Winstead Wandering

Prone to Wander

Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

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With a truly unique crust and a topping that includes crispy bacon and creamy ranch dressing, this Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza is sure to satisfy.

With a truly unique crust and a topping that includes crispy bacon and creamy ranch dressing, this Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza is sure to satisfy.

For about the first 10 years of our relationship, J only ate pepperoni pizza. I can’t blame him for loving it; it’s a classic for a reason. But with so many possible options, I knew he was missing out.

I don’t remember the circumstances that led to him first trying chicken bacon ranch pizza, but to say it changed his life would not be overstating things. A whole new world of pizza options was opened to him, and he now has a new go-to order.

With a truly unique crust and a topping that includes crispy bacon and creamy ranch dressing, this Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza is sure to satisfy.

All that is great until you start to eat low carb. While there are several different crust alternatives out there, several of which we’ve tried, none were as big a hit with J as this Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza.

The secret to this beauty is that the chicken is in the crust. Yup. The base of this pizza is a mixture of ground chicken and shredded cheese. It’s a flavorful alternative to the other dough replacements out there, some of which I find a little too rich. The ranch dressing on top is perfectly creamy, while the pepper jack cheese and crumbled bacon add just the right amount of heat and salt.

With a truly unique crust and a topping that includes crispy bacon and creamy ranch dressing, this Low Carb Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza is sure to satisfy.

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Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese

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If you aren’t using your Instant Pot to experience the creamy, cheesy, gooey goodness of Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese, what are you even doing with your life?

If you aren't using your Instant Pot to experience the creamy, cheesy, gooey goodness of Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese, what are you even doing with your life?

I remember the moment I knew I was in love with J. It was my freshman year in college, sometime in the fall after we’d talked on the phone every day during the summer and spent the first semester of school hanging out on campus. I remember texting him often during those months (from my camera-less flip phone because this was 2005), saying things like, “I really like you.” It hadn’t occurred to me yet that I more than liked him.

You might also like: Creamy Sausage Macaroni & Cheese

And then one day I headed to the mail room to check my tiny mailbox. I don’t even remember if I had mail that day, but I do know I was leaving the building because I was headed up the stairs that led back to the center of campus and toward my dorm. I had my phone out, texting J, and I tripped on the stairs. That part doesn’t have anything to do with my epiphany; I tripped at least once on every set of stairs on campus. But sometime during that walk from the mail room back to my dorm, I thought, “I think I love this guy.”

If you aren't using your Instant Pot to experience the creamy, cheesy, gooey goodness of Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese, what are you even doing with your life?

What does all this have to do with Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese? Not much, really, except I’m writing this on Valentine’s Day (busy few weeks + blog issues =  tight post turnaround) so I’m feeling a little mushy. Also, even though there are a ton of things J and I don’t have in common — he loves Top 40 music and I’m all about 90’s/early 00’s hip hop; he loves sci-fi, action, and comic book movies, while I want light and happy; he’s an incredibly picky eater, but I’m more adventurous — macaroni and cheese is something we agree on. We both love the stuff, including this super simple recipe.

You might also like: Five Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

If you’ve never made homemade macaroni and cheese, this recipe is the perfect place to start. It doesn’t require you to make any cheese sauces, and it certainly doesn’t call for any of that neon processed cheese junk (I love a good helping of Rotel Dip as much as the next Southerner, but please keep that fake stuff away from my mac ‘n’ cheese). The Instant Pot does all the noodle-boiling work, and they don’t even need to be drained. Just add the cheese and other ingredients to the cooked noodles, stir everything together, and everyone will think you spent a ton of time making a mouthwatering side dish.

If you aren't using your Instant Pot to experience the creamy, cheesy, gooey goodness of Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese, what are you even doing with your life?

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Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

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Step up your toasted sandwich game by making gooey, sweet, savory, and unique Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Step up your toasted sandwich game by making gooey, sweet, savory, and unique Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

I’m not sure if this is normal, or if it’s a foodie thing, or if I’m just weird, but I sometimes obsess over leftover food. Not boring leftover meals, but fun or unique ingredients sitting in the fridge or cupboards. In this particular instance, I’m referring to the Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions I made a few weeks back.

