Chicken Cordon Bleu Burrito
Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 tortillas
1 cup of rice, prepared
1 breaded chicken breast
2 slices of ham
2 slices of swiss
arugula or spinach
dijonaise/dijon + mayo

Directions:
Cook the rice and chicken.
Assemble the burrito with the tortillas, rice, greens, dijonaise, ham, cheese, and chicken.

Warm a pan to medium heat and spray with nonstick spray.
Roll up the tortilla folding the sides inward, then the front towards the end keeping the sides tucked tight.
Warm seam side down, and rotate to warm through.
Enjoy!

These are always a good use for leftover rice and just a few other ingredients.

I can’t stop and you shouldn’t either:
Buffalo Chicken Burritos
Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Burritos
Thanksgiving Hot Wraps
Street Corn Burritos
French Onion Burritos
Chicken & Broccoli Hot Wraps
Burger Burrito
Cali Chicken Burrito
Sausage & Peppers Burritos
BLT Burritos

This Sesame Cucumber Salad went viral for a reason. It is quick and flavorful and became the perfect side to some Trader Joe’s Honey Walnut Shrimp.

Chicken, bacon & ranch pull-aparts became dinner but would be fun apps too.

June will bring a much anticipated girls trip and a flurry of work before the fiscal year ends. I have some birthday burger ideas ruminating and a old favorite that deserves a refresh.

The Big Kid: He’s so happy to be outside so much. He is not so happy to have MCAS but survived. Lacrosse is in full swing with just a few more in early June. We switched electrolyte drinks and seem to have found some flavors in Liquid IV he likes.

The Littler Kid: She had lots of parties this month and the dance recital! She did great and was such a trooper to wait an incredibly long time at the dress rehearsal. Her fav take-out is Dave’s Hot Chicken (with no spice, not hot).

Goals for the year:
Year of new footwear – Gah, I missed it…again.
Side dish emphasis  – the sesame cucumber salad was such a fun side!
Soups & salad – we had a sub-salad for a side
More drinks – a white wine spritzer felt springy
What I’m reading – I LOVED Little One, and Next Year in Havana was one I listened to and it was such a joy. I breezed through Favorite Daughter which had just enough train-wreck to keep moving. Lastly, I read Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV which was way too long and detailed but I enjoyed some of it.

Sesame Cucumber Salad:
Ingredients:
1 english cucumber
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon mince garlic
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Directions:
Slice the cucumber into a large container with a cover.
Add in the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic and shake well.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!

I topped it with some honey walnut shrimp a la Trader Joe’s. It was such a good pairing and the perfect home lunch.

I will definitely shake this together again and serve it with dumplings, or peanut noodles, or fried rice. My side-dishes aren’t always memorable but this one feels like a crowd pleaser!

Spritzers are ideal for a sunny afternoon bevvy or as getting dinner together. The kiddos had seltzer with blueberries and lemon.

White Wine Spritzer with Lemoncello
Ingredients: (serves 2)
~1 1/2 cups white wine
2 oz lemoncello
2 oz seltzer
1 tablespoon frozen blueberries
lemon slices
ice

Directions:
Into each glass, add in the the wine, lemoncello, and ice. Stir well.
Add some blueberries and lemon into each glass.
Enjoy!

The berries will turn it delightfully pinkish. Using fresh blueberries will keep it white-wine colored. I went extra with the berries for mine!

Chicken, bacon & Ranch Pull-Apart
Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough
1 1/2 cups roasted chicken, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1 packet Ranch seasoning or 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons Ranch dressing

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Roll out the pizza dough to get it to room temp so it doesn’t elastic back into a ball.
Mix together the chicken, bacon crumbles, 1 1/2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning, ranch dressing, and cheese.
Cut the pizza dough into 12 squares, roughly 2″ by 2″ or so.
Spoon a teaspoon of the filling into the dough.

Pinch opposite corners together to form into balls and lay them next to each other.
Bake for 10 minutes, then brush with butter and remaining ranch seasoning, and bake another 5-10 minutes until dough is cooked through and golden brown.

Pull apart, dip in extra ranch, and enjoy!

These were so fun! What’s not to love? Making these bigger, taking the form of individual hand-pies would work well too. Crescent dough sheets would cook faster than pizza dough. The tube of pizza dough is one of the easiest to handle for anything other than pizzas.

One kid went back for seconds, and the other ate a few but didn’t have much say much either way.