Author Archive
Best Cheese Ball
I made this on 13 Sep 2020, and chilled it overnight and then rolled in the nuts on the 14th. Tasted it, and I will say this is an excellent cheese ball! My family that has tried this say it is really tasty. Doubtful this would be able to be made in Thailand as written since the jarred cheese would probably not be available.
Ingredients
- 2 packages Cream cheese, softened, (8 oz / 250 g packages)
- 1 jar Kraft Old English Sharp Cheddar, (5 oz / 142 g)
- 1 ½ cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion salt
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice, depends on how tangy you want this
- 2 heaping tablespoons mayo
- 2 cups pecans, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- crackers, your choice, for serving
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the first 7 ingredients.
- Mix together until combined and smooth.
- Shape into a ball. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and place the ball on top. Wrap up with the plastic wrap. Place wrapped ball on a plate and place in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up.
- Just before you are ready to serve, go ahead and chop the pecans and parsley. Place these on a plate and mix together.
- Unwrap the ball, and roll on the pecans to coat the outside.
- When fully coated, place in the center of a serving plate, and circle the ball with crackers of your choice. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost due to the high number of servings.
Variant: 1. You can prepare this 2 days ahead of time, just keep in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap until you are ready to serve.
Strawberry Crisp
This is the best crisp I have ever made, the family loved this! Serving with ice cream is highly recommended!
Ingredients
For the Fruit
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, trimmed, cut into chunks
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
For the Topping
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup quick cooking rolled oats
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
For Serving
- vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F). And you will need a 2 ½ quart casserole dish. (I used a 7x11 baking dish and it worked perfectly.)
- Trim the tops from the strawberries and cut out any cores, rinse them and rinse the blueberries and raspberries.
- To a mixing bowl, add the Topping ingredients and mix together with a fork.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the Fruit ingredients.
- Add fruit to a casserole or 7x11 dish, and spread out evenly.
- Sprinkle the Topping evenly over the fruit.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, the topping will be browned and the berries bubbly. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool off slightly. (I took the crisp out of the oven about 10 minutes before sitting down to dinner, and it was a perfect when ready to serve dessert.)
- Serve with ice cream, enjoy!
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Seafood Stuffed Shells
Sounds excellent, on my to make and taste list, and soon. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
Ingredients
- 12-16 jumbo pasta shells, uncooked
- 1/2 small onion, minced
- 1 can lump crab meat, drained, (8-12 oz / 225-340 g)
- 250 grams raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, chopped, (8+ oz)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 500 grams Cottage cheese, (1 lb), Shortcut
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, divided, (8 oz / 225 g)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups half and half cream
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, Shortcut
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta shells and cook until just tender.
- While the pasta is cooking, to a large mixing bowl, add the crab meat, shrimp, egg, ½ of the Mozzarella cheese, ½ of the Parmesan cheese, and all of the cottage cheese. Stir together until combined.
- When the pasta is ready, drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with butter flavored cooking spray.
- Stuff a shell generously with the seafood mixture and place in the prepared baking dish. Repeat the remaining shells.
- In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Whisk in the flour, then slowly whisk in the half and half. Simmer until sauce is just thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Pour the sauce over the stuffed shells.
- Sprinkle the remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the shells. Sprinkle the top with the Old Bay Seasoning.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Serve with sides of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
I will say this is high cost per serving based on the cheeses used but I will price this when I am back in Thailand and make it there.
Shortcuts: Cottage Cheese, Old Bay Seasoning.
Kit Kat Bars
Two ingredients is all you need, vanilla creme wafer cookies and almond bark. But I must say, the strawberry and chocolate creme wafer cookies are also excellent choices. No quantities listed here, this is a make a much or as little as you want.
Ingredients
- almond bark, as desired
- vanilla creme wafer cookies, as desired
Instructions
- Setup a double boiler, keeping the center pot out of the water in the lower pot. Put the pot on medium heat and add your almond bark. Here, I used 1 1/2 lbs (680 g). Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
- When the bark is fully melted and creamy, drop a wafer cookie in, and using a fork, put it down in the bark, flip it over, then lift it out, and scrape off the excess from the bottom of the fork on the edge of the inner pot. Place the cookie on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with as many wafer cookies and or almond bark you have. Sprinkle the bars with candy sprinkles if desired. Set the sheets aside for 1-2 hours to setup. Kit Kat Bars (I made another sheet in addition to this one for a total of 42 Kit Kat Bars made, and I used vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate creme wafer cookies.)
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Use other flavors of wafer cookies. 2. Top bars with candy sprinkles as desired.
Sounded like a good idea, and it was. Lee Thayer.
United States.
United States.
Sausage & Scrambled Egg Burritos
These sound great, on my to make and taste list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 500 grams breakfast sausage, (1 lb), Shortcut
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained, (10 oz can)
- 6 flour tortillas, 10 inch, warmed
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, (4 oz / 125 g)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, crack in the eggs, add the milk, salt, and pepper and whisk together.
