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.

My kids love chicken, fruit, and pasta. Veggies are another story. They are getting pickier when it comes to what kind of veggies they eat. I found that if I add fruit to veggies, they’ll eat a lot more of them just to get to the fruit.

What makes this recipe even better is the veggies I can hide in their pasta thanks to Ronzoni’s new Garden Delight. There is 1 whole serving of vegetables for each 4 oz. portion and they add lots of pretty colors too.

Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

Another reason I love this recipe; the only cooking involved is the pasta for just 9 short minutes. My eldest daughter knows what to do, and gets the pasta cooking for me.

After the timer goes off, I run the pasta under cool water to stop the cooking and cool off the noodles so I can add my veggies.

I like to put very thing in this salad, but for my kids I keep it to lettuce, cucumbers, raspberries and chicken. Sometimes we add some cubes of mozzarella or goat cheese when we have it. If I’m making this just for myself, I’ll add spinach and avocado too.

You can use whatever kind of cooked chicken you like. It tastes great with this salad when seasoned with garlic salt or you could even get a rotisserie chicken from the store.

Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Cool, fresh, sweet, sour and salty.

Author: True Aim

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 12 oz Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta
• 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
• ½ cucumber
• 1 cup Raspberries
• ½ head of Ice Berg Lettuce
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 3 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• ¼ cup sugar
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain under cold running water to stop the cooking and set aside.
2. Make the poppy seed dressing by whisking the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, poppy seeds, and sugar together in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Combine Pasta, chicken, cucumber, lettuce and raspberries in a large bowl and serve with dressing and any salad toppings like nuts, croutons, bacon or shredded cheese.

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You can find Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta at your local Walmart. There you can find an in store coupon for $0.55 off starting 6/22/15; offer expires 8/2/15.  Find a $1.00 off coupon on any two Garden Delight items in most newspapers on 6/28/15 (while supplies last).

Serve this amazing salad as a side or a complete meal, either way, your children will be happy and you’ll be happy to know that they got a good dose of veggies in their diets.

The post Raspberry Chicken Pasta Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

Crock Pot Lasagna 

Easy to cook and transport.

Baked Cheesy Chicken Nuggets

Guess what kind of crust these have? It’s yummy by itself!

The BEST Slow Cooker Ham

Tastes like candy and melts in your mouth.

Chicken Pot Pie Puffs

My favorite filling in hand-sized puffs.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Addicting! You can never make enough of these little bites of salty sweet goodness!

Snickers Poke Cake

’nuff said.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

My aunt always makes these at Christmas time, but anytime is a good time for these!

Oreo & Coke Dump Cake

The title is the how-to. How awesome is that!

No-Bake Eclair Cake

No body better be on a diet at your next potluck because you’ll ruin it by bringing this! They won’t be able to resist.

Cookies and Cream Bars

These are my downfall.

Grain-free Banana Nut Butter Donuts

These look amazing and it is nice to have something for everyone at a potluck.

Easy Strawberry No-Bake Pie 

Skinny Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Would you like to participate?

    Please follow me and support your fellow bloggers by visiting some links!   Grab a button if you were featured!  

The post Everyone Will Thank You for Bringing Over One of These Recipes! first appeared on True Aim.

This Brown Rice Stir Fry recipe is versatile, too! You can substitute many of the items to add variety while still keeping dinner cheap. The very best part is that my family loves it! Who can argue with cheap, healthy, and smiles on top of it all? Certainly not me!

This dinner takes about 35 minutes to cook. All prep work is done while the rice is cooking, so there is no added time there. The yield is 4 generous servings. You can use whatever oil and vegetables you have in the house, so I used sunflower oil and frozen stir-fry veggies. Enjoy!

Cheap Family Dinner Recipe

First things first – Get that rice cooking! It takes the longest, so get it going according to the directions for whatever rice you have. If you have minute rice, then this cooking time will be cut much shorter, but you can still get it started first.

For my brown rice, I boiled 2 cups of water and then added the rice. I turned the heat down, covered it, and put the timer on for 30 minutes. (A good trick for knowing when rice is done cooking is watching for those tunnels that escaping air creates, but not removing it from heat until there is only a tiny bit of water on the bottom when you stir it.)

