Every since I started meal planning, I have been coming up with really easy, budget friendly recipes like these creamy chicken enchiladas.  I have only been cooking one big meal a day, the 5 O’Clock meal, these days, the only meal that we are all together for. And remember, it’s proven that having a meal at the table with your family makes for better relationships with your kids!

These enchiladas are definitely some of the better ones I’ve made and are perfect for parents who still have to cook something up for supper after working hard all day! What makes this so easy is that I used Swanson Premium Chicken.  This is actually one of my favorite things to use whether it be for enchiladas or in my salads.  It’s budget friendly, quick, 98% fat free, and backed by the American Heart Association, which makes up for some of the other ingredients I’m using in this recipe! HAHA!!

Serve these up with some rice & beans and you’ll likely be crawling to the sofa!  We opted to just eat the enchiladas without he sides and found it plenty filling!  My husband’s only request was my homemade hot sauce!!

Disclosure: I was paid for my time & efforts, by Swanson, to create this post.  I have always used and recommended Swanson Chicken. Opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. 

Quick and easy; that seems to be our food motto these days.  With Church & school functions, work, and sports, making a ham and cheese calzone is just one of the easy recipes I’ve been cooking up lately.    It’s a meal that to grab and go which we frequently do with basketball season in full bloom.  Concession stands have drained me this school year so I try to get most of us full before we ever get to the game. Know what I mean?

I honestly had no plan for the dough when making this so bare with me.  The neat thing about this meal idea, is that you can put anything you want inside the calzone.  I did simple ingredients for us because we are on a budget but you could definitely go all out!  I bought crescent roll dough and ended up mushing it all together and separating into 3 dough balls for 3 calzones.  Hey, it ain’t fancy but it worked!

This recipe was submitted by Rachel S for May’s Food Challenge. If you have a recipe with eggs in it, you can enter too! Check it out ’cause there’s a great prize! Thanks Rachel for entering!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 Eggs
• Shredding Mozzarella Cheese
• Asparagus
• Onions
• Butter
• Salt/Pepper

(I followed a recipe I found here: http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2011/05/asparagus-frittata.html – with a few of my own tweaks and changes)

DIRECTIONS

1. Chop onion and put it into frying pan with butter, until soft
2. Clean/cut asparagus and add it to pan. Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes.
3. While veggies are in the pan, make egg mixture – 8 eggs, 1 cup of cheese, salt/pepper to liking – and mix together.
4. Add the veggies to a quiche or pie pan. Pour egg mixture on top. Put in oven (at 350) until the egg has solidified. Add more cheese on top (I used the same mozzarella cheese on top, but have also make it with goat cheese) and put under the broiler for about 5 minutes – or until it is golden brown and delicious!

(photo credit goes to http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/asparagus_frittata/)

How cute is this little dipper crock pot?!  Perfect for CHEESE DIP! It’s 16oz and is the perfect size for dips, which will be great for all our little parties!

Perhaps you can use it with the NEW VELVEETA SPICY BUFFALO that’s coming to a store near you!

*DROOL*  I know what I’ll be making at our super bowl party!   My tongue might be on fire with this one but I’m push through it because it just sounds delicious!!  It’s a brand new kind from Velveeta and I don’t think is out at stores yet.  I’ll update when I find out when…….

Most of the time, I despise salads. I don’t really like a lot of toppings that most people do so they don’t interest me too much but thanks to my personal trainer (from my local Anytime Fitness), I’m learning to tweak things a bit to allow my palette to enjoy them more.

First, she recommend I keep 100% chicken in water as a substitute for when everyone else is eating foods that I shouldn’t. So today, while my boys were eating pizza, I decided to make me a salad. It turned out so good that my husband asked for one as well.

I started out using Marketside’s Premium Romaine Salad Mix. I cut up a roma tomato and placed on the side. I don’t like when it mixes into my greens. I’m weird that way. I opened a can of Valley Fresh 100% Natural White Chicken in Water (97% fat free). I put half the can on my salad, the other half on my husband’s. I sprinkled with a small amount of Great Value Cheese and topped with Kraft’s Dressing made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil Parmesan Vinaigrette.

The Kraft dressing was AMAZING!  It was PACKED full of flavor and since I cannot go without dressing, I chose one that had under 100 calories per serving. This one had 70.  The chicken tasted SO good and is much better than some other versions I’ve had that included rib meat or something.  I added a little pepper to it all and man, this was the tastiest salad I’ve had in a long time!  It may look plain to y’all but I like simple.

What do you like to eat on your salad?

YEEHAW!  Cowboy Quesadillas are the ultimate football food, especially for this cowboy family!  As a Velveeta Kitchenista, it’s time again for me to bring you another round of delicious Velveeta recipes!

