Author Archive
Hot Dog Noodle Casserole
This is an easy, and quite delicious casserole! Lots of ways to change this up so please read the Variants in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry egg noodles, (8 oz)
- 500 grams hot dogs, sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 500 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiled, then add the noodles. Cook until almost tender. Drain.
- Just before the noodles are done, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- While the noodle are cooking, in a large mixing bowl, add the soup, sour cream, and milk, whisk together. (I used creamy chicken mushroom soup, which is an excellent choice.)
- Stir in the hot dog slices and peas. (I used mixed vegetables.)
- Add the drained noodles to the soup mixture and stir to mix together.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Top with cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese starting to brown. (I baked for 40 minutes, but start checking the cheese browning at 30 minutes.)
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup in place of the cream of mushroom. 2. Use mixed peas and carrots, or even mixed veggies in place of peas. 3. In Thailand use little cocktail sausages (highly recommended and is what I used when I made this). 4. For those in the states, Little Smokies would be perfect in this!
Spam Pie
This is a twist on a good friend's recipe. This is my creation that uses homemade Spam. You can certainly use canned Spam or even ham. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams Spam, cubed, (1 lb if homemade or two 198 g/ 7 oz cans if using store bought), Shortcut
- 1 bell pepper, your choice of color, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3-4 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 10 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream, Shortcut
- pasta sauce, as desired, Shortcut
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, as desired
- Italian seasoning, as desired, Shortcut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie dish with butter.
- Cube the Spam. I am using homemade Spam.
- Prep the onion, bell pepper, and spring onions. I was out of spring onion so just skipped that.
- In a mixing bowl add the eggs and whisk to mix. Stir in the Spam and veggies.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Spoon the sour cream on top, and use butter knife or chopsticks to swirl the sour cream through the egg mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center is set (when a toothpick comes out clean), remove from the oven.
- Spread the top with pasta sauce as desired, top that with Mozzarella cheese as desired, and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.
- Place back in the oven until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let this rest for about 5 minutes.
- Slice, plate, add another light sprinkling of Italian seasoning as desired. Serve with your choice of toast, biscuits, crescent rolls, or rice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using homemade Spam, Fair to High cost per serving if using canned Spam.
Shortcuts: Spam, Spam, Spam, Sour Cream, Pizza Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Replace the marinara sauce with salsa and replace the Mozzarella cheese with Cheddar cheese and sprinkle with oregano or even taco seasoning - there, you have a Mexican variant, like a Breakfast Burrito without the tortilla. 2. Use plain tomato sauce, oregano, and Cheddar cheese. 3. Use cubed ham in place of Spam.
Dad's Hamburger Gravy
This is a friend's Dad's recipe for Hamburger Gravy, and it is excellent! I made this on 7 Oct 2022 and the family absolutely loved this dish. Feel free to serve this over mashed potatoes, toast, or biscuits.
Ingredients
- 750 grams ground beef, (1½ lb)
- 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil, your choice
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- salt and cracked black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a large pan, when hot, add the onion and sauté to just get the onion starting to soften. I am using a marble wok pan, which is a flat bottomed wok, it is deep, and very non stick. I am going to serve the gravy over mashed potatoes so the potatoes are starting to boil on the right.
- When the onion is starting to soften, add the ground beef, season generously with cracked black pepper. Cook, breaking up the beef with a spatula until cooked through. Drain the fat into a measuring cup, reserving ½ cup, discard the rest. Place cooked beef on a plate and set aside.
- Return the reserved fat and the butter to the same pan, place on medium high heat. When hot, sprinkle in the flour and whisk in until starting to just brown.
- Whisk in the milk and season generously with cracked black pepper. Taste and season with salt as desired. Continue whisking until gravy is bubbly and thickened.
- Return the cooked beef to the pan and stir in, reduce heat to medium and cook to heat the beef through.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, toast, or biscuits with a side of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Updated on 7 October 2022.
Tofu & Beef Meatball Soup
This recipe was inspired from a friend in Sichuan, China and this version uses store bought beef meatballs. These are not meatballs you can buy in Walmart or Kroger, you need to get these from an Asian market, different consistency.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, white parts sliced, green parts cut ½ inch long
- 500 grams beef meatballs, In Thailand I use MR Meatballs brand, frozen - thawed, from Makro, these are not pre-cooked,, (1 lb)
- 1 slice fresh ginger
- 800 grams firm tofu, cut into cubes, (28 oz)
- 20 grams nori seaweed, or less as desired, (¾ oz)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the the water, light soy sauce, and spring onion to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
- Add the meatballs and ginger. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes to cook the meatballs through.
