Author Archive
Creamed Tuna on Buttered Toast
Absolutely delicious! I made this on 17 Jan 2017, very easy, very easy to tailor based on your preferences. And I make this often! The milk sauce is perfect. If making this for more than 2 people (even though listed as 4 servings) I would double this. Highly recommended. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 can tuna, drained, or 1 cup fresh cooked tuna, (185 g / 7 oz), Shortcut
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed, or peas and carrots, or mixed veggies
- salt and pepper, to taste
- bread, for toasting
- butter, for the toast, as needed
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the flour, then whisk in the milk, whisk constantly to prevent lumps and stir until creamy. Add the tuna, peas, and salt and pepper to your taste and warm through.
- As the sauce is warming, toast your bread, figuring 1-2 slices per serving. I went with 4 slices of toast for me in this photo.
- When the bread is toasted and buttered, spoon the sauce over the toast and serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Tuna.
Variants: 1. Add a couple of fried eggs sunny side up on top of each serving. 2. Chop 2 hard boiled eggs and mix those in when you add the tuna.
Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Skillet I
It has been probably 5 years since I had cabbage rolls, and they were delicious! Here is a cheater recipe, no need to boil the cabbage leaves or roll anything, just make on the stove top in a large skillet. I have not tried this yet but it sounds really good and I will give my remarks after I make this. The recipe is normally made with beef but feel free to use pork or chicken. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1 head cabbage, small, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 565 gram can, chopped, drain but retain juice
- 1 cup tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 cup water, OR beef stock
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- salt, as needed
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until ground beef is no longer pink and onion is tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute. Drain off any fat.
- Add the chopped cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender, add reserved tomato juice as needed. Serve.
Notes
Ground beef can be 200 Baht/kilo. For this dish, that is your most expensive item, if using minced pork, you can almost cut the cost in half. For 6 servings this would be about 98 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake
I got this from a good friend in the states, sounds very good. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 14 medium potatoes, cubed, about 2 - 2 1/2 kilos of potatoes
- 3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
- 1 cup spring onions, chopped, white and green parts
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 250 C. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, ranch dressing mix, and pepper. Add the cubed potatoes and toss well to coat all the potatoes. Spoon the potatoes into the backing dish, leaving as much of the oil mixture in the bowl. Roast until the potatoes are crispy, about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are roasting, add the chicken to the bowl with the oil mixture and toss to coat and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together the cheese, bacon, and spring onion and set aside.
- When the potatoes are crispy, remove from the oven and lower the temp to 200 C. Add the chicken to the top of the potatoes then top that with the cheese mixture and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let this rest for 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing.
Notes
For the cheese, figure about 180 Baht for a 250 gram block. For the bacon, I estimate about about 300 grams which for average bacon, figure 130 Baht total. The chicken runs about 60 Baht/kilo, 3 pieces will be less than that but I will use 60 Baht for the pricing here. For 6 servings, this is about $1.82 per serving.
Shortcut: Ranch Dressing Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Bob Wicker.
United States.
United States.
Mexican Rice I
I look forward to making this and trying it out. I like a good Mexican rice, best I have eaten was in Pattaya at a friend's restaurant. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium heat and add the garlic and onion, when the onion is soft, then add the rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice is golden brown. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.
- When the rice is golden brown, stir in the tomato sauce and chicken stock and bring to a boil, once boiling, reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Add more chicken stock as needed to keep the rice from drying out. Fluff with a fork and serve as a side with any Mexican dish.
Notes
No Peek Chicken
This comes highly recommended from a good friend who makes this often, it is filling, and everyone likes it. Easy to put together with common ingredients except the Uncle Ben's rice unless one is in a larger city. On my to cook list very soon. For the rice, Uncle Ben's Long Grain and Wild Rice is listed, but regular Jasmine rice works just as well. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken breasts, skin on, boneless
- 1 box Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice, original recipe, 170 gram box, OR use 1 cup dry jasmine rice
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, OR make from a shortcut on this site, OR use 2 cans of mushroom soup
- 1 can water, if making the shortcut soup, this is 1 1/4 cups
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- In a bowl, mix together the box of rice (or the 1 cup of jasmine rice) with the mushroom soup and celery soup (or you can use 2 cans of mushroom soup), and the 1 can of water. If you want moister rice, then you can use 1 1/2 to 2 cans of water. Pour this into the baking dish. Place the chicken on top, cover with foil and seal.
- Bake for 2 1/2 hours, serve.
Notes
Chicken breasts run about 60 Baht/kilo. 6-8 breasts would be maybe 60-90 Baht. The box of rice I cannot price yet until I can source that. Using 90 Baht and say 6 servings, this is about 67 cents per serving. Make the soup from shortcuts, takes just 5 minutes each and costs less than half of store bought canned soup.
Variant: add sliced mushrooms to the rice and soup mix.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Condensed Cream of Celery Soup.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Chicken Lombardy
This sounds really good. On my to cook list. Readily available ingredients makes this sound like it could be a regular and inexpensive meal.
