Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Pickle Deviled Eggs
I really like deviled eggs, and this sounds like a very tasty version. I made these on 19 Dec 2017, excellent. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, chicken or duck
- 3 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup dill pickles, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- paprika, for garnish
- dill pickles, sliced, for garnish
- fresh dill, finely chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Eggs cooked and peeled, I use my fool proof shortcut for cooking these. I used duck eggs.
- Peel the eggs and cut in half lengthwise, remove the yolks and place those in a mixing bowl, place the egg halves on a serving tray.
- To the yolks, add the mayo, chopped pickles and pickle juice, dill, and mustard. Mash with a fork until mixed well and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
- Fill the halved eggs with the yolk mixture. Garnish with a slice or two of thinly sliced pickle, then a light sprinkle of paprika, and just a little sprinkle of chopped dill. Refrigerate for at least an hour or two before serving.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs, Refrigerator Pickles.
Provided by What Great Grandma Ate and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Whitefish & Capers
This, is really good! I have never eaten capers or cooked with them, nor has the family, I have a new found favorite now! I recently bought jar of Spanish capers that I opened and used a tablespoon of capers and juice, perfect. I made this on 15 Nov 2017, well liked and enjoyed by the family, five people.
Ingredients
- 2-3 whitefish fillets, cut in half to make 4-6 pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon capers, with juice
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pan with the oil over medium heat. Season the fillets with black pepper on both sides, cook the fillet pieces until just starting to brown on each side. Remove from pan. This photo is just after I turned them over.
- Same pan, add the wine and reduce a lot, then add the garlic, butter, and capers. Season with black pepper as desired. Simmer for a minute or two blend the flavors.
- Add the fillets back to the pan and spoon the sauce over them. Simmer until the fish is warmed through, and it should already flake easily with a fork.
- Serve with the sauce poured over the fish, sides could be pasta with garlic or anchovies, steamed rice, or even boiled or mashed potatoes with butter.
Notes
Two to three fillets of Pangasius (which would be my fish of choice in Thailand) would cost maybe 90 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 68 cents per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Baked Bacon Eggs
These are incredibly good, a twist on the standard Scotch egg witch is covered with sausage and deep fried. I made these on 19 Nov 2017 very much liked by the family.
Ingredients
- soft boiled eggs, chicken or duck, peeled
- slices bacon, 2-3 slices per egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F). Get out a muffin pan.
- Set out your bacon and soft boiled eggs, I used duck eggs as those are favorites here. The muffin pan is to the right of the eggs.
- Wrap an egg with 2-3 slices of bacon, one crosswise, and one to two lengthwise and place in the muffin pan with the edges down in the pan.
- Repeat for the rest of the eggs. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then gently turn the eggs to cook the other side, for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.
- When you turn them during cooking, some of the bacon will come lose, no worries.
- Serve with buttered toast.
Notes
Low cost overall. Figure 2 eggs and 4-6 slices of bacon per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Horseradish Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs I like, horseradish I like, this is a winning combination. I made these on 8 Nov 2017, perfect!
Ingredients
- 8 hard boiled eggs, chicken or duck, peeled
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, or mayo if no yogurt on hand
- 4 teaspoons creamed horseradish
- 4 teaspoons pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
- fresh dill, for garnish
Instructions
- Cut your hard boiled eggs in half lengthwise, remove yolks to a separate bowl and place the egg halves on a large plate.
- To the bowl, add the yogurt, horseradish, pickle juice, mustard, dill, salt, and pepper. Mix with a fork until creamy, taste and adjust salt and pepper, or even horseradish.
- Place the yolk mixture into a zip lock bag, snip off a very small corner of the bag, squeeze the yolk mixture into the egg halves on the plate. Garnish with fresh dill, chill, and serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs.
Variant: 1. Add a bit of shredded Cheddar cheese to the yolk mixture.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pork Chop Soup
This is a good soup but I have modified the recipe with my results. The flavor and consistency is much like a stew with a spicy, almost taco flavoring. Bone in chops will provide more flavor, but boneless chops or just loin should work as well. You can change up the veggies to your preference as well.
