Author Archive
Baked Salmon
This is wonderful! I made this on 22 Nov 2016 and was an instant two thumbs up from my Thai wife. Excellent marinade as written, recipe followed as written, no changes needed, and after baking, spoon the oil on some pasta for a great meal.
Equipment
- Baking Pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 salmon fillets, (140-160 gram / 5-6 oz each)
- 3 clove garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the olive oil, garlic, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Mix to make the marinade. Place the salmon fillets in a shallow flat dish, pour marinade over the top of them and place in the fridge, turning the fillets occasionally. Marinate for 1 hour.
- Preheat your broiler, or if using a counter top oven use the top coil and heat to 230° C (450° F).
- Using a baking dish, glass would be perfect, place fillets in the dish and pour the marinade over the fish.
- Broil for 5-7 minutes then flip fillets over, when the fish flakes with a fork easily, it is done.
- Serve. A salad, pasta, or vegetables on the side would be perfect side dishes.
Notes
I bought 4 fillets, Norwegian import, 69 Baht for 140 to 160 gram fillets. I figured the servings as 1 fillet per serving. For 69 Baht per fillet, this is about $2.03 per serving. High cost but great for a once in a while meal.
Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup
Sounds really good, on my to cook list for sure! Several shortcuts here to save you money as well. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Italian sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2-3 carrots, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped and with juice, this a 565 gram can
- 1 3/4 cup tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams fresh mushrooms, any type you like, sliced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 cup dry rotini pasta, or any small pasta
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, for topping
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a large non stick skillet, heat with a splash of olive oil, and add the sausage, onion, and carrots, cook until the sausage is browned and the carrots are soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Drain most of the fat then add to the slow cooker.
- Add to the slow cooker the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, water, and seasonings. Cover and cook on Low setting for 8 hours or High setting for 4 hours.
- Stir in the dry pasta, cover and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or so to cook the pasta. Serve topped with shredded Mozzarella in each bowl.
Notes
The Mozzarella cheese will run about 142 Baht for 200 grams which is about 2 cups shredded. I have never seen bulk Italian sausage here as I have always made my own, takes just minutes, so I will figure the sausage at the cost of minced pork (keep in mind, if you grind yourself, it costs even less), cost for minced pork is about 65 Baht/500 grams. For 6 servings, this is about $1.05 per serving, more than reasonable.
Shortcuts: Italian Sausage, Tomato Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Tuscany Soup
When I found this recipe it was called Zuppa Toscana, and since I am not teaching Italian on this site, lets just stick to English, Tuscany Soup. This does sound really good. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Italian sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 onion, diced
- 3-4 potatoes, cubed into about 1 inch pieces, skin on or off is up to you
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1-2 cups spinach, frozen is fine, thawed and drained well
- 1 cup heavy cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large non stick skillet, heat a splash of olive oil, then add the garlic and sausage and cook to brown, drain the fat and add the meat to the slow cooker when browned.
- On top of the meat, add the potatoes and onion, pour in the chicken stock, add additional water to make sure the potatoes are covered with liquid. Cook on Low setting for 5-6 hours or High setting for 3-4 hours, or until potatoes are soft.
- Once potatoes are soft, whisk together the flour and heavy cream in a bowl until well mixed, stir this into the slow cooker along with the spinach. Cover and cook on high for about 30 minutes and the soup should thicken slightly. Serve.
Notes
I have never seen bulk Italian sausage here as I have always made my own, takes just minutes, so I will figure the sausage at the cost of minced pork (keep in mind, if you grind yourself, it costs even less), cost for minced pork is about 65 Baht/500 grams. For 6 servings this is about 32 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Italian Sausage, Heavy Cream.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sausage, Spinach, and White Bean Soup
This sounds really good and your slow cooker does most of the work, all you have to do is brown the sausage, then put everything in the slow cooker. This recipe called for canned beans, feel free to cook dry beans for this as a cost saver, you will need 3 1/2 cups cooked beans. Canned beans are a prepared item, not a processed item.
