August meals and recipes

I have finished out August menu and a lot of you have asked for the recipes, so here they are! I am not srue what days we are having what meals, but at least they are done!

Chimichangas:
1 lb. cooked beef, pork or chicken
1 jar (16oz.) salsa
1 16oz. Refried Beans
1 4oz. Diced Green Chili Peppers-I leave these out
1 1 1/2 oz. Burrito or taco Seasoning Mix
16 8 in. Flour Tortillas
16 oz. cheese-whatever kind you want

1. Mix the meat, beans, salsa, seasoning, and chilis. Heat till warm.
2. heat the tortillas a bit to make them easier to fold.
3. Add some of the mixture to the middle of the tortilla, add some cheese and fold up the ends, then the other ends.
4. wrap in foil. Freeze. When ready to eat, place in baking dish (still in foil) and bake for about an hour if frozen or if thawed, about 30 minutes.
Tacos:
I just precook ground turkey and add homemade taco seasoning. Then I freeze in servings.

Spaghetti:
I cook the turkey, add the sauce and some seasonings, then bag and freeze.

Lasagna:
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
10 ounces ricotta cheese
10 ounces cottage cheese (you can use all ricotta or all cottage cheese if you dont want half and half)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced-I use the mozzerella that is already cut for sandwiches
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.



2.Fill a large pot with the lazagna noodles and then fill with HOT water. Let sit about 30 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.


3.Preheat oven to 375


4.To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.


5.Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.


Chicken with gravy
4 pieces (or however many fit into a glass baking dish) of chicken or pork chops
1 onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp salt

Put the chicken in the baking dish. Cut the onion up into rings and lay them all over the chicken. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and then pour on top of chicken and onions. If you are using the crock pot, just pile it all together and cook for 5-8hours until nice and tender. If you bake it like I do, 1 hour on 350.
This is soooooo yummy and delicious and so easy to make. It takes like 5 minutes to put together!

Tosatdas:
Corn Tortillas
Canola Oil
2 cans pinto beans(or a can if refried beans if you don't want to make them)
Cheese
shredded lettuce
1. Heat oil (will only need thin layer in pan) on stove top Fry up as many corn tortillas as you will need for your family. Or,you can bake these of course!

2. Empty pinto beans into a separate pan on stove top and heat through. If your brand of beans seems to have a lot of liquid, drain a little off the top. But you do want SOME liquid. Then mash beans with a potato masher. Add a handful of cheese to thicken. Then season with salt, and any seasonings you like. I add salt,cumin and garlic powder.

3. Top tortillas with beans, more cheese and lettuce. We eat these with sour cream and taco sauce. Enjoy!


Pasties: (thanks to my mother in law. Apparently these are really big in the UP!!)

1.5 pounds of Groud Chuck or hamburger - browned (I used turkey)

1 medium onion - diced
1 Can Peas & Carrots -drained
1 Large Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 can of milk
5 or 6 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin OR diced into small cubes
Pie Crust
13 x 9" cake pan or casserole dish

Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a fry pan, heat the Grd Chuck/hamburger and diced onion until well cooked (salt & pepper to taste) Remove from heat and let cool. In the casserole dish, mix together potatoes, peas & carrots, Cream of Mushroom soup and milk, add the browned meat and mix. Make your pie crust, roll out rectangular and not too thin, large enough to cover the baking dish. Place the crust over the meat, trim the sides of the crust making a few slites for vents. Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. Ready to serve. Cut as you would cake. Can be served plan with brown gravey or as many Yoopers Do with Ketsup!
Chicken and rice casserole:

1 can Cream of chicken soup
1 can Cheese or cheese and broccoli soup
For creamier version add
1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup
1.5 cups rice
3 Cups chicken Broth or water (add salt to taste)
1-½ cups chopped broccoli (we use frozen I would steam it first if you use fresh)
½ lb - 1lb chopped or shredded chicken
2-3 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
1. Cook rice in chicken broth, until done.
2. Add cans of soup, Broccoli, and chicken spread into 3qt casserole pan and cover with cheese. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes (or until cheese is melted and golden brown). To spice it up add Salsa and sour cream as a topper.

Lemon chicken:

4 boneless chicken breasts ($1.75lb on sale)
2 tbsp corn starch
1 egg (.20)
a few dashes salt and pepper
oil for frying
Lemon sauce:
juice of 1 lemon (.50)
1 c. water
1/3 c sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
few dashes of salt
2 tbsp corn starch

1. pound chicken breasts out until even
2. heat 1/4" of oil in frying pan
3. In a small bowl beat the egg with corn starch and salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in mixture and add to frying pan. cook until done, set aside

For sauce:

1. In a small sauce pan add lemon, water and sugar bring to a boil stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to low simmer
2. add vinegar and pinch of salt
3. In a separate bown mix 2 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp cold water until smooth. slowly pour into lemon mixture and stir until thickened.

To serve:
slice chicken into strips and pour sauce over, serve immediately. For a prettier presentation paper thin lemon slices can be used as garnish

Adjust sauce to taste by adding more vinegar if necessary
Pork chops:
 
We are having this a few times, so I will do it 2 different ways. I don't really follow a recipe for ether of them, I just guess the amounts!
 
Dip pork chops is an egg/milk mixture, then dip in breadcrumbs/Parmesan cheese mixture. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
 
The second way-Keith like this better!
 
Dip pork in egg/milk mixture, then in breadcrumb mixture. "fry" in skillet to brown on both sides. Remove from pan. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, about 1/2 cup milk, a few slices of cream cheese and a few splashes of worseshire sauce. Combine and scrape all of the drippings off of the bottom. Return the chops to the pan, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Italian chicken-crockpot:

1-2 chicken breasts

1 stick margarine or butter
1 pkg. dry italian seasoning
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
noodles or rice

Place chicken in crock pot with margarine and italian seasoning. Cook on low until chicken is done (so, 6-7 hours I'd say--check it though!). Take out chicken and whisk together in crockpot the cream cheese and soup. You can soften the cream cheese first though so there are less chunks. Place chicken back into the sauce and warm through. You can thin the sauce with milk if you need to.
Spicy BBQ stuffed chicken:

boneless chicken breasts or thighsCheese soup:

8 slices pepper jack cheese
0.5 cup barbecue sauce, plus more for basting

Portion chicken into serving-size pieces. Butterfly each piece of chicken so it forms a pocket. Fill with a spoonful of BBQ sauce and a slice of cheese. Fold to close. Grill until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes, basting with additional BBQ sauce, if desired.
Freezing Directions:
After folding chicken closed, place on a tray and flash freeze, then place in a freezer bag, seal, label, and return to freezer. To serve: Remove from bag and thaw in refrigerator.



12 potatoes, peeled and diced-I did not peel mine tonight and I used red potatoes

1 yellow onion, diced-I leave this out, I hate onions!
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
5 cups milk
1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food (such as Velveeta®), cubed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

1.Combine potatoes, onion, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper in a large soup pot. Cover with water; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the potatoes are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes, and return to pot.

2.Stir the milk and cubed cheese into the potatoes. Season with dill, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

3.I froze this is single serving sizes-I has 7 of them. When I reheat it, I will add some shredded cheddar cheese and some bacon on top!