Salsa Mac & Cheese & Ranch Chicken Wraps

Aldi Sales for August 22 ~ August 28.

IF you LOVE tortillas, salsa, chilies, etc. ~ then you will really enjoy the Aldi ad for this week! We do enjoy tacos, tortillas, quasadillas, and chip dips so I will for sure be stocking up on certain things! I am happily going to share 2 recipes with you. Sadly, one of which does not have a picture ~ I will add one when we make it next time, and one of them in a quick dinner.

1st let’s take a look at what we CAN make using some special buys!

* Hawaiian rolls ($2.29 for a 12 count package) and Dill Pickle Chips ($1.19 for a jar…not certain of the ounce, 24-32 oz.) are 2 of the important ingredients in Mock White Castles.
* Chicken Breasts ($5.49 for a 48 oz. bag) and Wheat Kaiser Buns ($1.49 for a 20 oz. package) are 2 important ingredients for Slow Cooked Chicken Caesar Buns.
* Tortillas are a staple in this house, how about your’s?? We use them for Baked Creamy Taquitos,  and Cinnamon Chips ~ just to name a few. You get 20 ~ 6″ tortillas for $1.49. Nice. (OR grab an 8 pack of 10″ tortillas for $1.29.)
* Gotta grab an avocado ($0.49 each) or 2 to make some guacamole to go with tortillas…how ever you choice to serve them! I would love to hear your ideas for avocado use!
* Tortilla Chips, anyone?? $1.19 a bag. Delicious to dip in your quac. Or are Corn Chips your thing?? OH, I NEARLY SCREAMED OUT. LOUD. They now have Chili Cheese Corn Chips…..I just spotted it RIGHT. NOW!!!! $1.19 a bag. I like those. Tortilla or Corn Chips and ESPECIALLY Chili Cheese Corn Chips are great with Fiesta Corn Chip Dip (don’t forget the Mexicorn!! $0.79).
* Looking to get some green veggies in your diet? NOW IS the time when fresh broccoli is $0.99 for a 16 oz. package. Here is one of my favorite salads that puts broccoli in the spotlight.
* Mushrooms are a great side dish, even IF you don’t like mushrooms….you might want to give these a go! Try to make Mushroom Side Dish, I did, and I liked. Shocker.  ( An 8 oz. package is $0.69. FYI.)

 This 1st recipe comes from my son ~ he has patiently been waiting for me to share it! This is not going to get any awards for health, it, however, was a GREAT memory from when my oldest son asked me if he could make dinner.  The kids Great Grandma gave them a cook book, it has all kids of easy recipes,  and A LOT of recipes have been flagged to try. He saw the idea for Salsa Macaroni and Cheese, but did not have the proper ingredients called for, it needed a cheese Ragu sauce or something, so we went to the fridge and pulled out some stuff, quite literally, he put it together (with a bit of help from me with the measuring and cooking of noodles) and they really enjoyed eating it!

It is memories like that that mean a lot, just a reminder to us to take the time in the kitchen to cook with the kids EVEN if it makes us want to pull out our hair…….  I am encouraged to see that all my kids enjoy getting in the kitchen with me EVEN if it is just to snag a beater…..or two too lick or a bowl to scrape clean. I hope you too enjoy cooking with your kids and letting their imagination run wild!  I grew up eating homemade mac & cheese made from velveeta and shell pasta, so this was a blast from the past ~ with some new flavors in it!  Salsa Con Queso (is $2.29 for a 16 oz. jar) and salsa ($1.69 for a 24 oz. jar) and a box of shell noodles ~ or elbow, whatever you like is all you need for this recipe.

* Salsa Con Queso is a jar of cheese/salsa sauce/dip, we eat it with tortilla chips sometimes on Sunday nights. It is by the salsa at Aldi, just wanted to tell you in case you had never heard of it!

Salsa Mac & Cheese 
8 oz. shell noodles, uncooked
1 c. salsa
1 c.  Salsa Con Queso cheese sauce
Cook the noodles according to pkg. (Mom’s you may have to help here!) Drain, put in a large bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir well, may need to re-heat a bit if stirring takes too long. (At this point you may add a little bit of velveeta cheese if you need to add a little more cheese.)  Let your kids serve it up. Enjoy their smiles when they talk about the dinner they made! Enjoy the memories you are making….