Then, it’s time to trim, cut up and cook the chicken or whatever protein you decide to add. Steak or shrimp would be good too.

While the chicken is cooking, make your sweet and sour sauce in a separate bowl. I take my chicken out of the pan without draining it and then cook my veggies until tender. This took 5-6 minutes for me because I used a frozen sugar snap stir-fry veggie mix. Covering them while cooking will keep them from burning or drying out.

Add the sweet and sour sauce and the chicken to the vegetables in the pan. The rice should be almost done, so just stir for a few minutes to reduce the sauce and get the flavor cooked into the chicken and veggies a bit.

Then, add the rice and stir for just a minute or two more before serving. And there you have it! A yummy, healthy dinner for the family in about a half hour for a little over $4! Not too shabby.

Brown Rice Sweet and Sour Stir Fry

 

Print

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

This delicious stir fry with brown rice and sweet and sour sauce is healthy, balanced, and costs less than $1 per serving!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tbsp oil of your choice
• 1-2 chicken breasts (or whatever protein you would like to add)
• 1 lb vegetables of your choice
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Get your brown rice cooking. Boil the water and then add your rice. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a pan on medium heat and add the chicken. Stir occasionally until fully cooked. Do not drain. Put aside.
3. While the chicken is cooking, make the sweet and sour sauce by mixing the chicken broth, soy sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, and pepper flakes in a small bowl.
4. Add 1 lb of vegetables to the pan, cover, and stir occasionally until tender.
5. Add the chicken and sweet and sour sauce to the pan and stir until thoroughly mixed and heated through.
6. Add the cooked rice to the pan, stir for a minute or two, and serve.

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If you really want to save money, you can use eggs instead of meat. Or you could try flank steak or pork tenderloin and maybe some zucchini and summer squash with a honey teriyaki stir-fry sauce. Yum! Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Leave a comment below explaining how you made this your own, or let us know if you have any creative ideas for other cheap, healthy dinner recipes!

The post $5 Dinner: Healthy Sweet and Sour Stir Fry first appeared on True Aim.

As my family grows, so does the grocery bill.  You have to see it to believe just how much my little 2-year-old can eat.  Along with my bottomless pit toddler, I have a 5-month-old that needs a lot of attention.  So, I need simple dinners that don’t break the budget.

I’ve learned over the years that there’s nothing cheaper than having chicken and potatoes for dinner.  Tight times around the 1st and the 15 calls for creative uses of these ingredients.  The key is mixing these ingredients up in a creative way so you don’t get sick of having the same thing every night.  Enter the one pan stuffed chicken dinner.

I love this dish because there are so many different flavors you can create, but the method is the same.  This makes it easy to serve chicken and potatoes lots of times during the month.

To make this version of one pan chicken I #RollIntoSavings at Walmart with some Kraft products that are on rollback right now.

We save even more by growing our own herbs like basil and rosemary, but you can use whatever herbs you have on hand, or no herbs.  Carrots round out our meal.  They are inexpensive too, but if you have a garden, green beans, Brussels sprouts, onions or squash make great accompaniments.

If you don’t have time to flatten your chicken breast, simply leave it whole and put the stuffing and cheese on top instead of rolling it up. You really can’t lose with this recipe.

Lining the pan with the veggies helps keep the chicken moist and the yummy Kraft Italian Dressing adds great flavor.  You could also try other dressings too.  I would really like to try BBQ sauce.

One Pan Basil Stuffed Chicken

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

There are so many ways to make this one pan chicken dinner, here's a bright summer twist.

