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Chicken, Chicken Blood, and Winter Melon Soup
February 17, 2016 Lee
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Chicken, Chicken Blood, and Winter Melon Soup

This is a non-spicy soup made with just 3 major ingredients. Excellent taste. Don't let the ingredients fool you. The chicken blood is congealed, not liquid form, and the vegetable, winter melon, is pronounced fuk.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 chicken, chopped into small pieces
  • 2-3 cups congealed chicken blood, cut into large cubes
  • 2 winter melon, peeled and cubed
  • 1 teaspoon powdered chicken stock
  • 4-5 shallots, smashed
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • salt, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Chop the half chicken and blood. If you do not have a half chicken, use thighs, legs, breasts, chopped into smaller pieces.
  • Peel the winter melon, chop into large pieces, soak in some water for a few minutes then drain. If it has small seeds that is ok, if the seeds are large, remove them.
  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the smashed scallions and garlic.
  • After it is boiling, add chicken pieces and chicken stock powder.
  • When cooked through, about 10-12 minutes, add the chicken blood. Continue to boil until the blood is cooked through about 5-10 minutes.
  • When the blood is cooked, add the winter melon and reduce heat to a simmer to heat the melon through. When melon is tender, remove from heat and serve with a bowl of rice.

Notes

Chicken would run about 100 to 140 Baht for about 1 kilo of chicken. Blood and melon, very cheap. This is about 70 cents per meal for 6 people, even less for 8 people. Nutritious and healthy.
Provided courtesy of my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: THAI,CHICKEN & TURKEY,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI
White Beans & Peppers
February 14, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

White Beans & Peppers

A basic recipe with lots of possibilities. The inspiration for this recipe came from a recipe that listed canned beans and frozen veggies, I have changed it up to use dry beans, and the instructions are for Stove Top or Pressure Cooker preparation of the beans. This is a 2 for 1 recipe, you make bean broth as well, save that for soup or even cooking rice in it. This is listed as a side dish, add a ingredient or two and you have a main dish.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Course Side
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

Prepare beans

  • 500 grams dried Great Northern Beans, rinsed, soaked at least 6 hours, rinsed again
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt, for pressure cooker preparation
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil, for pressure cooker preparation

Cook the dish

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped, or green
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon orgeno
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • cayenne pepper, to taste
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

Prepare the Beans - Stove Top

  • Drain soaked beans and rinse then transfer to a large pot. Cover by 2 inches with cold water, add a quartered onion and bay leaves and bring to a boil; skim off and discard any foam on the surface. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, gently stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Drain beans, discard onions and bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the Beans - Pressure Cooker

  • Drain soaked beans and rinse then transfer to a your pressure cooker. Add the quartered onion and bay leaves, add 8 cups (2 quarts) water.
  • Place the lid on the pot, add the weight (jiggler), and bring the heat up to high. When the jiggler starts moving and releasing pressure, start timing this for 6 minutes, and turn the heat down to low or medium low to maintain the jiggler moving and releasing pressure.
  • At 6 minutes, turn off the heat and move the pressure cooker to an unused burner and allow a natural release of pressure. When the pressure is released, open the lid, discard the onion and bay leaves.
  • Place a strainer on another pot and pour the beans and liquid into the strainer. Let the liquid cool and pour into quart jars, you just made bean broth. Place the cooled bean broth in the fridge, use as a base for soup or even cook rice in it. (I made just over 1 quart of broth, beans soak up a lot of water.)

Cook the Dish

  • Dice the bell peppers, onion, and set out the spices needed.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion and bell pepper, and cook until tender.
  • Add the drained beans. Season with oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until beans are heated through.
  • Serve as a side dish with a main of your choice.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Add in some boiled chopped chicken or cooked spicy pork sausage (think Kielbasa or mixed scraps) and you have a meal.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
#1 Go-To Recipes,SIDES
Louisiana Smothered Shrimp
February 14, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Louisiana Smothered Shrimp

Recipe name is actually Louisiana Shrimp Etouffee (etoufee means smothered, but I am not teaching French class here so let's just go with smothered). Shrimp would be the easiest to obtain for this recipe, crawfish are here in country being raised, but that may be a challenge to find them however. Shrimp in a thick creamy sauce served over rice, a must try for me. Lot of ingredients and I am not normally a fan of say a 1/2 cup of diced pepper is needed, I use the whole pepper, but I think for this recipe, I will follow exactly and see where it can be tailored, which should be easy. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 5 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup celery
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup spring onion, chopped
  • 1 cup chicken stock, fresh or from powder
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 500 grams shrimp, cooked, and peeled, including tails removed, see note on this

Instructions
 

  • In a pot, melt the butter and then stir in the flour. Cook and stir constantly over low heat for about 20 minutes, until mixture is a caramel colored paste. Add the celery, pepper, and onions; stir until coated.
  • Add the broth, water, parsley, tomato paste, bay leaf, salt, pepper, garlic powder, Creole seasoning, and cayenne. Stir the pot well to make sure that the roux is well incorporated and there are no lumps.
  • Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Add shrimp and heat through. Serve over rice.