It’s funny because of all the football food I’ve shared here on My Wooden Spoon, I don’t think I’ve ever made any quesadillas, which are perfect finger food!  Sadly, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t doing too well this year so while we enjoyed the quesadillas, we did not enjoy the game.  What I love about quesadillas is that like an omelet, you can pretty much put anything you want in it.  This particular recipe called for green onions but since I have a couple of boys who aren’t big fans of green onions, we chose to use black beans instead and it was really good!

Truett wasn’t as big of a helper as he usually is, in fact, he was being a lil punk but I always enjoy having him in the videos.  You’ll see that these are SO easy to make and literally only take minutes.  Enjoy the video, followed by the recipe below!

COWBOY QUESADILLAS

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. (16 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 flour tortillas (10 inch)
• 4 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced  (We used a can of black beans instead)
• 1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained

Instructions:

COMBINE VELVEETA and tomatoes in 1-1/2-qt. microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 5 to 6 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 3 min. Stir in chicken and onions.  HEAT large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture onto half of 1 tortilla; fold in half. Add to skillet; cook 1 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.

CUT into wedges and enjoy!

What would you add to make YOUR OWN Cowboy Quesadilla?

Disclosure: I am a Velveeta Kitchenista Ambassador and Spokeblogger.  I was compensated for my time and efforts to create the recipe and video.  My opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. It’s just how I roll.

The kids are back to school and while you may or may not have to worry about lunch for them, you do have to figure out what to make for supper. My boys are older and don’t exactly love school like the little ones do and during football season they don’t even get home until 6:30 because of practice. This means two things; they’ll be hungry and they’ll want and need to have personal space and do their homework. Having our evening meal together at the table is very important to me but with teens, you sometimes have to compromise.

When thinking about this supper solution, Velveeta recipe, I kept a few things in mind.

• Gotta have a filler or the boys will never get full.
• Creative meal ideas. Turning something old into something new.
• Using leftovers.
• Something little man can help with so that he be involved.

I came up with Cheesy Chicken Cups. Imagine a cheesy pot pie in a muffin shape. What I love about my recipe is that I was able to incorporate vegetables, use biscuits as the filler, use our leftover chicken breasts & bacon, and little man felt like such a big boy helping me pat out the biscuit dough and sprinkle sesame seeds.

The Cheesy Chicken Cups were easy to make and when done, I stacked them up so that when the boys got home from school, they could just grab one to eat all while putting their stuff away, telling us about their day, getting ready to do homework, and check their computer stuff.

Truett was hesitant on eating them but once he saw his brothers grab one, he just had to have one to hold and eat while on the sofa. He was mocking them and I just love little moments like that!

I hope you enjoy the video and the Cheesy Chicken Cups Recipe!

Cheesy Chicken Cups

Ingredients:

• 10 slices of chopped, cooked bacon
• 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• 1 10oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables
• 8oz of Velveeta, cubed
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of big flaky layer biscuits
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp water
• 2 tablespoons sesame seed

Directions:

Heat oven to 350′. In a large pan, combine bacon, chicken, vegetables, velveeta, cream of chicken soup, and pepper. Simmer until cheese is completely melted, stirring all regularly.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Using a knife, split each biscuit in half, horizontally. Press 1 biscuit half into a 4-inch round. In ungreased non-stick jumbo muffin pan, press round in bottom and 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the side of the muffin cup. Repeat with remaining biscuit halves.

Divide chicken mixture evenly into biscuit cups. top with remaining biscuit halves, stretching slightly to cover chicken mixture and slightly pressing edges to bottom biscuits to seal.

In a small bowl, beat egg and water until well blended; brush on top of biscuits. Sprinkle with sesame seed

Bake 15-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown. cool in pan 5 minutes before serving.

Disclosure: I am a Velveeta Kitchenista Ambassador and Spokeblogger.  I was compensated for my time and efforts to create the recipe and video.  My opinions are my own, always have been, always will be. It’s just how I roll.

I don’t know about you but Spring and warm weather cannot get here fast enough.  It means cooking out, brunches, and kids playing outside!  I had a glorious Spring brun

ch house party planned a couple of weeks ago and due to an unexpected snow storm, it did not happen but I did still make a video of me making a Velveeta recipe and will be sharing the dessert with you in a day or two.  I had a cute little helper too so be sure to check that out.

For my planned Spring brunch (somewhat lighter brunch), I made Velveeta Cheesy Chicken Rotini, Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel Crumble Topping, Ranch Red Potatoes, and served Iced Tea and Maxwell House coffee.  My family loved every bit of it.  While I’m sad that my guests could not come, I was excited about having a family moment with good food and all four of my most favorite fellas.

