Author Archive
Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy
Slow cooker, chicken, bacon, and gravy, what's not to love here? This is delicious! I made this on 29 June 2017, easy to put together, great flavor. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 750-1000 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 3 pieces, or use fillets uncut
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 6 slices smoked bacon
- 2 packets dry chicken gravy mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2/3 cup heavy cream, or use evaporated milk
Instructions
- Chop and cook the bacon in a pan on the stove top until crispy, drain on paper towels.
- In a small bowl mix together the 1 1/4 cups of water and the gravy mix packets until smooth.
- Place the chicken in your slow cooker, I used 1.2 kilos of chicken breast fillets, uncut, these were perfect.
- Sprinkle over the pepper, garlic, thyme and the bacon.
- Pour the gravy mixture over the chicken. I spread out the bacon after the photo, this looks better than just looking at gravy.
- Cover and cook on High setting for 3 1/2 hours without opening the lid.
- At the end of the cooking time, pour in the heavy cream or evaporated milk and gently stir to mix into the gravy. I used evaporated milk, this photo shows after it was mixed, perfect creamy gravy.
- Serve over mashed potatoes with a vegetable on the side for a complete meal.
Notes
The chicken will cost about 75 Baht for 1 kilo. For 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Gravy Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Ken Ritter.
Japan.
Japan.
Tender Oven Fried Chicken
Oven fried chicken, sounds great to me! I made this on 11 Oct 2017, and tender and juicy chicken it is.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1/2 cup butter, this is 1/2 standard block
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt, OR make from a shortcut
- buttermilk, Or just milk
Instructions
- Soak the chicken in buttermilk for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 205 C (400 F). Put the butter in a baking dish and place in the oven to melt, you can do this while the oven is heating. I used a 9x13 Pyrex dish.
- Put the seasoning salt and flour into a gallon size zip lock bag and shake to mix. When the butter is melted in the baking dish, remove from the oven.
- Take out one piece of chicken at a time from buttermilk and shake off excess then put into bag and shake to coat well, place chicken into butter in baking dish. Repeat with other pieces.
- Bake for 25 minutes then turn the chicken over, bake for another 30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is nicely browned. I cut one in half to check the inside, perfect.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy, pasta, or rice, and a steamed vegetable.
Notes
Chicken will run about 75 Baht or so for 4 breasts. For 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Buttermilk.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Banana Bread II
This recipe uses a yellow cake mix, and I even have a shortcut to make a yellow cake mix. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow cake mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 eggs
- 4-5 bananas, large size, overripe, mashed
- pecans, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Grease two medium loaf pans or one large loaf pan with butter.
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, pour batter into two medium loaf pans or one large loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Yellow Cake Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret).
United States.
United States.
Creamy Garlic Chicken
I love chicken and this recipe sounds really good, I will try this for sure! Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 750 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes on each side, or until it's fully cooked. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- To the same skillet, add garlic, chicken broth, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Mix. When it begins to bubble, add heavy cream and bring to a boil. Whisk until sauce starts to thicken.
- Add tomatoes, spinach and cooked chicken to the sauce. Stir. Cover with Parmesan cheese and mix until the cheese is fully melted, spinach is wilted and chicken is fully coated. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Figure about 60 Baht for 750 grams of chicken breast. For 4 servings this is about 44 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Shrimp Scampi Pasta
Sounds very good.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry spaghetti, or linguini
- 4 tablespoons butter, this is 1/4 standard block
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- pinch red pepper flakes, optional
- 500 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling lightly salted water and cook for 6-8 minutes or until the pasta is just tender. Drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large non stick pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using, until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan, set aside and keep warm.
- Add the wine and lemon juice to the same pan and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta. Stir well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.
Notes
If using Small White Vanamike shrimp from Tesco, these would cost about 100 Baht/500 grams. You may get them for less from a local farmer. For 4 servings, this is about 75 cents per serving.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret).
United States.
United States.
Old Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes
Sounds simple and really good. Serve as a side or add some cubed ham and serve with a salad for a main dish. On my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 4 cups potatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- dash cayenne pepper
- paprika, as needed, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Grease a casserole dish with butter.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. Let it cook for a minute and then add the milk; season with salt and cayenne pepper. While whisking, bring the mixture to a slow boil.
- Place half of the sliced potatoes in the prepared casserole dish. Cover with half of the sauce. Repeat and sprinkle the top with paprika.
- Bake for 1 hour. Serve as a side dish or add some cubed ham and serve with a salad for a main dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Chicken
No artichoke in your area? Go with more spinach or as a good friend suggested, cooked chopped broccoli or even asparagus tips. There is two ways to prepare this. This sounds like a great recipe for sure and is on my to cook list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the Filling
- 120 grams frozen spinach, thawed
- 250 grams Cream cheese, room temperature
- 170 grams artichoke hearts, canned or bottled in brine, drained, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- salt, to taste
For the Cream Sauce (Optional)
- remaining filling
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place each chicken breast on a flat surface. Season both sides of each breast with the Italian seasoning and paprika. With your hand supporting each piece, cut a slit or pocket about 3/4 quarter of the way through, being careful not to cut all the way.
For the Filling
- Squeeze any and all water out of the spinach. Discard the water released. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, cream cheese, artichokes, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and garlic then mix well, using your hands if needed. Season to taste with salt.