Notes

Shrimp from say Tesco, small whites, will run about 100 Baht for 500 grams. If you can source ocean prawn from a local fisherman, even less, even open markets for shrimp is very low cost. For this dish, for 4 people, the cost is about 75 cents per person, even less for 6 people.
Shortcut: Creole Seasoning Mix.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,SEAFOOD - ALL,Seafood - Shrimp/Prawn
Chicken, Chili, and Basil
February 14, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Chicken, Chili, and Basil

No set recipe here, and no measured ingredients per say. This is a typical Thai meal, spicy, and goes together quickly. Photos are mine that I took yesterday while my wife cooked this.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken legs, skin and bones removed, slightly chopped
  • 20-30 Bird's Eye Chilis, slightly mashed, seeds and all
  • 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
  • fresh Thai Basil, several good handfuls

Instructions
 

  • Heat a heavy non-stick pan (or a wok) with some oil and add the chilis and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
  • Add the chicken meat and stir to combine with the chili and garlic and cook until juices run clear, about 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
  • Rinse the basil and squeeze dry and add to the pan.
  • Cook until the basil is wilted, serve with rice.

Notes

The cost for the 4 chicken legs is minimal, the chilies came from our garden. This is probably a 30 to 50 cent meal per person, for easily 6 people.
Provided courtesy of my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,: THAI,CHICKEN & TURKEY
Creole Seasoning Mix
February 13, 2016 Lee
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Creole Seasoning Mix

Adapted from an internet recipe.
Can be used as an ingredient to a recipe or as a rub. This recipe makes a lot, just store in an airtight jar and use as desired.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 cup

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon white pepper powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 5 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

If a recipe calls for say, 1 tablespoon of creole seasoning, use 1 tablespoon, if a recipe calls for a rub, then use this as a rub, as easy as that.
Ingredients - Spice Mixes
Basic Vegetable Stock
February 12, 2016 Lee
2 Comments

Basic Vegetable Stock

This is a good basic stock, no preservatives or extra salt or sweeteners found in canned or boxed stock, and is easy.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Cuisine American
Servings 7 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 8 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 stalks celery, plus leaves
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 bunch spring onions
  • 8 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 8 sprigs fresh parsley
  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Wash all vegetables, skin on is ok for root vegetables, chop everything into 1 inch pieces.
  • Heat oil in a large pot, add all the ingredients except the water, cook on high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
  • Add water and salt and stir to mix, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, uncovered for about 30 minutes. Strain liquid into a pot and discard vegetables. When stock cools, put in containers and refrigerate until needed, should keep for several days refrigerated, can also be frozen.
  • Use vegetable stock as a soup base, boiling chicken, cooking beans, etc. If a recipe calls for water, use the stock to add a bit of flavor, and nutrition.

Notes

This is a great way to use up old veggys sitting in the fridge, if you want to maximize the use of your veggys, save all trimmings and put in the freezer, when you have a good amount, make some stock. Trimmings can include: mushroom pieces, butt ends of asparagus, corn cobs, bell pepper pieces, pea pods, celery root ends, potato, and carrot peelings.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
INGREDIENTS
Pinto Bean Chili
February 12, 2016 Lee
3 Comments

Pinto Bean Chili

An easy chili using our Chili Beans recipe listed on this site. The chili beans are the bulk of the recipe, just add ground meat, an onion, tomatoes and chilies. I made this on 1 Aug 2016, excellent, my comments below. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 3 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups Chili Beans and Sauce, Shortcut
  • 750 grams ground beef, OR pork, OR chicken, (1 1/2 lbs)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped plus juice
  • 1-2 Bird's Eye Chilis, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Cook the ground beef in a large pot along with the onion, when cooked, drain off fat, not all, just most of it. Add the chili beans, chopped tomatoes, juice from the can, chilies, stir to mix and simmer for about 20 minutes to heat it through.
  • Serve and enjoy.
  • Or serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, diced onions, sour cream, well, you get the point. Enjoy.