- Add the tofu and nori, simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the sesame oil, taste and season with salt and or additional sesame oil as desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Tofu & Meatball Soup
This comes from a friend in Sichuan, China and it sounds very good! I look forward to preparing this.
Equipment
- Food Processor / Blender , with S blade
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Pork Balls
- 300 grams ground pork, (11 oz)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 spring onions, chopped, white part only
- 3 slices fresh ginger
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Ingredients for the Soup
- 6 cups water, (I will verify the amount when I prepare this)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 spring onion, sliced, green part - from the pork ball ingredients
- 1 slice fresh ginger
- ½ box firm tofu, cut into cubes, (I will verify amount when I prepare this)
- 20 grams nori , sliced, (dried seaweed), (¾ oz)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the first 8 ingredients for the Pork Balls to a food processor, mix for 15 seconds.
- Now add the egg and cornstarch and mix for about 30 seconds, goal is a very smooth and fluffy mixture.
- Add the the water, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, spring onion (green part) to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil then turn off the heat but leave on same burner.
- Now to make the pork balls, use one hand and grab a handful of pork mixture, form a circle with your index finger and thumb, squeeze your hand to force the mixture from the circle, then use a spoon and scoop off a meat ball and place the meat ball in the hot water.
- Repeat until all the mixture is used and in the pot, average about 20-24 pork balls. Turn on the heat, add the 1 slice of ginger, and bring to a simmer, skim off any foam that forms on top. Simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the tofu and nori, simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the sesame oil, taste and season with salt and additional sesame oil as desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Chicken Nugget Casserole II
I made this on 28 Sep 2022, and it is incredibly good! Family absolutely loved this. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 kilo frozen chicken nuggets, you will not use them all, (2 lb)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 cups spaghetti sauce, Shortcut
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Italian seasoning, as desired, Shortcut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Place frozen chicken nuggets in the prepared dish in a single layer.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
- Pour the spaghetti sauce over all the nuggets.
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese, then top that with Italian seasoning.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the nuggets are heated through and the cheese melted. Remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes to just lightly start to brown the cheese on top. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve and enjoy with sides of your choice.Excellent side dish ideas are pasta (classic), mashed potatoes (another classic), fresh salad, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or Saffron rice.
Notes
Fair cost per per serving based on the cheese used.
Shortcuts: Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Beef Chow Mein
Chow mein is a stir-fried noodle dish and is one of the most popular dishes in China. The most common noodles used in various chow mein dishes is egg noodles. This recipe comes from a friend in Sichuan, China. I made this on 27 Sep 2022, and it is delicious, family loved this! I doubled the recipe so the photos will show more of all the ingredients than what is stated.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flank steak, cut into 2 inch long strips
- 3 bell peppers, 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 250 grams egg noodles, can be fresh or dry, (8 oz)
For the Beef Marinade
- ½ tablespoon light soy sauce
- dash black pepper
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the Stir-fry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- pinch sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the Beef Marinade Ingredients and stir together, then add the beef strips. Stir in one direction until they become slightly sticky. Set this aside.
- In another small bowl, add all the Stir-fry Ingredients, mix together, then set this aside.
- For the bell peppers, you are only going to use half of each. Cut each pepper from stem end to the bottom. Set one half of each color aside, and wrap the other halves in plastic wrap and place back in the fridge. Remove the seeds.
- Cut each pepper half into strips, set these aside. Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, thinly slice each half and separate the pieces. Mince the garlic.
- In a saucepan, add enough water to cover the noodles, bring to a boil, then add the noodles, fresh noodles takes about 3-4 minutes, for dry noodles, cook until just tender. For fresh, just drain, for dry, drain and rinse under cold water.
- In a wok, wok pan, or large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil on medium high heat, add the garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Increase heat to high then add the beef mixture and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds. Remove beef to a bowl, leaving the liquid in the pan.
- Add the peppers and onions, stir-fry until until just softened but crisp.
- Add the noodles, beef, and Stir-fry Sauce to the pan. Mix together well, remove from heat.
- Serve hot, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Spam, Spam, Spam
This comes from a good friend, and chef, and this is easy to make and so much better tasting than the canned spam. Ingredients are listed in two groups, for those in Asia, and for those in the US, instructions are the same for either set of ingredient. (Morton Tender Cure and Lobo NS-Mix are two separate items, their use will be clarified in the ingredients and instructions.)
