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Braised Pork Hearts
This is a base recipe, you can serve as is (which is delicious), or add to a stew, soup, etc., lot of possibilities with this.
Ingredients
- 2 pork hearts
- 1 carrot, chopped or Rangiri (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and black pepper, as desired
- dried parsley, to taste
- dried thyme, to taste
- dried rosemary, to taste
Instructions
- Prep the hearts, rinse the hearts, then cut in half lengthwise, remove the stringy portions, fat, and trim the top off with the tubes.
- Slice each prepped heart into 1 inch cubes. This is two hearts cubed, 3 cups and just about 600 grams (just over 1 lb).
- Add the cubes to a ziplock bag, add the salt and pepper as desired, olive oil, and seasonings of choice, parsley, thyme, and rosemary work very well with this. Zip the bag closed and mix the pieces well with the marinade. Place in the fridge overnight. (I used a plastic dish to hold the cubes as I cut the hearts, then mixed the olive oil and seasonings in this, then poured them into a zip lock bag.)
- When you are ready to cook, heat a non stick pan on medium high heat.
- Place a strainer over a bowl and empty the contents of the zip lock bag into the strainer, reserve the marinade and set that aside for now.
- Empty the strainer now into the hot pan, brown the pieces on all sides. (The heart cubes are covered in oil to start with and they release some water as well, no additional liquid is added to the pan.)
- Add the leftover marinade, if any, to the pan and stir the heart pieces into the liquid. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes.
- Add the carrot and onion to the pan and stir them in. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Carrots are tender, ready to serve.
- Served as is but keep in mind, you can add this to a stew, soup, mix in some chicken gravy, etc.
Notes
Pork hearts cost about 98 Baht/kilo. I have no idea if this is 1 heart or 2 or 3, so when I see these in Tesco again I will pick up a few to see what the weight is. I will say low cost for now. For more savings, get them fresh at a local market.
Shortcut: Pork Hearts 101.
Variant: 1. Straw mushrooms added to this would be a great addition.
For the carrots: I used a Japanese style of chopping carrots, called Rangiri, which is basically, cut a piece of the carrot off at an angle, then rotate the carrot ¼ turn, cut another piece off at an angle, repeat the turning and cutting. This makes for bite size pieces, and a larger surface = faster cooking.
Baked Chinese Chicken & Rice
This is a one pan dish which is basically fried rice and chicken cooked together. I made this on 8 Aug 2018, tender and juicy chicken, very flavorful, and the rice has a nice flavor as well. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Marinade
- 500 grams chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, halved, (1 lb)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, light or dark, your choice
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
For the Rice
- 1 1/2 cups dry white rice
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2-3 cups frozen mixed vegetables, not thawed
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, Shortcut
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
For Garnish
- spring onions, sliced
Instructions
- Boneless chicken thighs are not available where I live, and it is really easy to do yourself. Simply remove the skin, trim off any large pieces of fat, lay the thigh skin said down, slice the thigh in half, to the left or right of the bone, this gives you one piece free of bone, and the other piece will have the bone on the edge. Just cut the bone out from that piece. Make sure to remove any cartilage on the meat where the ends of the bone were. I used 8 thighs, and since they are halved (16 pieces) as the recipe states, this is ready for use now. Keep the bones, skin, and fat for another step if you desire.
- The 4 liquids used in the marinade, from left to right, Light Soy Sauce, Shaoxing Wine, Oyster Sauce, and Sesame Oil.
- Mix the Marinade ingredients in a bowl or zip lock bag, then add the chicken and mix together. Set this aside for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours, covered, in the fridge.
- Now if you deboned the thighs yourself, you are in luck, now you can make broth as called for in this recipe. This is just a small amount of bones and skin, so no need to pressure cook this or add anything extra. I simply put the bones, skin, and fat in a small sauce pan, covered with about 2 inches of water and added simply a teaspoon or so of black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, there, you just made chicken broth. Strain the broth and use as directed in the recipe.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Get out a 9x13 baking dish.
