Author Archive
Sausage, Bean, and Pasta Stew
I was looking through recipes yesterday and this dish caught my eye, as it sounds really good. But what through me off was that nearly every ingredient was canned, even the beans! No need to slow cook canned beans, which are already cooked! So this is my version. I made this on 9 July 2016, report in the comments section, and recipe modified just slightly.
Ingredients
- 250 grams Pinto beans, dry, sorted, and rinsed, (1/2 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from a powder
- 1 carrot, diced, OR a diced green bell pepper would work well here
- 500 grams sausage links, spicy or Italian, see note about this
- 1 can tomatoes, with tomatoe juice, diced
- 1 cup ditalini pasta, dry, OR use macaroni, OR spiral pasta
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1-2 cups tomato juice, as needed near the end.
Instructions
- Spread the onions over the bottom of your slow cooker and top the garlic.
- Then with the carrots.
- Then with the beans and sausage. I used Spicy Smoked Pork Sausages from Makro, yes, those 4 sausages are 500 grams.
- Mix the diced tomatoes and juice with the stock and pour over the sausages. (I use a can of Brooks brand whole peeled tomatoes in tomato juice, pour the juice into the stock, roughly chop the tomatoes and add them as well. This is the 565 gram can.)
- Cover and cook on High for 4 to 5 hours or on Low for 7 to 8 hours; the beans will be tender and begin to fall apart.
- Uncover the slow cooker, remove and transfer the sausage links to a cutting board. Stir the pasta into the stew and continue to cook, covered, until the pasta is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Add tomato juice as needed to keep a good stew like consistency.
- Cut the sausage into bite size pieces and return the stew along with the parsley.
- Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on the side to sprinkle on the top if desired.
Notes
Note about the sausage, this can be done several ways. Makro has thick pork sausages (bangers) as well as beef sausages. There is also a thick sausage variety that is very similar to Kielbasa, called Spicy Smoked Sausage and they also have what is called sausage scraps, these are thick sausage pieces that are left over from from cutting up and packaging the long sausages, these are also a variety pack, some is like Kielbasa, some is garlic sausage, some is chili sausage. The sausage scraps would be ideal for this stew.
An alternative to the sausage would be dark chicken meat, cubed, think thighs. Not only would chicken make this a healthier meal, you can make your stock when you boil the chicken. Substitute 500 grams of chicken thighs, skin on and bone in, boil them until done, there is your stock to use, while the stew is cooking, simply remove the skin and bone (save for the pet dog) and roughly cube the meat and refrigerate until the step to cut up the sausage and add back to the slow cooker.
Most expensive ingredient is the sausage, at the most it would cost 250 Baht, for 6 servings this is about $1.25 per meal, for 8 servings this is about 95 cents per meal.
If using chicken, thighs are about 65 Baht/kilo, no need to do the math here, well under $1.00 per serving!
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Slow Cooked Tex Mex Chicken and Beans
A fix and forget chicken stew, I am going to try this one for sure. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried Pinto beans, rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups salsa, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 2 tablespoons canned chipolte chiles, OR what ever chilis you have on hand, seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on, it's flavor
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, add beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water, and stir to mix. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Do NOT open lid or stir.
- Remove chicken from stew; remove skin and bones (save for your dog), shred meat into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro if you desire.
Notes
Chicken thighs will run about 65 Baht/kilo, 8 thighs is probably about a kilo. Beans will run about 55 Baht/500 grams. 120 Baht, the rest is minimal, comes to about 89 cents per person per meal if serving 4 people.
Shortcut: Salsa.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
This is a classic and basic split pea soup. Excellent and very easy to prepare in a sow cooker. Lots of instruction photos that I took while making this.
Ingredients
- 500 grams split peas, dry, no need to soak, just rinsed is fine
- 6 cups chicken stock, homemade OR make from powder
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1/2 stalk celery, diced, if using Thai celery, several stalks diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced, optional
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small ham hock, OR one ham bone, OR 2 cups of chopped ham, OR omit
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- I bought a large ham hock in Tesco, called a pork side leg. Looks like a hock, and it is pre-cut through the bone in 4 places. The tape measure is in inches, this thing is huge, and only 120 Baht, weight is about 1 1/2 kilos. I only used about half, the right 3 sections for the soup, so the cost was only 60 Baht, my wife used the left 2 sections for a Thai soup.
