October Menu!

As I was planning out my monthly menu for October, I decided that it would be quite simple to just post my recipes in a blog. Then I can add to it frequently. So...my Bake-n-Cooking blog begins :) The posts so far are all things that are on the menu for October. As most of you know that really know me, I keep my recipes on the computer so I'll keep adding recipes from my recipe file as I have time, AND I'll add new recipes as I try them (hopefully I'll remember to take pics of the foods before they get served so you can see if it's something you might like to cook :). If you have a recipe to share, I would LOVE to give it a try. Happy Cooking!

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 3-4 lb chicken, cut up (You could also just use chicken breasts)
8 cups water
½ bay leaf (if desired)
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Place cut up chicken in a large cooking pan. Add water, onion, and seasonings, cover and bring to boil. Cook until chicken is tender and will come off from bones easily, about 2 hours. Remove chicken from broth—remove skin and meat from bones. Discard bones and skin. Strain broth.

Add to broth:
1 cup celery, cut into pieces
½ tsp seasoning salt
2 -3 carrots, peeled & sliced or cut into chunks
½ tsp poultry seasoning (optional)
Meat of the chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, chopped

Add prepared vegetables to chicken broth, adding more water if needed. Bring to boil and cook about 15 minutes. Add 2 cups of uncooked pasta noodles. Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes. I love this soup because the broth is as good as the noodles, chicken, and veggies. I usually always serve it with some type of bread so you can "soak" up the juice...although, honestly, I could just drink it :) This particular night it was served with garlic bread.

Meatloaf

Crumble hamburger. Salt and pepper. Add one chopped onion. Crumble in 8-10 saltine crackers or add ½ to 1 cup bread crumbs. Mix together and add one egg. Add 1 can tomato sauce. (For less of a tomato taste, you can add about ¾ cup of ketchup. I also add a bit of Italian seasoning for taste—Dave likes a lot of seasoning.) Spray a bread loaf pan (or line with foil) and shape meatloaf to fit pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350.

Cheesy Chicken Wings/Strips

16 chicken wings (or strips of chicken)
1 tsp dried basil leaves
2 TBL butter or margarine
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
¾ cup crumbled crackers or fine bread crumbs
½ tsp garlic salt
¾ cup Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil or parsley for garnish

Wash chicken wings; pat dry. In a bowl, combine the crumbs, herbs, and parmesan cheese. Add seasonings and mix well to blend. Melt butter. Dip chicken wings first in melted butter, then into crumb coating. Arrange chicken wings in lightly oiled baking dish. Bake chicken wings at 375 for 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite meals!!!! I usually always serve it with a baked potato.

Breadsticks

1 TBL yeast
1 ½ cups warm water
1 TBL malted milk powder (optional...I honestly don't think I've ever added this)
1 TBL honey
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (or a little more)

Dissolve yeast in water. Add malted milk powder, honey, and salt. Add flour gradually until dough forms a ball. Knead a few times, be careful not to over knead. Do not let rise. Meanwhile have ½ cup butter or margarine melted in a 10 x 15 pan (cookie sheet). Roll dough out to measure of pan. Cut into sticks with knife or pizza cutter. Coat both sides of dough with butter and line in pan. Sprinkle top with Season All salt. Let rise to top of pan edge (approximately 1 hour). Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.

Lasagna

Layer the following in a 9x13 pan:
Spaghetti sauce
lasagna noodles (cooked)
1 lb. hamburger (cooked)
grated cheese

Bake at 350 for about 45-60 minutes.  The secret to lasagna is to let it sit after it has cooked at least 10 minutes before cutting into it.

Make and freeze.  If frozen, you'll need to defrost and then cook OR cook for 2 hours, covered.

Hawiian Haystacks

Hawaiian Haystacks

2 (10 ¾ oz) cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups diced chicken, cooked
1cup chicken broth
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1 20 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
4 cups cooked rice
1 cup grated cheese
1 can chow mien noodles
½ cup slivered almonds
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
½ cup coconut
1 can olives, sliced
1 small onion, chopped

Combine soup and broth in a saucepan to make gravy. Stir to blend and simmer about 8-10 minutes, until heated through. Layer all ingredients. First stack rice, chow mien noodles, chicken, and gravy. Add other ingredients as desired.

