I'll Have the Chipper Chicken

One of my all-time favorite movies is Father of the Bride. I especially love when they are discussing the menu and George says they are going to have the "chipper chicken." Anyhoo, enough about my extraordinarily odd ability to remember and quote pretty much any line from any movie I've ever seen. (Too bad that talent doesn't translate into a highly paid job...) Chicken really is pretty cheap, though, and you can make sooo many different meals with it. One of our recent favorite chicken meals is Cheesy Chicken and Veggie Mac. I found the basic recipe over on the Kraft website in their 1 bag, 5 meals section (which is fantastic, by the way). The first time I made it I followed the recipe. Once the meal received a stamp of approval from my boys, I made it again and personalized it a little bit. Here's what I came up with:

1 lb. chicken tenders
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1 box mac-n-cheese
1 bag (10 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower & carrots
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Using your preferred method, cook the chicken. (I usually poach the chicken in a pot of boiling water.) Cut into bite-size pieces and toss with the dressing. You can do this when you are preparing the meal or ahead of time and store in the fridge.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and frozen veggies. While this is cooking, reheat your chicken in a skillet. When the macaroni is done, drain and add the cheese sauce according to the instructions on the box. Add the garlic powder and chicken.

This makes enough for my two little boys and the hubby with just a little leftover, so if you are serving more than 4 people you should probably double the recipe. This is a super easy and quick recipe that only costs less than $5 to make! Can't beat that!