Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
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.
Fried Egg Sandwich I
This is the basic egg sandwich I grew up with, two variants, one with fresh bread and the other with toasted bread.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, chicken or duck
- 4 slices bread, white, wheat,whole grain, your choice
- salt and pepper, as desired
- mayo, as desired
- butter, as needed
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 they cooked, place each fried egg on 2 of the 4 slices 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 each half on a slice of bread or toast.
- Top each egg with another slice of bread or toast, mayo side down. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Been making fried egg sandwiches like this for years, very common method.
Ting-a-Lings I
I remember my grandmother and my mother making these, so after reading through several recipes on the internet, this is what I put together. Lots of variables to make this your own signature candy.
Ingredients
- 500 grams almond bark, (1 lb)
- 2 cups chow mein noodles
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 3/4 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Setup a double boiler on medium heat, add the almond bark or a combination of bark and chocolate chips. Line two baking sheets with parchment. (I had half a bag of chips on hand so I used those with the almond bark.)
- While the chocolate is melting, measure out the noodles, marshmallows, and peanuts and place them in a large mixing bowl. Use a rubber spatula and toss them together. (I used trail mix in place of the peanuts.)
- When the chocolate is fully melted and smooth, remove from heat and let sit about 5 minutes to let it cool just a bit.
- Pour the chocolate into the chow mein noodles.
- 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
For pricing in Thailand, I have never seen US made "chow mein noodles" as they are different than Chinese noodles which is a type of ramen. So a good alternative, and the original way ting-a-lings were made, is with corn flakes. With the corn flake alternative, this would be 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 (I used 8 oz almond bark and 8 oz milk chocolate chips). 2. For the roasted peanuts, just keep that amount to 1 3/4 cups and consider using roasted almonds, cashews, mixed nuts, or trail mix (the trail mix I used was walnuts, dried apples, cranberries, and raisins). 3. For a Christmas theme, use vanilla almond bark and lightly sprinkle each candy with red and green candy sprinkles.
Adapted from several similar recipes.
Trail Mix Cookies
These are excellent cookies, highly recommended.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup butter, room temp, (2 sticks / 1 block)
- 1 3/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats, or old fashioned oats
- 2 1/2 cups trail mix, your favorite type
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease with butter.
- In a medium mixing 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. Mix in the eggs one at a time then mix in the vanilla.
- Add half the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mix together until well combined, then add the remaining flour mixture and mix again until well combined.
- Add the oats and trail mix, and mix together until they are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.
- Drop by heaping tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 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.
- Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. If your trail mix does not contain chocolate chips, reduce the amount of trail mix to 2 cups and add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Beef & Noodles IV
This is a basic recipe for using canned beef for a quick and low cost meal, and it is very versatile. Read the Variants. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry macaroni, or any bite size pasta, (1 lb)
- 1 can beef, (750 g / 1½ lb)
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g each), Shortcut
- 1 packet beef gravy mix, Shortcut
- 1 can peas, drained, or 2 cups frozen and steamed
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water, when boiling, add the pasta and cook until tender, drain.
- While the water is heating for the pasta, prepare the packet of beef gravy in a small sauce pan.
- While the water is heating for the pasta, open and drain the can of beef, add to a pot and add the canned soup. Heat the pot on medium low heat, breaking up the beef with your spatula.
- When the pasta is tender and drained, add to the pot with the pork. Stir to combine, taste, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Add the peas and gravy, mix in. Cook until everything is heated through.
- Serve with a side veggy or salad. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Beef Gravy Mix.
Variants: 1. Add a can of drained vegetable, such as corn, diced carrots, or even mixed vegetables in place of peas. 2. Add a can of diced tomatoes. 3. Saute a diced onion, diced bell pepper, or even sliced mushrooms, or any combination of these, before adding the pork. 4. Add a jar of sliced green olives with pimentos. 5. Season with fajita seasoning. 6. Add rosemary, parsley, thyme, oregano, in addition to salt and pepper. 7. Use fresh ground beef or pork in place of canned.
