Author Archive
Cake Donuts
Donuts or Doughnuts, these are easy to prepare, and they are delicious! Amount made will depend on the size of your donut cutter. I made 14 donuts using a 3¼ inch donut cutter, and the last bit of dough I just made some extra holes. I made these on 17 Feb 2022 and I, my wife, and several relatives tasted these and everyone says these are excellent.
Equipment
- Deep Fryer
- Donut Cutter or two different sized biscuit cutters.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- Heat the oil in your deep fryer to 190° C (375° F).
- Add the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a mixing bowl. Whisk together. Add the egg to a measuring cup and add the milk, whisk together with a fork. Melt the butter.
- Stir in the butter and mix until crumbly.
- Stir in the beaten egg and milk until mixture is smooth, if dough seems too thin, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour. The dough is very sticky but do not let that concern you.
- Place dough on a well floured work surface and roll out with a well floured pin to about ¼ inch thickness.
- Using a donut cutter or different sized biscuit cutters, cut dough into rings.
- Carefully place 2-3 rings, plus the holes, in the deep fryer depending on the size of the fryer, use of the basket is your preference. Fry for about 2-3 minutes, turning when the bottom is golden brown. The holes basically turn themselves over. I cooked two donuts at a time, plus their holes. The basket is in the fryer but I placed the donuts in with my hands and used chop sticks to turn them and remove them.
- Drain the cooked donuts on paper towels, let the oil reach the cooking temp again, and continue until all batches are fried. Serve and enjoy.
Creamy Mushroom Rice (Rice Cooker)
I came across this doing a search for mushroom rice dishes, and the use of cream in this interested me. I made this on 4 Feb 2022, my wife and I had two servings each of this, one without the cream added at the end, and one with the cream, and we actually preferred the one without the cream. This is an excellent side dish and will be a regular now.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cups dry Jasmine rice, rinsed
- 2½ cups beef broth, (I used 3 OXO cubes)
Optional for the Creamy Version
- ½ cup half and half cream
- 1 teaspoon sour cream
Instructions
- Prep the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and garlic, add to the rice cooker pot. (I used two large Swiss Brown (cremini) mushrooms to make 1 cup chopped.)
- Then add the oil, rice, and broth to the rice cooker pot. Cover and set to Cook.
- When cooker switches to Warm, fluff with a rice paddle. At this point this is ready to be served or you can proceed with the next steps to make it the creamy version.
Optional for the Creamy Version
- Whisk together the half and half cream and sour cream. Stir mixture into the rice.
- Cover and set to Warm setting for 10 minutes, then fluff and serve.
Notes
Variant: 1. Use brown rice in place of Jasmine.
Bobby's Macaroni & Tomatoes
This is from a friend in the Just a Pinch Recipe Club, and is slightly modified from his original based on items available here in Thailand. Lot of possibilities here. I made this again on 25 Mar 2022 and used a variant, I added browned ground beef and green bell pepper, delicious! And family approved.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry elbow macaroni, (8 oz)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 can diced tomatoes, (565 g / 20 oz)
- 1½ teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni in a pot of salted boiling water until tender, then drain.
- Return the macaroni to the same pot and stir in the butter. Then add all remaining ingredients.
- Stir everything together and place on medium low heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow the flavors to mix.
- Serve and enjoy.
- Here I made the recipe as stated then I browned ground beef (500 grams/1 lb) along with a diced green bell pepper and mixed that, it takes this dish up a notch, delicious! This will be my preferred way to prepare this from now on.
Notes
Low cost per serving with original recipe, adding the variants can make this a fair cost per serving dish.
Variants: 1. Add sliced hot dogs, cubed ham, sliced and sautéed sausage, cooked shrimp, browned ground beef or pork (brown the meat with an onion or bell pepper for additional flavor).
Shrimp & Corn Soup
This is excellent soup, common ingredients and it goes together quickly. I made this on 10 Feb 2022 and the family absolutely loved this. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 750 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (1½ lb)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks import celery, diced
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained, (410 g/15 oz each)
- 1 can creamed corn, (565 g/20 oz)
- 113 grams cream cheese, cubed, (4 oz)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1½ cups milk
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, Shortcut
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Prep the vegetables.
- Prep the shrimp.
- Heat the butter and oil in the a large saucepan, when hot, add the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Sauté until tender.
- To the pan, add the shrimp, stir into the vegetables.
- Cook the shrimp until just pink.
- Add the corn, cream, milk, and Cajun seasoning. Stir together.
- Cook on low heat until the cream cheese is melted and mixed in.
- Ladle into serving bowls, sprinkle with parley as desired. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on the cost of the shrimp, really depends where you can source good fresh shrimp.
Shortcut: Cajun Seasoning Mix.
Updated on 10 February 2022.
Salmon Salad II
I figured canned tuna makes a nice salad for a sandwich, so why not canned salmon? This is not low cost in Thailand however. My wife is not a fan of canned fish so I experimented and made this for my dinner. This is the second version I came up with and made this on 19 Jan 2022, and it is delicious.
Ingredients
- ½ can salmon, drained, (15 oz / 425 g can)
- ¼ medium onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cappers, drained
- mayo, about 2 heaping tablespoons, or as desired
- 4 slices bread, plain or toasted and buttered, totally up to you
Instructions
- First thing I did was dice the onion and put in a storage dish, then drained the salmon and added that and sort of flaked it up with a fork. (I was making 2 different salmon dishes at the same time, and I left the skin on and bones in the fish.)
- Add the mustard, black pepper, and capers, and add about a heaping tablespoon of mayo. (I took the photo before adding the capers, my mistake.)
- Mix together and add mayo as needed for your desired consistency. Cover, and place in the fridge for about an hour or two to chill.
- Using bread of your choice, toasted and buttered is up to you. Add some salad to 2 slices of bread, top with remaining slices. Enjoy.
Notes
High cost based on the lowest price I can find for canned salmon is about $5/can, and from the photos, that is a small can, about 7 oz or so.
Variant: 1. Add a chopped hard boiled egg.
Salmon Salad I
I figured canned tuna makes a nice salad for a sandwich, so why not canned salmon? This is not low cost in Thailand however. My wife is not a fan of canned fish or yellow curry powder, so I got to experiment with this. This is the first version I came up with, made on 19 Jan 2022, and this is tasty!
Ingredients
- ½ can salmon, drained, (15 oz / 425 g can)
- ¼ medium onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon yellow curry powder
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- mayo, about 2 heaping tablespoons, or as desired
- 4 slices bread, plain or toasted and buttered, totally up to you
Instructions
- First thing I did was dice the onion and put in a storage dish, then drained the salmon and added that and sort of flaked it up with a fork. (I was making 2 different salmon dishes at the same time, and I left the skin on and bones in the fish.)
- Add the curry powder and garlic powder, and add about a heaping tablespoon of mayo.
- Mix together and add mayo as needed for your desired consistency. Cover, and place in the fridge for about an hour or two to chill.
- Using bread of your choice, toasted and buttered is up to you. Add some salad to 2 slices of bread, top with remaining slices. Enjoy.
Notes
High cost based on the lowest price I can find for canned salmon is about $5/can, and from the photos, that is a small can, about 7 oz or so.
Variant: 1. Add a chopped hard boiled egg.
Slow Cooker Mandarin Orange Chicken
This recipe is from a friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made this on 16 Jan 2022, and it is absolutely delicious! Highly recommended!
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 750-1000 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, (1½-2 lb)
- 1 can mandarin oranges, with juice, (15 oz / 425 g)
- 1½ cups fresh long beans, or green beans, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- sesame seeds, for garnish, as desired
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add to your slow cooker.
- Open the can of mandarin orange and drain the juice into the slow cooker (the oranges will be used later so set them aside), then add the long beans, orange juice, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil to the slow cooker.
- Stir everything together, cover, and set to Low setting for 3½ hours.
- At 3½ hours, mix together the corn starch and 3 tablespoons of cold water in a measuring cup, then stir into the cooker. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Add the mandarin orange slices and gently mix in, allow to heat for a few minutes.
- Spoon some of the sauce into a gravy boat or two, serve with rice and garnish with sesame seeds as desired, and pour on sauce as desired, enjoy.
Notes
I will say Fair cost per serving as I will be using canned mandarin oranges (Brook brand) first for this (I plan on canning some at a later date).
Chicken Alphabet Soup
I put this together based on a beef alphabet soup, and it turned out excellent. I made this on 10 Jan 2022, and did in fact pressure cook the chicken to cook that and make the broth, plus I pressure cooked the beans. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cooked, cubed, (2 lb)
- 2 quarts chicken broth, (8 cups), Shortcut
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- 3-4 cans Great Northern Beans, drained, (15 oz / 425 g each), Shortcut
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained, (20 oz / 425 g)
- 2 cups dry alphabet pasta
- salt and black pepper, as needed, to taste
Instructions
- For the chicken and the broth, I did cook the chicken in my pressure cooker and that produced the broth as well, I also let it cool to room temp in the broth for juicy chicken.For the beans, I also cooked them in the pressure cooker, 500 grams (1 lb) and all went into the soup. Drain the beans but reserve the bean broth.
