Author Archive
Ranch Corn Salad
I made this on 25 Jun 2023, exactly as written, but did use canned corn and ranch dressing made from a packet. My first time making corn salad and my first time tasting this, and this one is a keeper! The flavors are a perfect blend. This was well liked by my family and visiting houseguests who also enjoyed this.
Ingredients
- 2 cans corn, drained well, (425 g / 15 oz), or 12 oz / 340 g frozen, thawed and drained well
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh spring onion greens, sliced, and slice 1-2 white parts and add them as well
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Drain the canned corn in a colander. If using frozen corn, thaw at room temperature in a colander for about 30 minutes. Add the corn to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the bell peppers, spring onion greens, and cilantro. Mix together.
- In a bowl, add the ranch dressing, salt, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and black pepper. Stir to mix together.
- Pour dressing over the corn mixture and mix together.
- This can be served immediately or covered and placed in the fridge to chill for up to 2 hours before serving (giving it another stir when served to mix in any liquid that collects at the bottom. Enjoy.
Cheese Cannelloni
I made this on 18 Jun 2023, well beyond expectations! The family and I absolutely loved this dish. The recipe now reflects my slight changes, basically used more cheese and more sauce. More cannelloni tubes will be ordered again, soon! This dish is easy to prepare and is highly recommended. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Piping Bag , not required but helpful.
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 12-18 dry cannelloni tubes, oven ready
- 3 cups pasta sauce, jarred or homemade, your choice
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
For the Filling
- 2 cups cottage cheese, (a 450 gram container / 14 oz works well), Shortcut
- 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, (10 oz / 285 g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- To a mixing bowl, add the Filling ingredients.
- Mix together.
- In another mixing bowl, add the pasta sauce then add ⅓ cup water and mix together.
- Scoop out ½ cup sauce and add to the bottom of the baking pan, spread out evenly by gently shaking the pan.
- Add the filling mixture to a piping bag or a zip lock bag with a corner cut off, fill each cannelloni tube, and place in the pan in the a single layer.
- Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the cannelloni tubes.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove the foil, sprinkle the dish with cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Ricotta Gnocchi
This recipe comes from a good friend and it is excellent gnocchi, family and I loved this. Serve with your favorite sauce, we used a Prego canned mushroom carbonara. One thing I did change was I used my homemade cottage cheese and just strained it more so I had the consistency of ricotta, worked perfectly. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 500 grams ricotta cheese, (15-17 oz is fine, about 2 cups), Shortcut
- ¾-1 cup all-purpose flour, start with ¾ cup
- 1¼ cups Parmesan cheese, shaker can type works fine
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Get out a baking sheet and lightly spread some flour on it, you will use this to set the cut gnocchi on.
- Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. For the flour, add just ¾ cup at first, add more as needed, a little at a time. If you get the mixture too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time to get the proper consistency.
- Mix together until blended and forms a ball, the dough is soft.
- Flour your work surface, turn out dough to the work surface, if sticky, lightly flour the dough. Cut the dough into thirds.
- Use ⅓ of the dough and roll into a rope, about 1 to 1½ inches wide. Cut the rope into 1 inch or so lengths.
- Place the pieces on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat until all the dough is rolled and cut, and placed on the sheet. If you are not going to cook this right now, cover the sheet with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you are ready to cook.
- When you are ready to cook the gnocchi, heat a pot of salted water to a gentle boil. Carefully add ⅓ of the gnocchi to the pot, stir briefly to prevent sticking together or to the bottom. Boil for 3-5 minutes or until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain.
- Top with your favorite pasta sauce, and serve with sides of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
High cost per serving based on the cheeses used.
Shortcut: Cottage Cheese.
Ham & Pineapple Pasta Salad
I made this on 11 Jun 2023, easy to put together. The Thai family and I loved this! Excellent flavor. Highly recommended.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 250 grams dry bow tie pasta, (8 oz)
- 1 can pineapple, sliced or tidbits, reserve juice, (14 oz / 400 g)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups cooked ham, diced
- 2-3 spring onions, thinly sliced, green and white parts
For the Dressing
- ½ cup mayo
- ⅓ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
Instructions
- Prep the ham, bell pepper, spring onion, and pineapple. Drain and reserve the juice from the pineapple as you will need some for the dressing. If you have tidbits, use them as is, if you have sliced rings, then cut them into pieces. Add the prepped ingredients to a mixing bowl.
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until just tender. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the Dressing ingredients to a small mixing bowl and mix together until smooth.
- Add the drained pasta and dressing to the salad ingredients, gently mix together. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve as a light lunch or dinner, enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving.
Two Step Chicken
Adapted from the Campbell's website, I look forward to testing this out. I need to test this out with thighs and legs as well. I made this on 2 Aug 2024 and used bone in skinless chicken thighs, family absolutely loved this dish!
Equipment
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F). Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper as desired, place in baking dish. I used bone in skinless chicken thighs so I used a 2 quart baking dish.
- Spread the soup over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until internal temp is 74° C (165° F). For the bone in chicken thighs, I baked for 45 minutes, temp was perfect. I also used condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup.