- Heat a large non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the sausage, break it up with your spatula and cook about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion and diced tomatoes and stir into the sausage. Continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink. Drain and remove the the sausage from the pan, and put the pan back on the heat.
- Pour the eggs into the pan and cook but do not stir until the edges and bottom are beginning to set, then use your spatula and pull the egg in from edges to the center and scramble the eggs, cooking until almost set.
- Lay out a tortilla, spoon 1/6 of sausage mixture across the tortilla, about halfway between the edge near you and the middle. Then add 1/6 of the scrambled egg, and some cheese.
- Fold the edge nearest you up over the sausage and egg, then fold in the left and right sides, then complete the wrap by rolling the burrito away from you.
- Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Serve as is or cut in half first. Enjoy.
Notes
I will price this when I order tortillas through Lazada, for now I will say fair cost per serving.
Shortcut: Breakfast Sausage.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Fried Red Tomatoes
Fried red tomatoes are common with Full English Breakfasts and are a great addition. These make an excellent side dish with any meal.
Ingredients
- 2-3 ripe red tomatoes
- dried basil, as desired
- dried thyme, as desired
- extra light olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Cut out the stem core on the tomatoes, then slice thick, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch.
- Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a non stick pan, when the pan is hot, add the tomato slices in a single layer, work in batches if needed. Sprinkle with basil and thyme as desired.
- Cook for about 4-5 minutes, turn slices over when the tomato is softened and cook the other side.
- Place cooked slices on a plate.
- Serve as side dish, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Common way to cook red tomatoes.
Brownie Batter Milkshake
On my list to make and taste!
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3-4 scoops vanilla ice cream, (large scoops)
- 1½ cups dry brownie mix
- 1 cup cold milk
- chocolate sprinkles, as desired, for garnish
- corn syrup, if using the sprinkles
Instructions
- If using the sprinkles, lightly wipe the edge of a tall glass with corn syrup then dip edge into chocolate sprinkles.
- To a blender, add the ice cream, dry brownie mix, and the milk. Blend until mixed well.
- Pour into prepared glass, add a few sprinkles to the top, serve, and enjoy.
Cake Batter Milkshake
Easy and oh so good! Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 4 scoops vanilla ice cream, (large scoops)
- ½ cup yellow cake mix, dry, Shortcut
- splash milk
- candy sprinkles, as desired, for garnish
- corn syrup, if using the sprinkles
Instructions
- If using the sprinkles, lightly wipe the edge of a tall glass with corn syrup then dip edge into sprinkles.
- To a blender, add the ice cream, dry cake mix, and a good splash of milk. Blend until mixed well.
- Pour into prepared glass, add a few sprinkles to the top, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Yellow Cake Mix.
Jalapeno Honey Butter Bath Corn
This sounds very good! On my to make list.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened, (1/2 block / 1 stick)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup milk
- 2 jalapeno peppers, sliced, seeds removed
- 6-8 cobs fresh corn, shucked
Instructions
- The amount of corn is really up to how much you want to cook and how much your pot can hold.
- Add water to a large pot about half way, and bring to a boil.
- Add the butter, milk, and honey, stir until the butter is melted and the honey mixed in.
- Carefully add the corn and jalapenos, and turn the heat down to low. Let cook for 5-8 minutes or until the corn is tender.
- Remove corn to a serving tray for serving, or if at like a potluck, just turn off the heat and cover the pot, letting people just serve themselves.
- Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving but I will need to source the fresh jalapeno peppers in Thailand to determine their cost.
Recipe provided by Love my Lab.
United States.
United States.
Mackerel Patties
This is a basic recipe for mackerel patties using canned mackerel in brine, and basic certainly is best, these are excellent tasting patties.
Ingredients
- 1 can mackerel, in brine, (15 oz / 425 g)
- 1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
- 2 eggs
- black pepper, as desired
- vegetable oil, for frying, as needed
Instructions
- This is the can of mackerel I tested, Kroger brand, $2.29 per can. This is a product of Thailand.
- Open and drain the mackerel, add to a mixing bowl and break up with a fork.
- Add the crushed saltines and eggs to the bowl.
- Season with black pepper as desired, mix together.
- Shape into 4 patties. Heat a non stick pan with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, when hot, add the patties.
- Turn patties over when browned turn over and repeat for the other side, seasoning pepper as desired.
- Transfer the cooked patties to a serving plate.
- Serve with sides of your choice and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost in the US, about 67 cents per serving for 4 servings from 1 can. In Thailand however, I have never seen mackerel in cans like this, always the small cans and in tomato sauce. So I will come up with a way to make 'canned' mackerel, probably just boil some. Then I will come back with a report on that.