Baked Potato Soup

Baked Potato Soup
From: My CIL, Annie

Bake 3-5 potatoes in the oven for however long and whatever temperature you usually do. When they're done, slice them in half and scoop out the meat into a bowl. Discard peels. Add 2 tsp chicken boullion and 1 c water and beat with beaters until kind of smooth, but slightly lumpy. Melt 1 -2 TB butter in a large saucepan and add 1 TBS flour. Stir until pasty. Add 1 c milk, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir until bubbly and then add the potato mixture to saucepan. Add the dill weed, and whatever other herbs and spices you'd like. If it's too thick, add a little more milk. Wait till it starts to bubble and then take it off the heat. Add 1 c sour cream. Serve topped with bacon, broccoli or cheese.

Fried Chicken aka Chicken Bones

Yes, my kids affectionally call this meal "Chicken Bones"...I guess because this is the only time I don't use boneless, skinless chicken :)

Heat about 1 TBL of shortening in a skillet. I personally always use my electric skillet. Add 1 cup flour and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to a gallon size ziplock baggie. Shake mixture to mix. Rinse of chicken piece and shake in ziplock baggie. Add chicken to hot skillet. Cook until brown. I usually put the lid on, prepare other things, turn chicken, and repeat several times. Be sure to check the center of the chicken (right next to the bone) to make sure it's really done. When the chicken is cooked, remove chicken from skillet and pour in about 2 cups of milk. Stir with a whisk. Mix about 2 TBL of cornstarch w/ about 1/4 cup of milk in a separate cup. When milk in skillet begins to boil, add cornstarch milk mixture whisking constantly. This will make yummy chicken gravy that you can serve over mashed potatoes.

Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes

3 lbs hamburger (can decrease if you're cookin' for a smaller crowd)
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cans tomato soup (or use ketchup instead)
dash garlic
dash celery salt
dash onion salt
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard (dry or liquid)
1 tsp vinegar

Brown hamburger with onion and green pepper. Add other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on a bun or between two slices of bread.

Baked Pasta

1 package (16 oz) pasta (spaghetti noodles or any shaped pasta will work)
1 lb. hamburger (could go meatless if you want)
2-3 cups spaghetti sauce
1-2 cups grated cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese

Cook noodles as directed on package. Drain water. Brown hamburger. Add spaghetti sauce to browned hamburger. Add noodles and cheeses. Stir and pour in 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Fiesta Stack

1 can refried beans
2 TBL plus ¼ cup sour cream
1 TBL plus ½ tsp taco seasoning
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
¾ cup sliced olives
5 (10-in) flour tortillas
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Salsa
Vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine refried beans, 2 TBL sour cream, and 1 TBL taco seasoning; mix well. In another bowl, combine chopped chicken and chopped peppers. Add sliced green onions and ½ cup of the olive slices; mix gently. Place one tortilla on Pizza Stone. Spread bean mixture on top. Add about 1 cup of chicken mixture. Top with salsa and shredded cheese. Repeat layers approximately 3 more times. Top with remaining tortilla. Spray top tortilla with Pam vegetable oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Mix the remaining ¼ cup sour cream with the remaining ½ tsp taco seasoning; spread evenly over top of warm tortilla stack. Sprinkle with tomato and remaining olive slices. Cut into wedges; serve with salsa, if desired.

Hobo Dinners

Tear off enough sheets of foil for each dinner you are making. Place a hamburger patty (or chicken breast) in the center of each foil. Cut onion into rings. Peel and dice potatoes. Peel and chop carrots into sticks. Add onion rings, potato chunks, and carrot sticks to each hamburger patty. Top with salt, pepper, and season-all salt. Seal up each foil dinner individually. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Also, great in the coals of your campfire…just be sure to turn it regularly!