- Add the hock to the slow cooker pot first.
- Then add the rinsed split peas around the hock.
- Add your diced carrot on top.
- On top of the carrot, add the onion, bell pepper if using that, garlic, celery, spices and bay leaves.
- Pour in your chicken stock, place the lid on and cook on High setting until split peas are creamy and pureed. Check the peas at 4 hours, when the peas are cooked, they will be soft and will puree on their own by simply stirring them, if not soft, check again at 5 hours, etc.
- At the 4 hour mark, use a meat thermometer to check the temp in the hock, if it is cooked through, remove the hock to a plate, remove the skin and fat then roughly chop the meat and return the meat to the pot and stir that in. This cut of meat has a lot of fat, so you will need to skim that off the surface of the soup from about the 4 hour mark onwards.
- When the peas have pureed for the most part and the pork is cook, chopped and added back, turn the slow cooker down to Warm setting, discard bay leaves and you are ready to serve.
Notes
Note about the meat added, I used 1/2 of a large ham hock but this is also very fatty (make sure you skim the fat at times during cooking). Another option is to use a meaty ham bone, or add 2 cups of cubed cooked ham. I also think a pork knuckle would be ideal for this but is also pricey.
Going with 1/2 of a large hock, cost was 60 Baht, the split peas were 56 Baht/500 grams, all the rest is minimal. The cost is about $0.60 cents per person for 6 meals.
An alternative would be to use chicken, I know, the Split Pea Soup haters are going to hate me for saying this, but 2-3 meaty chicken thighs, in place of the pork, I think would work wonderful.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Loaded Slow-Cooker Baked Potatoes
Lot of possibilities here, I will have to give this a try.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6+ quart)
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes, washed and allowed to dry
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup fresh mushrooms
- 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets including stem
- ¼-½ cup chicken stock, hot
- â…” cup plain yogurt, room temperature
Instructions
- Wrap each potato in foil and place in a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are tender, about 8 hours.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes, then add broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 8 minutes.
- Split potatoes, scoop out potato flesh, and transfer to a medium bowl, reserving skins. Add ¼ cup broth and yogurt to bowl, then season with salt and pepper and stir until combined, use more broth as needed; divide among potato skins. Top each stuffed potato with broccoli and mushroom mixture.
Bacony Egg Noodles with Green Beans
Simple and easy dish that is inexpensive as well.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 can tomatoes, 565 gram can, diced
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
- 500 grams yard beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 300 grams egg noodles, OR use Fettucine
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until golden, about 8 minutes. Push the bacon to the side of the pan and add the onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Stir in the parsley.
- Meanwhile, add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a colander; season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.
- Return the water to a boil, add the noodles and cook until tender, about 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Toss the noodles with the sauce, adding the pasta water if needed to thin the sauce; season. Divide among 4 plates; serve with the green beans.
Notes
4 slices of bacon is minimal, about 20 Baht for a bundle of yard beans, and about 55 Baht for the can of tomatoes. Easily under $1.00 per meal per person.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Roasted Chicken & Cauliflower
Simple 5 ingredient dish that sounds really good.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken quarters
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups cauliflower, fresh, florets and stems
- 12 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 C.
- Pat chicken dry and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- In a oven proof pan (cast iron would be ideal) heat the olive oil on med high, add chicken skin side down and cook until browned, about 8 minutes, turn over and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add cauliflower and garlic to the pan, cook until cauliflower begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan on top of the cauliflower, put the pan in the oven and bake until chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
Notes
Chicken quarters run about 64 Baht/kilo, 4 would be about 100 Baht or so. Import cauliflower is about 58 Baht/kilo, will probably need 2-3 heads depending on the size you can find. I'll say 150 Baht for cauliflower. At 250 Baht, this is about $1.85 per person for 4 people. More accurate pricing when I make this.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Beer Braised Chicken Thighs I
Potential here! This is a must try! Serve over egg noodles.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 red onion, 1/2 finley chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
- 1 cup beer
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 carrots, cut into 2 inch matchsticks
- 250 grams yard beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and the allspice. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin side down and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the other side, 3 to 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet. Add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Stir in the beer, scraping up any browned bits.
- Return the chicken to the skillet, lower the heat, cover and simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a platter; tent with foil. Boil the liquid in the skillet for 2 minutes to reduce slightly. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of butter and the parsley.
