Author Archive
Chicken and Bacon Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes in Garlic Cream Sauce
This one has potential, looks really good!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 grams chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 5 medium tomatoes, chopped into large cubes
- 1 cup spinach, cooked
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 6 bacon strips, cooked, fat drained, and chopped
- 1 1/3 cups half and half
- 1 1/3 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 1/4 cups Penne pasta, dry
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, to serve with
Instructions
- In a large skillet, on high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil until hot. Add chicken and cook on one side on high heat for 1 minute. While it cooks, sprinkle the uncooked sides of the chicken with paprika and Italian seasoning. Flip the chicken over, and cook on the other side for 1 minute on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, flip chicken over again and cook, covered, for several minutes until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from the pan and keep chicken warm.
- To the same pan (but without chicken), add chopped tomatoes, spinach, garlic, red pepper flakes, 1/3 of the chicken (sliced into small strips) and half the bacon. Mix everything.
- Add half and half and bring to boil. Only after half and half starts boiling, add grated Parmesan cheese - immediately reduce to simmer and stir, while simmering, until the cheese melts and makes the sauce creamy, only about 1 minute (at most 2 minutes). Then, immediately remove from heat. Season with more red pepper flakes and salt, if needed.
- In the mean time bring a large pot of water to boil, add pasta and cook it according to instructions. Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce. Add remaining half of bacon. Season with more salt if necessary. Slice the remaining 2/3 of chicken into thin strips. To serve, top the pasta with chicken strips and grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Chicken breast will cost about 50 Baht for 500 grams, cheese however, that is nearly 200 Baht for 125 grams (would need at least 125 grams, probably 200 to be on the safe side), shop around so you can find a better price. Based on these two prices, the total is 320 Baht, about $2.35 per person, but a good meal for a special occasion.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Denise Georgiades.
South Africa.
South Africa.
Slow Cooker Beef and Gravy I
This is an easy recipe much like the slow cooker Easy Pot Roast recipe listed on this site. Use the shortcuts stated and you make make this dish for less than what you think. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo beef, any cut, such as a roast, stew beef, large chucnk from a market, you get the idea
- ground black pepper, OR lemon pepper would be good as well
- 1 packet onion soup mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 3/4 cups beef stock, make from the powder
- 2 tablespoons butter, optional, see Step 4
- 3 tablespoons flour, optional, see Step 4
Instructions
- In your slow cooker, add the soup, beef stock, and dry onion soup mix, whisk to mix, lumps are ok, they will work out when it cooks.
- Cut beef into about 1 1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle beef with ground black pepper or lemon pepper if you have that. Add the beef to the slow cooker and stir to get everything mixed.
- Cover and cook on low for at least 6-8 hours. Check at 6 hours, beef should be tender.
- Now, you can serve this up just as it is when it is ready. But if a thicker gravy is desired it couldn't be any easier to make. First, remove the beef from the slow cooker, draining the liquid into the slow cooker. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan, then add 3 heaping tablespoons of flour, whisk together until it turns a light golden color, then add 2 cups of the liquid from the slow cooker. Whisk this until smooth, whisking continuously, then increase heat and it will start to thicken, when you have the right consistency, remove from the heat and pour into the slow cooker, mix, then add the beef and mix to coat the beef.
- Serve over rice, mashed or boiled potatoes, or egg noodles. A vegetable on the side makes this a complete meal.
Notes
Beef will cost about 200 Baht/kilo. Just go with a large chunk from an open market, the slow cooker takes care of the tenderness. Use the shortcuts listed for a big savings on the other ingredients. For 4 people, the cost is about $1.50 per meal, for 6 people, the cost is about $1 per meal. If you can locate a local farmer that slaughters their own beef, you can normally get beef for a bit less than 200 Baht/kilo.
Variant: Add fresh mushroom at about the last 30 minutes of cooking.
Shortcuts: Onion Soup Mix, Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Denise Georgiades.
South Africa.
South Africa.