Ingredients
- 6 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- 170 grams fresh mushrooms, sliced, button, king oyster, shiitake, would be good
- butter, as needed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, fresh or make from powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 spring onions, chopped, green and white parts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230 C.
- Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise then flatten a bit with the smooth side of a tenderizer mallet. Coat the chicken in flour.
- In a large nonstick skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat and cook the mushrooms for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the mushrooms to a bowl, then cook the chicken in batches, adding more butter as needed, 2-3 minutes per side. As the chicken is cooked, place in a large baking dish in layers, leave the drippings in the skillet. After all the chicken is cooked, pour the mushrooms over the chicken.
- Using the same skillet, add a tablespoon of butter and add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and pour the sauce over the mushrooms and chicken. In another bowl, mix together the cheeses and spring onion and sprinkle that over the mushrooms and chicken.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, serve with a buttered pasta or potato on the side.
Notes
Chicken breasts, go for the large ones, maybe 100 Baht for 6 large ones. All the rest of the items are minimal. For 4 servings, this is about 74 cents per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Squid Macaroni
Sounds tasty! This is a cheater version of the Greek dish called Macarontha, which is squid in a tomato sauce served over macaroni pasta and topped with sheep's cheese. I'll pass on that type of cheese however. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry macaroni, (8 oz)
- 500 grams squid, cleaned inside and out, skin removed, (1 lb)
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2½ cups tomato puree, Shortcut
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- juice from ½ lemon
- 1 stick cinnamon, broken in half, OR use ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook macaroni in a pot of boiling water until tender, drain and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, boil the squid in cups of water mixed with the red wine vinegar for 4-5 minutes. Drain, cut into rings, reserve the tentacles and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy non stick skillet. Cook the onion and garlic until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in the squid and cook for 2 more minutes. Pour in the tomato puree, white wine, and lemon juice. Season with cinnamon stick, bay leaves, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer partially covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick pieces then mix in the macaroni. Serve with Parmesan cheese for topping.
Notes
Squid will run about 100 Baht/500 grams, for 4 servings this is about 74 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Tomato Puree.
Grandma's Goulash
This is an excellent version of goulash, made on 24 Dec 2017, hit with the family as well. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 500 grams ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups tomato pasta sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, drained
- 1/2 can tomato paste, this is the 170 gram can
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup dry macaroni
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat a splash of olive oil then add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper (I also added 3 Shiitake mushrooms, chopped) and saute until the onion and bell pepper are softened.
- Then add the beef and cook until no pink remains then drain off any fat.
- Add the pasta sauce, tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, seasonings, and water. Mix together, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want a thicker goulash, simmer for a bit longer to reduce some of the liquid. If too thick, add some of the tomato juice from the canned tomatoes.
- Add the macaroni and mix in, cover and simmer until the macaroni is tender, about 20 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
- Top with the shredded cheese if desired, cover and let sit for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve.
Notes
Ground beef will cost about 100 Baht/500 grams, the cheese will cost 90 Baht for 1/2 block. For 8 servings this is about $1.40 per serving.
Shortcut: Pasta Sauce.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Pizza Pasta Bake
Sounds really good, feel free to add any pizza toppings you like. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 340 grams dry Penne pasta, spirals, shells, any bite size pasta works here
- 1 onion, diced
- 250 grams Italian sausage, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 250 grams ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped and drained
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 4 cups pasta sauce, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 2-3 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- Pepperoni, slices, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water until just tender, drain and rinse with cold water, drain well then place the pasta in the baking dish and spread evenly.
- In a large non stick skillet, brown the sausage and beef along with the onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink then drain off the fat. Add the diced peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes until the peppers are just starting to get tender, then mix in the pasta sauce and oregano. Mix this together then pour the meat sauce over the pasta in the baking dish.
- Top the meat sauce with a layer of cheese then top the cheese with slices of Pepperoni. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is warmed through. Serve.
Notes
Bulk sausage I cannot price but you can make yourself with ground pork which will cost about 25 Baht/250 grams. Figure about 50 Baht for 250 grams of ground beef. The Mozzarella cheese will cost 140 Baht for a 200 gram block which will make about 2 cups of shredded. If using 3 cups of shredded, go with 1 1/2 blocks at 210 Baht. For 8 servings, this is about $1.05 per serving.
Shortcuts: Italian Sausage, Pasta Sauce.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Amish Broccoli Salad
Sounds really good!
Ingredients
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 250 grams bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large bowl toss together the broccoli and cauliflower.
- In another bowl mix together the mayo, sour cream, sugar, and salt until creamy. Pour this on to the broccoli and cauliflower mix, stirring to coat the vegetables. Then stir in the bacon and cheese (reserving a bit of each to garnish the top of the salad when serving). Serve as a side or a light lunch.
Notes
Low cost.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Kathy McAllister.
United States.
United States.