Notes

The chili beans would cost about 65 Baht for 8-10 cups worth, 3-4 cups is minimal. Ground beef would be about 75-100 Baht for 500 grams, pork and chicken would be less. Easily less than $1 per meal for 4 people.
Shortcut: Chili Beans.
Variants: 1. Use a 1 lb 8 oz (680 g) can of ground pork or beef, drained, in place of fresh beef or pork. 2. Use a can of diced tomatoes in place of chopped whole tomatoes.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI
Chili Beans (Slow Cooker)
February 12, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Chili Beans (Slow Cooker)

Adapted from an internet recipe.
I like to cook with dried beans, they are nutritious and versatile. This is the homemade version of canned Chili Beans, healthier and more nutritious. These can be served as a side, as a main, or as a base for chili. Takes some time but well worth it. I made these on 30 July 2016, very good! The recipe is a total rewrite to make into a slow cooker recipe. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Dish, Side
Cuisine American
Servings 10 cups

Equipment

  • Slow Cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams dry Pinto beans, (1 lb)
  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ cup taco seasoning mix, (two 1.25 oz packets), Shortcut
  • 1 can tomato paste, the small 170 gram can
  • 4 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock for vegetarian

Instructions
 

  • Pick through and discard irregular beans or stones. In 5 quart container, add dry beans and soak for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Drain beans, discard soaking liquid, rinse and drain beans.
  • In your slow cooker add the chicken stock, or 4 cups of water and stir in the stock powder, add in the taco seasoning and whisk well. Add the tomato paste and whisk more so no lumps, then add the onion and garlic. Add the beans and give a quick stir. Add salt to taste. Cook on High setting for at least 8 hours up to 12 hours, depends on the age of the beans so you will need to check them (this is based on my slow cooker) and the beans will still have a bit of bite to them but are not mush either.
  • Serve as a main dish as a soup with topping just like chili, such as grated Cheddar cheese, diced onions, and sour cream, with crackers or cornbread on the side. Serve as a side dish with Mexican dishes, burgers, pulled pork, or as a base for other recipes listed below.

Notes

A bag of 500 grams of beans will cost between 50 and 65 Baht. Make the stock from scratch or from stock base powder. For 10 cups of beans and sauce, this dish is well under $1 per person per serving.
Shortcut: Taco Seasoning.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
Updated on 30 July 2016.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,INGREDIENTS
Cheesy Sloppy Joe Burgers II
February 9, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Cheesy Sloppy Joe Burgers II

This a variant of Cheesy Sloppy Joe Burgers I and is worthy of a new recipe. I made this last night and it is delicious. Add mustard to a bun, add a scoop of this mix and top with a few pickle slices, and it tastes just like a cheese burger. The major departure from the first recipe is that you make the sausage as you cook the meat.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams ground beef, OR minced pork, OR ground chicken, (1 lb)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 300 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (10 oz)
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • olive oil, as needed

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot heat a bit of olive oil then add the onion, when it starts to soften.
  • Add the meat and all the spices, mix with a spatula to break up the meat and mix in the spices and onion. (I tripled the recipe, and used 2 lbs beef and 1 lb pork.)
  • Cook the meat well until no longer pink. Drain well. Add the meat back to the pot. (I missed taking a photo of this and went right to adding the cheese.)
  • Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add the cheese and mix well, mix often to prevent burning. When the cheese is melted and heated through, remove from heat.
  • Serve on buns. some pickles and a squirt or two of mustard, and these are delicious!

Notes

The cheese alone is pricey at about 130 Baht/250 grams, ground beef will run about 75 Baht/500 grams, if using minced pork, that will cost about 60 Baht/500 grams, chicken even less. This is about $1.80 per person for 4 meals.
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of good friend, Mike Early.
United States.
# Buster Approved,#1 Go-To Recipes,* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,BURGERS & SANDWICHES
Hasselback Chicken
February 7, 2016 Lee
1 Comment

Hasselback Chicken

This recipe has great potential to be modified greatly to suit your tastes. This is a must try. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup fresh spinach, OR frozen thawed if that is all that is available
  • 1/4 cup Cottage cheese, OR make from a shortcut on this site
  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
  • 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • paprika
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 200 C, lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish.
  • Cook the spinach on a medium heat in a splash of olive oil for 3-5 minutes until it is slightly wilted. Stir in the ricotta and cook for a further 30-60 seconds. Allow to cool.
  • Cut slits into the chicken breasts about 1/2 inch apart but don’t cut all the way through - about 75% of the way down is what you should aim for.
  • Stuff all of the spinach and ricotta mixture into the slits. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese on top. Shake a good bit of ground paprika over the chicken to add some color and flavor. Place chicken in the baking dish.
  • Bake in the center of your oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the juices are clear. Serve with a side of egg noodles and vegetable, enjoy.

Notes

Without even doing the math, this is under $1 per serving.
Variants could be add diced onion and garlic to the spinach when cooking; adding chopped mushrooms; wrapping with bacon.
Shortcut: Cottage Cheese.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,CHICKEN & TURKEY