Ingredients
- 2-4 pork chops, bone in, 2 to 4 depending on how meaty you want it
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, or pork broth
- 3 cups water, and as needed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
Instructions
- To a large pot, add the first 11 ingredients. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, uncovered. Remove the chops and set aside. Not much to see during this.
- Remove 3/4 cup of broth from the pot then whisk the flour into the broth you removed, set aside. Using tongs to hold the chops, remove and discard any bones and fat (great treat for your dog) then chop the meat into bite size pieces and add the meat back to the pot.
- To the pot, add the 5 vegetables at the end of the ingredient list, add more water if needed to just cover the veggies and meat. Stir together then bring to a boil and stir in the flour mixture you set aside earlier, this will slightly thicken the soup. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and tilt the lid, and let cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaf, and optionally, you can gently mash some of the potatoes to make a thicker soup.
- Serve.
Notes
Figure about 100 Baht for pork loin (boneless chops). For 8 servings, this is about 40 cents per serving. When I price bone in chops I will update pricing here.
Variants: 1. Use 3 to 4 pork chops if they are thin or you want a meatier soup. 2. Use daikon in place of the carrot. 3. Use less potatoes and more broccoli. 4. Add sliced fresh mushrooms.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Classic Green Bean Casserole
Been a long time since I have enjoyed this side dish. I remember this dish from when I was just a wee boy growing up and was a common side dish. This is a low cost dish as long beans are very inexpensive, and you can use shortcuts to make the soup and french fried onions. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh long beans, cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, Shortcut
- 1 1/3 cups french fried onions, Shortcut
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Cut the long beans into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, steam until cooked but crisp, about 3 to 5 minutes, drain.
- In a mixing bowl, add the cooked or canned (and drained) beans, soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, and 2/3 cup of onions.
- Stir together.
- Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and spread out evenly.
- Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly, stir, then sprinkle with the remaining french fried onions, and continue baking for another 5 minutes.
- Serve as a side with any main dish.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, French Fried Onions.
Variants: 1. Replace the milk with whipping cream. 2. Pressure cook the beans. 3. French cut the long or green beans. 4. Use 2 cans of drained French cut green beans. 5. Add some diced red bell pepper. 6. Add 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese. 7. Add 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Basic Salisbury Steak
I state basic for this as it uses store bought gravy packets or you can make the 'store bought' packets yourself, but you will dress these up with some with other ingredients. Thai brand Lobo makes an excellent Beef Gravy packet and they are very inexpensive. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder, or 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs, Shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- salt, to taste
- extra light olive oil, as needed
For the Gravy
- 2 packets beef gravy, Shortcut
- 1 onion, diced
- 170 grams fresh mushrooms, sliced, (6 oz)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Salisbury steaks by mixing together the beef, egg, tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, bread crumbs, salt as desired, and pepper.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts, shape into patties.
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a large non stick pan, add the patties and cook for 4 to 5 minutes each side until well browned. Remove from the pan and set them aside.
- In a small sauce pan, prepare the gravy packets per the package instructions.
- Using the pan you cooked the patties in, add the onion, mushrooms, and thyme. Saute until the onion is translucent and soft, and the mushroom well wilted and starting to brown. Reduce heat to a low simmer and pour in the gravy from the sauce pan and stir in the soy sauce.
- Add the patties to the gravy, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn the patties over, cover and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until cooked through.
- Season the gravy to taste with salt and pepper as desired, serve with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
Figure about 150 Baht for the beef. For 4 servings, this is about $1.10 per serving. Using ground pork will reduce the cost per serving to well under $1.
Shortcuts: Bread Crumbs, Beef Gravy.
Variants: 1. Crushed butter crackers work just as well in place of breadcrumbs. 2. If no fresh mushrooms available, slice up a can of mushrooms. 3. I have made this with beef as well as pork, each works well.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Turkey or Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a from a good friend and it sounds wonderful, I really like the addition of the potatoes. This recipe as listed is for using leftover turkey or chicken, which is perfect, especially with a leftover turkey. If you wish to make this with fresh chicken, or even turkey legs or wings, use the fresh meat to make the broth with trinity (carrot, onion, celery) first, then proceed as this is written. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams turkey or chicken, shredded or chopped
- 8 cups broth, chicken or vegetable, low salt
- 7 cups water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt, or 1 teaspoon table salt
- 6 medium potatoes, diced
- 3 medium carrots, diced if big, sliced if medium or small
- 1/2 cup dry spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- I boiled 5 chicken quarters, separated, and made the broth for this soup. Here is the chopped leg and thigh meat, fork tender and juicy.
