Author Archive
Italian Seasoning
This is a shortcut to make your Italian seasoning instead of buying the ready made in the small bottles for a huge price.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 2 tablespoons dried organo
- 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
- 2 tablespoons dried marjoram
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
Instructions
- Add everything to a small container, mix, and store tightly sealed until needed. Use as you would the premade seasoning.
Notes
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Spam Pie, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Chicken Alphabet Soup, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Meatball Vegetable Soup, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Hamburger Helper Shortcuts, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Italian Chicken Bean Soup (Slow Cooker).
- Beef Alphabet Soup.
- Fusilli with Meat Sauce, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- String Cheese Manicotti, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Meatball Mostaccioli, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Easy Stuffed Shells, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sausage Breakfast Casserole.
- Ham & Rice Casserole, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Eggplant Parmesan, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- One Pot Pasta with Chicken.
- Giant Meatball II.
- Catalina Dressing, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Broken Meatball Spaghetti, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Crockpot Shredded Chicken.
- Brian's Egg Frittata aka Egg Pizza, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Italian Pasta Salad.
- Ham, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Pizza.
- Easy Pasta Sauce.
- Crock Pot Bowtie Casserole.
Thin Cornmeal Tortillas
I was looking through a recipe that called for Doritos as an ingredient, since those are not available where I live, I found a recipe to make Doritos, but that recipe called for corn tortillas, which are also not available here where I live. Further research revealed corn tortillas are made from masa harina, also not available here. So I did more research and found a recipe to make tortillas using all purpose flour AND cornmeal, this sounds like a win win here, the recipe states flexible and soft like a flour tortilla, and a bit of the corn taste. I will be testing this out soon, lot of possibilities if this works out as I will post recipes using these.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup water, +1 tablespoon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and oil. Gradually mix in the water. Knead briefly, just until the dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces. (If you have an accurate digital scale, each piece should weigh about 1 3/8 ounces each or 38,98 grams.) Round the pieces into balls, flatten them slightly, and allow them to rest, covered with a towel for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a large, non greased skillet over medium heat, a cast iron pan would be a good choice.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time (keeping the remaining dough balls covered), roll the balls out until they're about 8 inches in diameter. Cook each one in the hot skillet for about 30-45 seconds on each side. Stack the cooked tortillas on top of each other on a plate and cover with a towel to keep them soft and pliable.
- Serve hot using them as tacos, making small burritos, etc. Store tightly wrapped in a plastic bag at room temperature, freeze for longer storage.
Notes
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Swiss Steak
My Mom can make a great Swiss Steak so this recipe interested me, and it is a slow cooker recipe which is a bonus, let the appliance do the work for you. I made this on 22 Jan 2017 and it is good! I modified the recipe slightly with my findings. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo beef round steak, OR any beef just cut into large chunks
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped and drained but retain juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Tenderize the steak with either a mallet type tenderizer or a needle tenderizer. Season the steak pieces with salt and pepper on both sides, arrange the pieces in your slow cooker. If using local sourced beef where you just get large chunks, slice into 3/4 inch to 1 inch steaks first.
- Place the onion and bell pepper on top of the meat, pour the tomato sauce and chopped tomatoes over the onions and bell pepper. Cover and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.
- At 8 hours on Low the beef should be fork tender, serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
Local beef, not beef from Tesco will run between 150 to 260 Baht/kilo. Using the highest figure, for 4 servings, this is about $1.43 per serving.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Basic Spinach Quiche
This is the basic quiche recipe. A quiche (French) is essentially a custard made with milk and eggs in a pie dish, what you add to the quiche is up to you to tailor the quiche to your preference. If you make this without adding any of the fillings, then you will be making a giant egg tart. This is a basic spinach quiche. What you can add is listed in Step 1 as options. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup milk
- 5 eggs
- 1-2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1-2 cups fresh spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 pie crust, OR make from a shortcut
Instructions
- Options for fillings, there is no measurements here, but it is safe to assume 1/2 to 1 cup of each. The goal is layer in the fillings then pour the milk and egg mixture over that to fill up the pie crust, if feeding a crowd, use two pie crusts and different fillings for each: Spinach, chopped Onion, sliced Mushrooms, Broccoli, cubed and cooked Ham, Bacon, chopped Bell Pepper, chopped Tomatoes, other types of Cheese, you get the idea.
