Author Archive
Breakfast Sausage
Easy to make, and very good, I have made this on several occasions, I need to make this more often. Keep in mind, the longer you refrigerate this, up to 24 hours before cooking, the flavors will blend together better. Sage is the key ingredient in breakfast sausage.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo minced pork, OR you can use chicken, (2 lbs)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- pinch ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Add the pork and all the other ingredients to a mixing bowl.
- Mix everything together, use your hands and mix well. Refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours to allow the spices to blend well. The 24 hours is highly recommended.
- I was going to stuff sheep casings to make links but could not find my small funnel, so I went with patties instead, and are equally as good. I made 8 patties, layered with parchment paper and froze this batch, simply take out the patties you wish to use the day before and thaw in the fridge overnight. (For patties I use a ½ cup measuring cup to measure and press in a 4¼ inch, 11 cm, patty press.)
- Fry in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes per side or until juices run clear.
- And in link form using cellulose casings. These casings will be removed after poaching.
Notes
Minced pork will run about 100 Baht/kilo, making this about 50 cents per person for 6 people, add some fresh homemade hash browns and a couple of eggs, you have a nice breakfast for under $1 per person.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Potato & Breakfast Sausage Skillet, mad it, GO-TO recipe.
- Breakfast Sausage Casserole.
- Sausage & Scrambled Egg Burritos.
- Country Gravy & Biscuits, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sausage, Egg & Cheese Crescent Rolls, made it.
- Crustless Quiche, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- White Beans & Sausage, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole II.
- Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole I, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Cheddar Sausage Bake
Cheese and sausage, this is a must try for me! Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 500 grams pork sausage, bulk suasage, OR make from a shortcut on this site
- 400 grams fresh broccoli, cut into florets, including the stem
- 1 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup, OR make from a shortcut listed on this site
- 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In skillet, brown sausage and drain on paper towels, if necessary. Chicken sausage would be ideal as well.
- In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, slightly overlap potato slices along the bottom. Top with the cooked sausage, then broccoli. Pour the condensed soup mixture all over casserole. Top with additional shredded cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool and then enjoy!
Notes
500 grams of sausage, if one cannot find bulk, link sausage would work great, just fry until done, slice into discs, or use the Italian sausage recipe on this site to make Pork, Italian, or Chicken sausage. Cost for sausage should be no more than 150 Baht, making this a meal that is easily under $1 per person for 8 people. Make the condensed soup yourself for even more savings.
Shortcuts: Sausage, Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup.
Recipe adapted from Real Fit Real Food Mom. Author, LeAnn.
United States
United States
Slow Cooker Sausage & Veggies with Peppers
Lot of possibilities here with this one, I am looking forward to making this one! Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams smoked sausage, cut into pieces
- 6 potatoes, washed and cut in half
- 1 onion, large, sliced or chopped
- 1 carrot, large, cut into pieces
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into pieces
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 packet onion soup powder mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcherstershire sauce
Instructions
- Place sausage and vegetables in slow cooker.
- Mix together the broth, onion soup, spices, and Worcestershire sauce and pour into the slow cooker.
- Cook on Low setting for 5 or 6 hours or High setting for 3 to 4 hours until the potatoes and carrots are done. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Enjoy!
Notes
Smoked sausage that I have found and used from Makro, is very nice, much like Kielbasa, and right near this product is what is called Sausage scraps these are thick smoked sausage pieces that are left over from from cutting up and packaging the long sausages, these are also a variety pack, spicy smoked, some is garlic sausage, some is chili sausage. The sausage scraps would be ideal for this recipe. This fresh, packaged sausage, that is made in Thailand.
Sausage would be the most expensive part of this recipe, at about 250 Baht/kilo, you would need 500 grams for this recipe, 125 Baht, is about 65 cents per meal per person for 6 people, even less if serving 8 people.
Shortcut: Onion Soup Mix.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Fast and Simple Fresh Salsa I
I have not made this yet but seems quite easy. Not exactly sure how much this makes, I will say 4 cups for now.
Ingredients
- 6 tomatoes, large, chopped, maybe use 10 plum tomatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3-4 spring onions, chopped, whites and greens
- ¾ cup fresh green chili peppers, chopped
- handful fresh cilantro, chopped
- juice from one lime
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
Instructions
- Combine everything in a bowl except the vinegar and salt, drain briefly in a colander. Return the mixture to the bowl and stir in the vinegar and salt into the tomato mixture. Done, see, that was easy.