- Meanwhile, in another large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the green beans and 3 tbsp. water, cover and cook until crisp and tender, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Divide the vegetables among 4 plates and top with the chicken and sauce.
Notes
Chicken thighs will cost about 65 Baht/kilo, 8 thighs would be about 1 to 1 1/2 kilo, but if you buy quarters (you need to buy 8 quarters) the thighs are larger, price is about the same, but you get 8 legs to use in another recipe. I will estimate this at 130 Baht for just purchased thighs (be on the safe side), so the meal is about 95 cents per serving.
Serve over egg noodles would be a great idea.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Smoky Pinto Beans
I made this on 4 May 2016, excellent flavor but slightly modified and the recipe is changed to reflect the changes. Highly recommended.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 500 grams Pinto beans, dry, sorted, and rinsed, (1 lb)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 250 grams bacon, cut into ¼ inch strips, (8 oz)
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 1 can diced tomatoes, drained, (585 g / 20 oz)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and place in a large bowl. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Let soak for at least 10 hours or over night.
- Drain the soaked beans in a colander and discard the soaking water, rinse with fresh water and allow to drain. Add the onion, bacon, beans, stock, and water to your slow cooker and mix. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours.
- Uncover and add the diced tomatoes and give a quick stir. Cover and cook on high for 3 more hours. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
No-Peeking Peking Chicken
Even though I have lived in Asia for 23 years now, as of 2015, I have never had Peking Duck so I will no be able to judge this one except on the yummy factor when I make it. Bone-in chicken thighs turn meltingly tender when slow cooked in this sauce, which is reminiscent of Peking duck. You can serve the chicken and sauce over rice. This sounds really good and I will be giving this one a try for sure!
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, bone in, skin and extra fat removed
- 6 scallions, chopped, OR use Spring Onions
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 scallions, chopped, save for garnish when serving
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a lightly greased 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, combine the scallions, garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and sesame oil. Pour the mixture over the chicken, cover and cook on low heat until the chicken is tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thigh away from the bone reads 82 C / 180 F, about 4 hours. Do not lift the lid for the first 3 hours, then you can remove the lid and check the internal temp. Serve with the liquid from the pot, sprinkled with 1/4 cup scallions. Serve over rice.
Notes
Chicken thighs will cost about 65 Baht/kilo, 8 thighs would be about 1 to 1 1/2 kilo, but if you buy quarters (you need to buy 8 quarters) the thighs are larger, price is about the same, but you get 8 legs to use in another recipe. I will estimate this at 130 Baht for just purchased thighs (be on the safe side), so the meal is about 95 cents per person. Serve a vegetable on the side to stretch this even further.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Mac & Cheese, Slow Cooker Style I
I like Mac & Cheese, it was a staple when I was growing up, very cheap, easy to prepare, and often had a can of diced spam or hot dogs in it. This was made from a box, a very regular meal for a quick inexpensive meal. This meal however is not boxed and not inexpensive but has a lot of potential. Think of adding cubed ham, sliced grilled Kielbasa sausage or even Italian sausage, or even cooked cubed chicken. Or serving as a side with those dishes and a side of green beans, yummy!
Ingredients
- 500 grams elbow macaroni, uncooked, (1 lb)
- 1 can evaporated milk, standard can, (about 12 oz / 354 g)
- 2½ cups milk
- 226 grams Cream cheese, cut into large cubes and softened, (8 oz)
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, (1½, 250 gram blocks / 12 oz)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add everything to a slow cooker, stir to mix, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover and turn on the slow cooker to Low setting for 2½ hours, do not open the lid, this is very important.
- At the 2 hour mark, open the lid and give a quick stir. If the sauce seems took thick, add a bit of milk and another stir to get the right consistency, then cover and cook for the remaining 30 minutes.
Notes
Pasta will run about 55 Baht/500 grams. Cream cheese is about 120 Baht/250 gram block. Cheddar cheese is about 185 Baht/250 gram block, you will need about 1½ of these. For this meal the cost of the pasta and cheese alone (the milk is minimal) is 545 Baht. For a dish for 6 people, this would be about 91 Baht per person, or about $2.68 per person, not a cheap meal.
Now to extend this meal, serve as a side dish with a meat, like sausage or chicken, you will get more servings from this and lower the cost.
