Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Egg Salad III
This is an excellent egg salad, this is a no mustard egg salad and also includes cream cheese. A delicious change to the typical egg salad. This is great on sandwiches or crackers. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs already - feel free to prepare those your preferred way. Link to the Shortcut is in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, Shortcut
- 85 grams cream cheese, softened, (3 oz)
- 1 tablespoon celery, heaping, diced fine
- 1 teaspoon onion, heaping, diced fine
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- paprika, to taste
Instructions
- Hard boil the eggs your preferred way then peel them.
- To a medium size mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients except the salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Mix together until fairly smooth. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and paprika, as desired, to taste.
- Chop the eggs and add to the mixing bowl.
- Gently mix the eggs into the cream cheese mixture. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hour before serving.
- Spread salad generously on sliced bread or buns for delicious sandwiches, I like to spread may on the bread first as well. This is also an excellent salad on crackers of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs.
Variant: 1. You can use celery seed and onion powder to replace the fresh items, use ¼ teaspoon each.
Homemade Brownie Mix
This recipe comes from a social media friend and comes highly recommended. This is the mix and the instructions to make the brownies, so sort of a 2 for 1 recipe. This mix as stated makes the equivalent of 1 store bought boxed mix. Easy to assemble mix, and wonderful brownies, highly recommended!
Equipment
- Baking Pan (8x8 inch) , for making the brownies
- Oven , for making the brownies
Ingredients
For the Mix
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, optional
To make the Brownies
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Mix
- Add the Mix ingredients, except the chocolate chips, to a large mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- At this point, the Mix is ready, store in an airtight container or even a ziplock bag until use. Fell free to make several batches, then you have several "boxes" available to use anytime.
To make the Brownies
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out an 8x8 inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, overhanging two sides, and lightly grease the exposed sides with butter.
- In a mixing bowl, add the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together.
- Add 1 recipe of Brownie Mix and mix together until just combined.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 20-25 or until desired doneness, less for gooier type brownies, a bit more for cakier type brownies. Remove from oven and and cool pan on a rack for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, use a butter knife and cut along the two sides of the pan with no parchment. Use the parchment overhangs and carefully lift out of the pan and place on the wire rack and allow to cool another 10 minutes.
- Cut into 9 squares, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe easily doubles, just use two batches of Mix and bake in a 9x13 baking pan.
Variants: 1. Regular size or mini chocolate chips can be semisweet, dark, milk, or even white. 2. Replace the chocolate chips with 1 cup M&M candies or 1 cup chopped Oreo cookies. 3. In addition to the chocolate chips, add ½ cup nuts, such as chopped walnuts, pecans, cashews, almonds, or mixed nuts.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Kielbasa
Excellent tasting sauce with the sausage. Be careful not to overcook or you have have some sausage that is a little tough. This can be served as an appetizer or over rice, egg noodles, or potatoes for a main dish.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup honey
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 kilo Kielbasa sausage, sliced ½ to ¾ inch slices, (or Polish sausage, or any precooked smoked sausage)
Instructions
- To the slow cooker, add all the ingredients except the Kielbasa. Stir to mix together.
- Add the sliced Kielbasa or smoked sausage of your choice. Stir into the sauce to coat the sausage slices.
- Cover and set to Low setting, cooking 4 hours, stirring about every 30-40 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of sides, and enjoy. We served this with rice and sautéed mushrooms on the side, but so good, no photo.
Notes
Fair cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Use chili sauce in place of ketchup.
Macaroni Ham Casserole
I made this on 12 Dec 2022 to test out the recipe, and wow, is this good! The Thai family really enjoyed this. Easy to prepare and common ingredients. Tailored to my findings.
Equipment
- Casserole (3 quart)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry macaroni, (8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups ham, diced
- 1 can condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then added the macaroni and cook until just tender.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), grease a 3 quart casserole with butter.
- Melt the butter in a non stick pan, when hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté until just softened. Add the diced ham and cook until ham is warmed through. I did not have a bell pepper so I just omitted that.
- When the macaroni is just tender, drain and return to the pot, add the ham mixture, soup, milk, and parsley.
- Mix together. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese.
- Continue to bake until cheese is melted and just starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Updated on 12 December 2022.