Notes
I have never seen "large" tomatoes in Thailand, so maybe use 10 or so plum tomatoes. I will have to experiment with this recipe.
Pizzadillas
Quesadillas are an easy dish to make, and cheesy, which is always a bonus. Tortillas and filling is all that is needed, and a pan to cook them. This is an adapted version of quesadilla using pizza toppings. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 8 flour tortillas
- 250 grams Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, or more as desired, (8 oz)
- 150 grams Pepperoni, sliced, SEE STEP 1, (5 oz), Shortcut
- 1 jar pizza sauce, Shortcut
Instructions
- This DOES NOT have not have to be Pepperoni, this can be Italian sausage, chicken sausage, grilled chicken, totally up to you, but you have to cook the meat first.
- Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. No oil is needed, fry the pepperoni until crisp. Transfer on a paper towel to drain.
- Brush each tortilla with a thin layer of pizza sauce, thin so that it does not run off if held up.
- Lay a tortilla in the hot pan, sauce side up, sprinkle with cheese then add Pepperoni slices or meat of your choice, cover with more cheese, place another tortilla on top, sauce side down, cook for 3-5 minutes, then using a wide spatula, carefully flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is nice and gooey and tortillas are crispy on the edges. NOTE: Cheese is what holds the quesadilla together, too little cheese and it will fall apart when flipping or even holding to eat.
- Remove from pan and slice into quarters, serve with pizza sauce as a dipping sauce.
Notes
Pepperoni I cannot state a price for although it is available here. Pork and chicken sausage is very inexpensive to make yourself, just crumble in a pan and fry until done. If you use store bought sausage, price will be higher. I will say 100 Baht for the meat.
Cheese is the expensive part, Mozerella cheese, Thai made is 140 Baht per block of 250 grams. So using 100 Baht for meat and 280 Baht for cheese, for 4 quesadillas, 380 Baht total, comes to about $2 per person if serving 4 people. Not all that unreasonable when you look at what restaurants are charging.
Shortcut: Pepperoni, Pizza Sauce.
Variant: 1. Feel free to add sliced mushrooms, sliced black olives, or even chopped ham.
Chicken Patties
These sound excellent and I will be making these soon! I love a good chicken patty burger.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground chicken
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, OR to taste
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you do not have an oven, this is not a show stopper! Just keep reading.
- Place the flour, whisked eggs, and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground chicken, salt, and Parmesan cheese.
- Roll chicken mixture into 4 or 5 equally sized balls and then flatten with your hands.
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium to medium-low heat.
- Dip each patty into the flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs. Repeat until all five are coated evenly. Add all patties to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.
- When each side is golden brown, place them onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 8 minutes (or until fully cooked through the middle). OR, just continue to pan fry at a lower temp, an additional 3-4 minutes each side.
- Remove from oven and place onto paper towels to help soak up the excess oil.
- Serve on a bun, top with Cheddar cheese and a thick slice of tomato, use mayo as the dressing.
Notes
500 grams of ground chicken, since I do not have that available here, is a guess, depending on if it is white meat or dark meat or a combination of both, 500 grams would be 45 Baht, for 4-5 servings this is easily under $1 per meal per person, even if served with a green vegetable or corn on the cob.
Recipe adapted from Real Fit Real Food Mom. Author, LeAnn.
United States
United States
Sesame Mint Spread
An inexpensive appetizer with loads of possibilities! This makes just under 1 cup but goes a long ways.
Ingredients
- 100 grams white sesame seeds
- 1 bag fresh mint, about 2 palms worth of leaves
- olive oil
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Dry blend the sesame seeds in the small jar attachment that comes with most blenders. You'll likely have to tap it a few times during the process. The blending time is a judgement call.
- Tear up a bunch of mint leaves and include a few stems and add some olive oil to the blender jar. Blend again. Keep adding olive oil until you get the consistency that you desire.
- Add a bit of sea salt and stir. Done.
- Spread some of this on a thick slice of tomato and garnish with a cube or sliver of bell pepper. Yellow Bell peppers work nicely with this. Green olives on the side.
Notes
17 Baht for 100 grams of white sesame seeds, 10 Baht for a respectable size bag of mint, this is more than reasonable.
This would go nicely on a cracker with a slice of tomato and a slice of cheese. This would also go nicely on pasta too... especially cold pasta.
