M.j. ‘s Chicken Farfalle casserole

Here I am today playing with food.

This is a meal I put together with a little imagination.  We liked it .  Hubby ate his as is. I added pepper flakes to mine to give it a little heat!

I had a little accident involving my back so I may have bruised a few ribs so I’m up 20 minutes laying 20 minutes hoping to recover quickly but hubby refuses to cook and I’m hungry so here goes.  I had the chicken in my freezer so I thawed it out planning on cooking something so this is my something dinner.

NOTE: I  do buy and store extras I may need in my recipes.They come in handy for these kind of days.

2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 can Cream of chicken soup

1/2 can milk

4 T ranch salad dressing 

1 tablespoon onion powder

I - 14.5 can drained diced tomatoes ( reserve 1/4 cup in case you need to thin mixture)

About 1/2 tsp.  salt, pepper and parsley (to taste)

1/2 lb. Cooked farfalle ( I salted the water) cooked a’dente and drained( I did not rinse farfalle)

Mild cheddar cheese( about 1 cup)(you can either top to casserole before baking or mix the cheese in before baking.  I topped the casserole then stirred when I removed it from oven.

Hot pepper flakes( optional)

Parsley to garnish

Set oven to 350°.

Mix chicken soup, milk, ranch dressing,onion powder and  drained tomatoes, salt, pepper and parsley and I then added the 1/4 cup Of reserved juice( I felt it needed some more liquid to bake and allow to be creamy.

Place chicken in casserole dish , cooked farfalle and add soup mixture and cheese.  Stir to combine.( Or top the casserole if preferred)

Cover casserole and bake 15 minutes. Remove cover bake another 10 minutes more. Make sure the casserole is heated through.  You may have to stir it to make sure.

Serve and add a sprinkle or two of pepper flakes if using. I liked the little bit if heat.

Serve alone or with a side salad.

Enjoy cooking my way!

Cooyright iliketobakeandcook.blogdpot.com 2026

Steak, cheese and onion Stromboli

I package refrigerated Aldi or and store bought pizza dough.  Follow directions.  This package I had frozen so you can freeze pizza dough.  Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

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4 thin minute steak (frozen thin steaks like steak um)

1small onion sliced thin 

Mixture of grated mozzarella, American and cheddar and a a little ricotta cheese if desired.

Place about 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil in skillet.

Add sliced onion and slowly sauté onion until it is translucent.  Add broken pieces of steak. Salt and pepper. Cook until meat is browned and onion is almost soft.

When all is cooked.  Drain mixture on paper towel to remove some grease.

 Preheat oven to 375°.

I made 2 round size pieces out of dough and rolled them individually as flat as I could.  Topped with meat, onion and grated cheese and pinch sides to close. You can add cooked peppers too but also make sure you blot them well when adding. If mixture is too greasy you can have difficulty closing the stromboli. FYI 

 Bake according to directions on dough package.

Note:  Brush with olive oil salt, pepper before baking. Mine didn't brown well so I turned my oven broiler on and watched it until it browned.   It browns quickly!!!

Serve with marinara and side salad.

  

Pork tenderloin with my seasonings

A very enjoyable meal .  Pork tenderloins are a convenient meal for us.  They come in various sizes and I can always find one to suit our needs and a recipe that I can easily make to my meal collections.

I didn't have time time to decide what to make for dinner this evening(busy day but lazy day) but had taken from the freezer the night before a small pork tenderloin.  It was about a pound.

 In a large zip lock bag I Seasoned a pork tenderloin not by measure just with a guess lol salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and added sliced red onion and some extra virgin olive oil.  Enough of olive oil to make all seasonings stick to the tenderloin.  Got it!  Don't be afraid to be generous for yummy flavor.

I Added some par cooked small potatoes and a few cleaned carrots.  Note: par cooking is a great way to jump start a meal.  Especially raw vegetables.  It cuts on time and I know pork tenderloins cook rather quickly.  I baked it  uncovered 400° .   I’m figuring about 45 minutes. Do not overbake.

Since I don’t have any fruit handy I’ll be serving this with some diced canned peaches. #iliketobakeandcookblog

Pierogi and vegetables with brown butter

It’s always nice to be able to put a meal together without  a particular recipe to follow. Just create something as I did last night and it worked out delicious.  Take a chance you may surprise yourself. I had all the below ingredients so I was pleased at the outcome. Thumbs up!

If you don’t have pierogi substitute pasta it’ll still be delicious.  Brown butter is a game changer. The flavor is awesome.

12 large frozen made from scratch potato cheese 

pierogi

Frozen vegetable mixture.( carrots,broccoli,red peppers

1stick butter

Onion and garlic powder (I didn’t measure)

 In medium to large size Dutch oven size  fill with water , add salt and bring to rapid boil.  Add frozen veggies first and bring water back to  boil and boil for approximately 3 minutes.  Add frozen pierogi and boil until

Pierogi are hot in center.  My guesstimate is 5 minutes top.

While pierogi and vegetables are cooking ,in a small pot place stick of butter on low heat.  When melted add onion and garlic powder to taste. Stir and cook on low until butter starts to show brown color. NOTE: do not burn butter!

Drain pierogi vegetables with a ladle type strainer onto a medium size platter. Spoon brown butter over them.

Ladle 👆

A vinegar olive oil based salad works greatly to complement this meal.

Enjoy!

Rotisserie chicken patties

Recipe for 3 small patties.  Adjust ingredients for larger amounts. My creation.

Rotisserie chicken is so good to make quick meals!!!

1cup shredded and pulsed rotisserie chicken

I egg

1 tsp. Dried parsley

1/2 tsp. Garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. Onion powder

1 T panko breadcrumbs 

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Mix together all ingredients but olive oil.

In a small to medium skillet add olive oil.  When olive oil has heated add patties.  Fry until browned on each side.

Top with marinara and Pecorino and cover until marinara is warm.

Feel free to add mozzarella cheese if you like.

Note:I BET THEY'D MAKE A GREAT SANDWICH  on A CRUSTY ROLL!!!

 

 

Zucchini baked with sauce and Pecorino

 

First things first!!!!

Don’t skimp

On the Pecorino!!!!!!

The Baked chicken parm and baked zucchini really turned out delicious.

I’m not a big eggplant person but love zucchini so I made it similar to a parm but I only used pecorino cheese (no mozzarella for me)opting to make it to my liking.  

My zucchini was medium size and I treated it as it were eggplant and salted slightly, patted it.  I sliced the zucchini in thicker slices) then dipped the zucchini in salt and pepper egg and then to seasoned breadcrumbs with a little extra garlic powder . 

I had warmed my olive oil in a medium size frying pan and added several chopped green onions and fried the seasoned zucchini in it until slightly browned .

Topped with lots of Pecorino (like my grandma  did)and marinara sauce. Baked 350° for 35 minutes covered. There are so nany options with add ons to this meal but i kept to my original idea and only used zucchini.

The zucchini was perfect! A slight crispiness and yet not overdone.

Both delicious and those who love zucchini will love my recipe.

Chicken Parm Casserole link:

Check  both  recipes  when you get a chance.  Winner winner chicken dinner lol.

Enjoy!

From my kitchen to yours,