Winstead Wandering

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Honey Balsamic Chicken Marinade

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Honey balsamic chicken marinade is a fast and easy way to get tender, flavorful chicken that will taste like it’s been marinating for days.

When I think of easy weeknight meals, marinating chicken is not the first type of recipe that comes to mind. It seems like a long process, and the idea of making your own marinade from scratch is intimidating. That’s why I reluctantly tried this recipe.

Honey balsamic chicken marinade is a fast and easy way to get tender, flavorful chicken that will taste like it's been marinating for days.


J takes grilled chicken to work every day for lunch; he grills up a batch once a week. I’d been marinating his chicken in salad dressing and his favorite was balsamic vinaigrette. Until we ran out of dressing.

I tried this recipe and J said he loved it. I tried it again with my own tweaks and adjustments and he said it’s the best grilled chicken he’s ever had. Seriously. Now, not only do I not have to buy salad dressing to use as marinade, but I also have a mouthwatering recipe that we can use any night of the week.

Here’s what makes this honey balsamic chicken marinade so special: it contains balsamic vinegar, which actually helps to break down the chicken and leave it more tender in a shorter amount of time. In addition, the ingredients hit all the right flavor notes. The honey and ketchup provide a backdrop of sweetness, the vinegar brings the acid, and the paprika and red pepper flakes introduce just the right amount of heat.

We prefer to grill our chicken. The heat of the grill seals in the juicy flavors and carmelizes the outside of the chicken. Don’t worry though, there’s really no wrong way to prepare chicken that’s been bathed in this marinade.

Honey balsamic chicken marinade is a fast and easy way to get tender, flavorful chicken that will taste like it's been marinating for days.

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Easy Weeknight Cheesy Garlic Baked Chicken

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Chicken is tossed in an easy garlic butter and coated with Parmesan and cheddar cheeses, spices, and crispy bread crumbs and then baked until tender and full of flavor.

Chicken is tossed in an easy garlic butter and coated with Parmesan and cheddar cheeses, spices, and crispy bread crumbs and then baked until tender and full of flavor.

Because I’m all about easy weeknight meals, and because frugality is just a way of life for us, we often don’t have meat as the primary ingredient in our dinners. Sure, almost all of our favorite recipes include meat- like chicken tacos or sausage and tortellini– but it isn’t the only component.


Frugality aside, I often avoid preparing a protein as a main dish because it can be time-consuming. I’m all about quick and easy, and trimming, marinating, and cooking larger pieces of meat isn’t my idea of an easy weeknight meal. Every once in a while I’m willing to break the rules for a recipe that promises to taste great and require minimal effort

These cheesy garlic baked chicken tenders fit that bill one hundred percent. The prep was minimal, and could be reduced even further if you chose to use jarred minced garlic. As the butter melts and soaks up the garlic flavor, all you have to do is toss the rest of the ingredients together. Because this recipe uses chicken tenders, there’s no trimming required. Simply bread the chicken and it’s ready to bake. Prepare an easy vegetable, like pan-fried romaine lettuce, while the chicken cooks and you’ll be ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.

J is a huge lover of all things meat and poultry. He’s always willing to taste test my chicken recipes. The thing is, though, he’s a dipper; he dips nearly all his chicken and beef in ketchup. So for me, the true sign of an amazing recipe- not just a good one- is when J claims there’s no dipping sauce necessary. That’s exactly what happened with these cheesy garlic baked chicken tenders: I offered ketchup, but he took one bite of the chicken and declared it unnecessary.

It isn’t hard to see why. This chicken is bathed in garlic butter for an immediate infusion of flavor. It’s tossed right in the dish of crunchy Panko to get coated with crispy bread crumbs, plenty of spices, and two different types of cheese. It’s baked until the coating is crispy and the cheese is melted, making for a full flavor experience in every bite. While J and I agree these are perfect on their own, they’d also be great dipped in homemade ranch or your favorite marinara sauce.

Do you eat gluten-free? I found gluten-free panko bread crumbs! You can safely enjoy this dish without sacrificing that signature crunch.

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Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Roll-Ups

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Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They’re perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They're perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

This recipe has so much going for it.


Let’s start with the fact that it doesn’t involve any cooking (if you cook and shred large batches of chicken and freeze them in one- or two-cup portions, which I do and I recommend you do, too). The bacon can be zapped in the microwave to save time and minimize mess. The fact that this recipe comes together so easily without the need for a stove or oven makes it a perfect easy weeknight meal for hot summer days. Don’t worry, I’m thoroughly enjoying the January weather right now, but as a Mississippian, I’m always thinking of ways to beat the summer heat.

The other thing I love about this recipe is how easy it is to make changes and swap ingredients based on your taste preferences and what you have on hand. I used ranch dressing- duh, it’s in the title- but I imagine they’d be delicious with Caesar or even Italian dressing. Nearly any kind of cheese you have on hand would be acceptable, and you could even get away with omitting the bacon (but why would you?).

These little guys freeze great, making them a great option for a freezer recipe, and they’re sure to be a hit at any party or potluck you bring them to. With the bacon and the cheese, they pretty much sell themselves.

Do you love this wooden slab as much as I do? You can get a super similar one here.

Bacon cheddar ranch chicken roll-ups are tortillas spread with cream cheese and crammed with chicken, shredded cheese, crisp bacon, and creamy ranch dressing. They're perfect for a party or a snack-y supper.

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Easy Weeknight Chicken Tacos

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Tender chicken, tossed with the perfect blend of Mexican spices and served on a warm tortilla with fresh salsa and cool, homemade ranch.

