I have been participating in the Hellmann’s Chicken Challenge over the past couple of months and this time I think I hit the jackpot!  I love Chicken Cordon Bleu and I am always looking for a shortcut.  While I love the traditional way of baking Chicken Cordon Bleu, this alternative is wonderful for the busy mom who needs something simple and fast.    Here is a short video of me getting the chicken ready for the oven so you can see just how fast it actually is!

All you have to do to finish it is to top it with a slice of ham and add cheese!  I thought we had some Swiss cheese in our fridge, but my husband ate it all the night before and I didn’t have time to run to the store so I used what we had on hand.  While it isn’t as pretty as it could be here is how it turned out:

It is very yummy and I will definitely be making this again this week (after I buy some more cheese).

EASY CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

A classic recipe made simple.

4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
1/3 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
4 thin slices cooked ham (about 2 oz.)
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese (about 2 oz.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spray with no-stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. Brush chicken with Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, then coat in bread crumbs. Arrange chicken on prepared baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Evenly top chicken with 4 slices ham, then cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Recipe courtesy of Hellmann’s .

I have been enjoying changing up my boring chicken routine these past few months.  I will be referring back to Hellmann’s a lot to spice up our dinners.

Hellmann’s® “Chicken Change-Up” aims to help parents manage dinner dilemmas in kitchens across America – and they want to hear what it’s like at your house!

From now until April 30, 2012, parents across the country can participate in the Hellmann’s® Chicken Change-up by trying one of the featured Hellmann’s® chicken recipes, sharing their recipe reviews and providing their own advice for managing dinnertime obstacles.  After participating, consumers can enter into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a $5000 grocery store gift card and other daily prizes.

Visit Facebook.com/Hellmanns to participate in the Chicken Change-Up, where you can find ideas on managing dinner dilemmas and enter for a chance to win daily prizes.

This is a sponsored post.  Hellmann’s product and additional incentives were provided to me.  All opinions stated are my own.

For Easter brunch I wanted to make something that would be easy.  I was after all 34 weeks pregnant.  I found this easy recipe on the McCormick website that used a cake mix.  It was so fast and simple and yet delicious that it will definitely be a part of my baked goods routine for brunches.

Easy Cinnamon Crumb Cake

Makes 24 servings.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

2 cups flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons McCormick® Cinnamon, Ground

1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into chunks

1 package (18 1/4 ounces) white cake mix

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, sugars and cinnamon in large bowl. Cut in cold butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

2. Beat cake mix, egg, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or just until mixed.

3. Spread evenly in greased and floured 13×9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle evenly with topping mixture.

4. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cake pulls away from sides of pan. Cool on wire rack. Cut into squares to serve.

(from McCormick.com)

My husband and I loved this cake.  The hardest part was just cutting in the butter into the topping mixture, and it wasn’t hard it was just a little time consuming.  I successfully made this dish a few hours before we left on our Easter egg hunt.  We ate it all week because it made so much and our family is small! Of course we used McCormick spices and extracts when we make our baked goods.  I know I can always count on having the best ingredients on hand when I have McCormick.

Don’t forget about the McCormick contest ending today, April 22nd where you can win a Spring Basket full of McCormick products!  All you have to do is create a Spring Food Board on Pintrest and pin at least 5 McCormick recipes that you would make this spring.  Be sure to follow McCormick on Pintrest and check out my board.

Happy Baking!

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for McCormick. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Do you have a picky eater in your family?  Well, let me tell you about mine.  He is almost three years old and cute as a button.  He sleeps great and is usually pretty well behaved.  Our troubles are all with food.  He doesn’t want tot try anything new, and getting him to eat anything healthy is like pulling teeth.  It is a big source of frustration!
What is a mom to do? Well, I was challenged by Hellmann’s to change up our chicken routine and create a recipe that the whole family will love.  I decided to try the Succulent Chicken Parmesan recipe off of Hellmann’s website.

SUCCULENT CHICKEN PARMESAN

The juiciest & simplest chicken Parmesan recipe around

4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes     Cook Time: 23 minutes

• 1/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
• 1/4 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Ragu® Old World Style® Pasta Sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 oz.)

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine bread crumbs with Parmesan cheese in shallow dish; set aside.
3. Add chicken and Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise to large plastic bag; shake to evenly coat. Remove chicken, then lightly coat in crumb mixture. Arrange chicken on baking sheet.
4. Bake 20 minutes. Evenly top chicken with Pasta Sauce, then mozzarella cheese. Bake an additional 3 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and cheese is melted.

Hellmann’s has a lot of options for tasty chicken that the whole family will enjoy, even those picky eaters like my TJ. This recipe was a nice change from our normal baked chicken routine.  My husband and I really enjoyed it.  It was also so simple to make and didn’t take much time at all.  I love that it was so easy and economical to make on a weekday after a long day at work.  You can pair it with vegetables or pasta like we did.

From now until April 30, 2012, parents across the country can participate in the Hellmann’s® Chicken Change-up by trying one of the featured Hellmann’s® chicken recipes, sharing their recipe reviews and providing their own advice for managing dinnertime obstacles.  After participating, consumers can enter into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a $5000 grocery store gift card and other daily prizes.