- Preheat your oven to 200 C. Line a cookie sheet with foil. If using a frozen ready made pie crust, thaw that before you preheat the oven. Place the pie crust in a pie pan and set aside.
- Whisk together the milk and mayo until smooth, then whisk in the eggs.
- In a skillet with just a splash olive oil, heat up the spinach and onion until the onion is just soft. If using other items, cook those as well until almost cooked through.
- Add the spinach and cheese in layers in the pie crust, making several layers of each. Pour the milk mixture over the filling until the pie crust is not quite full to the top. Place the pie dish on the cookie sheet, cover the pie dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes, serve.
Notes
I cannot price this until I prepare it once. Basically it will be a fair price meal based on the cheese.
Shortcut: Basic Buttery Pie Crust.
Inspired by and photo courtesy of good friend, Mark Bowen.
Guinea.
Guinea.
Shrimp Jambalaya
Key word here is shrimp, for any Jambalaya experts, there is many ways to prepare Jambalaya. This recipe is in 2 parts, 1 to make the shrimp stock, and 2, to make the Jambalaya. This does sound good!
Ingredients
For the Shrimp Broth
- shells, tails, and heads, from your 500 grams of shrimp
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 onion, just half an onion, no need to chop this
- 1 stalk celery, import, chopped into large chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 5 cups water
For the Jambalaya
- 500 grams shrimp, the ones you peeled and cleaned
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, import, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 bunch spring onions, chopped, green and white parts seperated
- 2 links smoked sausage, sliced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved for a drink for yourself
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- salt, to taste
Instructions
For the Shrimp Broth
- Remove the shells and tails from the shrimp and put the shells and tails in a pot with 5 cups of water. If the shrimp have heads, remove and add those to the pot as well. Clean and devein the shrimp and refrigerate until ready to use to make the Jambalaya.
- Same pot, add the remaining shrimp broth ingredients minus the water and bring to a high simmer and then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cook until the water has reduced by about a third, 20 to 30 minutes. Let the broth cool completely and then strain, you should have about 3 cups of broth, if you have less than 3 cups, add enough water to make up the difference.
For the Jambalaya
- Now heat the butter in a large non stick skillet over medium heat, then add the flour and use a whisk to constantly stir until the mixture is combined, then add the bell pepper, white part of the spring onion, sausage, tomato paste, onion, celery, garlic, 2 bay leaves and a 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes (add splashes of your shrimp broth if the mixture sticks at all). Add the rice and stir to coat.
- Pour in the remaining broth, chopped tomatoes, thyme, cayenne, half the spring onion green parts, and salt to taste. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Adjust the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the shrimp, cover and continue to cook until the rice is tender and the shrimp are cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove the bay leaves. Sprinkle the top of the Jambalaya with the parsley and remaining spring onion green parts. Serve with hot sauce if desired.
Notes
500 grams of shrimp, say medium whites will cost about 70 Baht. The sausage might cost 50 Baht for 2 links. For 4 servings this is about 88 cents per serving.
Provided courtesy of good friends, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret).
United States.
United States.
Chicken Liver, Bacon, and Eggs
In keeping with the traditional Thai cooking style of minimal ingredients, I put this together last night just to clean out the freezer. Actually quite good as well. I like quick, easy, and low cost meals, and this fits the bill perfectly. Serve as a breakfast or dinner.
Ingredients
- 200 grams bacon, (7 oz)
- 200 grams chicken livers, (7 oz)
- 3-4 eggs
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a cast iron pan heated with just a small splash of olive oil, add the bacon and the chicken livers. Separate the bacon as it cooks and turn the livers occasionally and cook until the bacon is just near crispy.
