Author Archive
Soft Bread (Bread Machine)
This is the name of the bread in my bread machine recipe book, and it is good and spot on! This is my Go-To recipe now for soft white bread. I make this in 1 pound (500 gram loaves) as it is only my wife and me here at the house that eat bread. For this recipe, only in ml measuring cup and a digital scale for weights, very important.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 160 ml water
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- 300 grams all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
Instructions
- Add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order listed or by the manufacturer.
- On the controls, select Soft Bread, White Bread, or Plain Bread or what ever your model states for basic bread, weight 500 g (1 lb), and crust as desired. Press start.
- At the end of the cycle, using kitchen mitts, remove the loaf pan and turn out the loaf to a wire rack to cool. (I took this photo right after making my first loaf of bread in a bread machine, the house smelled wonderful while it was baking. Once I took it out of the pan, cut a few slices, slathered with butter, and my wife and I each devoured a slice!)
Hamburger Buns (Bread Machine)
Let your bread machine do the heavy work, but you will cook these in your oven. I have made these and the taste is perfect, and they are durable, meaning they are not going to fall apart if lots of sauce is used.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- water, see Step 1
- 1 egg, see Step 1
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 384 grams all purpose flour, 3 cups if no scale
- 1½ teaspoons instant dry yeast
Instructions
- Crack an egg into a measuring cup and lightly scramble with a fork, then add water to make 1 cup of liquid.
- Pour the egg and water mixture into your bread machine, the add the remaining ingredients in the order listed or as specified by the manufacturer. Set to Dough (or Leavened Dough) and press start. The run time should be around 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes depending on your machine.
- When the bread machine says it is done, using floured hands, turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Using a pastry cutter or large knife, cut the dough in half, and cut each half into 3 or 4 pieces, like cutting a pie. 3 for big buns, 4 for smaller buns (which are probably average size buns).
- Take a baking sheet or two and just spread some flour on them, nothing heavy, just rub it around a bit. Now with the dough pieces, use floured hands each in a karate chop position, roll each piece of dough between your hands to make a round ball, no need to pick the ball up to do this, as they are very soft, and are also rising while you do this. Quickly roll each into a round ball and place these on the baking sheet.
- Cover the sheets with a towel and let rise for about 30-40 minutes, or until doubled in size or nearly doubled.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F).
- Mix up 1 egg and a tablespoon of water, just before putting into the oven, lightly brush (do not deflate the dough) with the egg wash, and lightly sprinkle with white sesame seeds if desired.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until rolls turn a golden brown indicating they are done, remove from the oven, cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- And another batch with sesame seeds added.
Notes
Additional flour guidance and information provided by good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret), United States.
Massaman Curry
This is the recipe from the store bought packet. The packets are a bonus here as they are so inexpensive, and the Lobo brand, no preservatives, no MSG, and no colorings. You may have seen these in the store and may not understand what these are, instructions on how to prepare are in English on the back. Only a few people I have ever met make curry pastes from scratch.
Ingredients
- 1 packet Massaman Curry paste, Lobo brand preferred
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 250 grams chicken, OR beef, cut into 1 inch cubes or slices, (8 oz)
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 potatoes, diced
- peanuts, as desired
- fish sauce, as desired
- steamed rice, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a non stick skillet and add the coconut milk and one packet of the curry paste, whisk together and when hot, add the beef or chicken and the water. Bring to a boil.
- Add some diced potato, amount is up to you, and some peanuts, amount is also up to you. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Add fish sauce to taste, serve with steamed rice.
Notes
Beef would cost about 50 Baht for 250 grams, chicken breasts would cost about 15 Baht, low cost anyway you look at this. For 4 servings using beef, this is about 37 cents per serving.
Easiest Cookies Ever
If nothing more, these do in fact sound interesting, and quite healthy. Just three ingredients. and just two if in a pinch.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
- handful raisins, optional, OR any dried fruit
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
- Peel the banana and place in a bowl, add the oats, and any dried fruit. Using your hands mix everything together.
- For oven baking, just drop by spoonful's to make about 12 cookies, slightly flatten them down, bake for about 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
- For microwave cooking, shape spoonful's into flat cookie circles and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, making sure they do not burn.
Easy Crab Bombs
Sounds delicious! On my to cook list. I would use fresh crab cooked yourself and picked, prep time does not reflect this step. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 500 grams crab meat, (1 lb)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup butter crackers, crushed, like Magic or Ritz
- 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, Shortcut
- 1 tablespoon Worcherstershire sauce
- butter, melted, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper.
- Place crab meat in a mixing bowl, remove any stray shell fragments. Add crushed crackers, Old Bay seasoning, and parsley, gently toss together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, mustard, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Pour mixture over the crab meat and gently mix, careful not to break up large lumps of crab meat.
- Shape into golf ball sized balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Drizzle with melted butter and allow to cool before serving.
Notes
I cannot price this until I make it in order to get the amount of crab needed. For now I will say fair value.
Shortcut: Old Bay Seasoning.