Ingredients
- 400 grams smoked sausage, OR chicken sausage, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2-3 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped, go with import for this
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans, 15 oz cans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 3 cups spinach, fresh or frozen, thawed and drained
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Heat a large non stick pan with a splash of olive oil and brown the sausage slices, when browned after 4-5 minutes, put them in the slow cooker. To the slow cooker, also add the garlic, carrots, celery, beans, oregano, and bay leaves. Then stir in the chicken stock and 2 cups of water until combined. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Cover and cook on Low setting for 7-8 hours or High setting for 3-4 hours. Stir in the spinach and cook until that is wilted and warmed through. Serve.
Notes
Figure about 100 Baht/500 grams for smoked sausage at Makro. Prepare the beans from dry beans for a substantial cost savings or to save time, and if they are available in your location, use the canned beans. For 8 servings, this is about 37 cents per serving.
Variants, instead of sausage, use 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cube them up and throw right into the slow cooker, no need to brown. Use vegetables you have on hand.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
6 Layer Slow Cooker Casserole
This is a really good tasting casserole. Does involve the use of the stop top for a few minutes as well. The use of a mandolin for slice is recommended. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Mandoline
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb )
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 cup onion, sliced and rings seperated
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- 2 cups carrots, sliced
- 2 cups potatoes, sliced
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, (10½ oz / 298 g), Shortcut
Instructions
- In a skillet, brown the ground beef and add in the salt, pepper, and onion powder, drain well. I used ground pork.
- Add the browned meat to the slow cooker and spread into a layer. Then the onion in a layer, the celery on top, then the carrots, then the potatoes as the photos show.
- Onions.
- Celery.
- Carrots, I used a mandolin to slice these.
- Potatoes, I used a mandolin for these as well.
- Soup. I made the shortcut for the soup, very easy and low cost.
- Cover and cook on Low setting for 5 hours.
- Serve.
Notes
Figure about 100 Baht/500 grams of ground beef. For 6 servings, this is about 50 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Celery Soup.
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Sounds really good, on my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces, including the stems
- 2 cups cooked white rice
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk, cold
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 3 tablespoons Cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Get out a 2 quart baking dish and lightly grease with butter.
- In a large non stick pan, melt the butter and cook onion on medium low heat until softened and translucent, then whisk in the in the flour, garlic powder, and pepper. Cook an additional 2 minutes. While whisking, gradually pour in the cold milk. Continue whisking over medium heat until thick and bubbly then remove from the heat and add stir in the mustard powder, paprika, cream cheese and 1½ cups cheddar cheese. Stir until melted, taste and adjust with salt if desired.
- Cook broccoli in a pot of boiling water for about 2-3 minutes, does not need to be cooked through 100% as it will cook more in the oven. Drain broccoli, then stir together the rice, broccoli, and cheese sauce and pour into the prepared casserole dish, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for 30-35 or until bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes, serve.
Notes
The Cheddar cheese would run about 180 Baht for a 250 gram block, go with that. This is about a 67 cent meal.
For variants, try broccoli and cauliflower together, or just cauliflower. Add cooked cubed ham or chicken to make it a main dish vice a side dish.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
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Mozzarella, Basil, and Tomato Sandwich
I like a good sandwich and this sounds really good! This recipe is written using a broiler or oven with a top coil.
Ingredients
- 3-4 slices tomato
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- mayo
- 2 slices bread, white, wheat, full grain, artisan, sourdough, up to you
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven or broiler to 250 C.
