Chicken Pot Pie - Easiest On The Planet

I got this recipe from the Ko Jo Kai cookbook that Kristen helped publish! :)
I thought I had already posted this one on here because I've had it a long time, but I was searching for it the other day & realized I'd never posted it on Menu Mamas. It's so easy, doesn't take much of a recipe to follow, but I'm the girl who looks to a recipe for boiling an egg, so I need this easily accessible! ;)

Ingredients:
1 pkg frozen pie crusts
2 cans white chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mixed veggies, drained
s&p
butter spray (optional)

Directions:
1. Get the pie crusts out of the freezer before you start working. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix chicken, soup & veggies. Season to your liking (I use s&p, garlic salt, etc.)
3. Put one of the pie crusts (aluminum and all) in an oven safe dish & heat for 8-10 minutes.
4. Pour the chicken mixture into the baked crust.
5. By this time, the "top" pie crust will just slide out of the aluminum pie pan. Place it on top of the mixture.
6. Spray the top of this pie crust with butter spray (or brush on an egg white if you prefer) to give it a nice color during cooking.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes or so.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

My friend Amanda gave me this recipe, it truly is one of the easiest, best chocolate cakes I have ever tasted! Don't let the "cherry" part throw you, you can only subtly tell it's there--but something about the cherries make this cake super moist and give it a richer flavor.
It is amazing, hope you'll try it! Amanda, thank you for sharing this!!

Cake:
1 box devil food's cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract

Glaze:
1 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1/3 C whole milk
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. For cake:  preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 13x9" pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine all cake ingredients. Mix on low with electric mixer for 1 minute, scrape sides of bowl & continue mixing on medium speed for another 2 minutes. Pour into prepared cake pan & bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake springs back.
2. For glaze:  combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to a boil. Remove from heat & stir in chocolate chips. Stir glaze until smooth & pour over warm cake.
Cool cake for 20 minutes before serving to allow the glaze to firm up.

New Layout!

Hey friends--I hope you don't mind, I changed the layout of the blog because I thought the sidebar would work better on the left with our recipes on the right! Every time I print off a recipe from Menu Mamas, I punch holes in it to place it in my recipe binder...inevitably the hole punch will fall right in the middle of the quantity needed for some cooking ingredient! So I thought recipes being on the right would alleviate this issue! :)
I hope you will all still be uploading your favorite tried & true recipes! I know we all use Pinterest these days, but I try and put all my keepers on here & love using Pinterest for things I want to try!
Hoping you will post your favorite soups & stews as we enter into the Fall weather!

Happy Cooking!
;) VBS

Creamy Spinach & Chicken Roll-Ups!

I was desperate for something quick & easy to make for dinner tonight! I just so happened to have these ingredients on hand & took a spin off an old recipe to recreate this. It was a hit, so I'm posting here--would definitely make it again! :)

Ingredients:
Fresh spinach (I happened to have a fresh spinach/kale blend on hand, could prob use frozen as well) I used about half a bag
4 oz cream cheese
2 TBS butter
1/2 C milk
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans Crescent rolls
2C cooked/shredded chicken
Italian seasoning
Garlic Salt,
S&P

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Boil a pot of water--blanch your spinach in the water, just enough to wilt it
3. Drain pot, use paper towels to "dry" spinach, then coarsely chop it & set aside
4. In same pot, add butter, onions & garlic to saute
5. Cut up cream cheese & add to butter mixture, add milk & stir together until creamy
6. Toss cooked/shredded chicken & spinach into creamy goodness
7. Unroll crescent dough into rectangles in a baking dish
8. Layer a little spinach/cheese/chicken mixture into each crescent roll
9. Roll the crescent rolls up & place side by side in pan filling it up.
10. Spray the tops of the crescent rolls with a butter spray, sprinkle the tops with a little italian seasoning & garlic salt
11. Bake 15 or so minutes until nicely browned!

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Got these off Pinterest. They have become a staple in our home! So easy, yummy, & healthyish!;)

Ingredients:
2 C black beans (I just use one can, drained. Would use 2 cans if wanting to make more...one can makes about a dozen)
1/2 C red onion, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp garlic powder
shredded cheese (Monterey jack or whatever you prefer)
chopped cilantro (eyeball it to your preference)
olive oil
corn tortillas
toppings (sour cream, salsa, avocado, etc.)

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, add beans along with red onion, cilantro & spices. Lightly mash all ingredients together (sometimes I forget to mash & it works fine anyway)
2. In a large non-stick skillet, add a few TBS of oil & heat on med-high heat.
3. Add one corn tortilla at a time & let it get hot in the oil (I flip tortilla over a couple of times to oil it up on both sides)
4. Spoon your bean mixture to one half of the tortilla & top with shredded cheese.
5. Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.
6. As the first tortilla cooks, slide it to the side & do a second one (I can usually do about 3 at a time...if you had a griddle you could do even more at once).
7.  Cook each taco for several minutes on each side until they are nicely browned and crispy.
8. I place a paper towel over a plate & as I finish a batch, I set them on the paper towel to the side until all are cooked.

Serve with your favorite toppings & sides!
Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Also from Pinterest, made these last night and
they are divine! Will have to make them again
because I am sure I will be craving them!



Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds beef (I used a boneless chuck roast)
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (one is all you need, avoid seeds to lessen heat, use this link for helpful chipotle pepper advice!)
1/2 large sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Flour tortillas
Favorite taco toppings: avocado, cheese, cilantro, salsa, etc.

Directions:
1. Whisk together the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly. (I cheated and used McCormicks Salt Free Sweet 'n Smoky spice rub instead) 

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side until browned. Add the diced onion and minced garlic on top of the seared beef in the slow cooker.

3. Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker. Leave the pan on the heat, and add in the beef stock to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato paste and minced chipotle and whisk into the pan sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a 3-5 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Pour the pan sauce down over the onions, garlic, and beef in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

4. Shred the beef and onions with two forks. Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Spicy Fish Taco Bowls

Got this recipe off Pinterest, I tweaked it slightly. The original recipe called for the addition of chili powder & cayenne pepper (probably why it was titled "spicy" :} but I chose to leave those out so my kiddos could eat it) I have made it several times & everyone likes it--definitely a keeper! I also really recommend making this spanish rice to serve with this dish!


Ingredients:
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic pwd
1 tsp salt
3-4 tilapia filets
1-2 minced garlic cloves
1 C corn kernels (fresh is probably best, but I only had frozen)
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
cooked rice (use brown or spanish rice recipe link above)
cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, etc. for topping

Directions:
1. Make your rice.
2. Mix the spices together in a bowl & sprinkle evenly over both sides of fish--I like to season my fish a lot, but just sprinkle on however much looks good to you--add s&p to taste.
3. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil, add garlic & saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the fish to the pan, cook on each side for several minutes--checking the middle for doneness (fish should be completely white & flake apart easily). Remove fish & set aside.
4. Add corn, red peppers, & onion to the pan & heat on med/high heat for several minutes--stir and cook until peppers & onions are cooked to your liking. Add the black beans & heat through.
5. Layer the rice, corn/onion/pepper/bean mixture together with the fish in a bowl. Top with any of the toppings listed above, etc.!