Author Archive
Meatball Dinner
This is a basic dinner to put together, easy for a weekday meal for a family or quickly prepared by senior citizens. I based this guide on Kroger brand meatballs, which I think are excellent in taste and value. Stated here will be a good meal for 3 people with leftovers that you can add to to make another meal. The meatballs are based on 4 oz per serving, or four 1 oz meatballs per serving. Use a store brand, or homemade, for the items and that is a money saver as well. The nice thing about this meal is that all the items are prepared at the same time. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 225 grams dry egg noodles, (8 oz)
- 2 packets beef gravy mix, Shortcut
- 12 frozen meatballs, 1 oz each, Shortcut
- vegetable of choice, frozen or canned, for a side dish
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, add the egg noodles and cook until tender, drain.
- While the noodles are cooking, go ahead and prepare the gravy as listed on the package, and heat up the canned or frozen vegetables, I used the stove top for this or you can use your microwave, up to you. Count out the meatballs, add some extras, and heat those per the package instructions as well.
- Serve, ladle gravy over the meatballs and egg noodles, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Beef Gravy Mix, Frozen Meatballs.
Variants: 1. Use mashed potatoes in place of egg noodles. 2. Use your own cooked and frozen meatballs for this.
Tart Cherry Crisp
This is an easy to prepare dessert with common ingredients. I made this on 18 Mar 2020, as written using canned tart cherries, absolutely delicious. My parents also enjoyed this dessert. This will be a regular. When I get back home (Thailand), I will be making this using fresh cherries.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
Ingredients
- 2 cans tart cherries, drained well, (14½ oz / 411 g each)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cold butter, cubed, (¼ block / ½ stick)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F), get out a 9 inch pie pan.
- In mixing bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, salt, and ground cinnamon, whisk together, then add the butter and cut in with a large fork until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Add the well drained cherries to the pie pan, spread out in an even layer and sprinkle with the granulated sugar.
- Sprinkle the flour mixture over the cherries.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is crisp and the cherries bubbly.
- Serve warm or cold, enjoy.
Notes
Variants: 1. Use 4 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted, in place of canned. 2. Use 1 can drained of tart cherries and 1 can of sweet cherries, also drained. 3. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Jon's Mac & Cheese
This recipe comes from my brother in law, Jon, and I must say, this is excellent Mac & Cheese and one of my favorites! And only 5 ingredients.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry elbow macaroni, (1 lb / 16 oz)
- 8 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided, (about 1 kilo / 2 lbs / 32 oz)
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, (1/2 block / 1 stick)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease a pyrex 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling then add the macaroni and cook until just tender.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the whipping cream and eggs to a mixing bowl and mix with a whisk.
- When the pasta is just tender, pour into a colander to drain then add the butter to the pot and put back on heat to melt.
- When the butter is melted, return the drained pasta to the pot and add the whipping cream mixture. Stir together.
- Add 4 cups of the cheese and mix until the cheese is melted in.
- Pour pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining 4 cups of cheese. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes to firm up.
- Slice into 8 squares, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
I will price this when I make this in Thailand, for now this is a fair cost per serving dish in Thailand.
Provided by my brother in law, Jon Bargeman.
United States.
United States.
"Canned" BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
This is a low budget recipe specifically for using commodity canned pork. No measurements, except for the canned pork, given, as this is a make as much as you want recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 can pork, or more cans, (1½ lb / 24 oz / 680 g each can)
- BBQ sauce, your choice
- hamburger buns, or bread of your choice
- dill pickle slices, optional, as desired
- cheese, optional, as desired
Instructions
- Open and drain a can of pork. Place pork in a saucepan and scrape off and discard any fat. Break up pork with sturdy spoon and place on medium heat. I used 2 cans of pork as I was feeding a get together of 5 people.
- Once the pork is heated through, add BBQ sauce as you desire and stir that in. Stir often until pork is heated through.