- Serve with sides of your choice, enjoy. Spoon the sauce over the chicken as well as rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. In place of cream of mushroom soup, feel free to use cream of chicken or creamy chicken & mushroom soup. 2. In place of chicken breasts, use bone in skinless chicken thighs and use a 2 quart baking dish.
Baked Chicken Quarters
This is an excellent way to prepare chicken quarters resulting in juicy and flavorful chicken.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 chicken quarters, skin on, excess fat trimmed off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 °C (400° F). Line a baking sheet with foil, with the edges turned up to make clean up easier.
- Rinse and dry the quarters with paper towels.
- Mix together the seasonings in a small bowl, sprinkle seasoning on all sides of the quarters, and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour or until juices run clear. Or measure the internal temp with a instant read thermometer, measured at thickest part without touching bone is 74° C (165° F). Remove from oven and let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve with sides of your choice and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Meat Ball Stew
This recipe is from a cookbook titled Farm Journal's Country Cookbook, printed in 1972. With me being in Thailand, ready made meatballs are not a problem so the ingredients and instructions will reflect meatballs from scratch, Thai store bought, and US store bought. I made this on 31 May 2023 using Thai store bought meatballs.
Equipment
- Casserole (3 quart)
- Oven
Ingredients
For Meatballs from Scratch
- 750 grams ground beef, (1½ lb)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon minced onion
- ½ cup soft breadcrumbs
For Thai store bought Meatballs
- 750 grams beef meatballs, (1½ lb)
For US store bought Meatballs
- 750 grams frozen beef meatballs, thawed, Walmart or Kroger brands would be perfect, (1½ lb)
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained, (565 g / 20 oz)
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 small carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
Instructions
For Meatballs from Scratch
- In a mixing bowl, add the ground beef, salt, pepper, egg, onion, and breadcrumbs.
- Mix together then form into balls about 3 cm (1 inch) in diameter.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add meatballs, working in batches if needed, and brown the meatballs. Removed browned meatballs to a 3 quart casserole.
For Thai store bought Meatballs
- These are refrigerated and not cooked when bought, follow these steps for preparing these meatballs.
- Heat a saucepan of water to boiling, when boiling add the meatballs and cook until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Drain meatballs.
- To give the meatballs a little color, heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add the meatballs, and brown them. Removed browned meatballs to a 3 quart casserole.
For US store bought Meatballs
- Kroger and Walmart Great Value Brands would be perfect for this. These come fully cooked and frozen. Just thaw and heat through in a hot pan with a little oil then drain and place in a 3 quart casserole.
Rest of the Instructions
- While you are browning or cooking the meatballs, go ahead and prep the vegetables. I was out of celery so I just omitted that.
- Once all the meatballs are browned and removed, drain off all but 3 tablespoons of fat, if using the store bought meatballs, just melt in some butter to make the 3 tablespoons of fat. Stir in the flour.
- Add the rest of the Remaining Ingredients, bring mixture to a boil then lower heat to just a simmer and cook 10 minutes, adding additional water as needed. While mixture is simmering, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), place a sheet of foil or a foil lined baking sheet on the bottom rack to catch any spills.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the casserole with the meatballs. Carefully mix the meatballs into the mixture.
- Cover and place on the middle rack in the oven, bake for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Carefully remove the cover and give the stew a stir.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on the use of beef.
Updated on 31 May 2023.
Avocado Deviled Eggs
These are excellent deviled eggs, great flavor. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs on hand - feel free to prepare those your preferred way. Link to the Shortcut is in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, Shortcut
- 1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, reserve 1 teaspoon for garnish as well
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional, as desired
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
- smoked paprika, for garnish
- red radish, sliced thin, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Cut the eggs in half lengthwise, remove yolks to a small mixing bowl and place whites on a serving tray. Mash the yolks with a fork.
- To the mixing bowl, add the chopped avocado, cilantro, lime juice, garlic powder, pinch of cayenne if desired. Mix together with a fork. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Spoon or pipe the filling into the egg whites, lightly sprinkle with reserved cilantro and smoked paprika. Insert a half slice of radish into the filling for garnish if desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs.
Chili Powder II
This sounds like an excellent chili powder, on my to make and taste list. This makes about ⅓ cup of chili powder.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl, mix well.
- Store in a sealed container and use before 1 year.
Cincinnati Chili
This sounds like an authentic Cincinnati Chili recipe, on my to make and taste list very soon.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 750 grams ground beef, lean, (1½ lb)
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1½ tablespoons cider vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bay leaf
For Serving
- hot cooked spaghetti
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, optional
- onion, diced, optional
- beans, kidney or chili beans
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot, when hot, add the onion and cook until softened and translucent. While the onion is cooking, get everything else measured out and ready.
- To the pot, add the remaining ingredients.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and just simmer on low for 2 hours to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. Remove any fat that floats to the top.
- When the sauce has thickened and you are ready to serve, remove the bay leaf. Cook your spaghetti according to package directions, and if serving with cheese, onion, and or beans, go ahead and get all of those ready.
- To serve, ladle sauce over hot cooked spaghetti, then optionally top with beans, onion, and shredded cheese as you desire. Enjoy.
Notes
Beef would be the most expensive part of this dish, cheese would also add to the per serving cost, but for 6 serving, this is probably a Fair cost per serving.
