A side benefit of having a fellow cooking enthusiast is that when they do some experimenting and recipe tweaking there is usually some good eats to be had. Such was the case the other day when we went to Abbie and Mariano’s house for dinner to sample her new recipe adaptation. A delicious meal was had by all; there was even a welcome doggie bag for the next day.

• 2 chicken breasts, frozen
• 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 1-ounce package Ranch Dressing® mix
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 2 keilbasa sausages, cut in bite-sized pieces
• 1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can tri-bean blend (kidney, pinto and black beans) drained
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

1. Place the chicken and sausage in the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Add tomatoes, corn, the cannellini and red beans, Ranch Dressing° mix, and spices t the pot. Stir to combine. Add the cream cheese.
3. Cook on low heaty for six to 8hours. Stir occasionally to blend the cheese to the other ingredients.
4. After cooking, remove the chicken and sausage to a cutting board. Cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Shred or cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces as desired. Return the sausage and chicken to the pot. Stir to mix.

   

5. For a sit-down dinner, serve over rice or noodles. A tossed green salad and fresh baked rolls make for wonderful accompaniments.
6. To serve as finger foods, you can make tortilla roll-ups or fill taco shells for a satisfying meal.

   

   Using crock pot liners makes for quick and easy clean up when the meal is done.