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 2-3 Bakers Potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 Carrots roughly chopped
• 1 tsp Chopped Garlic (optional)
• ½ cup Chopped Basil or Baby Spinach
• ¼ cup Kraft Mayo
• 2-4 Kraft Natural Cheese Slices
• ½ Cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
• 2 tbs Parmesan (optional)
• 2 tbs bread crumbs (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking pan or glass dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place potatoes and carrots or other vegetables on the bottom of the pan with the garlic and season with salt and pepper.
3. Mix the basil and mayo together in a small bowl.
4. Flatten your chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap with a rolling pin or tenderizer. Put 1-2 tbs of the basil mayo on one end of the flattened chicken and cover with half a slice of cheese.
5. Roll up the chicken starting with the mayo end first and set in the pan seam side down. Secure with a toothpick if needed.
6. Pour the Italian Dressing over the chicken and vegetables. Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan if you are using.
7. Cover with foil and cook for 40-45 minutes.

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The post Simple Dinners: One Pan Basil Stuffed Chicken #RollIntoSavings first appeared on True Aim.

It’s easy to get caught up in the summer hustle.  We HAVE to do this, go there, see that.  While we are checking off our summer bucket list, others are struggling to keep their heads above water.  To help those in need and end hunger, use these 15 minute chicken dinner ideas and put “bring someone a meal” on your bucket list.

Helping people in need is a big priority in our home because we want to teach our children that life isn’t fulfilling when we just live for ourselves.  When we serve others, it changes our attitude which affects our heart.  Selfless giving does more for a persons character than any amount of training can.

I recently had Audrey help me make a meal for another family.  Even though we are so busy, it was easy to make a double helping of this Tomato, Garlic and Basil Chicken Pasta.

With Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken, it only takes 15 minutes.  Plus, you’ll be helping feed even more people in need because Tyson has partnered with Champions for Kids for a program called #SummerofGiving.  For every bag of product purchased, 1 meal will be donated to a child in need by Tyson!

Ending hunger is a very important initiative to Tyson Foods.  The Tyson Family Foundation initiative, KNOW Hunger is a project designed to encourage people to KNOW the scope of hunger in their own communities and get involved in relief efforts, so someday there will be NO hunger in our country

Walmart has also joined in the initiative and has promised to feed 5 million kids this summer!

So we went there and looked for the Summer of Giving display where specially marked packages of Tyson products are sold.

Tomato, Basil and Garlic Chicken Pasta

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

This light and flavorful pasta will have you coming back for seconds.

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 lb Bow Tie Pasta (Or your other favorite pasta)
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1-2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ Onion chopped
• 1 can Italian Diced Tomatoes
• 2 tbs White Cooking Wine
• ½ bag Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips
• 10 leaves Fresh Basil chopped
• Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat a large pan over medium high heat. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. As the pasta cooks, add the oil to the pan with the onions and garlic and cook until the onions start to get translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
3. Next add the tomatoes and cook until they start to simmer. Add the white wine and bring back to a simmer.
4. Toss in the chicken and basil, bring back to a simmer, and season with salt and pepper. Serve over the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

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For another easy Chicken Dinner idea, try my Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder. 

Are you helping to end hunger this summer?  Learn how you can get involved with Champions for Kids and help provide meals for children in your community.

The post Ad End Hunger with 15 Minute Chicken Dinner Ideas #Summer of Giving first appeared on True Aim.

My husband said this was his favorite meal I’ve cooked so far.  We’ve been married for 8 years so that means it’s pretty amazing!  With only 5 ingredients, this BBQ Chicken Stromboli tastes like it took hours to make when it’s really ready in minutes.

Just like in all of my other recipes, I prepared the ingredients and I got one of my kids to help me in the kitchen.

Colton is getting old enough now, he can start learning about following directions and kitchen safety.  I pointed out the dangers of the stove and he caught on quickly saying, “Ot, Mom. Ot!”

How to Make BBQ Chicken Stromboli

We just put a little KC Masterpiece Original BBQ Sauce in the filling because I didn’t know if it would leak out or not.

Now I wish I would have added more because it was really good!  So customize your Stromboli filling to make it the way you want by changing up the vegetables and adding more BBQ sauce.

When it comes to the dough, store bought makes this recipe really easy.  But usually I mix up my homemade pizza crust ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator overnight.  I just bring it out and let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling it out.

At the very end, the egg wash really makes a perfect crispy crust so I don’t recommend skipping it.  And it’s fun to paint on your food!  Right little buddy?