Macaroni And Cheese Ham Pie
This sounds really good, a must try for me. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry elbow macaroni
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded (this 1 1/2, 250 gram blocks)
- 1 cup cooked ham, cubed
- 2 1/4 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup Bisquick Mix, OR make from a shortcut
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh parsley, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 200 C. Lightly grease a glass deep dish pie pan or 9x13 baking dish with butter. In large bowl, mix 2 cups of the cheese, the ham and uncooked macaroni. Spread in the baking dish.
- Mix milk and eggs until smooth. Add Bisquick mix and salt if desired; mix until smooth (you can use a blender for this if you want. Pour over mixture in baking dish.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve with a green vegetable for a complete meal.
Notes
Cheese is the major cost here at 185 Baht/250 gram block, this will take 1 1/2 blocks, about 278 Baht for cheese. The ham would be another cost factor. If using leftover ham, that would be perfect. Store bought ham, Makro is between 150 to 200 Baht for 500 grams, about 140 grams would be needed here so we'll call that, 80 Baht. About 360 for cheese and ham or about $1.75 per person for six meals.
For variants, add a chopped onion, broccoli, or even try with cooked and chopped chicken.
Shortcut: Bisquick Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Denise Georgiades.
South Africa.
South Africa.
Mushroom Chicken Thigh Soup
This is my recipe and is a variant from the Baked Mushroom Thighs recipe. I like Cream of Mushroom soup, I make it here at the house, it is so easy, takes about 5 minutes and the main ingredient is evaporated milk. Mushrooms go well with chicken. When I was making Baked Mushroom Thighs, I had one thigh left over that could not fit into the baking dish, so I added it to the soup mixture, good move. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 soup can milk
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon corn starch, optional, depends if you want a thicker soup
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 handfuls fresh mushrooms, Tesco variety pack is good a good choice
Instructions
- Boil the chicken thighs until cooked through, drain and remove the meat from the bone. Keep the bone and skin for your dog, cube the meat, reserve the water, you just made chicken stock (refrigerate and use in recipes that call for stock or chicken recipes that call for water).
- Pour the soup into a pot. Fill the empty can with milk, and add to the pot along with the parsley and onion powder. Mix well, season with salt and pepper if desired. Add chicken meat and mushrooms. If you want a thicker soup, add the cornstarch before adding the chicken and mushrooms.
- Heat to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer (the soup will thicken if you used cornstarch) and simmer until chicken is heated through and mushrooms are cooked through.
- Serve in a bowl over rice or pasta.
Notes
Chicken is the most expensive part here, chicken thighs run on average, 59 Baht/kilo but are smaller due to being trimmed. Chicken quarters average about 56 Baht/kilo, you would have to buy 8 quarters, probably a kilo and half or so, then cut yourself (very easy), you get larger thighs and you get 8 drumsticks that you can freeze for use in another recipe. I'll say the chicken costs you 150 Baht, half of that is 75 Baht since you have 8 legs to use later. The soup would cost on average 54 Baht for a can, about 18 Baht if you make it yourself. About 129 Baht if using store bought soup, for 4 meals this would be just under $1 per meal, when stretched to 8 meals (easily done with the larger thighs) this comes out to about 50 cents per meal. All other ingredients are minimal cost or already on hand.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.
My own recipe.
Crockpot Slop
Me, I like this name, it is what you do with a slow cooker, load it up and let it cook, slow cooker meals are normally not the most attractive dishes. Not a attractive name but this sounds really good! This is a load the slow cooker and forget meal, for about 4 to 6 hours anyways. Think Kielbasa (that would be Spicy Smoked Pork Sausage in Makro), regular pork sausage (Bangers), Italian sausage, and chicken sausage. If you are making the sausage, think meatballs! This is a rewrite from what I seen to make it less processed.
Ingredients
- 2 cups yard beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 6-8 potatoes, washed and cut into large pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 Kielbasa sausage, cut into bite size pieces, see Step 2 for these notes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons powdered chicken stock
Instructions
- Add to the slow cooker pot in this order, yard beans, potatoes, sausage, onion. Add water to just cover over the potatoes. add chicken stock powder and salt and pepper to taste.