Bacon Cheese Biscuits
Sounds tasty! On my to cook list. I have never seen crescent rolls in a tube anywhere in Thailand (maybe Villa Market carries them) so there is a bread maker recipe for crescent rolls listed as a shortcut. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tubes crescent rolls, OR make from a shortcut
- cheese, what ever you like
- 300-500 grams bacon, fried crisp
- all purpose flour, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
- Lightly flour your work surface. Unroll one can of crescent rolls on your work surface (if using the shortcut, roll out one half). Using your hands, press the seams together and lightly press and stretch a little into a nice rectangle.
- Add a layer of cheese, can be sliced or shredded, then then add your layer of cooked bacon. Unroll the remaining can of crescent rolls on top & press all the seems together both on top and all around the edges.
- Using a pizza cutter or a knife slice into squares. Place the entire thing on your baking sheet using a large spatula, working in batches. Lay all the squares right beside each other, just as they were before you sliced it. You want all the cut seams to be touching so that your cheese doesn’t leak out.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the top of the crescent rolls are lightly browned. Remove from the oven ans cool on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes before digging in. The crescent squares will pull right apart. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
I cannot price this until I find out how many servings this will make, for now I will say this is a fair value dish based on just the cheese and bacon used.
Variants: Use cooked crumbled sausage or even just ground beef.
Shortcut: Crescent Rolls (Bread Machine).
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Crescent Rolls (Bread Machine)
This makes 16-24 rolls depending on the size you want. Basically this makes two 8 oz containers which are 8 rolls each, however, these are much tastier! Light, fluffy, and buttery, excellent rolls. Highly recommended if you really like crescent rolls, you will not be disappointed. If using this recipe in place of the store bought containers, cut the recipe in half by changing the servings to 8 rolls if your recipe calls for just one 8 oz container. If your recipe calls for two containers, use the recipe as stated.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk, warmed
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 cups all purpose flour, (512 grams if using a scale)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons instant dry yeast
Instructions
- Place the Ingredients listed in your bread machine in the order listed and choose the dough/raw dough cycle. While the bread machine is doing its thing, about 20 minutes, take out an additional 4-6 tablespoons of butter from the fridge and let soften on the counter in a small bowl, you will use this butter as directed after the dough comes out of the machine.
- After the cycle, remove dough to a floured surface using floured hands. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half into circle. Spread some softened butter onto each circle with a pastry brush and cut each circle into 8 or 12 pie-shaped wedges, depending on the size of roll you want.
- Starting with the wide end, roll up each wedge. Place on baking sheet with the point end down, cover with a cloth and let stand for about 1-2 hours until rolls have doubled in size. About 30 minutes before the end of the rise time, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). At this point, take out an additional ¼-½ cup butter and melt that, this will be used when the rolls come out of the oven.
- One batch ready.
- Second batch ready.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, remove from oven and brush with melted butter. First batch done.
- Second batch done.
- A few got pretty big.
- If using these for another recipe other than rolls, use the dough prior to cutting into wedges and use as the other recipe directs.
Notes
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Pigs in Blankets, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sausage, Egg & Cheese Crescent Rolls, made it.
Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Tandoori Style
I love a good Tandoori chicken, and this sounds really good. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500-750 grams chicken drumettes, or wings
- salt and pepper, as needed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala, heaping
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper, pinch or two
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- dash Sriracha Chili Garlic sauce, easily use a tablespoon
- fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
- Cool Minted Yogurt Dipping Sauce, OR make from a shortcut
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the chicken drumettes and or wings and pat them dry with a paper towel and place in a large bowl. Add to them 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, the paprika, garam masala, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and cayenne, and using your hands, mix/rub the spices into the chicken; set aside for a moment.
- In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, and Sriracha, and mix to blend, then pour this mixture over the chicken, rubbing it into the chicken, cover and refrigerate and allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours, up to overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 230 C, line a baking sheet with foil, and place a wire rack over the baking sheet. Remove the chicken from the yogurt marinade, and allow the excess to drip off; place the wings onto the wire rack, and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until slightly charred and crisp.
- Serve garnished with a some cilantro leaves, and the Cool Minted Yogurt Dipping Sauce on the side.
Notes
Drumettes are called Chicken Wing Sticks at Tesco (I get pricing from Tesco), and are about 80 Baht/kilo. Full wings are 90 Baht/kilo. Going with 750 grams of drumettes, this is about 88 cents per serving for 2 servings.
Shortcut: Cool Minted Yogurt Dipping Sauce.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Cool Minted Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Perfect dipping sauce for Tandoori chicken.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped, heaping
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl, and add in a couple of good pinches of salt to taste, mix with a fork, and use immediately, or keep covered and in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Cream Cheese Sausage Balls
Sounds extremely good! Minimal ingredients, and two shortcuts for cost savings. Baked and not fried. I will state the number of meatballs I can make from this when I make this. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams Cream cheese, softened, this 1 standard block
- 1 1/4 cups Bisquick Mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 110 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C.
- Mix all ingredients until well combined, roll into 1 inch balls. bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve as an appetizer or in main dish in a pasta sauce over spaghetti.
Notes
Minced pork will cost about 50 Baht/500 grams if making the sausage yourself. The Cream cheese will run about 150 Baht/250 grams, and the Cheddar will run about 90 Baht for half a 250 gram block. For all the meatballs, this is about $8.53, I will break this down to per meatball when I make these. I will state high cost for now.
Shortcuts: Sausage, Bisquick Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