I made that batch so I could make Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onion Dip. That was a solid decision, but I ended up with a container of leftover onions in the fridge. Sure, that’s a good thing, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d make with them. I mulled over and discarded several ideas before landing on Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese.

The last amazing hot sandwich I made was a Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese. Y’all, I still dream about that sandwich, and I can’t believe I haven’t made it again recently. Now it’s got competition, though, in the form of this Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese. I used American cheese for that classic grilled cheese ooze, plus pepper jack for a little boost of heat. Everything was layered on white sandwich bread, which I only buy especially for making kick ass grilled cheese sandwiches.

The star of the sandwich show, though, was definitely the caramelized onions. If you’ve not tried them, even if you don’t usually care for onions, you’re missing out. They aren’t your typical harsh, overwhelmingly-strong onions. Instead, they’re cooked down to a deep brown. The sugars are caramelized, leaving you with tender, sweet onions that are perfect for everything from French onion soup to topping burgers to stuffing inside this over-the-top grilled cheese sandwich.

Step up your toasted sandwich game by making gooey, sweet, savory, and unique Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

 

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Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese

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A grown-up take on a classic childhood dish, Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese is as hearty and satisfying as it is easy and simple.

A grown-up take on a classic childhood dish, Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese is as hearty and satisfying as it is easy and simple.

Surely I’m not the only person who grew up eating macaroni and cheese (blue box only, please) with sliced hot dogs mixed in. While I’d like to think my palate is slightly more refined than it was 20 or 25 years ago, child Abby pretty much considered that meal a delicacy. We spent a lot of time each summer with my dad’s mom, Granny, and any day we could convince her to make hot dogs and macaroni was a good day.

Truth be told, there’s probably enough nostalgia attached to that dish that I’d still gladly eat it. But since I can’t quite bring myself to do that, I’m settling for the next best thing: this Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese. Really, though, nothing about this recipe is “settling.” You’ve got hearty chunks of sausage, which can be as mild or as spicy as you’d like. You’ve got the pasta of your choice (for these photos I used a partial box of mini farfalle and a partial box of rotini). You’ve got a creamy, gooey, melty cheese sauce that puts that neon powdered stuff to shame.

If that isn’t enough to convince you to give Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese a try, consider that it comes together in just about 30 minutes and, if you opt for a no-boil pasta, you can make the entire recipe using just one pot. Sold yet? That’s what I thought.

A grown-up take on a classic childhood dish, Creamy Sausage Macaroni and Cheese is as hearty and satisfying as it is easy and simple.

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Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip

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Loaded with three cheeses, shredded chicken, and pops of roasted poblano peppers, Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip is the perfect crowd-pleaser for any get-together.

Loaded with three cheeses, shredded chicken, and pops of roasted poblano peppers, Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip is the perfect crowd-pleaser for any get-together.

My love affair with poblano peppers continues. It began with Roasted and Poblano and Onion Quesadillas, and then it heightened with Pasta in Roasted Poblano Cheddar Cream Sauce. Now things are really ramping up with this Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip. Let’s be real here: you just cannot go wrong with a good dip recipe, especially as college football season heats up. But when that dip comes packed with three kinds of cheese, hearty shredded chicken, and the mild flavor of roasted poblanos? Then it becomes irresistible.

The dip is baked, which results in a dish of creamy, melty goodness. Once the dip is warmed through, you fire up the broiler to get the cheese on top especially gooey and golden. It’s awesome served warm immediately after baking, but you can also refrigerate it, either before or after baking. Whether you’re preparing it in advance or baking immediately, this Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip will be the recipe your friends and family can’t get enough of.

Loaded with three cheeses, shredded chicken, and pops of roasted poblano peppers, Cheesy Chicken Poblano Dip is the perfect crowd-pleaser for any get-together.

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