Fried Fish

Fish

Add 1 cup flour, sprinkle of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic to a ziplock gallon bag. Shake mixture to mix. Rinse off fish and trimmed as you like to eat your fish. Heat 1 tsp of margarine in a hot skillet. Coat fish in flour mixture and add to pan. Brown each side of the fish (approx. a total of 10 minutes). Serve with a side of lemon.

Crustless Quiche

Crustless Quiche

4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream (I just use milk)
1 Tablespoon flour
2 Tablespoons melted butter
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg Method
1 cup Cheddar cheese (grated)
1 cup Swiss cheese (grated)

Beat all the ingredients together with a whisk until blended. Butter (or ‘Pam’) a pie dish and scatter a mixture of grated Cheddar and Swiss cheese over the bottom of the pie dish. Pour egg mixture over top. Sprinkle nutmeg. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes until the custard is firm, puffy & slightly brown.
Hint: You can add fried crumbled bacon, fried mushrooms, peppers etc. Just scatter these in with the cheese before you pour the custard over the top.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki chicken
From: My friend, Nicole

1/2 C soy sauce
1 C brown sugar
1/3 C water
1 t ginger
1 T garlic
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix first 5 ingredients and pour over chicken breasts in baking dish. Bake covered 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Serve with fresh cut pineapple, vegetables, and rice.

Double Crust Pizza

Ham and Cheese Double-Crusted Pizza
From: My Mom
1 TBL yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tsp oil
1 tsp salt

Put these ingredients together and let yeast bubble. Add 3 cups of flour (possibly a little more). Shape in pizza pan. Cut ham and cheese. Add. Put on top crust. Cut holes in top crust. Before cooking, beat an egg and spread on top. May also put sesame seeds on top. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes.

I use this dough for this pizza.

Pizza Dough

From: A high school friend

Mix together:
1 ½ cups warm water
1 ½ TBL yeast
1/8 cup sugar

Then add:
1/6 cup oil
1 TBL salt
3 1/3 cup flour

Mix altogether. Let dough rise for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then knead onto pizza pan. Preheat oven to 400. Cook dough for 6 minutes. Take dough out of oven and then add toppings. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. (Double recipe for two large pizzas.) The picture was taken when I doubled the recipe. I use this dough for EVERY pizza I make. I really think the "secret" to this recipe is cooking before you add any toppings.

Stuffed Meatballs

Stuffed Meatballs

1 pkg Stove Top stuffing (prepared)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb hamburger
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup Sego milk (I don't always use canned milk...sometimes I'll just use the milk that's already in the fridge)
1 TBL ketchup

Mix hamburger and milk into ½ cup patties. Put drops of stuffing on each patty. Roll over and seal. Mix soup, sauce, and ketchup; heat until bubbles. Pour over meatballs. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. I usually always serve this with rice.

Note...When I made this tonight I didn't have time to make individual meatballs so I put my meat mixture onto wax paper and flattened. Then I added the stuffing and rolled it up and put it into a bread pan to make a "stuffed meatloaf". Tasted just as good.

Crockpot Porkchops

From: My sister, Amber

1-2 Pork chops per person (however many you need to feed your family)
2-3 cans of cream of mushroom soup
Put pork chops in crockpot. Add enough mushroom soup to cover top of pork chops. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (I've cooked it on high for 6 hours…and they were AWESOME). Serve pork chops with rice. Can use “soup” as a gravy for the rice.

Hurdsman chicken

Marinade for Grilled Chicken or Turkey
From: My Hubby

Put defrosted chicken or turkey you will be grilling in a bowl. Add 1 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of oil, and 1 can of Sprite or 7-up (Just made this with 1 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar since we didn't have soda...came out perfectly). Mix together. Put lid on bowl and refrigerate overnight. Best if chicken sits in marinade for at least 24 hour, but it doesn't have to. Grill meat! This is definitely our favorite marinade for chicken!

