Works For Me: The Five-Ingredients-Or-Less Edition

Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer hosts Works-for-me-Wednesday every week. I've never participated before because I don't usually have great ideas to share. However, today she's asking for recipes that use five ingredients or less. And since I have a few good ones, I thought I'd share some. So here we go:

This first one is something my neighbor makes and my son loves. I finally got to taste it and it was so good, I came home and made some right away. This would be great to serve at a party as an appetizer, but we like it for lunch.

Chicken Dip
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 bottle Ranch dressing
1/2 bottle Franks hot sauce (you could probably use any kind, but this one has a bit of a vinegar-y flavor that works really well for this)
Grated Cheddar cheese

Boil chicken breasts until done. (About 10-15 min.) When cool enough to handle, chop or shred the chicken.
In a bowl, combine chicken, cream cheese, dressing, hot sauce and about a handful of cheese.
Spread into 9x13 baking dish. Add a layer of cheese on top.
Place in 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is bubbly - about 20 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips. YUM!

This was spicy, but not too hot. If you like less heat, just use less hot sauce, and you could increase the amount dressing.




This next one I made for dinner tonight. It was very good and my kids loved it. I changed it slightly - I'll post the original ingredients, and my changes next to them. This came from the Kraft Food & Family magazine.

Cheddar Macaroni Beef Casserole
Prep: 20 min.
Total: 30 min.

1 pkg (7.25 oz) Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner (I used a generic mac & cheese)
1 lb. lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained (I used a can of Rotel)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves or dried basil leaves (I used the oregano, but I also added some garlic powder)
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare Mac & Cheese as directed on package, omitting butter. Meanwhile, brown meat in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add tomatoes and oregano; mix well. Bring to boil.

Add meat mixture to Mac & Cheese; spoon into 2-qt. casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 10 min. or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through.

Makes 4 servings, 1 3/4 cups each.

We actually poured some Ranch dressing over the top before eating. The Rotel makes it a little spicy, and the dressing cuts the heat. The original version is a little more Italian-y, and the was I did it was a bit more Mexican-y which we love!




And for a quick and super easy dessert - I cannot believe how easy and how delicious this is!

Peanut Butter Fudge
1 cup butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pound powdered sugar

Microwave butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes on high. Stir an dmocrowave on high for 2 more mintues. Add vanilla and powdered sugar to peanute butter mixture and stil to combine wiht a wooden spoon. Pour into a buttered 8 by 8-inch pan lined with waxed paper. Place a second piece of waxed paper on the surface of the fudge and refrigerate until cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight contained for up to a week

I got this recipe from The Food Network, and it is from Alton Brown. Every time I've made it, everyone gobbles it up!

If you'd like to see more five-ingredient-or-less recipes, be sure to visit Rocks in My Dryer. There are TONS - as in almost 400 people posted recipes before me!!!