- NOTE: In not using the artichoke, you can replace this with an additional 120 grams of spinach, or cooked and chopped broccoli, or even cooked and chopped asparagus.
- Fill chicken pockets with 1-2 tablespoons of the filling, spreading evenly with the back of the spoon or use your fingers to press it down. Reserve the leftover dip for the optional cream sauce, you should have exactly half left over.
- NOTE: If not making the optional cream sauce, you can use the left over filling as a dip, or just cut the filling ingredients in half so there is no filling left over.
- Seal with two or three toothpicks near the opening to keep the filling inside while cooking.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non stick pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown, carefully turn the chicken over and cook the other side until golden, covering pan with a lid, until cooked through, about 6 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a warm plate to make the optional cream sauce. Or serve right away with pasta or rice if not making the optional sauce.
For the Cream Sauce (Optional)
- Pour the milk into the same pan and bring to a simmer. Add in the remaining filling, you should have about half remaining, and stir until sauce is combined and thickened. Add the chicken back into the pan and serve over pasta or rice.
Notes
The 4 chicken breasts would be about 1 kilo or about 75 Baht. The cheese are minimal as well as the spinach. I cannot price the artichoke as I never really looked for that before. For 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving. When I can price what artichoke costs I will revise the cost per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Ken Ritter.
Japan.
Japan.
Green Mango Salad
This recipe was sent to me by a good friend living in Thailand. She bought 4 kilos of green mangoes and came up with this from items she had on hand at her house. This can be a main dish or a starter. For a main dish this would be two servings, for a starter this would make 4 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 large green mango
- 1 large carrot
- 1 medium radish
- 2 medium tomatoes
- Bird's Eye Chilis, fresh, red, to your liking
- 2 small shallots
- fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup cashews, or peanuts, roasted, chopped
- salt, as needed
For the Sauce
- 2-3 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar, or 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
- juice from 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon oil, like sunflower seed oil
- 1 teaspoon roasted seasame oil, optional
Instructions
- Cut up radish julienne style, long narrow strips, place in a sieve with a a good amount of salt and let it drain.
- Cut up mango and carrot julienne style as well and put these in a large bowl. Cut the tomatoes into fine strips and chop the shallots, place these in the bowl with the mango and carrot.
- Now to make the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl (or even a mortar) except the oil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Then taste. it should not be too salty or sour or sweet but in harmony. Adjust the lime juice, soy sauce or sugar as needed. Add the grated ginger and garlic and stir or pound lightly (careful not to splash).
- Now the radish should be ready, it should not taste salty but mild, place that into the bowl with the mango and carrot and mix together, then add the sauce and mix that in.
- Arrange the salad on plates, 2 main dishes or 4 starters. Top with the cashews or peanuts and cilantro on top of that.
- Hard boiled eggs, quartered lengthwise is good on the side for a main dish, and grilled prawn would be perfect.
Notes
Low cost.
Author, and provided courtesy of good friend, Daniela Dalaa Payerl.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Ginkgo Barley
This is a Chinese dessert and comes highly recommended. Some of the ingredients I will have to research as far as availability here, but it does sound good.
Ingredients
- 3 sheets soft beancurd skin, see Step 1
- 100 grams gingko nuts, see Step 2
- 100 grams barley
- 8 1/2 cups water
- 4 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
- 80 grams rock sugar, asjust to preference
- 2 egg whites
- hard boiled quail eggs, optional, amount is up to you
Instructions
- Note from my friend, "There are 3 types of beancurd sheets. Got to be careful when getting the right kind, the one for dessert soup [is the one you need]. Otherwise it'll turn out very different and disappointing."
- Note from my friend, "For the ginkgo nuts, remember to remove the center core which is bitter."
- Soak the 3 sheets soft beancurd skin in water until soft.
- Wash and drain 100g barley then add to a pot with 8 1/2 cups boiling water. Add the 4 pandan leaves (tied into a knot) and the rock sugar (adjust to preference).
- Boil for 25-30 minutes until barley becomes soft, and remove pandan leaves.
- Tear soaked beancurd skin into small pieces and add to pot.
- Add 100g gingko nuts (shelled and seeds removed) and stir in 2 egg whites, and the quail eggs if using.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring. Serve hot or chilled to preference.
Notes
This probably low cost, I have to source some of the ingredients first to verify costs.
Shortcut: Hard Boiled Quail Eggs.
Recipe courtesy of good friend, Grace Adamson, Gourmet Kwi-zeen.
United States.
United States.
Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken
This recipes sounds great, will try for sure. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chicken broth, fresh or from powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 cup spinach, chopped
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
Instructions
- In a large skillet add olive oil and cook the chicken on medium high heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown on each side and cooked until no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and set aside on a plate. Drain oil and wipe out pan with a paper towel.
- Add the heavy cream, chicken broth, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Whisk over medium high heat until it starts to thicken. Then add the spinach and tomatoes and let it simmer until the spinach just starts to wilt then add the chicken back to the pan, turning each one after adding to coat the chicken in the sauce.
- Heat for a few minutes on a low simmer to heat the chicken through. Serve over pasta.
Notes
Four chicken breast might be 60 Baht, for 4 servings this is about 44 cents per serving.
Variant: double the amount of sauce for a saucier pasta.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.