Author Archive
Sausage, Peppers, and Onion (Slow Cooker)
This is my twist on the classic Sausage, Peppers, and Onions dish prepared in a skillet on the stove. Simply slow cook and it is delicious! I added a can of whole tomatoes, chopped, with the tomato juice for the liquid. You need a large slow cooker to make this as listed.
Ingredients
- 900 grams sausage, see Step 1, (2 lbs)
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped plus juice (this is about 2 1/2 cups)
Instructions
- For the sausage, I use what is sold as 'sausage scraps' which are the cut offs from larger sausages to make a uniform weight, this is what they come like in the package, already cut. The large pieces are very much like kielbasa or a good summer sausage. As you can see the colors and sizes are different, based on the meat used, as well as the seasoning. Some have black pepper, chilis, garlic, basil, etc. These come in 100 gram (about 1/4 lb) packages. For this I used 9 packages. If you are using kielbasa or a sausage of your choice, just slice it up to bite size pieces.
- Place the sausage in your slow cooker.
- Dice the peppers and onion, and add those to the slow cooker. (I state 2 red bell peppers as ours here are much smaller than the green and yellow ones.)
- Mix everything together.
- Pour the juice from the can of tomatoes into the slow cooker, then chop up the tomatoes and add them to the slow cooker, and give another stir to mix everything again. Place the lid on the cooker and set to High setting and cook for 5 hours.
- Finished. And you can see, the sausage will swell up a bit during cooking.
- Serve with rice on the side for a nice meal.
Notes
I cannot really price this per serving yet. The sausage I used and in the photos here were free when you bought a package of bacon. I will say Fair cost per serving now until I can track down the regular kielbasa.
My creation, Lee Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Asian Mushrooms 101
This is a guide on what these mushrooms look like, how to clean them, storage, etc. I have used all of these listed but my first time actually writing down the steps. As I get more and take photos, I will update this as each one is added. These are store bought or bought from markets, I do NOT gather or use wild mushrooms. Prices listed are based on bought at Tesco, some you can in local markets, and all are available at Makro and Tops as well, prices I list can vary.
Ingredients
- Shimeji, Buna and Bunapi - Brown and White
- Shiitake
- Eryngii, also known as King Oyster
- Enoki, also known as Golden Mushrooms
- White Crab
- Oyster
- Straw
Instructions
Shimeji
- There is two varieties of these, Buno (or brown), and Bunapi (white). These grow in clumps and are packaged in 150 gram (5 1/4 oz) cartons for 18 Baht (55 cents). The stem and the cap are used, excellent flavor and they stand up well when cooked. These are Bunapi-shimeji.
- To clean these, remove from the carton, and pull the clump apart into 2-3 pieces, cut off the root end from each clump, about 1/2 inch or so, leaving a nice stem and small cap, quickly rinse under running water. These are Bunapi-shimeji.
- Chopped, these are my go to mushroom for making condensed mushroom soup, also an excellent addition to homemade rice a roni. When just the root ends are cut off, these are excellent in stir fries. Low cost, 18 Baht (55 cents) per carton. These last 1-2 weeks in the fridge before opening the carton, and once you cut the root end off, they should be used within 1-2 days. These are Buna-shimeji.
Shiitake
- I use the fresh kind, these are also very popular dried, which I have not experienced using those, yet. These are short, large capped mushrooms. Stems are normally pulled out or cut off with a knife. The stems are normally tough and are just discarded, if they are small, go ahead and finely chop those if you desire. You can freeze the stems and next time you make a stock, add them for additional flavor. These are 32 Baht a pack (97 cents) for 150 grams (5 1/4 oz). Shelf life in the fridge, unopened, is 1-2 weeks.
- To clean these, pull out the stem or cut off with a knife, quickly rinse off under running water. Use whole caps for sauteed mushrooms, halved, quartered, or sliced for soups and stir fries, chopped for other uses, like omelets, chicken patties, etc.
Eryngii (King Oyster)
- These mushrooms are mainly stem, and the stem and the cap are both used. These are normally clean when you buy them, if unsure just trim off a bit of the root end. Several ways to prep these for various dishes. These come in 200 to 500 gram (7 to 17 oz) packages for 29 to 59 Baht (88 cents to $1.79)
- For a stir fry, simply cut the cap off and quarter that, then slice the stem in half lengthwise and slice each into bite size pieces.
- For Teriyaki mushrooms, slice the mushroom lengthwise into thin slices. For Japanese fried in mayo, simply slice each mushroom in half lengthwise. The stems can also be sliced crosswise to look like scallops.
Enoki (Golden Mushrooms)
- These come in packages of 200 to 500 grams (7 to 17 oz) for 16 to 34 Baht (48 cents to $1.03) and these also grow in clumps. As you can see, these are mainly long slender stems with a very small cap. These are excellent mushrooms that maintain a good crunch when cooked.