BBQ Chicken Stromboli

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Sweet, spicy, tangy BBQ chicken with your favorite veggies in a rolled up pizza. It doesn't get any better than this!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

• Homemade or store bought Pizza Dough divided in half
• 1 to 2 cups cooked shredded chicken (1 cup if using bell pepper)
• ½ Onion chopped
• 1½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 3 tbs KC Masterpiece Original BBQ sauce plus more for dipping
• ½ Red and Green Bell Pepper (Optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick spray.
2. Also preheat a pan over medium-high heat on the stove. Add 1 tsp oil and onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add chicken and bell pepper (if using) and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Turn off the heat and mix in BBQ sauce to taste. Let the chicken cool as you prepare the pizza dough.
4. Take one half of the pizza dough and roll it into a 10x14in rectangle. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
5. Spoon half of the BBQ chicken along one side of a long edge leaving a 1 inch border. Cover with half of the cheese.
6. Mix up an egg wash by adding a little water or milk and beating it with the egg. Brush the long edge opposite the filling with the egg wash. (Optional)
7. Roll up the Stromboli by folding in the short sides first, then taking the long side closest to the filling and folding it in toward the other long edge.
8. Pinch the edges shut and cover with the egg wash if you are using it.
9. Repeat with the second half of the pizza dough and bake both for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Cut into pieces and serve with more BBQ sauce.

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There are lots of other ways to make Stromboli.  I’ve seen it made with biscuit dough and breakfast filling.

And isn’t the name so fun to say?  Stromboli!  What do you like to put in yours?

The post BBQ Chicken Stromboli first appeared on True Aim.

It’s kinda a cross between a chili, corn chowder, and queso dip.  So, if you find a better name for it, please let me know.  All I care about is whether my kids will eat it or not.  I’m sure you’ve slaved away over the stove only to have your food barely touched because if your kids don’t eat it, they don’t eat anything!  I don’t have to worry about that when making this soup.

You know it’s good when your children ask for 2 more servings!  That’s the main reason I love making this soup, but it’s also so easy to do.

One thing that helps make prep even easier is buying a rotisserie chicken at the store because I can use it to make at least three different meals throughout the week including this chowder.  I’ll put my daughter to work removing all the meat so it’s ready to use.  Dividing the meat up and putting it in the freezer helps keep it fresh until I need it for a recipe, like my Mini Chicken Ricotta Pies.

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Warm up with your favorite southern flavors!

Author: True Aim

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: American

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• ½ an Onion chopped
• ½ Red and ½ Green Bell Pepper chopped
• ¼ Tsp Cumin
• ½ Tsp Chili Powder
• ¼ Tsp Pepper
• A Dash of Cayenne Pepper for spice (optional)
• 2½ Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 Can White or Great Northern Beans drained
• 1 Can Chili Beans drained
• 1½ Cup Shredded Cooked Chicken
• ¾ Cup Frozen Whole Corn Kernels
• 1 Cup Sour Cream
• 1½ Cup Cheese (cheddar, monterey jack, or mexican Blend)
• Corn Chips and chopped Roma Tomatoes for serving

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion and bell peppers and cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Toss in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring consistently. Stir in the chicken stock and then add the beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
3. Add the chicken and corn. Then, bring the soup back to a simmer.
4. Mix in the sour cream and cheese and turn off the heat. Serve with Corn Chips, extra cheese, and tomatoes.

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If you want more spice, you could add a can of green chilies or a chopped jalapeno to the butter in step 1.

After making this soup every other week for months, my family still loves it!  I hope you do too!

For more family friendly recipes, follow me on Pinterest.   Thanks for your support!

The post Kid Friendly Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe first appeared on True Aim.

“You need to write down all your recipes for me!”  That’s what one of my preschool parents told me after I mentioned what her child gobbled up that day.  Don’t tell her I would have made him eat at least 3 bites even if he didn’t like it, but I’m glad it wasn’t one of those days.  Here is that awesome Kid Friendly Recipe that is easy to customize so your whole family will enjoy.  To get the full recipe hop over to Meaningful Mama.com

The post Kid Friendly Chicken Ricotta Pies Recipe first appeared on True Aim.