My most favorite thing about all the Velveeta recipes I’ve made here on My Wooden Spoon, is that they are all super easy to cook up and this recipe is not exception.  Here’s the VELVEETA Cheesy Chicken Rotini, followed by the recipe.  Be sure to be on the lookout for the Sour Cream Apple Pie, coming soon.  It’s absolutely delicious and I expect to quickly become a family favorite!

Some things I had for the guests coming, were these cute Velveeta spatulas with coupons for free Maxwell House Coffee and Velveeta. Since the storm prevented folks from coming, I gave them their goodies as I saw them, which is pretty much the only thing you can do when you live out here on the ranch!  They loved the items, especially because the Spring ranch works are starting around here and those coupons will come in handy to serve coffee to the cowboys and use Velveeta in the meals they have planned.  Saved them a little money and that makes all of us happy!

Tips for hosting a Spring Brunch Party

• Always plan ahead (even check the weather!)
• Fill the air and environment with cooking fragrances, a pretty tablecloth, and plenty of cups and plates
• Always serve coffee, no matter what.
• Buffet style works best.
• Try to use in-season foods if possible.

Don’t forget to jot down the tips from the video too!  Enjoy and here’s to a delightful, delicious Spring Brunch! *cheers*

Disclosure: This post is part of the Velveeta Kitchenista campaign which is compensated for my time and efforts. As always, opinions are my own, always have been and always will be.  See my full disclosure for my blogging ethics.

Down, set, HUT HUT VELVEETA!  Yep, it’s that time again, time for the championship football game that all of us football fans anticipate the whole year!  And what comes along with football?? That’s right!!! DIP!  You can’t watch such an exciting football game without dip and chips, come on now.   Not only do we root teams on like the Dallas Cowboys or Indianapolis Colts, but also our own home town six-man football team, the Highland Hornets.  We paint our faces and went to the State championship game last year but lost.  Good game though.

I have used Velveeta for what feels like forever in many diverse recipes like Shrimp Stroganoff Casserole but I think many folks associate Velveeta with dip. The two go hand in hand after all and you can’t have a football party without it!

As one of the 2010 Velveeta Kitchenistas, I’ll be bringing you vlogs all year, this being the first one.  I do a few personal vlogs that are me rambling but doing a recipe was a challenge and while my video isn’t’ the best, I have confidence that my future ones will be awesome!

Please keep in mind when watching the video that I’m new at cooking in front of the video. Also keep in mind that my teens were cracking me up over and over again so I ended being a little more serious in the final cut that I intended. My next ones will get better, promise!

This Velveeta dip consists of only 3 ingredients, with on optional ingredient, making it very affordable to feed a crowd.  It also literally takes less than 10 minutes to make.  It’s so easy and so good!

VELVEETA Chorizo & Beer Dip

Ingredients

• 16oz of VELVEETA Cheese
• 1/4lb of Beef Chorizo
• 1/2 cup of Beer
• Green onions for garnish (optional)

Directions

Cook chorizo in medium skillet on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally; drain.  Microwave VELVEETA and beer in large microwaveable bowl on high for about 5 minutes or until VELVEETA is completely melted, stirring after 3 min. Stir in chorizo.

Extra: Garnish with green onion slices before serving.

Don’t forget that Velveeta is on Facebook too and are always sharing great recipe ideas along with Velveeta fans sharing their own!

Disclosure: Please know that all opinions are my own and that I only work with companies that I love, use everyday. and truly believe in. If you have any questions about my ethics, read my full disclosure and/or email me. Just like before, I have partnered with VELVEETA as one of theVELVEETA it! Kitchenistas. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes vlogging about my cooking experiences with VELVEETA and developing one original VELVEETA-based recipe. I have also been compensated for the food purchased for my VELVEETA vlogs.

Tomatoes and onions create some wonderful dishes and this one is no exception.  Because it’s nearly impossible to find green tomatoes around here, I used firm red tomatoes instead.  This is part two of three of the dinner meal I planned for you guys.  You can see the creamed corn I made earlier and stay tuned for part three, Blackened Catfish, to complete the dinner.

INGREDIENTS

• * 1/4 pound bacon
• * 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• * 2 large onions, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• * 4 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• * Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• * 6 ounces sharp white Cheddar, grated, about 1 1/2 cups

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Render bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add the bread crumbs to a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet and stir into the bread crumbs. Add the onion rounds to the skillet in batches and cook, without breaking the round slices apart, until there is some golden color, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.

To assemble the gratin, overlap the green tomato slices in 1 row in a large baking dish, about 9 by 11 inches. Next, make a row slightly overlapping of the partially cooked onion rounds, being careful to keep the slices intact. Repeat steps until all tomatoes and onions are used. Season tomatoes and onions lightly with salt and heavily with pepper. Crumble the bacon over the vegetables; sprinkle the grated Cheddar over the top followed by the bread crumbs. Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 30 to 45 minutes. If the top is getting too brown, loosely cover with foil.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix