Author Archive
Cream Cheese Corn (Slow Cooker)
This is an easy side dish to prepare with minimal hands on time so you can prepare other dishes at the same time. And it is good! I made this on 31 Jan 2022 and the family loved it! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 570 grams frozen corn, or drained canned, or fresh cooked, (20 oz), Shortcut
- 250 grams Cream cheese, diced, (8 oz)
- ½ cup buter, diced, (½ block / 1 stick)
- ½ cup evaporated milk, or whipping cream, or milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt and black pepper, as desired, to taste
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, if desired
- Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Grease the inside of your slow cooker with some of the butter, then add the corn, rest of the butter, cream cheese, milk or cream, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Stir to mix.
- Cover and set to Low setting for 4 to 6 hours (depending on how hot your slow cooker runs). At the 2 hour mark, give the corn a quick stir. At the 4 hour mark, stir again and taste, season with salt and pepper as desired, and if the corn is nice and tender, it is ready to serve, or set the cooker to Warm setting until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, stir the corn well, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. If the corn is took thick, just stir in a little milk. Pour into a serving dish and garnish with parsley and or Parmesan cheese as desired.
- Serve as a side with any main dish, and enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Fresh Corn I (Pressure Cooker).
Beef & Noodle Soup (Slow Cooker)
This comes from a good friend, and sounds delicious! This is the original slow cooker recipe, I have also written a pressure cooker recipe for this and that is in the Recipes Notes section. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1-1 1/2 kilos beef, cut into cubes, (2-3 lbs)
- 2 small onions, sliced into rings
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 packet dry onion soup mix, Shortcut
- 6 1/2 cups beef broth, fresh or from powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups dry egg noodles
Instructions
- Sprinkle the beef cubes with salt and pepper as desired, roll in flour to coat evenly.
- Heat a non stick pan with the 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Add the beef and onions, stir often, and brown the beef on all sides.
- While the beef is browning, add the dry soup mix, beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce to your slow cooker. Whisk to mix together.
- When the beef is browned, drain, and carefully add to your slow cooker. Use a large slotted spoon for this step.
- Cover and set the cooker to Low setting for 5 to 6 hours. Time depending on the toughness of the beef.
- About 30 minutes before the beef is ready, go ahead and heat a pot of salted water to boiling, then cook the egg noodles to just tender. Drain.
- Add the egg noodles to the slow cooker and cook 30 minutes more.
- Ladle into bowls, serve.
Notes
I will price this next time I get beef. For now I will say Fair cost per serving.
Shortcut: Onion Soup Mix.
Recipe adapted from Just A Pinch Recipe Club, Amy Herald, and the original recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Stir Fried Noodles
This recipe comes from a good friend in the US. Basic common ingredients, and quick and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- 220 grams dry Chinese noodles, (8 oz)
- 170 grams fresh mushrooms, sliced, button, straw, or Shiitake would be perfect, (6 oz)
- 3 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Heat a pot of water to boiling, add the dry noodles and cook until tender. Drain and set noodles aside.
- In a wok, wok pan (my preference), or a non stick pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender.
- Add the spring onion, reserve a little bit of the sliced green parts for garnish if desired. Stir fry for another 30 seconds.
- Add the drained noodles, soy sauces, and sesame oil, stir fry to mix and heat the noodles through.
- Serve, and garnish with spring onion if desired.
Notes
Low cost.
Hot & Sour Soup
This is a Chinese soup and comes from a friend who is Chinese Malay, and it comes touted as the best and easiest, and it certainly is! I made this on 5 Sep 2022, and the family absolutely loved this! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, for the slurry
- 3 tablespoons cold water, for the slurry
- 2 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- 1½ cups water
- 250 grams soft tofu, cut into strips, (8 oz)
- 250 grams fresh white button mushrooms, (8 oz)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2½ tablespoons rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, mainly for color
- 3 dashes white pepper powder, or to taste
- 1 egg, beaten
- chili oil, for spiciness, optional, to taste
- red pepper flakes, for spiciness, optional, to taste
Instructions
- Prep the mushrooms by cutting off the stems and quarter the caps.
- Next, we need to make the thickening slurry, mix the corn starch with the 3 tablespoons of cold water until well blended and no lumps. In another bowl, beat the egg. Set both of these aside.
- Next, in a small bowl, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar, stir to mix. Set this aside.
- In a large sauce pan, add the broth and 1½ cups water, bring to a boil then add the mushrooms and tofu and let boil for 2 minutes. (I did not have tofu on hand and simply omitted that, still worked perfectly.)
- Stir the soy sauce mixture into the soup, and season with a few dashes of white pepper or to taste. Give the slurry another stir then stir that into the soup, continue stirring until just slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave on the same burner.
- Now gently stir the soup in one direction, and pour the beaten egg into soup in a gently stir and count to 10. Then using the handle end of a spoon or fork, or a pair of chop sticks, stir the soup in the same direction for 3 complete circular motions, this makes the nice egg threads in the soup. Season to taste with chili oil or flakes if desired.
- Now the soup is done, ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth.
Variant: 1. No tofu? No worries, substitute some cooked white beans or chickpeas, or add more mushrooms, or simply omit.
Pancit Bihon
Little culture lesson for you, the name Pancit originates in China, Hokkien to be specific. "Pancit" in Tagalog (Filipino language) means noodle, and "pian i sit" in the Chinese Hokkien dialect. Now Pancit Bihon means noodles, thin rice vermicelli (called glass noodles). In the Philippines, and in China, pancit is a common birthday dish as noodles are a symbol of longevity. There is as many ways to make pancit as there is shades of green, with the most common being Pancit Bihon.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry rice noodles, thin, vermicelli, (8 oz)
- 2-3 chicken thighs, or legs, skin on bone in
- 1 head small green cabbage, shredded into ½ to 1 inch pieces
- 2-3 medium carrots, shredded or thinly sliced crosswise
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 250 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, (8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- black pepper, as desired
- spring onions, sliced, for garnish, if desired
- small limes, cut into wedges, for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- In a pot, add 4 cups of water and add the chicken pieces, bring to a boil to cook the chicken, this is dual purpose here, you will cook the chicken needed, and make the broth needed, skim off any foam that forms on the surface of the water. When the chicken is cooked through, remove to cutting board and shred the chicken, discard the bones, skin, and cartilage, and set aside. There, you just made the broth we are going to use, so set the pot of broth to the side as well.
- While the chicken is cooking, add some hot water to a bowl and add the dry rice noodles, let them soak for 5 minutes or so, this removes some starch and softens them to make the stir fry cooking easier.
- Get everything prepped and ready while the chicken is cooking.
- Now using a large wok, or non stick wok pan (my preference) or a large no stick pan, heat the pan of your choice on medium heat then add the oil, garlic, and onion. Stir fry until the onion is translucent but do not burn the garlic. (A side joke to the meaning of pancit is stirring, you will be doing a lot of stirring.) This dish uses very little oil so the stirring is key here.
- To the pan add the shredded chicken and shrimp, and, you guessed it, stir fry until the shrimp is just turning pink.
- Now add the cabbage and carrot, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes to soften the cabbage and carrot. Remove the mixture to a large bowl and set that aside for now. Return the pan back to the heat.
- Add the reserved chicken broth you made to the pan and bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a low boil. Add the dry rice noodles, dark soy sauce, and fish sauce. Let this return to a low boil and let this cook for 5 minutes or so, you are going to reduce the broth now, stirring once in a while as well.
- When the broth has reduced to about ¼ cup. Add the meat and vegetable mixture back to the pan, season with black pepper as desired, and once again, stir fry until the liquid has all evaporated. Taste and season with black pepper again if desired.
- Place on a serving platter and garnish with sliced spring onion and lime wedges if desired. Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Add hard boiled quail eggs. 2. Use sliced steamed Chinese sausage in place of, or with, the chicken.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
This is a spur of the moment cookie idea, butter crackers + peanut butter + chocolate = sounds great. I made these when I was making Rocky Road Candies, and glad I did, these are yummy.
Ingredients
- peanut butter, creamy or smooth, your choice
- butter crackers
- chocolate compound
- sugar sprinkles, optional, as needed
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread peanut butter on the bottom of a butter cracker, top with another butter cracker, bottom side down. This way each side looks like the top of a butter cracker. Place crackers on the parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
- I used Tulip brand dark chocolate compound. Very common here in Thailand.
- I did not state a quantity for the chocolate as I made this on a whim when I was making another item, but the basic principle is use a double boiler, but you want the smaller pot not touching the water below it, just let the steam melt the chocolate. Add chocolate to the smaller pot in the quantity you need and put the bottom pot with the water on low heat.
- Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring once in a while, until it is smooth. Turn off the heat.
- Remove the crackers from the fridge, add a cracker to the chocolate, use a fork to roll it over to coat evenly with the chocolate, lift the cookie out with a fork and place on the same parchment paper. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles if desired.
- Continue with more crackers as desired. If the chocolate cools too much, just turn on heat to low for a few minutes and stir, and continue on until the cookies are all coated and placed on the parchment paper. Place in the fridge to chill before serving.
Notes
Low cost.
Common way to enjoy butter crackers with peanut butter, just seemed like this would work.
Sugar Cookie Icing (No Corn Syrup)
This is a non corn syrup icing so it will not harden like the icing with corn syrup. I don't have anything against corn syrup it just is not available where I live. With this icing, you cannot stack the cookies. This will cover about 18 to 20 cookies on average.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- food coloring, color of your choice
- sugar sprinkles, as desired
Instructions
- All ingredients EXCEPT the food coloring into a bowl, and start mixing with a rubber spatula, it will get nice and smooth. To test the consistency, run a knife through the icing, the crease you made should close up in 15 seconds. If it takes longer, add milk 1/8 of a teaspoon at a time, if it takes less than 15 seconds, add 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar at a time.
- Once smooth, now we can add the food coloring. If using more than one color, go ahead and divide the icing into separate bowls. Place a drop of food coloring onto a paper plate or a piece of parchment paper, take a toothpick and dip into the coloring, then swipe the toothpick through the icing and mix in.
- Pipe the outline of the cookie, then work from the inside to the outer line you piped, and use a toothpick to smooth in any gaps.
- Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles if desired. Allow the icing to setup or serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Easy Sugar Cookies
This recipe comes from a good friend and excellent chef. On my to make and taste list.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour, (384 grams if using a scale)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter, room temp
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and salt, whisk to combine and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar and mix until creamy, then mix in the egg and vanilla.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix in until combined.
- Cover the dough and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 190 C (375 F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour your work surface, and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes either freehand, with seasonal shaped cutters, or just round cutters, totally up to you.
- Place cookies on on the baking sheet 1 inch apart and bake for 9-11 minutes, the key is white cookies with very little browning on the edges.
- Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Decorate the cookies as desired.
Notes
Low cost.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Leftover Turkey in Gravy
This comes from a good friend and awesome chef, and fear not if you don't like turkey or have leftover turkey, you can make with this with chicken. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 grams fresh mushrooms, button, crimini, or Shiitake (remove stems), sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, (Shortcut)
- 4-6 cups leftover turkey meat, torn into bite size pieces, or chicken
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- salt, as desired
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes until soft and lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and saute, stirring often until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes or so.
- Remove the mushrooms and onion to a plate and using the same pan, add all the butter, when melted, whisk in the flour and cook, always whisking, until it is golden brown, about 2 minutes, there, you just made a roux.
- Now whisk in the chicken broth. Heat to a simmer and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Add the turkey meat, or chicken meat, stir and heat until the meat is heated through.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and server over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
Low cost if using left over turkey or chicken, even if roasting a chicken yourself, this is still law cost, under $1, per serving.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. Use chicken in place of turkey, oven roasted, baked, rotisserie, or even pressure cooked (which would provide broth for the recipe as well).
This recipe for Leftover Turkey in Creamy Mushroom Sauce is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Hoppin John (Slow Cooker)
This is a classic southern US dish of black eyed peas and ham served over rice or even as a side dish. I made this on 17 Jan 2019 and used some variants as well, excellent dish! There is several shortcuts to lower costs as well. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked ham, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cans black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed (15 oz / 425 g each), or 6 cups cooked, Shortcut
- 2¾ cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- salt and pepper, as desired
- hot cooked rice, for serving, if desired
Instructions
- Drain the beans and add to your slow cooker. I used cooked dry beans.
- Add remaining ingredients to your slow cooker. I added red and green bell peppers, celery, smoked ham, and bacon as variants as well as homemade chicken broth.
- Give the pot a stir then cover and set to Low setting for 4 to 6 hours but anything past 8 hours and the beans will be really soft.
- Stir the pot once an hour. Here it is at 4 hours, and it is perfect.
- Serve over rice for a main dish or serve as is without rice as a side dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving, especially if using leftover ham or beef, and using the shortcuts.
Shortcuts: Black Eyed Peas (Pressure Cooker), Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. Use cooked and sliced sausage, any type you wish. 2. Use leftover cooked beef, cut into bit size piece. 3. Use chopped bacon. 4. Add a bell pepper or two and or celery.