- Add the broth and water to a large pot and the salt, note the differences between sea salt and table salt as well. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes.
- For the carrots, if using large Thai carrots, only need two, go ahead and dice those, if using the slender carrots like in the US, slice those into rings and add them to the pot once the water is boiling. Add the bay leaves as well. Add the broken pasta to the pot.
- Heat a large non stick pan on medium heat and add the olive oil, when hot, add the celery and onion, saute until golden and soft then add to the soup pot with the soup.
- Add the chicken or turkey meat to the pot, also add the Mrs. Dash seasoning and black pepper. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your desired liking.
- Simmer the soup until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
For a leftover dish, this is low cost as the turkey or chicken is already paid for in another recipe. If using fresh chicken to make a chicken soup, still low cost for 10 servings.
Shortcut: Mrs. Dash Seasoning.
This recipe for Turkey Noodle Soup is from Natasha's Kitchen.
Garlic, Potato & Leek Hash
With eggs! Cannot forget the eggs with any hash. There is two ways described on how to prepare the eggs, one is separately and then placed on the hash, or my preferred method, right on top of the hash in the pan. I made this on 1 Mar 2018, and it is very good, the leeks give an excellent flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, diced, skin on or off up to you, (2 lb)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 leeks
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- pinch salt
- 4-5 eggs, chicken or duck
Instructions
- Add the diced potatoes to a medium size pot, add water to cover by an inch and stir in the vinegar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cook until just fork tender, about 10 minutes, don't over cook them. when just fork tender, remove from heat and drain. Set aside. (I use a French fry cutter first, then slice the fries into cubes.)
- Clean the leaks by cutting off the root ends and the the dark green leafy part. Rinse, then thinly slice into rings, add the slices to a bowl of cold water and stir and agitate the water to remove any sand or dirt between the various layers. Remove the slices and drain any water from them. If there is a lot of grit in the water after you removed the slices, pour that out and repeat the process just to be sure the leeks are cleaned well.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan, a cast iron pan would be ideal but I used my good marble pan for this. When hot, over medium heat, add the sliced leeks and cook until just soft, about 5-6 minutes or so.
- Add the diced potatoes, garlic, paprika, and salt, and cook until the potatoes are golden brown.
For Eggs Cooked Seperately
- When the potatoes are golden brown, place the hash on plates to serve. Same pan, crack in your eggs and cooked to your desired likeness. Place an egg on each plate of hash, serve.
For Eggs Cooked on the Hash
- Lower heat to low. Use a large spoon and make 4 to 5 indentations in the potatoes. Crack an egg into a small bowl, gently pour the egg into an indention in the hash, repeat for the rest of the eggs. The reason I state use a bowl, if you crack an egg directly into the hash but a yolk breaks, the egg will just disappear into the hash, still very good, not visually appealing.
- Once the eggs are on the hash, season them with salt and pepper to your liking, and cover the pan with a lid. Check the eggs every minute or so to get perfect sunny side up eggs.
- Serve by scooping out a portion of hash with the egg already on top.
Notes
Low cost.
Cucumber Salad II
This is another version of a cucumber salad, and it really good. Use of a mandolin is recommended to give you very thin slices. Made this on 28 Oct 2017, wonderful salad!
Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup white vinegar, or cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- fresh dill, chopped, for serving
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper, and mix together (see, instead of using another bowl to mix everything, you just saved yourself from washing another item). Pour the mixture into a small container. I used a plastic box.
- I used my mandolin placed right on the box with the liquid. I used 4 small cucumbers as shown. Or you can just slice with a knife and add the cucumber slices to the liquid and mix.
- Cover and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours to chill and blend the flavors.
- When ready to serve, drain the cucumbers, sprinkle on some chopped dill and mix in, serve as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.