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Banana Bread I
This is a simple recipe and it is excellent. I have made this several times, it is fool proof and I get great reviews from my Thai family and friends. I use the small bananas grown right here in our yard for this.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened, (1 stick or 1/2 block)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cups banana, mashed, small bananas if you have them
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Lightly grease with butter the bread pan.
- Cream together the sugars and butter. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
- Add the mashed bananas and mix in. Mix in the flour, then mix in the baking soda. (This looks like a lot as I doubled the recipe to make two loaves.)
- Pour batter into the prepared bread pan.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and place the pan(s) on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, roll out onto the rack and let rest until cooled.
- Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Minimal cost and a great tasting bread.
Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
This sounds really good with the Cream cheese, nice touch. On my to cook list for sure. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, OR minced pork, OR ground chicken
- 350 grams spaghetti
- 3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 250 grams Cream cheese, this is 1 standard block, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C, lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- In a pan, brown ground meat until cooked through, drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce, set aside.
- Cook spaghetti according to instructions, drain and place in bowl. Add Cream cheese, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.
- Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and golden. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Nice sides to serve with this would be a green salad and garlic bread.
Notes
Ground beef would be about 75 Baht for 500 grams, pork and chicken even less. The sauce is about 55 Baht/can (need 2 cans) OR make yourself from tomato paste for 17 Baht/can (2 cans) and some spices. Cream cheese would run about 120 Baht per 250 gram block. This comes out to about $1.50 per person for 6 people, and about $1.12 per person for 8 people. Overall, not a bad cost for a good meal.
Shortcut: Spaghetti/Tomato Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Easy Baked Chicken
This is quick and excellent dish. I made this on 11 June 2016, my comments below.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, OR legs and thighs skin on bone in
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, if you like cheese, feel free to use more
- 1 container plain yougurt, this is the regular small container
- salt and pepper, to taste
- milk, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190 C. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Add the chicken to the dish.
- Mix the cheese, yogurt, and salt and pepper in a bowl. The mixture will be very thick, add a tablespoon of milk or so at a time to get a thinner consistency.
- Spread mixture over chicken, bake for 45 minutes. Serve with a side of your choice. This would be excellent with buttered pasta, mixed vegetables, etc.
- Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temp, target temp is 82 C / 180 F.
Notes
Last time I bought chicken breasts, just a few days before posting this, that cost me 74 Baht. Everything else is minimal. This comes out to about 55 cents per serving for 4 people.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Chili Dog Casserole
When I found this recipe, the chili and cheese were both listed as processed, such as canned and packaged shredded. This recipe I am going to show here is a mix of recipes from the site. These are easy to make recipes. The cheese will be real as well. That leaves tortillas, which are packaged, and I have not tried to make yet. And the hotdogs, buy quality dogs, they do in fact make them in Thailand and are not the chemical laden import dogs. This recipe takes time in the planning but you can make several other dishes in between. I made this on 2 Aug 2016, excellent! I modified this for using some canned items I used while in the US in May 2020.
Ingredients
- 6 cups chili, see Step 1.
- 500 grams beef hot dogs, (1 lb)
- 8-10 flour tortillas, 8 inch tortilas are perfect
- 250 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, real cheese, (1/2 lb)
Instructions
- You can make your favorite chili or use canned, with or without beans. I have made this with both. For canned, use two 24 oz (1 1/2 lb / 680 g) cans. When I made this in the US I used two 24 oz (1 1/2 lb / 680 g) cans of chili.
- I have also made this with my homemade Pinto Bean Chili.
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F).
- Spread 1 can of chili and beans (OR 3 cups of homemade chili) in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Roll up franks inside tortillas and place in baking dish, seam side down, on top of chili and beans.
- Top with remaining can of chili (OR another 3 cups of homemade chili), and sprinkle with cheese to cover.
- Cover baking dish with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and allow to brown on the top, remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost for the US and Fair to High cost per serving in Thailand based on quality hot dogs and quality cheese.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Granny's Sausage Gravy
I have made this several times, easy, and delicious. When I make this again I will take step by step photos. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams breakfast sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/4 cup butter, this is 1/4 of a regular block of butter
- 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Crumble sausage into hot skillet. Cook until browned. Remove sausage from skillet, let drain on paper plate or paper towels. Add butter to hot skillet and melt together with sausage fat.