Tender chicken, tossed with the perfect blend of Mexican spices and served on a warm tortilla with fresh salsa and cool, homemade ranch.

We eat tacos nearly once a week at my house. We hold our Taco Tuesdays near and dear. There’s just no beating the convenience, the tastiness, or the crowd-pleasing factor of ground beef smileys (that’s a Friends reference, y’all).


But can I share a secret? I’m not a huge beef lover. I love tacos, and I enjoy a well-made hamburger every once in a while, but chicken is my jam. For months, each time I made regular tacos, I’d long for chicken.

I don’t really know why it took me so long to get around to making these. Mostly, I think, it was because I imagined the process would be laborious and not quite worth the effort. Part of the reason beef tacos are so popular is because they’re so easy. I thought making them with chicken would suck all the convenience out of the situation.

Turns out I was wrong. The chicken took even less hands-on time to prepare than ground beef or turkey. The quick salsa came together quickly and was the perfect snack to munch on while finishing the meal. And since I’ve been putting this homemade buttermilk ranch dressing on everything since I discovered it a couple months back, I decided to use it here, too.

The result is moist, flavorful chicken, shredded and with your favorite taco fixings. The salsa and ranch recipes are ones I’ve shared before here on the blog, but I’m including the recipes here for convenience’s sake. You can top your tacos with whatever you prefer, but I can’t recommend this recipe highly enough.

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baked green chile chicken taquitos

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Baked instead of fried for a healthy but satisfying crunch, these taquitos are stuffed with chicken, green salsa, sour cream, and a savory blend of spices.

Baked instead of fried for a healthy but satisfying crunch, these taquitos are stuffed with chicken, green salsa, sour cream, and a savory blend of spices.

We love these chicken taquitos. Love them.


I’ve gotten J.’s family hooked on them, too, as well as several friends. My favorite thing about these taquitos is, of course, the flavor. I love that the outside crisps up to offer the perfect crunch, but the inside is full of tender chicken and the balanced kick of green salsa and sour cream.

You could fill your taquitos with anything you have on hand. I have a friend who loves to make them with corn tortillas and left over carne asada. I once made a version with a mixture of cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and diced jalapeños; they were basically long, skinny jalapeño poppers.

I almost always have a few of these bad boys in the freezer (right now, I have 16) because they are so easy to make ahead and freeze. Go ahead and double the batch; I promise you’ll want the extras.

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middle eastern quinoa tray bake

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A gluten free one-pot meal, this middle eastern quinoa tray bake is loaded with juicy chicken, rich middle eastern spices, and nutrient-packed quinoa.
A gluten free one-pot meal, this middle eastern quinoa tray bake is loaded with juicy chicken, rich middle eastern spices, and nutrient-packed quinoa.
Hey! The month of July has me crisscrossing the country, from a road trip to Chicago to a plane ride “home” to Oregon. While I’m away, I’ve lined up some awesome guest posts for y’all.  Today, Ruth is here to share a unique one-pot meal.
Hi I’m Ruth from Pea Fritters! I’m a mum who’s a foodie (or a foodie who’s a mum, not sure). I started Pea Fritters to share some inspiration around feeding your family, building healthy food relationships from the early days (I’m a huge fan of Baby Led Weaning) and trying to convert people to the awesomeness that is meal planning. I’m super excited to be guest posting on Winstead Wandering! You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Can I hear a heck yes for a one dish meal!? I love cooking, but I hate doing the dishes, so anything that I can cook all at once in one pan is an absolute winner in my book. This Middle Eastern Quinoa Tray Bake is one of those winners. It’s also gluten free and dairy free and super easy to bring together. Perfect for a mid-week family meal or if you’re entertaining- absolutely one to add to your weekly meal plan.

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freezer-friendly oven-fried chicken chimichangas

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flavorful chicken and melted cheese wrapped in a crispy oven-fried tortilla- all of the crunchy deliciousness without the soggy calories | winstead wandering

I think I went to one of the only high schools in the country that still has an off-campus lunch period.

Every day, my friends and I had 35 glorious minutes of freedom. No cafeteria food for us. Sometimes we’d head to someone’s house, or to McDonald’s (hello, dollar menu), or to DQ.


Or sometimes, if we were feeling particularly gastronomically-courageous, we would walk to the little cinder block convenience store on Main Street. They served everything from chimichangas and burritos to pizza sticks and sausage pockets. Their smorgasbord of fried food was the type only teenagers can eat and live to tell about; remembering the way the smell would cling to my clothes still makes me cringe.

Hungry?

These oven-fried chimichangas are everything you wish you could get from your local hole-in-the-wall, but without the lingering smell and the quadruple-digit calorie count.

They’re baked instead of fried, so they’re much healthier than the version you might be used to. Before baking, the tops are brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt to achieve a delightfully crisp and crunchy outer shell while maintaining a melty inside.

(Notice anything different about these photos? Like maybe that they’re a million times better than any that I’ve ever taken? That’s because they were taken by my oh-so-talented sister-in-law, Ashley.)

flavorful chicken and melted cheese wrapped in a crispy oven-fried tortilla- all of the crunchy deliciousness without the soggy calories | winstead wandering

oven-fried chicken chimichangas
adapted from Big Oven

2/3 cup salsa (green or red both taste great; sometimes I use a combination of both)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on the heat of your salsa, or your personal preference, you might want to omit this)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar because that’s what I have; use your favorite)
6 medium flour tortillas
1 tbs butter, melted
kosher salt
garnish(es) of choice: sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, tomatoes, etc.

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