This would go nicely on a cracker with a slice of tomato and a slice of cheese. This would also go nicely on pasta too... especially cold pasta.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Dave Williams.
Thailand.
Chicken Wings & Basil
This is a quick and easy meal and you can make it as spicy as you wish. This is written exactly how I just seen my seen my wife make this. Most Thais do not use a recipe and even more rare is measuring anything. Serve over rice and you have a easy lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 250 grams chicken wing drumets
- 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 20-30 Bird's Eye Chilis
- pinch salt, to taste
- pinch powdered chicken stock
- handful Thai Basil, also know as hot basil, stems removed
Instructions
- Take the chicken wing drumets and cut each in half with a cleaver.
- Pinch off the stem end if you wish and place chilis in a mortar, light smash the chilis just a few times, you are NOT making chili paste, just light smashed chilis.
- Heat a non-stick pan to medium heat and add the chicken pieces, chilis, garlic, pinch of salt to taste, pinch of chicken stock powder. Add a bit of water, maybe 2 tablespoons, and stir everything together and let it simmer until chicken is cooked through, maybe 10 minutes, most of the water should be cook off at this point.
- Add the basil and stir together, cook for about 2-3 minutes until the basil is good and wilted. Serve over rice.
Notes
Chicken wing drumets (also called chicken wing sticks) runs about 80 Baht/kilo, this dish would cost about 40 Baht, well under $1 per person per meal, easily 4 meals.
The basil and chilis come fresh from our yard.
Provided courtesy of my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
I could not get my jalapeno plants going in Thailand so I made this in the US on 31 May 2020, and used Cheddar with the cream cheese. I only used 5 peppers as a trial run and I will say these are excellent peppers! I will certainly try to grow these peppers again.
Ingredients
- 1 can whole pickled jalapeno peppers, about 12 peppers
- 250 grams Cream cheese, softened, (8 oz)
- 1 cup Jarlsburg cheese, shredded, OR Swiss or Cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup spring onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Using a small sharp knife, cut a slit down one side of each pepper. Leaving the stem intact, remove the seeds and veins. I used a teaspoon to remove the seeds. For my trial run, I used 5 peppers from the can.
- In a bowl, mix together everything except the peppers to make the cheese filling.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F) and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Stuff each pepper with the cheese filling. I used two teaspoons and found this rather easy, scoop a little filling with one spoon, and push it off a little at a time to fill each pepper. Place peppers on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Well under $1 per serving in the US. In Thailand, I still have not found jalapeno peppers in a store, and I have been unsuccessful trying to grow them but I will be trying again real soon.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Craig Hohnstein.
United States.
United States.
Quick Fridge Dill Pickles
This is a brine-based pickle. The reason why they are called quick is because they are ready in about 2 days. They get a bit better if you wait, but they are very pickle-ish then.
Ingredients
- 1 empty pint jar with lid, mason or reused olive or mayo jar is perfect
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1 handful fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh peppercorns
- cucumbers, small and short
Instructions
- Fill the jar about halfway with very hot water and dissolve the salt in the water. Add part of the peppercorns, dill, and vinegar to the hot saltwater and stir.
- Cut cucumbers lengthwise if you're making pickle spears, obviously if you want make chipped pickles just cut normally. Squeeze as many cucumbers as you can into the jar. Allow for a bit more liquid to be added if the cucumbers are not completely submerged.
- Add the rest of the dill and peppercorns.
- Let it cool down to room temperature. Put the lid on a shake it. Make sure the cucumbers are not poking up above the water. If they are, open the jar and push them back down. I made a jar of chips and a jar of spears.
- Put in the fridge... done... it's just that easy.
Notes
Low cost. I normally make two pints at a time, one spears, one chips.
Variants: 1. Add a few chili peppers to spice it up. 2. Add a teaspoon of mustard seed. 3. Add a teaspoon of pickling spice mix you can find in the spice row of most grocery stores.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Chicken Olivye (Chicken Potato Salad), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Dill Pickle Dip, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Pickle Deviled Eggs, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sardine Salad Sandwich, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Ham & Cheese Pasta Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Classic Tuna Salad Sandwiches, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Dill Pickle Bacon Grilled Cheese, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Sandwich, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Dill Pickle Bread.
- Russian Beet Salad.