- Put two slices of bread on the cooky sheet, spread mayo on both slices, on one slice, place tomato slices evenly, then the basil, then the cheese, dribble about 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil on the tomato slice, add a pinch of salt and pepper. Leave the other slice on the side and put in the oven or broiler for 30 seconds or so to melt the cheese. Then add the plain side to the tomato side and drizzle another 1.2 teaspoon of olive oil over that, back in the oven or broiler for about a minute until the top slice is toasted, remove from the oven or broiler, flip sandwich, drizzle the rest of the olive oil and cook again for about 1 minute. Serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Turkey Gravy
This recipe is adapted from the Mayo Roasted Turkey. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- drippings from 1 mayo roasted turkey
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup turkey broth, see Step 2
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a small pot, simmer for 10-15 minutes, skim off most of the fat, not all of it as that is what adds flavor, and use a slotted spoon to remove any celery, onion, or any large pieces.
- If you boiled the neck, heart, and gizzard (not the liver), then use 1/4 cup of that broth, and mix with the flour in a small bowl. If you did not boil these, then use water or chicken stock. Whisk this into the drippings until smooth and continue to simmer, low simmer would be best. Stir occasionally and this will thicken, cook to your desired consistency, add salt and pepper to your taste and pour into a serving dish, serve with your roast turkey and mashed potatoes.
Notes
Mayonnaise Roasted Turkey
This is going to be how I prepare a turkey in a week or so, sounds really good. This recipe calls for fresh herbs so unless you are in a big city, you may have to go with dried herbs.
Ingredients
- 1 whole turkey, cleaned, I am going to try this with a 4 to 5 kilo turkey
- 6-7 fresh sage leaves, rough chopped
- 5-6 fresh thyme stems
- 2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs
- 2-3 fresh oregano sprigs
- 1 1/2 cups mayo
- salt and pepper, to taste, be generous
- 3 stalks celery, go with the import for this
- 1 large onion, rough chopped
- 1/2 cup butter, melted, this is 1/2 of a standard block
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230 C. Get out a baking pan, with a rack preferably. Set cleaned turkey in the baking pan.
- Remove the leaves from the herb stems, mix together sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano with the mayo, mix well. Rub the mayo mixture all over the outside and inside of the turkey. Salt and pepper the turkey generously.
- Place the celery and onion inside and outside of the turkey, and insert that butter into the turkey as well.
- Roast for 30 minutes, then insert an oven safe thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh, so you can read the temp from outside the oven, do not touch any bones, turn the heat down to 180 C and continue cooking for about 2 hours or until internal temp reaches 75 C, then check the thickest part of the breast, without touching bone as well, if 75 C, remove from oven and cover with foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes. Serve. Reserve the pan drippings for gravy, recipe listed below.
Notes
Based on initial pricing from the turkey farm here (yes, they are still free range, many come through my yard every day) the cost of a turkey of 4 kilo is 600 Baht, plus 100 Baht for cleaning the bird, which I have no problem with! So for 700 Baht, you have turkey to feed a truckload of people and even make additional recipes. Not a cheap meal, but overall, good value since you can get several recipes out of this! For 8 servings (figuring on the low end) this is about $2.58 per serving, not a cheap meal but excellent for friends and family once in a while.
Shortcut for the pan drippings for this recipe: Turkey Gravy.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Perfect Grits
This sounds good as a side with a hearty breakfast. I look forward to making this. I will have to locate white corn meal now.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white corn meal
- 4 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the milk to just boiling, using a whisk, start whisking and slowly but steadily, add the corn meal while whisking until you are sure there is no lumps, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Once it starts to thicken, you can cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5-6 minutes. The texture at 30 minutes should be creamy and the corn grains tender, so do a taste test, if not tender enough, just keep on a low simmer, covered and stir every 5-6 minutes.
- Once creamy and tender, turn off the heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter and mix in until it is about half melted then mix in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (optional) and mix until melted. Take off the burner, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir again and taste for salt adding salt as needed. Pour into a serving bowl, top with a tablespoon of butter. Serve as a side at breakfast.
Notes
Very low cost, I buy yellow corn meal for 100 Baht/500 grams, and I am suspecting white corn meal will be about the same price as yellow corn meal.
You can use yellow corn meal to make Polenta.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret).
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