- Push the liver and bacon to one side and crack in the eggs, season with salt and pepper to your liking, and cover with a lid to cook the eggs.
- When the eggs are set and the whites cooked through, serve as a breakfast or as a dinner.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
The bacon is 62 Baht per 200 grams, the liver is about 30 Baht. For 2 servings this is about $1.35 per serving, very reasonable.
Sweet & Sour Meatballs
These sound really good, think meatball sandwiches, spaghetti and meatball soup, stews, macaroni and meatballs, or even served as is over rice. I need to test this recipe out.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 340 grams chili sauce, I will clarify this when I make it
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Mix together beef, garlic powder, onion powder, egg, and bread crumbs. Form into small balls and set aside.
- Pour chili sauce into medium saucepan. Refill bottle with water, shake well, and add to pot. Add the brown sugar and lemon juice, and mix. Bring sauce to a boil. Taste and adjust amounts of lemon juice and brown sugar to taste. Drop in meatballs. Return to boil, reduce to a simmer and cover, and cook about 30 minutes. Serve as is over rice or use in any number of recipes calling for meatballs.
Notes
Ground beef will run about 100 Baht/500 grams, for 4 servings this is about 73 cents per serving.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler
This sounds very nice, easy to make, common ingredients, on my to cook list for sure!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups fresh stawberries, whole, capped, I will verify the amount
- 125 grams Cream cheese, this is 1/2 of a standard block, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Melt the butter and pour into a 9x13 glass baking dish. In a bowl, mix together the egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Pour directly over the butter in the baking dish, but do not stir.
- Add the strawberries, arranging in a single layer as much as possible. Sprinkle cream cheese pieces over strawberries. Place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and edges are bubbling. The crust rises up and around the strawberries, and they still peek out of top.
Notes
I cannot price this until I buy strawberries again but should be very reasonable.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Butter Biscuits
I like biscuits and these sound really good, and easy! On my to cook list!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, this is 1/2 of a standard block of butter
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk, see Step 3
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230 C. Lightly grease a 8x8 baking dish with butter. Melt the butter and pour into the baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Pour in the buttermilk and stir until it forms a loose sticky dough. NOTE: If using regular milk, you may need to use less so start by adding 1 cup and then more as needed to make a sticky dough. Press dough into baking dish that has melted butter in it. You will probably need to use your hands to evenly press it in. There might be butter still coming up on top of the dough-that's fine.
- Use a hot, sharp, knife to cut the dough into 9 squares. Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and bake for an additional 10-15 or until starting to get golden brown on the top and spring back when touched. If at any point while baking the butter is bubbling and browning along the edge of the dish, just use a paper towel to dab it up.
- Serve with jam, butter, gravy, etc.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Dill Pickle Pasta Salad
I do like a good pasta salad, and dill pickles, and this is nothing short of excellent! I made this on 14 Jan 2017, it is easy to make, and can be adjusted with what you have on hand. This is now my new standard pasta recipe. It was so good, I did not even get photos. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 250 grams dry elbow macaroni, or shell, spirals, or any bitesize pasta would work
- 3/4 cup dill pickles, sliced, OR make from a shortcut
- 2/3 cup Cheddar cheese, cubed
- 3 tablespoons onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 cup dil pickle juice
For the Dressing
- 2/3 cup mayo
- 1/3 cup sour cream, see Step 2
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water until tender, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool it off. Toss the pasta with 1/2 cup pickle juice and set aside for 5 minutes then drain and discard the juice and place the pasta in a large bowl along with the rest of the Salad ingredients and toss to mix together.
- In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together. If you do not have sour cream, start with the amount of mayo stated and add more mayo as needed to coat everything yet not be dripping with mayo either. Pour this onto the pasta in the large bowl and and toss to coat everything. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Quick Fridge Dill Pickles.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.