- Whisk together the evaporated (canned) milk and water with the flour. Add to hot fat in skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until gravy starts to thicken. Add sausage back into gravy; heat until sausage is hot and gravy is thick. Remove from heat. Ladle over biscuits, toast, or potatoes. This would be perfect with the Drop Biscuit recipe listed in Sides - All Others.
Notes
500 grams of minced pork is about 65 Baht if you make the sausage yourself, it is so easy! Minced chicken for a chicken sausage, even less. Pre-made breakfast sausage, more than likely an import would be costly. Going with home made breakfast sausage, 65 Baht is well under $1 per serving. I will say that with store bought bulk sausage this would be a Fair Value item.
Shortcut: Breakfast Sausage.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Drop Biscuits
This is the easy way to make biscuits. I have made these and they are good.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230 C. Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Stir in butter and milk just until moistened. Drop batter on a lightly greased cookie sheet by the heaping tablespoon. Bake until golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Minimal cost for this.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Slow Cooked Black Eyed Peas
This sounds really good, I like beans! This is a recipe that is open to tailoring as to your taste. I look forward to making this. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry black-eyed peas, rinsed
- 225 grams sliced bacon, diced, or cubed chicken, see Step 1, (8 oz)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 2 large tomatoes, or about 4-5 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Cajun spice mix, Shortcut
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-3 dashes hot sauce
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a heavy bottom pan and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon or chicken, onion, bell pepper, and garlic, then fry for about 3 minutes, mixing often until the onion begins to brown and the bacon renders its fat. Transfer to your slow cooker. NOTE: If using minced chicken, use standard sausage seasoning, form into meatballs and cook those.
- Add the black eyed peas, broth, tomatoes, oregano, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper. Cook on High setting for 5 hours or Low setting for 8 hours, until the black eyed peas are soft.
Notes
The beans will run about 65 Baht/kilo, the bacon about 170 Baht for a 250 gram package, chicken would be much less. For 8 servings this is about 85 cents per serving (or less using chicken), very easy for a side dish.
Shortcut: Cajun Seasoning Mix.
Chicken & Swiss Skillet
Chicken and Swiss cheese? My favorites! Chicken breasts cooked in a skillet and covered with cooked onions, bacon, and mushrooms. This is easy recipe. I made this last night, 18 May 2016, recipe updated with my findings, my comments below.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- 250 grams sliced bacon, optional, diced
- Swiss cheese, slices, slice a block for this, no processed stuff
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 1/4 cup white wine, optional, OR 1/4 cup chicken stock
- spring onions, optional, chopped for garnish
- salt and pepp
Instructions
- Heat a heavy bottomed skillet (or cast iron pan) over medium heat, then add the bacon and cook 5-6 minutes or until the bacon is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the pan and set aside in a bowl, keeping the bacon fat in the pan.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides, place the chicken breasts in the pan and set a timer for one minute. After the minute is up, turn the breasts over and turn the heat down to low, cover the pan, and set another timer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, open the lid, lay one slice of cheese over each chicken breast (lay cheese slices over the breast from slices from a block is preferred, cannot go wrong with too much cheese) then re-cover and let cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Photo shows real Swiss cheese used, and I am heavy handed when it comes to cheese so the slices are thick.
- Turn the heat back up to medium and add the sliced onions, cook until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Remove onions from the skillet and place in the bowl holding the diced bacon. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and let them brown up a little, toss once in a while to get most browned.
- Once the mushrooms have cooked, add the white wine or broth to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the bacon and onions to the pan, then toss to combine. Serve by placing one chicken breast on a plate, then topping with the bacon, mushroom, and onion mixture. Garnish with chopped spring onion or parsley if desired. Serve with a side of your choice. Photo shows the chicken plated with the onions and mushrooms on the top and a side of potato salad.
