biscuit Pizza

Used half a can a biscuits for a dinner and was trying to think of something to do with them.  So I flattened them and pressed in the bottom of a sprayed bread pan, covered with wrap and put them in the fridge thinking maybe I'd spread some cheese or something on them in the morning.  

Morning came, I was too tired to make breakfast, so when lunch came around, I looked in my fridge and saw some pepperoni and thought, easy pizza!

I preheated oven according to the biscuit instructions, spread some pasta sauce added a few pepperonis and shredded mozzarella and baked for about 10 minutes.  It ended up being a really delicious lunch!

Here's the recipe for a larger amount

Biscuit Pizzas

can of biscuits (Litefluff brand at Winco for 50 cents)

pasta sauce (1/4-1/2 cup depending on your preference)

pepperoni (I use turkey)

shredded mozzarella (2-4 oz)

Spray 8X8 pan, flatten each individual biscuit and press in pan having each biscuit just touch (about 8 biscuits should fill the pan), preheat oven to biscuit directions (usually 400), spoon pasta sauce over each biscuit.  Place 1-2 pepperonis and sprinkle shredded cheese on each biscuit.  Bake 8-12 min until cheese lightly brown and a little bubbly.

Double Duty Dinners

We had roast for dinner tonight.  I put the roast in my slow cooker with a can of broth, dried onion, and garlic powder and it cooked all day.  When we came home the house smelled SO GOOD!  This roast was huge and was about $9 at Winco, which isn't a steal but still lower than I've seen in awhile.  We ate half of it with some sliced potatoes cooked in a frying pan and I made my strawberry spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette.  I cut up some of my Prudent Homemaker french bread and it was a fabulous dinner!

There was still half a roast left after we stuffed ourselves, so Ryan and I started brainstorming what to do with it.  We finally decided a beef stew sounded great so while he did all the dishes, I shredded the meat, filtered the drippings from the crockpot and added another 2 cans of broth, a can of water and cut big chunks of carrot, potato, and celery.  I added some various seasonings and put it in the fridge.  It will cook on low all day tomorrow.  I pulled out a loaf of french bread from the freezer to thaw which will go nicely with the stew.

So then I got to thinking, I need to do these double duty dinners a little more often, especially as I am getting into my busier time of year at work.

Here's some other ones I've done in the past:
Night 1: Slow cooker pork roast with potatoes and carrots in broth
Night 2: shredded leftover pork for enchiladas or tacos

Night 1: slow cooker chicken breasts (doubling what you would normally cook) in a can of broth, drain, shred and use for chicken pasta
Night 2: Mix leftover chicken with 1 cup BBQ sauce for BBQ chicken sandwiches or add vegetables, broth and spices for slow cooker chicken noodle soup (just add noodles an hour before serving)

What are some double duty dinners you like to do?

Apple spinach salad YUM!

Apple Spinach Salad

I needed some ideas for all the Granny Smith apples I got at Winco for 68 cents a pound.  All the recipes online and on Pinterest had too many crazy ingredients for the dressing.  So I created my own dressing and it turned out pretty good.  It was just a little too much lemon juice so the recipe below has a reduced amount.  

Viva Mom's Tart Apple Dressing: 

This will serve 4, double recipe if needed for a larger salad

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp apple juice

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

measure all ingredients in a little plastic container with lid, cover and shake

Pour dressing over 3-4 cups spinach leaves and toss

Top with thinly sliced Granny Smith apples, 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles, 2 Tbsp crushed walnuts or pecans

For a variation:

Add strawberries to the salad instead of the apples 

Toss spinach with Homemade Raspberry Vinaigrette

2 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam

2 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

2 tsp olive oil

When it's this easy to make your own salad dressings with ingredients used for other purposes, it's one less thing to spend money on in the store and healthier for you too!

Buffalo Chicken Smashburger style!

I LOVE the buffalo chicken sandwich at Smashburger! However, it's 500 calories!! We would have spent at least $30 going there.  This dinner was approximately $3-4 for the 3 of us (if that).  Here's what I did:

I made 8 small loaves of french bread over the weekend, recipe from The Prudent Homemaker http://theprudenthomemaker.com/index.php/french-bread

I froze half of them, gave one to my sister, and used three with meals this week.

Buffalo Chicken Sliders 
Serves 4 (2 sliders per person, about 230 cals per slider)

Slice small loaf of french bread or other narrow baguette into 16 1/2 inch slices
One pound thawed chicken breast (about 4 small)
Hot sauce of choice ( I like Frank's buffalo sauce, zero cals so load it on!)
Crumbled feta (use about 1 Tbsp per slider)
Light ranch (I Tbsp per slider)
Romaine leaves

1. Butterfly the breasts into 2 thinner pieces (hit them with a tenderizer if you really want the "smash")
grill on medium heat til cooked through and lightly browned
2. Spray pan with cooking spray and set slices of bread on them, heat on low to give them a light toasting on each side
3.  Wash and cut 4 inch pieces of the romaine leaves

Set your sauces and cheese on the table with a platter of toasted bread and chicken pieces and everyone builds their slider to their own liking!  This was especially great for our 5 year old who could make his own little sandwich creation.

I was so eager to dig into these that I completely forgot to take a photo!
What signature sandwiches do you crave?