Visit Facebook.com/Hellmanns to participate in the Chicken Change-Up, where you can find ideas on managing dinner dilemmas and enter for a chance to win daily prizes.
Would you like to win a prize today?

Win It

Hellmann’s is giving away a Picky Eater Prize Package to one (1) lucky reader!

Hellmann’s Picky Eater Prize Package includes:

• Deceptively Delicious Cookbook
• Substituting Ingredients Cookbook
• Match & Munch Puzzle Sandwich Cutters
• Kid’s Bento Box
• Kid’s Chopsticks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post.  Hellmann’s product and additional incentives were provided to me.  All opinions stated are my own.

I am not sure about your family, but one staple in our family is chicken.  We eat a lot of chicken!  I love it because it is so versatile and you can make a lot of different dishes with it.  My husband likes it because it is healthy and cheap.  If you purchase chicken breasts on sale, chicken recipes are pretty inexpensive. We recently made the Mouthwatering Baked Buffalo Chicken Recipe from Hellmann’s Chicken Change Up Challenge and made a delicious dinner for under $6!

MOUTHWATERING BAKED BUFFALO CHICKEN

A chicken dinner with a cayenne pepper kick!

4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes     Cook Time: 12 minutes

• 1/2 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.), cut into strips
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise and cayenne pepper in small bowl; reserve 1/2 for dipping. Combine breadcrumbs with parsley. Coat chicken with remaining mayonnaise mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Arrange chicken on baking sheet.

Bake chicken 12 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Serve with reserved dipping sauce.

For a fun twist, serve cooked chicken strips on wooden skewers.

While this isn’t like a traditional Buffalo Chicken, it was very tasty and probably half the fat of the regular buffalo chicken you might get at a restaurant.  We used Hellmann’s light mayonnaise and didn’t miss the calories or the fat!  We also used chicken tenderloins because that was what was on sale at our Marsh.  This particular recipe was a hit with mommy and daddy and my very picky eater actually tried it (a big success in its own right).  We paired it with some sweet potato fries and the side sauce was amazing.  Next time I will add a little more cayenne pepper because we like things spicy around here.

To help you spice-up your dinner routine, Hellmann’s® and Best Foods® mayonnaise are launching the first-ever Chicken Challenge, a series of head-to-head chicken dish challenges that will help moms diversify their weekly recipe repertoire. Each week on Hellmanns.com, two chicken dish “challenger” recipes from Chipotle Lime Crusted Chicken to Baked Buffalo Chicken will go up against one of the most popular recipes on Hellmanns.com, Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Try one of the featured Hellmann’s® chicken recipes each week and cast your vote for your favorite! After participating, consumers can enter into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a $5000 grocery store gift card and other daily prizes.

From now until April 30, 2012, parents across the country can participate in the Hellmann’s® Chicken Change-up by trying one of the featured Hellmann’s® chicken recipes, sharing their recipe reviews and providing their own advice for managing dinnertime obstacles.  After participating, consumers can enter into a sweepstakes for the chance to win a $5000 grocery store gift card and other daily prizes.

Does your chicken need a change up?  Be sure to head on over to the Chicken Change-up Challenge on facebook for more recipes and enter to win a daily prize giveaway as well as the $5000 grocery store gift card!

How do you change up your boring chicken routine?  I would love to hear some of your suggestions!

This is a sponsored post.  Hellmann’s product and additional incentives were provided to me.  All opinions stated are my own.

We are huge football fanatics in our house!  While our Colts didn’t do what we had hoped they would have, we still enjoy watching the games every Sunday.  We are especially excited to host the Super Bowl this February.  With all of the football hoopla happening around us, of course it made me think of food.  Food and football just go hand in hand!  Recently Tyson and Collective Bias invited me to use their all new Mini Chicken Sandwiches to create a perfect after the game snack.

My experience began at Walmart where I purchased my Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches with cheddar cheese.   Be sure to read all about my shopping trip and see photos on my Google +1 shoppertunity post.  If you love saving money like I do, be sure to check out this great deal from Walmart: Buy 2 Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches at a participating Walmart and receive a $5 Walmart Gift Card. Click here for more details!

 I love being able to choose what goes on my sandwiches.  I have particular tastes like everyone else.  I wanted to be able to make as many people happy with my snack as possible so I decided to do a make your own Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwich bar.  During my trip to Walmart, I picked up several sauces that would go well with chicken.  I also made sure that I got some pickles (I have been craving pickle like crazy since I have been pregnant).  I also picked up some fresh tomatoes and lettuce to add to our chicken sandwiches.

After following the easy directions on the package to cook the mini chicken sandwiches, my husband and I added our favorite condiments to each of our little sandwiches.  I loved the creamy buffalo sauce, but I tried both to see which one I liked better.

We paired our sandwiches with sweet potato fries and ketchup.  I try to put my ketchup in small containers so that it doesn’t spread all over the plate.  Having these little cups of ketchup with the platter makes it easy for guests to get their own ketchup.

To end our football feast, I found some adorable Oreo cookies in the shape of footballs that everyone enjoyed!

I hope you enjoy the big games, and be sure to try the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches.  They taste great and are very portable.  Perfect for lunches!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias.  All opinions are 100% mine!