Chicken & Waffles

This is a super fun dinner and I especially love it because it's so versatile.  It's pretty simple to put together but there's also the option of eating it separate - which is what my kids preferred.  They didn't layer it all up.  (but if you ask me, they're missing out on a yummy flavor mixture!)

Here's how I did it:

Chicken & Waffles:

• Prepare waffles your usual way.  I used my Belgian Waffle maker so they were a little thicker.  
• Bake frozen breaded chicken strips.  I personally prefer Tyson brand but with this you can use whatever floats your boat.  You could probably even just grill some plain old chicken breasts and slice it up.
• Cook 1 lb of bacon
• Mix together:  1 cup mayo, 1/4 cup syrup, 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• To assemble:
• Spread mayo mixture on 1 waffle
• Layer chicken then bacon
• Spread may mixture on another waffle and place on top
• Drizzle syrup over the top

If you haven't noticed, about half of my recipes on here have bacon in them.  It's a problem.  It's such a boy food but I LOVE it!  Moderation, right?  I actually don't cook with it every meal - I just happen to be sharing the ones with the bacon because they are the ultra delish ones!  But try this one out and let me know what you think!

Turkey Bacon Ranch Stromboli

Last weekend we hosted a shin-dig for the Super Bowl.  I whipped up this delicious stromboli for the occasion and it was a hit!  It was so flavorful and SUPER easy!  Here's how it works:

Ingredients:
One loaf of frozen bread dough
Shortening
Ranch dressing
2 cups shredded cheese (divided)
1/3-1/2 pound turkey deli meat
1/2 cup crumbled bacon pieces (I totally cheat and buy the little 2.5 ounce pouch from the salad aisle)
Onion powder

Coat a loaf of frozen bread dough in a thin layer of shortening and place in the center of a cookie sheet.  You could most definitely make your own bread dough, I'm just not really into that sort of thing (despite my mom's deepest desires - she's a bread/roll making pro. I'll have to bring her in as a guest speaker for those recipes!).  Then cover in plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles in size.  It takes about 4-6 hours.  If it hasn't risen enough when I need to put the stromboli together, I just put it on top of my stove and turn the oven on.  The hot air rising from the oven is usually enough to get it rising a little faster.

Once the dough has thawed and risen, flatten it out to fill the surface of the cookie sheet.  Brush on some Ranch dressing.  A pretty thin layer will give you quite a bit of flavor but be as generous as you'd like, depending on your taste.  Then layer one cup of shredded cheese, turkey deli meat, crumbled bacon pieces, one more cup of shredded cheese and sprinkle onion powder lightly across the top.

Fold ends up like so:

And then wrap the sides in to close up your stromboli.

Flip it over so it's seam-down.  If you're just making the one, you can cook it in the center of the cookie sheet.  Since I was cooking for the masses (as I tend to do even when it's not necessary) I cooked two on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 25-35 minutes @ 350 degrees.  Just watch closely and take out when it's a nice golden brown.

Let it cool for just a couple minutes and slice into 2 inch sections.  Look at that gooey deliciousness!