Salmon Scalloped Potatoes
I like potatoes, cheese, and salmon, so I came up with this from a mix of recipes. I made this on 8 Nov 2022, and it is delicious! The family enjoyed this as a side dish with ham steaks, I enjoyed this as a main dish with a side of mixed veggies - excellent comfort meal.
Equipment
- Mandoline
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups sliced potatoes, thinly sliced, mandoline is perfect for this
- 4-5 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 can salmon, drained, flaked, (15 oz / 425 g)
- 1 can condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
- ½ cup milk
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Use a mandoline to get perfectly thin and even slices. This was from 4 potatoes.
- Prep the onion and shred the cheese. Set aside ½ to 1 cup of cheese for the final step in baking. It was a big onion so I diced the whole thing and will store in the fridge for use in another recipe in a few days.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Whisk together the soup and milk in mixing bowl and set aside.
- Layer the bottom of the baking dish with half of the potatoes.
- Sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons flour and add salt and black pepper as desired.
- Sprinkle on half the onion, half the salmon, and half the cheese.
- Add the remaining potatoes in a layer. Then the remaining flour, salt and pepper, then the remaining onion, salmon, and ending with cheese.
- Pour the soup mixture over the top
- Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender, this may take longer than 45 minutes depending on the thickness of the potato slices. Remove foil.
- Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
- Bake uncovered now for another 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
- Serve as a side or a main dish, and enjoy .
Notes
Fair cost per serving as a main dish.
Variants: 1. This would be equally as delicious using ham in place of the salmon.
Kielbasa & Potato Casserole (Slow Cooker)
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made this on 24 Nov 2022 and I will say, this is an easy, and exceptionally good casserole! Highly recommended.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, diced into about ½ inch cubes, (2 lb)
- 500 grams kielbasa, or any smoked sausage, sliced ½ - ¾ inch rounds, (1 lb)
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- For the potatoes, if using frozen, thaw first. If using fresh, peel, then dice to about ½ inch cubes. Add potatoes to the slow cooker. In Thailand, Makro has frozen cubed potatoes 15x15mm. I dice fresh by cutting first with a French fry cutter then use a knife to cut the cubes.
- Add sausage, onion, garlic powder, and 2 cups of the cheese to your slow cooker. In Thailand I use what is called Sausage Scraps from Makro, excellent sausage, 4 types in one package, one type is very much like kielbasa.
- Mix together.
- Add the soup to the slow cooker and mix into the potato mixture.
- Cover and set to Low and cook for 3 to 4 hours. Check at 3 hours for fork tender potatoes. If not tender, check again at 3½ hours to 4 hours.
- When potatoes are tender, add the sour cream and stir in.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese, cover and continue cooking. If you like cheese, feel free to add more on the top.
- When the cheese is melted, the casserole is ready.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Lazy Sunday Chicken Casserole
This recipe comes from a good friend, and Chef. I made this on 26 Oct 2022, and it is absolutely delicious! Easy to put together. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cooked, shredded, (650 g / 1½ lb), Shortcut
- 1½ cups cooked white rice
- 5 slices bacon, diced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth, Shortcut
- 1 can artichoke hearts, I use Fiamma brand, imported from Italy, (14 oz / 400 g)
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and black pepper, as desired, to taste
For the Topping
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Cook the chicken your preferred way, boil, bake, or use leftover chicken if you have a lot. I prefer to use my pressure cooker and I can make broth at the same time. My preferred way to shred chick is to cut into large cubes the use my hands to pull the cubes apart, result is shredded chicken without the long pieces of chicken. Set the chicken aside.
- Heat a large pan on medium to medium low heat, add the diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring often. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. My preferred pan is wok pan.
- Drain from the pan all but 3 tablespoons of bacon fat, then add the onion. Sauté until softened and just starting to brown. Then add the garlic and sauté until frgrant.
- Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the broth and stir in. Now preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F) and get out a 7x11 inch backing dish.
- Simmer for 6-8 minutes until mixture thickens and bubbles. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Now add the shredded chicken, drained bacon, artichokes, and rice.
- Mix together and let simmer for a few minutes.
- Pour mixture into the baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Top with the Cheddar cheese.
- In a small bowl, mix together the Topping ingredients, sprinkle on the top.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbly.
- Serve with your sides of choice, enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving as the artichoke is imported.
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.