- Note for the sausage, Thai Kielbasa is a spicy (mild) smoked pork sausage, I have had this a number of times and it is excellent. I think pork sausage (Bangers) would also work well but leave a links until cooked. Italian, pork, or chicken sausage, homemade and in bulk, rolled into meatballs would be ideal as well.
- Cover, and no peeking, for 4-6 hours on High setting. At the 4 hour mark, quickly check the potatoes for being tender and done and sausage (regardless of type used) for the liquid to run clear. Stir and serve with a green salad.
Notes
Sausages are not a show stopper, if you buy sausage from Makro, perfectly acceptable, a 8 pack of bangers is about 250 Baht, this recipe calls for 2, if you buy the Spicy Smoked Pork
Sausage (very muck like Kielbasa) that is about 200 Baht for 8 sausages. If you get the Sausage Scraps pack (still Spicy Smoked) these can be chili sausages, garlic sausages, etc, and would be a great option, this is only about 180 Baht for a pack about 1 kilo. Now, if you make the sausage yourself in bulk, either pork, Italian, or chicken, roll into meatballs (use an egg or two for a binder) and add to the pot, these would be excellent. Regardless of what you use, this is easily under $1 per serving. Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sausage (very muck like Kielbasa) that is about 200 Baht for 8 sausages. If you get the Sausage Scraps pack (still Spicy Smoked) these can be chili sausages, garlic sausages, etc, and would be a great option, this is only about 180 Baht for a pack about 1 kilo. Now, if you make the sausage yourself in bulk, either pork, Italian, or chicken, roll into meatballs (use an egg or two for a binder) and add to the pot, these would be excellent. Regardless of what you use, this is easily under $1 per serving. Adapted from an internet recipe.
3-Ingredient Chicken Cacciatore
Simple and tasty sounding recipe. I made this yesterday and it is very good and simple, read my comment below. Photos are mine from preparation to plating. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs
- 1 large jar spaghetti/tomato sauce, OR make yourself from tomato paste and herbs, OR 2 cans of sauce
- 500 grams spiral pasta, OR any pasta of your choosing
Instructions
- Add chicken to the slow cooker pot, pour sauce over chicken, stir to coat all the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 4-5 hours until chicken is cooked through. Do not open the lid until 4 hours have passed, then check chicken. I added a diced green bell pepper as well.
- About 30 minutes before the chicken is done, cook your pasta, drain, place back in the pot you cooked them in and drizzle with some olive oil to prevent sticking. Photo shows cooked after 4 1/2 hours.
- To serve, plate up pasta, add a chicken thigh, and spoon some sauce over the chicken and pasta, feel free to sprinkle grated Parmesan on the top, I know I will. Serve with a vegetable for a complete meal.
Notes
For chicken, use thighs bone in and with skin (this adds flavor) or you can use boneless and skinless, totally up to you. You can also use a combination of legs and thighs cut from quarters (most cost effective way, do yourself a favor, buy quarters, use the thighs, save the legs for another recipe like a BBQ or for other family members). For 8 quarters, you may spend about 150 Baht, sauce in a can is about 40 Baht, but if you use paste and make yourself, considerably lower cost. About 230 Baht or about $1.30 per person if serving 6, or 90 cents per serving is serving 8. Make the sauce yourself and you can reduce the cost of the sauce by well over half.
Variants: Add any or all of chopped mushrooms, chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, herbs when you add the sauce to the slow cooker.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Creamy Swiss Chicken Casserole
This sounds good. This is slightly modified from what I read. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded, if you like cheese, you know what to do
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms, slightly chopped, lightly fried in olive oil
- 1 package egg noodles
- salt and pepper, to taste
- onion powder, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190 degrees C. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch casserole dish. Add chicken pieces to the casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, to taste.
- In a bowl, mix the soup and milk. Sprinkle cheese over the chicken. Pour soup and milk over the chicken. Sprinkle with mushrooms.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until juices from chicken run clear and sauce is bubbly. Cook your noodles while baking. Serve over noodles with a green vegetable for a complete meal.