Equipment
- Meat Grinder , plus a Medium plate (5 mm holes).
- 2 Loaf Pan (5x9 inch) , one is used for baking, the other is used as a weight after baking.
- Parchment Paper
- Foil
- Baking Sheet
- 2 20 oz / 565 g canned goods , used for weights after baking.
- Oven
- Instant Read Thermometer
Ingredients
For those in Asia using Lobo brand NS-Mix Curing Salt
- 1.15 kilo pork shoulder, (2½ lb)
- 226 grams smoked ham, (8 oz)
- 4½ teaspoons NS-Mix Curing Salt, (Lobo brand)
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons corn starch
- ½ cup ice cold water
For those in the US using Morton brand Tender Quick Curing Salt
- 2½ lb pork shoulder, (1.15 kilo)
- 8 oz smoked ham, (226 grams)
- 2 teaspoons Tender Quick, (Morton brand)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, (fine grind)
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons corn starch
- ½ cup ice cold water
Instructions
- Set up your meat grinder, use a Medium plate with 5mm holes. Preheat your oven to 120° C (250° F). Line one loaf pan with parchment paper. Line the baking sheet with foil, make sure the edges are raised all around the sheet - this is to catch any fat that could run out of the pan while baking.
- Cut the pork shoulder and smoked ham into cubes that will fit in your grinder hopper.
- Run the cubed meat through the grinder into a mixing bowl.
- For Asia using NS-Mix: add the NS-Mix, sugar, and corn starch to a small bowl, then add the ice cold water. Mix together well.For US using Tender Cure: add the Tender Cure, salt, sugar, and corn starch to a small bowl, then add the ice cold water. Mix together well.
- Add the water mixture to the ground meat and use your hands to mix thoroughly. Mixture will like a thick paste.
- Pack the parchment line loaf pan with the meat mixture.
- Cover with tightly with foil. Place the foil covered sheet in the oven then place the loaf pan on the sheet. Bake for 2 to 2½ hours, start checking with the instant read thermometer at the 2 hour mark, internal target temp is 68° C (155° F).
- When the spam loaf has reached the target temp, remove from the oven place on a heatproof plate, and if oozing some fat, place some folded paper towels on the plate first.
- Place the second loaf pan (I use Pyrex) on top of the Spam loaf pan, and place canned goods in the pan for additional weight (two 20 oz / 565 g, works perfect). Let the Spam loaf pan cool to room temp.Once cooled, place everything in the fridge (the Spam loaf pan, the top pan, and the canned goods), to set overnight.
- The next day, remove the Spam loaf from the fridge. Remove the foil, and now you have Spam. Run a butter knife around the sides and invert the pan onto a plate. Use for any recipe calling for Spam. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
- This is an end piece sliced off for the taste test, and for those that like the jelly, this makes that too! Appearance wise, it looks exactly like sliced canned Spam. Taste wise, this is many times better than the canned stuff!
- And another view of how this looks.
Notes
Lower cost than canned Spam in Thailand, and this makes 2 to 2½ of the big cans of Spam.
340 g (12 oz) equals 1 regular size can of Spam.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Spam Pie, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Squaw Corn, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Mushrooms
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made these on 4 Sep 2022, and these are excellent mushrooms, juicy and full of flavor, I and the family really enjoyed these! This will be a regular now.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 750 grams button mushrooms, (1½ lb)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- ¼ cup olive oil, or a tablespoon less
- 3 cloves garlic, mince, or 1½ teaspoons powdered garlic
- 1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix
- ¾ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped, plus more for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Trim the stems off the mushrooms and quickly rinse, shake off any water, and place in your slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients to to the slow cooker. I was out of fresh garlic so I used garlic powder.
- Mix together. Cover, and set to Low for 3-4 hours.
- The mushrooms will be tender and juicy, you can also spoon the sauce over the mushrooms when served.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal.
Tuna Macaroni
I came up with this on a whim, and it is delicious!
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry macaroni, (8 oz)
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 cans tuna in oil, drained, (185 g / 7 oz each)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the macaroni, cook until just tender.
- Drain the macaroni and return to the pot. Add the soup, sour cream, and milk. Stir together.
- Add the drained tuna and peas. Stir together.
- Place on low heat and simmer until warmed through, stirring often.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
