My family loves pot pie, but it can be a lot of work to make. Chopping all those potatoes and cooking them, plus adding the correct amount of spices and seasonings takes a lot of time. That’s why I love this inexpensive and easy take on the traditional recipe.

Mini Chicken Bacon Pot Pie.

Making these pies is easy with Campbell’s® new Homestyle light soup.

It has no preservatives so it tastes like homemade! I used Potato Bacon soup and the flavor was outstanding! You could try more of Campbell’s new products in this recipe too!

I added a 1/2 cup of leftover cooked chicken and a 1/2 cup of frozen peas to give it a little more substance and fill all 12 of my mini pies. This way, I can feed my whole family of 6 with just 1 can of soup!

The first step is to make the shells of the pies with store bought pie dough. You can use homemade if you want, but that just takes longer. I roll the dough out a little more so there will be enough to fill a 12 cup muffin tin with mini pie shells.

Next I sprayed the cups with cooking spray. Then I cut circles a little wider than the opening of a muffin tin cup and pressed the dough on the bottom of each cup.

My daughter helped me fill the mini pies with the @Campbells soup filling, topping them with some green onion to bring out the bacon flavor. We used the rest of the pie dough to cut flowers out and cover the top of the filling. 

I baked them at 350 degrees and checked them at 20 minutes. They needed 5 more minutes to get a little more golden on top.

The result was flakey little pies bursting with bacon flavor! SO yummy. My children gobbled them up and the only thing I didn’t like was that there wasn’t any left overs. For just $5 it was an awesome meal that I will definitely make again.

How about you? What delicious Campbell’s recipes have you tried with a can of soup?

The post $5 Dinner: Mini Chicken Bacon Pot Pies first appeared on True Aim.

Easter is a big deal in my family.  We take the whole day to celebrate and reflect on all our blessings, new and old.  No, we don’t have a big fancy meal, but we do get together with friends and family and share an intimate pot-luck.  Is there such a thing?  Haha!   

It’s a lot of fun, but sometimes bringing a dish to the Easter get together is tricky.  You see, I’m in church all morning.  Easter dinner is around 3 or 4, but the kids can’t wait that long for something to nibble on.  So I fix up what sort of resembles a lunch and then have little time to prep for the pot-luck.  That’s why I love making this Macaroni Casserole ahead of time and Kraft’s new Fresh Take makes it even easier!

The best part about making this ahead of time; I can recruit my daughter to help.  We all know that cooking with our kids can extend the meal preparations a little.  But the lessons learned are well worth the time.  Since we cook together quite often, my daughter is very confident in the kitchen and loves to make breakfast all on her own.  We go through the whole process together; from Walmart to the table.

At the store Audrey kept asking, “What are we going to cook mom?”  I didn’t want to tell her there, lest she start jumping up and down, squealing like she sometimes does when I cook her favorite things.  And she loves my baked Macaroni!  Every time I try to cook the stuff from the box she protests, “What is this!?”  So she was delighted when I told her what she was helping me with.  I gave her the responsibility of the topping.

Although Audrey can’t help with every aspect of this recipe, I still try to explain as much as I can about what I’m doing.  Using words like boiling, tender, preheat etc.; I take the opportunity for a little vocabulary lesson.  Who needs books right?

As we cook, we share laughter, observations, and memories.  And when we finally get to taste the fruits of our labors, it’s even more delicious because of the special bond that was nurtured during its creation.  That’s what I want every Easter to look like.

If you want to make more time for Easter memories, make this casserole ahead of time.  Simply follow the recipe below except do not put the topping on.

Refrigerate a day ahead of time, and when you are ready to bake, simply open the Fresh Take mix, spread it on top and bake for 30 minutes; turning broiler on low for the last 5 minutes.

Our Cheddar Jack with Bacon Fresh Take topping really brought out the bacon flavor.  We loved it!  You know it’s good when your husband comes back for 3rd’s.

Baked Macaroni Casserole with Kraft Fresh Take

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

This baked macaroni is stuffed with all of your favorites and topped with an extra crispy crust thanks to Kraft Fresh Take. Serve it as the main course or as a side. Make it ahead so dinner time is quick and easy. It is so versatile!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2½ cups Macaroni
• ½ cup fresh green beans chopped (or your favorite veggie)
• 6 strips of Bacon cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp Flour
• 2 cups Milk warmed
• ¼ tsp Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper
• ½ cup extra shredded cheese (Cheddar or Monterey Jack)
• Kraft Fresh Take Cheddar Jack with Bacon

Instructions

1. Prepare a 2 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cook the macaroni for about 8-9 minutes; al dente. Then add your fresh green beans and turn off the heat. Let it sit for 1 minute. If you don't use fresh veggies you don't need to do this part, just cook the pasta al dente.
3. Drain the macaroni and green beans and set aside. Return your pot to the heat and add the butter and flour. Whisk and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the warmed milk, whisking continuously. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook until slightly thickened.
5. Turn off the heat and add the extra cheese plus ½ cup of the Fresh Take cheese. Whisk until combined.
6. Remove from the heat and add the cooked bacon, macaroni and green beans.
7. Pour in your prepared baking dish and cover with the rest of the Fresh Take mix.
8. Bake at 375 degrees, uncovered for 15 minutes. Then turn on the broiler and cook for 5 more minutes.

3.2.1275

I’m so glad #CollectiveBias introduced me to Fresh Take.  It really adds a boost of flavor to the casserole as well as an extra crispy crust.  You can even save $1 on any Kraft Fresh Take when you buy fresh chicken!

After the Macaroni Casserole is finished, it won’t be the meal that you’ll remember from Easter dinner; it’ll be the memories you’ve made around it.

 And then again, maybe you will remember this one.

 What are you making for the Easter meal?  Do you have a secret to great baked macaroni?  I would love to hear about it!

The post Easter Recipe: Baked Macaroni Casserole with Kraft Fresh Take first appeared on True Aim.

When I was young my family would get together at my grandparents house for holidays.  They had 13 children, so you can imagine the amount of people that came, and the FOOD!  Someone always brought these little babies to the meal.

Time passed and people moved away.  We stopped meeting at my grandparents house every year.  So, I HAD to have the recipe and make sure my favorite treats still made it to our holiday family dinners.  They bring back a lot of old memories for me, but they’re also the BEST things you’ll ever taste!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts Recipe

Recipe courtesy of my Aunt Kathy

Ingredients:

2 Packages of Bacon (I use reduced sodium)

2 Cans of Whole Water Chestnuts

3/4 Cup Ketchup

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Tooth Picks

Directions:

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Next, drain the water chestnuts and pat them dry.  The bacon strips need to be cut in half – I use kitchen scissors to do it quickly.  Then I like to prepare a cutting board with everything I need for wrapping, plus line a couple of baking dishes with parchment paper.

Asking for help with the wrapping makes it go a lot faster.  So, my daughter steps up to the plate and rolls them with me.  I told Audrey to stick the toothpick in the bacon before adding the sauce because that is what I’ve always done, but it might be easier to add the toothpicks after.

Audrey also made the sauce, which is just ketchup and brown sugar (it makes them have a slight barbecue taste).  You could even experiment and try your favorite barbecue sauce instead.  I spooned about 1 teaspoon of it on each bacon wrapped water chestnut.

I cooked mine for 35 minutes, but you will want to check in at 25 because they can burn fast.  Remove them from the pan immediately.

These are sweet, salty, crunchy and chewy.  The only problem with them is that there are never enough.  You have to try them this holiday!

What’s your must have holiday recipe?

For more family recipes you’ll love, like me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest.  Thanks for your support!

The post Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts first appeared on True Aim.