Notes
The chicken and cheese is the most expensive part of this meal. 4 chicken breasts will be about 100 Baht, cheese will run about 100 Baht for the 1 cup (buy a 250 gram block and shred yourself, that will be about 1/2 block for 1 cup of shredded). Make the soup yourself, dead easy and is half the cost of a canned soup and you know what is in it. Basically 200 Baht or about $1.50 per serving for 4 people.
Alternative would be to use chicken thighs (think skin on and bone in, as thighs are a bit more flavorful), or just quarters that are cut apart.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Cheesy Sloppy Joe Burgers I
I am not a fan of "sliders", you know the tiny hamburgers on the tiny buns. I like normal size burgers. The original recipe I seen was for slider sized buns. This is like a cross between a cheese burger and a Sloppy Joe sandwich, which are equally good. The original recipe I seen called for onion powder (I will use real onion in the recipe), and Velveeta cheese, which is one of the most horrendous things you can actually put into your body, I will use real cheese and regular size buns. This is a must try for me! This is not a $1 meal mainly because of the real cheese you use.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, OR minced pork, OR ground chicken
- 500 grams bulk sausage, OR you can make from a shortcut listed on this site
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 500 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
- salt, to taste
- buns, split and toasted, for serving
Instructions
- Add onion, ground beef, and bulk sausage to a a large, heavy, non-stick pan and season with black pepper and salt to taste and cook until cooked through, drain all fat completely.
- In a large sauce pan or preferred is a slow cooker (Low setting), combine the cooked meat with the shredded cheese and allow the cheese to melt into the meat and heated through.
- Serve on toasted buns.
Notes
This is not a inexpensive meal! The cheese alone is pricey at about 130 Baht/250 grams, ground beef will run about 75 Baht/500 grams, and sausage at least that much. You can make the sausage from a shortcut on this site for about 60 Baht/500 grams. This is about $3.30 per person for 4 meals and about $1.70 for 8 meals, this can be reduced by using minced pork instead of beef, and using chicken instead of pork or chicken.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Mike Early.
United States.
United States.
Slow Cooker Orange Chicken I
This has potential and is on my list of must tries. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into bite size pieces
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce, OR make from a shortcut listed on this site
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
Instructions
- Add chicken to the slow cooker pot and sprikle with the flour, mix to coat the chicken.
- Add all other ingredients and light stir to combine. Cover.
- Cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours. Serve over rice with some green beans on the side for a complete meal.
Notes
You can get chicken thighs or quarters at almost every market, about 60-65 Baht/Kilo, the thighs on quarters are larger, so get those and cut your self and debone and remove skin, takes a mater of seconds. Chicken cost would be about 120-150 Baht (with quarters, you have legs left over to put on a grill and BBQ for another meal). Make the BBQ sauce your self for greater savings. At 150 Baht, this is about $1.10 per serving for 4 people, and for 6 people it is about 75 cents per serving. All other ingredients are minimal.
Shortcut: BBQ Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Basic BBQ Sauce
Easy to make sauce great for BBQs or using in other recipes that call for BBQ sauce. The yield from this recipe is about 2 cups. I made this on 14 Dec 2016, recipe modified slightly, my report below.
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1½ cups ketchup
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcherstershire sauce
- 2½ tablespoons dry mustard
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons black pepper
- 2-4 dashes hot pepper sauce
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl until completely mixed and smooth. This is the ingredients before I added the water.
- I was making BBQ Beans & Weenies, this photo just shows the sauce after it was cooked and refrigerated when I added it to the beans recipes.
- Pour into a pot and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Pour into a sealable container and refrigerate overnight before use.
Notes
If using as a sauce say in a bean recipe, the sugar amount is spot on, if using for grilled anything, feel free to increase the sugar a bit. Keep in mind the sugar is what caramelizes and makes that gooey goodness on say BBQ Chicken. This is my Go-to Recipe now.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
- BBQ Chicken Pizza.
- BBQ Beans & Weenies, made it.
- Bock BBQ Bean Salad.
- Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin.
- Easy BBQ Beans.
- Cowboy Stew, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Pork Ribs (Pressure Cooker), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Slow Cooker Little Smokies, made it, GO-TO recipe.