Notes
I bought 4 large chicken breasts two days ago for 74 Baht. The cheese will run 180 Baht for a block of Swiss cheese (Mainland brand from New Zealand), 1/3 of a block will cover two chicken breasts. This comes out to about $1.70 per meal for 4 servings, if you add the bacon, the cost will increase. Overall, not a bad price for a very tasty meal.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Basic Mac & Cheese
This is the basic recipe, add to it what ever you like, change the cheeses, etc. This is a building block, change it to make it fit your tastes. I have made this many times. I do not use boxed mac & cheese, something about powdered, glow in the dark cheese that is not right.
Ingredients
- 500 grams uncooked pasta, of your choice
- 4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup butter, this is 1/2 a standard block of butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder, optional
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it just until just tender, about 11 minutes. Drain the pasta then set it aside.
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, warm the milk until it is simmering then set it aside.
- In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it turns light brown in color and has a slightly toasted aroma, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the dry mustard (optional).
- Remove the pot from the heat then slowly whisk the warm milk into the flour mixture. Continue whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. (The mixture will become very thick and then thin out gradually until it is smooth.)
- Return the pot to the stove over medium-high heat and cook the mixture while whisking constantly until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste and reduce the heat to medium. Whisk in the Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses until they are melted and the cheese sauce is smooth.
- Add the pasta, stirring to combine, then add what ever else you would like to add and mix in, cook just until the pasta is warmed throughout.
- Serve with a salad for a nice meal.
Notes
Cheese is the biggest factor here, 1 cup of shredded cheese is about 100 grams, you would need 1 1/2 blocks of good Cheddar for 3 cups, about 180 Baht per block, cost would be about 240 Baht for Cheddar. For Parmesan, 1 cup is about 150 grams, that is about 150 Baht. Not a cheap meal. This comes out to about $1.90 per serving for 6 people. Reduce the price per serving by adding a vegetable side dish.
Variants: 1. Add leftover diced ham, leftover diced chicken, and a little on the pricy side, lobster, cooked prawns, cooked sausage, imitation crab, can or two of tuna. 2. Add cooked vegetables such as broccoli or cauliflower to name a few.
Been making this for several years now.
Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower, Tuna, and Egyptian Roumy Cheese
This sounds good, but the Roumy cheese could prove very difficult to find. If you cannot find this, substitute Romano cheese in its place. With the tuna (best to use fresh tuna you cooked, not canned) and the cauliflower, this is a complete meal. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 225 grams pasta, of your choice, Canneroni works well
- 1 kilo fresh cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces, include stem
- 200 grams white Cheddar cheese, shredded, cannot find it, go with mild Cheddar
- 80 grams Roumy cheese, shredded, cannot find it, go with Romano
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 3 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 cups milk, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcherstershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can tuna, in water, drained, OR use 1/2 cup fresh, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain, toss with just a touch of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water up to a rolling boil, add the cauliflower and cook until fork-tender, about 5 minutes, drain and set aside.
- Toss together the white Cheddar and Roumy cheeses in a bowl, measure out ¾ cup and reserve it for the topping.
- Add the oil to a medium large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic and rosemary; cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the milk; stir in the Worcestershire sauce, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, and then remove from heat.
- Whisk in the cheese, except the reserved amount) until smooth. Stir in the pasta, cauliflower, tuna, and parsley. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
- Preheat your broiler (counter top ovens, use the top coil) and butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Pour the pasta mixture into the dish and sprinkle the reserved 3/4 cup of cheese on top. Broil until the cheese melts and is bubbly. Serve.
Notes
Cheese would be the most costly item here in this recipe, all the rest is minimal. White Cheddar I cannot price, nor the Roumy. Yellow Cheddar, imported from New Zealand will run about 180 Baht for 200 grams. If you cannot find Romano cheese, go with 230 grams of Cheddar. Go with fresh tuna and that will reduce your cost even further, the rule is 1/2 cup of fresh cooked tuna = 1 can of tuna. We'll say 200 Baht for the cheese and 40 baht for a can of tuna, this comes out to about $1.75 per person for 4 meals, and $1.18 per person for 6 meals. Overall, not bad. Fresh tuna would reduce this.
Variants would be, cooked shredded or diced chicken instead of tuna, spring onions instead of parsley (need that green or the dish would look really bland), broccoli instead of or with the cauliflower.
Shortcut: Tuna.
Adapted from an internet recipe.