Recipe idea from “Simple 1-2-3 Cooking for Kids”.

Grilling is a wonderful treat in the summer, here is a unique recipe for grilling chicken. I really liked the idea of the sweet mango and cilantro ~ I LOVE cilantro! Leftovers make for great lunches! Thanks Denise for sharing this delish recipe with me! It will be a recipe I make often! Tortillas are $1.29 ~ $1.49 this week. Aldi also has chicken for $5.49 for a 48 oz. bag. The also carry Ranch dressing and honey, for sure ~ and at times they have mangos and cabbage. I THINK they have lime juice ~ don’t quote me PLEASE.

* I served with extra Ranch, by now you SHOULD know that my family really enjoy their sauces or dips or dressings!!

Ranch Chicken Wraps 
1 1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c. Ranch dressing
2 TB. honey
2 TB. lime juice
tortillas, maybe 8 or so
2 cut up mangos
fresh cilantro, cut up
thin sliced cabbage (I used lettuce)
Combine the Ranch dressing, honey and lime juice in a bowl and add the chicken. Allow to marinade in the fridge for 1 hour. Grill, about 6 minutes per side ~ give or take, till cooked through. Take off grill and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve on the tortilla with the mango, cilantro and cabbage. Roll up and enjoy!

Recipe from Denise.

Baked Creamy Taquitos & Pico de Gallo & Guacamole

My family really enjoys tacos BUT with young ones it seems that their filling is ALWAYS falling out and making a mess ~ really is no longer a taco but a mexican mess on their plates. So I saw this recipe at Kim’s Recipe Book and knew I needed to try it. YUM. All I have to say. I served it with guacamole and Pico de Gallo (when I said this name at dinner my husband said “what?” and I repeated and he again said “what?” so I said SALSA, fresh salsa! “Oh, OK, yum” he said. So really that is what it is fresh salsa. )

*I DID use green salsa verde that I purchased from a local Mexican store, but THINK that you can get away with regular red salsa. Green salsa verde has some heat to it, so keep that in mind! It is delish…..just don’t go crazy dipping chips in it or your gut will be achin’! Don’t ask how I know…..

*I will be trying different versions of this I am sure! I will let you know of ANY successes!

*I used toothpicks to hold the tortillas in a nice roll…..REMEMBER to take them out!!

* I LOVE corn tortillas so I used a combo of both. Will do again. BUT I spaced and heated them on a plate, not covered and they dried out, (I know better!!) so when I rolled them this happened………..

….your shells WILL crack. Still good and edible BUT a little messy. So PLEASE cover with a bit of plastic wrap and heat a bit.

Here is the filling………

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. green salsa verde
1 T. fresh lime juice
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 green onions, minced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
1 c. grated pepper jack or cheddar cheese
12 flour tortillas ( I used 4 flour and about 8 corn)
Cooking spray
Kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425*. Line a baking sheet with foil.
In bowl, mix together cream cheese, seasonings, green onion, and cilantro. Add in the chicken and cheese and combine well. You can make this ahead of time and store in the refrigerator.

Place 3 Tablespoons of the chicken filling on the lower third of the flour tortilla and roll tightly. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Spray tops of taquitos lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 minutes until light brown and crisp.

I served with guacamole and Pico de Gallo. Really not a REAL recipe, just add this things in the amounts good for your families tastes!

Pico de Gallo
plum tomatoes (maybe 4-5)
onion (maybe 1/2 of an onion)
jalapeno (probably 1 for this small batch)
cilantro (I go CRAZY with this stuff! LOVE it. But IF you are new to it, start with a good couple TB’s)
lime (juice 1 half of it, save the other half for the quac)
salt (to taste)
garlic powder (a good dash)

I like to cut and drain the tomatoes a bit in a colander. Then add the rest. Chill a bit.

Easy Guacamole
1-2 avocados (depending on how much you want!)
lime (the other half from above)
2 TB’s for so of the Pico from above

Mash the avocados and add the rest. Mix well. Add the pit to prevent browning!! (This tip came from my sis-in-law!!!WORKS! Just remove when ready to serve.)

Enjoy!

Baked Creamy Taquito recipe from kim’srecipebook.