This Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad has become my new favorite chicken salad. I usually make a traditional chicken salad every so often but this particular time, I needed something a little different.
It comes together pretty quickly once the chicken is cooked. Just dump it all in and let the magic happen.
The ranch gives it just the right amount of zing. And the bacon, well you know, its bacon! It gives it the right amount of smoky flavor.
There are so many ways to serve chicken salad. On slider buns, between two pieces of bread, in lettuce wraps, with crackers, the possibilities are endless. I promise, you will love this one!
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad
3 cups cooked chicken salad, chopped or shredded
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup bacon, chopped and cooked
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Serve on sandwiches, crackers, sub rolls, slider buns, or in a lettuce wrap.
Raise your hand if you love bacon!!! Are you guys ready for this?! It's time for the 5th annual Bacon Month celebration!! I've gotten together some pretty awesome bloggers to tickle your bacon fancy all through August! Say hi to...
Every Wednesday this month, we'll be sharing bacon-centric recipes to make you drool. And if that's not enough to make your tummy grumble, you can grab bacon recipes from the previous bacon months too! Ready to see what deliciousness is waiting for you today?
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Today is the start of a three day weekend for me. I had high hopes of what I was going to do around the house today so I could enjoy the rest of my holiday weekend. Unfortunately, I can not seem to get myself together today. I am just exhausted and need a break. So I decided to hop on and do a recipe post for you today. I have been meaning to do this all week but I have had a hectic week. So while the laundry is washing away, the dishes are soaking and the toys are thrown all over the house, I am taking a break. It will all be there waiting for me when I am ready to tackle it.
This pasta salad is so easy to throw together and really is yummy. If you are a fan of ranch you will love this. This is a nice change from the traditional italian pasta salad.
I had my little helper in the kitchen again, she loves chopping veggies for me. My cutting board that my dad made me has separated, until I get it fixed its the perfect size for my little chef. I give her a butter knife and she has only nicked herself once or twice. What you do not see is she was chopping these and munching at the same time, so not many cucumbers made it into the bowl! She is a veggie lover like her moma.
Cook the rotini noodles according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, chop your veggies. Place the cucumbers and tomatoes into a bowl. I add about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and season them with salt and pepper. Mix these together and let them sit and marinate in the vinegar and seasonings while the noodles are cooking. This is an optional step, you can just add it all in together if you prefer.
Once the noodles are done, drain and rinse them. Add the noodles to the bowl the veggies are in. Mix these together and then pour the ranch dressing on top. Mix the dressing in until you have the desired consistency you prefer. Place in the refrigerator to chill. Once this sits a while you will need to add more dressing as the noodles soak it up. Shredded cheddar cheese and bits of smokey bacon are a great addition.
Pasta Salad
16 oz rotini noodles, cooked and drained
1 bottle of ranch dressing
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
tomatoes, chopped ( I like to use halved cherry tomatoes)
cucumber, sliced and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Boil noodles according to package directions, chop veggies and add into bowl with tablespoon of vinegar and seasonings. Once noodles are done add to veggie mixture and pour dressing over and mix well. Chill in refrigerator. Enjoy!
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Work has been keeping me really busy lately and I feel like I am in a cooking rut. I just cannot for the life of me come up with anything to fix for dinner. Do you ever feel that way? I needed to go to the grocery store to get a few things for me and the kids since my husband is out of town for a few days but I did not know what to go and get. I got this email today from Hungry Girl and I had everything I needed so I thought I would try it out. It was really simple to throw together but I should have butterflied the chicken because it took forever to cook all the way. We had turkey bacon left over from last nights dinner so instead of bacon bits I made my own. I got a thumbs up from my son, even though he eats almost anything not nailed down he still refuses to eat certain things. I tried to hide the ranch but he saw it, I just knew he would not like it but he must have been hungry. I see this becoming a go to recipe in the future. Lets get to it, shall we.

Place the chicken breasts into a baking dish and sprinkle with pepper or any other seasoning you prefer.
Spread the ranch dressing onto the chicken breasts, the recipe called for dry mix but I did not even realize that until I decided to blog about it and read the recipe more closely.
Place the bacon bits on top of the chicken and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 -25 minutes or until chicken is done. I covered this with foil until close to the end and then I removed it to brown it a little. You really could not taste the ranch and the chicken was really tender. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Served up with Love!
Ranch-O Bacon Chicken
(1 serving size)
One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet
1/2 tsp. dry ranch dressing/dip mix
1 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)
Spices: black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Season each side of the chicken with a dash of black pepper, and then place the chicken in the pan. Season the top of the chicken with ranch dressing/dip mix.
Evenly place bacon over the top of the chicken. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to gently press down and help the bacon adhere.
Bake in the oven until chicken is fully cooked, 20 - 25 minutes.
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