Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Blonde Fruitcake
I found this recipe online and it sounded good because it is not a dark or heavy fruitcake, this is a light, aka blonde, blonde. I made it on 11 Oct 2020, and it is very good, best fruitcake I have ever eaten! Highly recommended.
Ingredients
- 3 cups pecans, chopped
- 454 grams candied pineapple, chopped, (16 oz / 1 lb)
- 113 grams candied red cherries, halved, (4 oz)
- 113 grams candied green cherries, halved, (4 oz)
- 113 grams candied chopped mixed fruit, (4 oz)
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, (2 sticks / 1 block)
- 1 cup sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep the fruit and nuts. Chop the pecans, slice the cherries, and chop the pineapple. Place in a large mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the fruit and nuts with the 3 tablespoons of flour and toss to coat, set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 120° C (250° F). Generously grease a bundt or ring pan with butter, then flour the pan.
- In a mixing bowl, add the 1¾ cups flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk together, then set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and cream together with an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, beat in with the mixer. Remove the mixer as we are done with that.
- Using a spoon, mix in the flour mixture.
- Pour the batter into the fruit and nuts, using a heavy spoon, mix together. Easiest way is push spoon down the side to the middle of the bottom and slowly lift up, then rotate the bowl and repeat until the fruit and nuts are evenly coated with the batter.
- Spoon batter into your prepared bundt or ring pan and spread out evenly, smoothing the top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 2½ hours and the top will become golden brown. Test for doneness when a toothpick (I used a wood skewer) comes out clean. This cake was perfect at 2½ hours. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn out the cake onto a rack and allow to cool completely.
- When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar for a nice touch.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
I will have to price this in Thailand if I can find the candied fruit, I will say it is a fair cost based on number of servings.
Variant: 1. Use walnuts in place of pecans.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
This recipe is from an extensive cookbook titled Favorite Recipes, compiled by the active and retired employees of Michigan Bell in 1981. These are excellent cookies, easy to make and this recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened, (1 block / 2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup oatmeal
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper, for easy cleanup, or just leave the baking sheets bare and ungreased.
- In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together then set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, add the butter and sugars. Cream together until smooth.
- Add the eggs and peanut butter. Mix together until combined and smooth.
- Add the flour mixture and mix together, then add the oatmeal and mix until combined.
- Scoop out dough and roll into balls about 1 inch diameter and place evenly on a baking sheet. Use a fork and flatten each ball in a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve as a dessert or snack, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Baked Eggs
This is a quick and only 5 ingredients recipe, and it is tasty! No serving size is given, as this is a make what you have on hand. I will list this for 10 eggs.
Equipment
- Muffin pan
Ingredients
- 10 slices deli ham, thin sliced
- 10 eggs, chicken
- 10 tablespoons whipping cream
- 5 tablespoons Cheddar cheese, shredded, or as desired
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F). Grease the cups in a muffin tin with butter. Place a slice of ham in each cup.
- Crack an egg into each ham slice.
- Add 1 tablespoon of cream to each egg. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.
- Sprinkle a half tablespoon of the Cheddar cheese or as desired, on each egg.
- Place in the oven and bake; soft yolks: 12 minutes; medium yolks: 15 minutes; hard yolks: 18 minutes, then remove from oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes.
- Scoop out each egg with a large spoon, arrange on a serving plate.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. I will try this with duck eggs and will report back, they should be equally as good.
Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies
I adapted several recipes and came up with this, and they are excellent cookies.
Equipment
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup butter, room temp, (2 sticks / 1 block)
- 1 ¾ cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats, (or old fashioned oats)
- 2 ½ cups dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with butter.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk together then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter and sugar and cream together. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix together.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix together until well combined.
- Add the oats and cranberries and mix together until mixed throughout the dough.
- Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake each sheet for 13-15 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the sheet for 3-5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy.
Swedish Style Meatballs with Egg Noodles
This recipe is from a Kroger brand package of Swedish style meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1 package Kroger frozen Swedish meatballs, (26 oz / 737 g bag)
- 1 package dry egg noodles, (1 lb / 454 g package)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 can condensed cream of celery soup, Shortcut
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, then add the egg noodles and cook until just tender. Drain.
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan, when melted add the onion and saute until soft and translucent.
- Stir in the soup and broth and bring to a boil, stir until the soup is mixed in completely, and stir often until sauce just comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the allspice and nutmeg, after the spices are mixed in, add the meatballs and stir into the sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the meatballs are heated through.
- Serve meatballs and sauce over the egg noodles with a side of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
Adapted from the recipe on the Kroger brand Swedish style meatballs.
Meatball Vegetable Soup
This is a basic recipe and easily tailored to suit your taste. The idea behind this recipe is to use canned/dry items and frozen meatballs as quick meal, and is a good way to rotate through your canned goods and if you have 'commodities' in the pantry, this is a good way to use three items then add frozen meatballs. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3 cans condensed vegetable soup, (10.5 oz / 298 g cans)
- 3 cans water
- 1 cup dry ditalini pasta, or any small bite size pasta
- 2 cans beans, rinsed, drained, (pinto, great northern, Navy are good choices)
- 250 grams cooked frozen meatballs, store bought or homemade, (8 oz)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
Instructions
- To a large saucepan, add the soup and water, place on medium high heat and bring to a simmer.