- Add all the Rice ingredients to the baking dish, mix and spread out rice evenly.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, and reserve the marinade. Place the chicken on top of the rice mixture, it will be in the liquid as well, this is perfectly fine. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil and baste the chicken with the reserved marinade. Spray the chicken with oil, bake, uncovered for another 30 minutes, the chicken should be nicely caramelized and the water absorbed the rice. This poorly taken photo is before the basting.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. While it is resting, go ahead and slice some spring onions.
- Fluff the rice, sprinkle some sliced spring onion over the top, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut:Â Chicken Broth.
Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
This sounds delicious and is on my to cook list. This is for a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500-750 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, (1 - 1 1/2 lbs)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2-3 carrots, peeled
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons chicken stock powder, optional
- 8-9 cups chicken broth, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams dry egg noodles, wide, (8 oz)
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Trim the fat from the chicken breasts and place in your slow cooker.
- For the carrots, you can simply slice, or use a Japanese technique called Rangiri. To cut the carrots like this, cut a piece of the carrot off at an angle, then rotate the carrot 1/4 turn, cut another piece off at an angle, repeat the turning and cutting. This makes for bite size pieces that gives more surface area per piece.
- Top the chicken with the onion, carrots, celery, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle the chicken stock powder over the top.
- Pour in the broth and lightly stir.
- Cover and set the slow cooker to Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or to Hugh setting for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a mixing bowl and shred with two forks. Find and remove the bay leaf from the slow cooker, then add the chicken back to the cooker.
- Stir in the egg noodles, cover, and use the Low setting only, cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with parsley and a shake of black pepper, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Crock Pot Chicken & Noodles II
This comes from a good friend and is a another recipe for this classic comfort chow. On my to cook list. This is for a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups cooked chicken, chopped big, or 4 raw breasts
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 6 cups chicken broth, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
- 680 grams frozen egg noodles, (24 oz)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- For the COOKED chicken, chop it large, 1 inch or larger, this lessens the chance of the chicken falling apart in the slow cooker. For RAW chicken, use 4 whole chicken breasts.
- For the egg noodles, folks in the US can easily use Reames brand FROZEN egg noodles (24 oz bag). If you do not have access to frozen egg noodles, you can use DRY wide egg noodles, about 1 1/2 to 2 cups.
Using COOKED chicken
- To your slow cooker, add the chopped chicken and onion. Pour in the broth and soup, then add the black pepper and thyme. Cover and set your slow cooker to High setting and cook for 3 hours or until the onion is tender.
Using RAW chicken
- To your slow cooker, add the RAW whole chicken breasts, and onion. Pour in the broth and soup, then add the black pepper and thyme. Cover and set your slow cooker to High setting and cook for 4-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon
- Chop or shred the chicken and return to the slow cooker.
Continuing on...
- While the chicken is cooking, take the frozen vegetables and noodles out of the freezer and allow to thaw for 30 minutes or so. If using DRY egg noodles, cook those in a pot of boiling salted water, but drain them when they are a few minutes from being tender, as they will finish cooking in the slow cooker.
- When either the onion is tender if using cooked chicken, or when the raw chicken is chopped and returned to the cooker, stir in the vegetables and noodles.
- Cover and continuing cooking on High setting for 60-90 minutes. Give the pot a stir every 30 minutes. Cook until the noodles are cooked and tender, do not over cook.
- Stir in the parsley.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup. Chicken Broth.
Variants: 1. For a thinner consistency, stir in 1-2 cups more chicken broth. 2. Use fresh vegetables if you desire or add additional items, such as celery, mushrooms, or bell peppers. 3. Use homemade egg noodles. 4. Use homemade spatzle in place of the egg noodles.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Bleu Cheese & Olive Pasta Salad
Easy and common ingredients. Delicious!