Chicken & Dumplings

From: My SIL, Cara

1 stewing chicken (4-5 lbs.)  (I just boil what ever kind of chicken I have in the freezer)
1 small onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 tsp salt

Sauce:
½ stick butter
¼ tsp paprika
½ cup light cream or half and half (I always use whatever milk I have in the fridge)
6 TBL flour
white pepper to taste

Dumplings:
¾ cup milk
2 cups flour
1 TBL baking powder
1 TBL shortening
1 tsp salt

Place chicken in covered soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrot, and salt. Pour water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is very tender, 1-1 ½ hours. Remove chicken from broth and cool. When cool enough to handle, remove all skin, bone, and gristle. Dice chicken. Strain stock, discard the solids, and defat stock. Measure out 4 cups, saving extras, or add water if necessary. In large sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Stir in flour and paprika. Stir until well blended, about 3 minutes. Pour in stock and bring back to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat, simmer for about 10 minutes until thick and smooth. Add the diced chicken, cream, and pepper.

In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend in shortening with fork. Add milk and mix well. Dip spoon or hands in cold water to form dumpling balls . Spoon dumplings on top of the gently bubbling mixture. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes WITHOUT LIFTING THE LID. Serve at once.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sweet & Sour Chicken
From: My Grandma Ward

4-8 chicken breasts, boneless skinless
1 egg, beaten
Cornstarch
Oil

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
4 TBL ketchup
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup vinegar

Dip chicken breast into egg, then roll in cornstarch. In a small amount of oil, fry chicken until just browned. Place chicken in a shallow baking pan. Pour the sauce over it, then bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for one hour, turning chicken every 15 minutes. Serve with rice.


Another recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken (it has a bit different taste than the other recipe...but I like both :)
From: My friend, Nicole

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1" square pieces
1 T oil
1 C red & green peppers or more if you like (I usually add onions, too)
2 T corn starch
1/4 C soy sauce
1 can chunk pineapple in juice
3 T vinegar
3 T brown sugar
1/2 t grated ginger
1/2 t garlic

Cook and stir chicken in hot oil until browned. Add peppers and cook 1-2 minutes until crisp, tender. Remove from pan and set aside.

Mix cornstarch, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar, ginger, and garlic. Add to pan and bring to boil. Then add meat, vegetables, and pineapple and heat through. Serve over rice.

Strognaff

1 lb. hamburger
1 small onion, chopped
½ tsp garlic salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 can cream of mushroom
4 oz. mushroom pieces (can use canned mushrooms but fresh is best)
¾ cup sour cream
Pasta Noodles, cooked

Brown hamburger and onion. Stir in garlic salt, pepper, soup, mushrooms. Simmer covered 15-20 min. Stir sour cream and heat. Serve over pasta noodles.

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

Boil 3-4 chicken breasts. Cool and then chop. Mix chicken, 1-2 cans of cream of chicken soup, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup grated cheese, and taco seasoning. Pour a half can of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill tortillas shell with mixture and put in baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (The picture was taken after I got everything in the pan before the enchiladas were cooked.)

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

8 ounces of uncooked linguine or spaghetti
1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets
2 TBL butter or margarine
3-4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
½ cup milk
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp pepper

Prepare linguine according to package directions. Add broccoli for last four minutes of cooking time; drain. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, stirring often. Add soup, milk, cheese, pepper, and linguine mixture; heat through, stirring occasionally. Serve with additional parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

College Casserole

College Casserole

1 pkg Rice-A-Roni, made
3 cups rice, made
3-4 chicken breasts, boiled
1 can cream of chicken

Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Add frozen vegetables if desired (broccoli). Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup
From: My aunt, Kathleen

1 ½ lbs hamburger
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn (optional)
1 (28 oz) can tomatoes
¼ cup onion, chopped
1 TBL chili powder
2 large cans kidney beans with juice
½ TBL garlic powder OR salt
½ cup taco sauce or salsa

Brown hamburger and onions. Add meat mixture in a large saucepan; tomatoes, chili powder, garlic powder, taco sauce or salsa, corn, and kidney beans. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with grated cheese and teaspoon sour cream. Eat with tortilla chips.