- To a large pot, add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning. I used two bunches of Chinese celery which is quite thin compared to western celery.
- Add the broth, undrained tomatoes, and the drained beans, stir together, if more liquid is needed, add some bean broth or water and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, cube the chicken.
- Stir in the dry pasta and cubed, cooked chicken, cook an additional 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- When the pasta is cooked, the soup consistency is much like a stew. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
- Ladle into bowls, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Chicken Broth, Italian Seasoning, Great Northern Beans (Pressure Cooker).
Variants: 1. Use orzo in place of alphabet pasta. 2. Use beans cooked from dry, use 500 g / 1 lb cooked (retain the bean broth) to replace the canned. 3. Use a pressure cooker to cook the chicken which make the broth needed as well.
Bologna, Ham, or Chicken Salad
This comes from the Just A Pinch Recipe Club, and is delicious! This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs on hand but if not, a link is provided for my favorite way to make them. This recipe requires a meat grinder or food processor, however, I can vouch for using a sharp knife and dicing sliced bologna or sliced ham. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Meat Grinder or Food Processor
Ingredients
- 500 grams bologna, ham, or cooked chicken, (1 lb), see Step 1
- 4-6 dill pickles
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, Shortcut
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 1 cup mayo
Instructions
- For the Bologna and Ham, feel free to use bulk unsliced, or sliced. For sliced, you can use a sharp knife and quickly dice this, then finely dice the other ingredients, saving you the cleaning of a grinder or food processor. For grinding or processing, cut the bologna or ham into chunks.For the Chicken, cook it your preferred way, boiling, baking, leftovers, rotisserie, you get the idea. For this a grinder or processor would be the best way to go. Cut the chicken in to chunks.
Grinder / Food Processor Method
- Run the bologna, ham, or chicken, pickles, eggs, and onion through your meat grinder or pulse with an S blade in your food processor until finely chopped.
- Mix the ground / chopped ingredients together.
- Add the mayo and mix together. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or even overnight.
- Serve on bread, toast (buttered), or on crackers, enjoy.
Knife Method
- For sliced bologna or ham place a stack of slices on a cutting board, cut thin slices all the way across, turn the board 90° and slice again, result is finely diced bologna or ham, add to a mixing bowl.
- Now finely dice the pickles, eggs, and onion, adding each to the same mixing bowl.
- Mix together.
- Add the mayo and mix that in. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or even overnight. (I used Japanese Kewpie mayo, and already smoothed it out, ready to be covered and placed in the fridge.)
- After several hours of chilling, I made sandwiches using my fresh baked multigrain bread, toasted and buttered. Delicious!
Notes
I will say Low cost for now as this does make a lot.
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs.
Andy's Devilish Ham Spread
This recipe comes from a good friend, and Chef. I made this on 29 Mar 2022, and this is an excellent ham salad! A food processor or good blender is needed for this, and since I do not have a food processor, I used my electric meat grinder with the coarse plate, worked perfectly.
Equipment
- Food Processor / Blender / Meat Grinder , S blade for a processor, coarse plate (¼ in / 6 mm)
Ingredients
- 750 grams ham, roughly chopped, (1½ lb)
- 4-5 green olives, pitted
Binding Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mayo
- 56 grams Parmesan cheese, finely grated, (2 oz)
- 56 grams crushed pineapple, drained, blotted dry with a paper towel, (2 oz)
- 1-2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, drained, blotted dry with a paper towel
- 1 tablespoon brown mustard
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce, I used Tabasco
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- I went with the Variants, and cup up some Canadian Bacon steaks and chopped some capers.
- Add the ham and olives to your food processor, or good blender, pulse in 1 second intervals until finely chopped. Or use a meat grinder which is my preference.
- In a mixing bowl, add all the Binding Ingredients.
- Mix together until well blended.
- Add the mixture to the chopped ham and mix together. If mixture seems to dry, just mix in another tablespoon at a time. Cover and place in the fridge to chill and blend the flavors for at least an hour or even overnight.
- Serve with crackers, as a sandwich filling, in a salad, or as an ingredient in other recipes that call for deviled ham.
Notes
For sandwiches, this is right about $1.50 per serving, so Fair cost.
Variants: 1. For those in Thailand, use Canadian Bacon Steaks from Makro in place of ham (this was by mistake but the taste is the same). 2. Use 1½ tablespoons of capers, drained and chopped, in place of olives.