- To prep these, remove the clump from the package and cut off about 1 inch of the root end. Then slice the clump in half and break apart the clumps for addition to soups or stir fry. Or leave whole after removing the root end, break apart into smaller clumps and wrap a slice of bacon around the middle and secure with a toothpick, then pan fry or place on a grill.
White Crab
- These look like a cross between Enoki and Shimeji, having long stems but are thicker with a cap similar to Shimeji. These come in 150 gram (5 1/4 oz) packages for 19 Baht (58 cents). These are also in clumps.
- To prep these, remove from the package and cut off about 3/4 to 1 inch from the root end.
- Then take the clump and slice into 2 or 3 sections, break apart and add to soups or a stir fry.
Oyster
- I have never bought these in a store, only from the local markets in the village so I cannot say what the store price would and I can't remember how much in a market, but they are low cost. Oyster mushrooms are a flat type, with a soft plastic like feel. To prep these, simply slice off the root ends then using your hands, just pull them apart into bite size pieces. These are excellent in soups and stir frys.
Straw
- I only get these from the local village, and we have a friend of the family that grows these as well. These are sold as closed or open veil, closed meaning they have no cap, just an oblong ball really. The open, which are not very common as that is the stage where these start to spoil are available at times, and for a discounted price. I will get the price next time I buy these, these are not really low cost based on very short shelf life.
- To prep these simply cut in half, lengthwise if you can determine that, or best guess. For stir frys you can quarter them lengthwise, but the most common method is just cut in half. If you try to slice them they will simply fall apart. This photo shows whole ones, and sliced in half on the right. Excellent in soups and stir frys.
Notes
Link to the Mushrooms Category.
Breakfast Sausage Casserole
This casserole is wide open to changes, and it is delicious! What I like to do is make breakfast for dinner so this worked out very well. Instead of breakfast sausage, think bacon or ham. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 slices sandwich bread, white or wheat is fine
- 500 grams bulk breakfast sausage, (Shortcut)
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat a large non stick pan, when hot, add the bulk sausage, break it up with the your spatula, brown it until no more pink is visible. Drain well and set aside. If using bacon, fry that to crispy, drain on paper towels and crumble it up. If using cooked ham, cube that.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F) and grease a 7x11 baking dish with butter or spray with an olive oil mister.
- Tear up the bread into small pieces and place in the baking dish, spread them out evenly.
- Spread the sausage, bacon, or ham, on the bread.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the milk, mustard, salt, and pepper. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture over the sausage in the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top of the casserole.
- Place in the oven uncovered and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until set in the middle, check with a toothpick.
- When done, remove from the oven, let the casserole rest 5 minutes. The casserole will be puffed up a bit, it will collapse down after 5 minutes.
- Slice.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
This is low cost if making the breakfast sausage yourself.
Shortcuts: Breakfast Sausage, Jimmy Dean Sausage.
Variants: 1. Replace the sausage with cubed ham or cooked and crumbled bacon. 2. Replace the Cheddar with Monterey Jack. 3. Add chopped mushrooms.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
This sounds tasty and is on my to make list real soon.
Ingredients
- 500 grams tomatoes, chopped, (1 lb)
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- If you have a mister, lightly spray the diced avocado with a little bit of additional lemon or lime juice to prevent them from browning.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, red onion, avocado, cucumber, and cilantro.
- Mix together the olive oil and lemon or lime juice in a small bowl, drizzle over the salad and gently toss together to mix. Cover and place in the fridge.
- When ready to serve, gently toss the salad with the salt and pepper, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Replace the cilantro with dill.
This recipe for Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Za'atar Quail Eggs
This is a western twist on the Middle Eastern snack called Yogurt Cheese, which is also rolled in za'atar then stored in olive oil. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled quail eggs on hand, fresh cooked or canned will work. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 24 hard boiled quail eggs, Shortcut
- extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- 3-4 tablespoons za'atar
- sea salt, as desired
Instructions
- For fresh cooked quail eggs, once peeled, place in the fridge to completely cool. If using canned, drain then place in the fridge to completely cool.
- Place the za'atar in a shallow bowl and season as desired with sea salt.
- Place the quail eggs in another bowl and toss with 3-4 tablespoons of olive to lightly coat all the eggs.
- Roll the eggs in the za'atar to coat each egg. For the eggs with the flat bottoms, stand them up on a serving tray, for the round bottom ones, just place them on their side on the tray.
- Serve.
Notes
Shortcut:Â Perfect Hard Boiled Quail Eggs.
Ham & Provolone French Toast Sandwich
Sounds delicious! On my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 8 slices bread
- 16 slices ham
- 4-8 slices Provolone cheese
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- powdered sugar, optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Lay out 4 slices of bread, top each with 1-2 slices of cheese, if you like cheese, use 2 slices per slice of bread.
- Top the cheese with 2 slices of ham.
- Top the ham with the remaining slices of bread.
- In a shallow dish or pie pan, add the milk, eggs, and cinnamon, and whisk together.
- Heat a non stick pan, cast iron pan, or a griddle would be ideal with some butter or ghee.