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry spiral pasta, (8 oz)
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1 cup spring onion, chopped, white and green, about 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup Bleu cheese, cold, crumbled
- 1/2 can black olives, drained, sliced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water, until just past done. Drain, and run under running water to cool and stop the cooking process, drain well. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a small bowl, add the mayo, lemon or lime juice, and whisk together, season with salt and pepper to taste, as desired. Whisk until smooth. Prep the olives, cheese, and spring onion.
- Add the prepped items and dressing to the pasta and toss to mix well. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Add hard boiled quail eggs. 2. Add cherry tomatoes sliced in half lengthwise.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pepper Chicken Stir Fry
Can never go wrong with a stir fry, and this one is excellent. I made this on 21 July 2018, absolutely perfect.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon garilc, smashed and finely minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Stir Fry
- 1/4 cup oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons vhite vinegar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
- 1 large onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated, or 1/4 teaspoon powdered
- white sesame seeds, for garnish if desired
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the Marinade ingredients.
- Mix together with your hands, let the chicken marinate for 15-30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, prepare the onion and peppers. I only had one bell pepper so I sliced up some Shiitake mushrooms.
- In another bowl, whisk together the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, water, black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch. Set this aside.
- After the chicken has marinated, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Use a spoon and mix together to coat the chicken all over.
- Heat a large non stick pan with 2 tablespoons of oil, on medium high heat. Add the chicken.
- Stir fry for about 5 minutes, then remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Add the last tablespoon oil and when hot, add the onions and peppers, stir fry for a few minutes and the colors will brighten. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for another minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan, give the sauce another quick whisk then stir that into the pan. Stir fry to coat the chicken well and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
- Serve with rice or vegetables of your choice on the side.
Notes
Chicken breasts cost 66 Baht/kilo, 4 breasts should be about a kilo. For 4 servings, this is about 50 cents per serving.
Variants: 1. Use one color of bell pepper, or use a yellow bell pepper in place of a red or green pepper. 2. Add broccoli. 3. Add mushrooms, Straw, Oyster, or Shiitake would work well in this.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Baked Frog Legs
Sounds interesting and is on my to cook list. First recipe I have seen for cheese to be used with frog legs. I buy local caught frogs and use the legs only, but the rest of the body is used by some family members so there is very little waste.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 12 frog legs, skinned, cleaned, (6 pair)
- 3 slices bread, torn into fine crumbs
- ½ cup butter, softened, (½ block / 1 stick)
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, smashed and minced
- pinch ground cumin
- pinch dried rosemary
- pinch dried tarragon
- salt, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Fit some foil or parchment paper in the bottom of a 7x11 inch baking dish. (I will verify the size of the dish needed.)
- Add the ingredients from butter down to salt into a bowl and mix well. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow bowl.
- Dip a frog leg into the cheese and egg mixture coating it well, let excess drip off. Roll the leg in the bread crumbs, then place in the baking dish.
- Repeat for remaining legs, keeping the legs evenly spaced in a single layer in the dish. Spoon any remaining cheese egg mixture evenly over the legs.
- Bake until golden brown, 30-50 minutes. (I will verify the time when I make these.)
- Serve.
Notes
I bought 3 whole (skinned, cleaned) frogs at the village market for 60 Baht ($1.81) and just the legs, with feet removed, came out to 190 grams (6.7 oz). I will say 6 legs is a serving, so this is fair priced. (The rest of the frogs, those went to a brother in law for him to cook, nothing wasted, as I would not have bought them to just remove the legs and discard the rest.)
Deep Fried Frog Legs
Frogs are available in village markets, and frog legs frozen at Makro, with a price. The local village frogs are fine. I only use the legs, offer the rest of the frogs to a local friend and more than likely they will take them off your hands.