- Serve on hamburger buns or bread of your choice, with optional cheese and or pickles. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Italian Chicken
This is a stir fry and sounds tasty. On my to make and taste list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing, Shortcut
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 500 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubed, (1 lb)
- 500 grams frozen stir fry vegetables, thawed, drained, (1 lb)
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan, heat the dressing, soy sauce, and garlic powder, when hot, add the chicken and stir fry, and stir fry until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Stir in the vegetables, stir fry until the vegetables are bright, crisp, and heated through.
- Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Dressing.
Variant: 1. Use 3 cups of chopped fresh bell peppers and snow peas in place of frozen vegetables, and stir fry until tender yet crisp.
Recipe was cut from a magazine several years ago.
Catalina Chicken
This is a stir fry and sounds tasty. On my to make and taste list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup catalina dressing, Shortcut
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 500 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubed, (1 lb)
- 500 grams frozen stir fry vegetables, thawed, drained, (1 lb)
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan, heat the dressing, soy sauce, and garlic powder, when hot, add the chicken and stir fry, and stir fry until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Stir in the vegetables, stir fry until the vegetables are bright, crisp, and heated through.
- Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Catalina Dressing.
Variant: 1. Use 3 cups of chopped fresh bell peppers and snow peas in place of frozen, and stir fry until tender yet crisp.
Recipe was cut from a magazine several years ago.
Creamy Chicken Broccoli Skillet
This sounds like a great skillet dish, on my to make and taste list.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 500 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubed, (1 lb)
- 1 bag frozen chopped broccoli, thawed, drained, (10-12 oz / 283-340 g bag)
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, (8 oz / 250 g)
Instructions
- Heat the mayo in a large non stick pan, add the chicken and cook, stirring often, until just cooked through.
- Add the drained broccoli and toss with the chicken or stir fry until the broccoli is bright green.
- Stir in the cheese, and stir until melted.
- Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Use 2 cups fresh chopped broccoli in place of frozen.
Recipe was cut from a magazine several years ago.
Super Supper
This is a casserole from years ago, my Mom gave me this recipe she clipped from a newspaper probably 30 years ago. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo lean ground beef, (2 lbs)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, Shortcut
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 bag tater tots, (32 oz / 2 lb / 907 g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease with butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Break up the ground beef and place in the bottom of the baking dish in an even layer. Sprinkle the onion over the beef.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the soup and water, then pour over the beef and onion.
- Add the tater tots to the top.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes. As the tots start to brown push them down with a fork into the sauce.
- When the beef is cooked through and the tots browned, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Clipped from a newspaper about 30 years ago.Â
Fruit Cocktail Cake II
This sounds really good, on my to make and taste list. This will use a bundt pan for baking.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 can fruit cocktail, undrained, (15 oz / 425 g)
For the Glaze
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup evaporated milk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts, or pecans, chopped, optional
- candy sprinkles, optional, as desired
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F), grease a bundt pan with butter or spray with cooking spray.
- Add all Cake ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix together.
- Pour into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Make the Glaze.
- Turn the cake out onto a plate.
For the Glaze
- In a small saucepan, add the Glaze ingredients and put on medium heat. Stir as the glaze heats until almost a boil, and the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.
- Pour the glaze over the warm cake after it has been turned out onto a plate.
- Cut into slices, serve warm or cold, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Recipe provided by my Mom, Joann Thayer.
United States.
United States.
Chicken & Stuffing Casserole
Sounds like a good casserole, on my to make and taste list. There is several shortcuts to make for additional savings. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 box Stove Top stuffing, chicken flavor, Shortcut
- 500-1000 grams chicken breasts, cut into small pieces, (1-2 lbs)
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, Shortcut
- 1/3 cup sour cream, Shortcut
- 1 bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, (1 lb / 500 g)
- 4-5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Prepare the stuffing as directed on the box.
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F), grease a 9x13 baking pan with butter or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add the chicken, soup, sour cream, vegetables, garlic, and salt and pepper as desired. Stir together.
- Pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread out to an even layer.
- Spread the stuffing over the chicken in an even layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving. Make the shortcuts for savings.
Shortcuts: Stove Top Stuffing, Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, Sour Cream.
I received this recipe from my Mom, Joann Thayer.
United States.
United States.