- When the pan is hot, dip a sandwich into the milk mixture, allowing the bread to soak up the milk, then turn the sandwich over and repeat with the other side, shake off excess milk.
- Place the sandwich in the hot pan, cook 2-3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown, carefully flip and cook the other side until golden brown, remove from pan to a plate. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.
- Cut each sandwich in half, and optionally, dust with powdered sugar. Serve.
Notes
I will price this next time I get Provolone cheese. I will say fair cost for now per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Quick Chinese Noodle Soup
Simple and easy soup, lots of possibilities with this to make your own signature soup or just to change it up each time you make it.
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 3 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 110 grams dry Chinese egg noodles, (about 4 oz)
- 4 leaves bok choi, sliced
Instructions
- Heat the stock to a boil in a large saucepan.
- When boiling, add the remaining ingredients.
- Reduce heat and cook the noodles until just tender.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Bratwurst
In my never ending quest of learning to make different types of sausage, this worked out very nice, with excellent sausages. This would be perfect paired with some homemade sauerkraut.
Equipment
- Meat Grinder
- Hog Casings
Ingredients
- 1½ kilo pork butt, (3 lb)
- 1 kilo beef, lean, (2 lb)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup beer
- 1½ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 5 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
- Cut the pork and beef into 2 inch cubes. Here I have the beef on the left, pork butt on the right.
- Add the cubed meat to a large mixing bowl or pot, add all the dry ingredients from black pepper to onion powder. (I was out of onion powder so I added ½ cup diced onion.)
- Using your hands, mix together the meats and seasonings until all the meat is coated.
- Grind the meat through a grinder using the medium plate (¼ inch holes). Place ground meat in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the beer and eggs, and using your hands again, mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours. 24 hours is preferred.
- Prepare the casings of your choice, hog or collagen, stuff into the casings and form into links with your preferred method. Place links into bags to freeze. Use as needed on the grill, or in recipes of your choice. I made 27 links.
Notes
I will price this next time I buy beef. I will say Low cost per serving right now.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Brats 'n' Beer.
- Slow Cooker Brats in Beer, made it.
Easiest Roast Chicken
This sounds very good, and only 6 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 lemon or lime, cut in half crosswise, seeds removed
- 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
- sea salt, be generous
- pepper, lemon pepper would be a bonus
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220 C (425 F). Get out a roasting pan.
- Rinse the chicken inside and out, for those in Thailand, remove the feet, head, and neck. Pat the chicken dry. Boil the heart, liver, gizzard, and neck if you desire, makes a great snack while waiting on the chicken to cook.
- Place the chicken on a cutting board, breast side up, legs facing you. Grab a leg and pull thigh gently away from the bird and use a sharp knife cut through the skin and meat until you see the joint between the thigh and body. Repeat with the other leg.
- Season the chicken on the outside, generously with sea salt and pepper, rubbing into the skin, on all sides of the bird, even in the cuts you made. Give a couple of good sprinkles inside the bird as well.
- Place the chicken breast side up in the roasting pan, then place the lemon and garlic pieces in the pan, cut side down.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the chicken.
- Place in the oven for 45-60 minutes. At 45 minutes check for doneness. Check if the juices run clear where you made the cuts through the thighs, and if you have an instant read thermometer, check in the thickest part if the chicken, if the temp is 72 C (160 F), it is done, if not, continue roasting and checking every 10 minutes.
- When done, remove the baking pan from the oven, leave the chicken in it to rest 15 minutes.
- Remove the chicken to a serving platter, cut up.
- Pour the pan liquid into a mixing bowl, squeeze in the cooked garlic and whisk together.
- Serve the sauce with the chicken and enjoy.
Notes
I will price this next time I buy a whole chicken in the market, for now I will say Low cost per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Chicken Corn Egg Soup
Easy, and is exactly what is states, chicken, fresh corn (you can used canned if you like), and eggs. How easy is this? And only 5 ingredients. On my to make list.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skin on
- 1 1/2 cups corn, fresh cooked or canned
- 2 eggs, whisked
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 8 cups water
Instructions
- The corn can be fresh (needing a longer cook time), pressure cooked then cut from the cobs, frozen, or canned and drained. Totally up to you. Fresh corn just needs more cooking time.
- Add the water to a large pot and add the chicken breasts. Bring to a boil and cook the chicken until done, about 15-20 minutes. Skim off any foam on top of the water.
- Remove the chicken when cooked, leaving the broth in the pot. Add the corn to the broth, cook for about 10 minutes if using fresh corn, or cook until the corn is heated through.
- Remove the skin from the chicken and discard, use some forks or your fingers and shred the chicken.
- Once the corn is cooked or warmed through, add the shredded chicken to the pot.
- Once the chicken is warmed through, stir the soup then pour in the whisked eggs. If you want smaller egg pieces, stir while pouring the eggs, if you want larger egg pieces stir, then remove the spoon then pour in the egg, wait about 5-15 seconds, then stir the soup to mix in the eggs. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat, season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.