Ingredients
- 12 frog legs, skinned, cleaned, (6 pair)
- 30 saltine crackers, finely crushed
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- cooking oil, for frying
Instructions
- Skin the frog legs if not already skinned and cut off the feet. Make a slight cut behind the knees to cut the tendons (keeps the legs from moving in the pan for fresh legs).
- Add the flour, cracker crumbs, cornmeal, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a large zip bag. Zip the bag closed and shake to mix.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
- Heat some oil in a large non stick pan, you want about ½ inch of oil. You want the oil hot but not smoking.
- When the oil is hot. Dip a few frog legs in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off, then place in the zip log bag with the flour mixture, close, and shake.
- Remove the legs with tongs (prevents you from getting clumpy, sticky fingers) and carefully place in the hot oil. Repeat with the legs until all are coated and ready.
- Cook the legs until golden brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.
- Remove the legs to paper towels to drain.
- Serve.
Notes
I bought 3 whole (skinned, cleaned) frogs at the village market for 60 Baht ($1.81) and just the legs, with feet removed, came out to 190 grams (6.7 oz). I will say 6 legs is a serving, so this is fair priced. (The rest of the frogs, those went to a brother in law for him to cook, nothing wasted, as I would not have bought them to just remove the legs and discard the rest.)
Cucumber Sandwiches
These can be a light lunch or served as an appetizer. These sound delicious! Simple ingredients and very common to find. On my to make list. Keep in mind, an electric mixer is not required for this, you can easily mix this by hand, just follow the instructions if you do not have an electric mixer.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf sliced bread, crusts cut off
- 250 grams Cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh chives, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 English cucumber, long, thinly sliced, think mandolin
- fresh dill, chopped, for assembly
- fresh chives, finely chopped, for assembly
- salt and black pepper, as desired
Instructions
Using an Electric Mixer
- In a mixing bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese and mayo, and mix until smooth.
NOT Using an Electric Mixer (my preferred way)
- In a mixing bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese, mash with a potato masher, yes, I know this sounds weird, just go with it, it works. When the cream cheese is mashed well, now you can use a heavy spoon to mix in the mayo. See, wasn't that easy?
Continuing on...
- When the cream cheese and mayo is a nice smooth mixture, stir in the dill, chives, and garlic powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired.
- For the cucumber, skin on or off is your choice, some like skin on for the color, some like it off. An alternative is the peel strips off, so the cucumber is in strips before peeling, totally up to you.
- Slice the cucumber thinly, the use of a mandolin is highly recommended.
- Lay out the bread slices and cut off the crusts, makes for a very nice presentation when served as appetizers. Spread the cream cheese mixture on each slice of bread.
- Top half of the slices with a good layer of the cucumber slices, overlapping them the slices.
- Place the remaining slices on top, cream cheese spread side down. Slice each into 3 sections. If you want to make smaller appetizers, slice in 3 sections then cut all three in half to make 6 tiny sandwiches. You may want to use toothpicks inserted in the centers of the smaller ones to keep them together.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
The cream cheese will cost about 150 Baht/250 grams. This recipe makes a lot of appetizers so I will say this is overall, low cost.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Cucumber Bites
Low cost, great sounding appetizers. This is a make what you need guide, no quantities provided.
Ingredients
- cucumber
- Cheddar cheese, real cheese, thinly sliced
- deli ham, or smoked ham
- toothpicks, as needed
Instructions
- Peel or not peel the cucumbers, or peel in strips, feel free to get creative to make ridges, etc. Slice about 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick.
- Slice the cheese and cut into squares that will cover, and slightly overhang a slice of cucumber.
- To assemble, place a slice of cucumber on a tray, add a slice of cheese, fold up a slice of deli ham into quarters and place onto the cheese, top the ham with another slice of cheese, then place another slice of cucumber on top and poke a toothpick in the center to hold it together. Repeat for as many as you would like to make.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Use deli sliced turkey, chicken, Genoa salami, or pepperoni. 2. Use Swiss, Gouda, or Edam cheeses.
From seeing a photo.