- Add the pasta and stir in, reduce heat to a low simmer. There is alphabet pasta in the soup already, adding more bite size pasta bulks up the soup. Cook until the pasta is near tender.
- Add the meatballs, beans, and Italian seasoning and stir in. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. (I used a bag of Kroger Home-style Meatballs.)
- Continue to cook on a low simmer until the meatballs and beans are heated through and the pasta has finished cooking.
- Ladle into serving bowls, top with oyster crackers or sour cream as desired, enjoy.
Notes
This is low cost per serving, if using commodities in the US, then the only expense is the meatballs.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Add a can of diced tomatoes. 2. In place of meatballs, use ground beef, pork, or chicken, browned first. 3. In place of meatballs, use canned beef, pork, or chicken.
My own creation with what I had on hand. Lee Thayer.
United States.
United States.
Creamy Beef Gravy
This is a cheater recipe that appears in one of the meatball recipes on this site, it is so good, I wanted to list it separately and here it is. Link to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, Shortcut
- 2 tablespoons sour cream, Shortcut
- black pepper, as desired to taste
Instructions
- Add the broth to a small saucepan and heat to a boil. Turn temp to medium low.
- Whisk in the soup, and it it will thicken immediately.
- Whisk in the sour cream. Heat through.
- Serve hot over meatballs, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, egg noodles, etc. Enjoy.
Notes
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream.
Taken from a meatball recipe on this site.
Mediterranean Rice (Rice Cooker)
This is an easy and tasty seasoned rice. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1½ cups dry long grain rice
- 2⅓ cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 bay leaves
- black pepper, as desired
- ⅔ cup frozen peas and carrots
Instructions
- Add all ingredients, except the peas and carrots, to your rice cooker. Stir to mix together. Press the Cook button and let the rice cooker complete its cook cycle.
- When the rice cooker switches to Warm setting, uncover and fluff with a paddle, add the frozen peas and carrots, mix in. Cover and leave on the Warm setting for 5-10 minutes.
- When the peas and carrots are heated through and tender, unplug the cooker, fluff again with the paddle.
- Serve as a side dish with any meal. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth (Pressure Cooker).
Ting-a-Lings II
This is a variant of Ting-a-Lings I, which I normally make, and from what I have researched, this may be the original way to prepare them, with the cornflakes and butterscotch additions.
Ingredients
- 280 grams almond bark, (10 oz)
- 225 grams butterscotch chips, (8 oz)
- 2 cups corn flakes
- 1 1/4 cups whole almonds, roasted and salted
- 1 1/4 cups dried apricots, sliced into 4-5 pieces each
Instructions
- Setup a double boiler on medium heat, add the almond bark and the butterscotch chips. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
- While the chocolate and butterscotch is melting, measure out the corn flakes, almonds, and apricots (after you have sliced them), and place them in a large mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula and toss them together.
- When the chocolate and butterscotch is fully melted and mixed together until smooth, remove from heat, no need to let this sit as we are not worrying about anything melting into the chocolate mixture.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the bowl of other ingredients.
- Use the rubber spatula again and toss everything together. What works really well is using the spatula with one hand and a large spoon with the other hand. Toss until everything is coated with chocolate.
- Drop by tablespoons on the prepared baking sheets. Set the sheets aside to cool.
- When the candies are cooled and solid, remove from the parchment and place on a serving tray. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use almond bark only, or milk chocolate chips, or semi-sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips, or any combination that equals no more than 10 oz / 280 g. 2. For the almonds, just keep that amount to 1 1/4 cups and consider using roasted peanuts, cashews, mixed nuts, or trail mix. 3. For a Christmas theme, use vanilla almond bark and lightly sprinkle each candy with red and green candy sprinkles.
Fried Egg Sandwich II
This is an excellent egg sandwich to enjoy for dinner, two variants, one with fresh bread and the other with toasted bread.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, chicken or duck
- 2 slices bread, white, wheat,whole grain, your choice
- salt and pepper, as desired
- mayo, as desired
- butter, as needed
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a small non stick pan on medium heat, many people use a dedicated pan as their 'egg pan', with 1-2 teaspoons of butter. When hot, crack in the eggs and poke the yolks to break them. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Fry the eggs until the bottom is set as well as the top is starting to set, then turn the eggs over. If using a small pan, you may be able to flip the eggs in round shape like the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes or until the whites are no longer runny. If using duck eggs, ensure they are cooked completely through.
- While the eggs are cooking, place the bread on a plate and spread some mayo on each slice, using as much mayo as you like.
- If using toasted bread, just toast the slices then spread mayo on each piece of toast.
- If the eggs are separate when cooked, place one fried egg on a slice of bread or toast. If the eggs cook in a circle like the pan, use the spatula to cut the circle in half, then place one half of that on a slice of bread or toast.
- Top the egg with a slice of Cheddar cheese.
- Top the cheese with another fried egg or the other half if you cut the two in half.
- Top the sandwich with the other slice of bread or toast, mayo side down. Cut the sandwich in half diagonally, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Been making fried egg sandwiches like this for years, very common method.