Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Diner Grilled Cheese
This used to be the common practice in the US, not sure if diners still do this.
Ingredients
- 2 slices sandwich bread, of your choice
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese, or slices from a block to cover the bread
- mayo, as needed
Instructions
- Heat a small skillet to medium heat.
- Use mayo on the bread like you would butter. Spread mayo on two slices of sandwich bread, place first slice mayo side down in the pan, place the cheese on top of that, place other slice of bread on top, mayo side up.
- Cook for just a few minutes until gold brown, flip, cook the other side until golden brown, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost. Keep in mind, this calls for mayo, not Miracle Whip or fat free mayo, just mayo.
Variants: 1. Add some grated Parmesan cheese to a small amount of mayo and use that. 2. Use Gouda (my preference) or any sliced cheese of your choice. 3. Add a slice of ham or smoked ham. 4. Use two slices of cheese and one slice of ham, with the ham in the middle.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Super Cheesy Polenta (Rice Cooker)
I made this on 15 Feb 2018 and was very liked my wife and I, great flavor and a perfect side dish. This will be a regular now. I used my small rice cooker for this, a simple cook and warm model which is perfect for this.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, plus more for serving
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth, fresh or from powder
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place butter, onion, and garlic in your rice cooker pot, set the cooker to Cook setting. Cook until onion is soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or so.
- Add chicken broth, milk, cornmeal, and salt, stir.
- Cover and cook one full cycle, stirring occasionally, until the cornmeal has absorbed the liquid, about 20 minutes.
- When the cooker switches to Warm, add cheeses and black pepper, stir until cheese is melted.
- Serve with a pat of butter on the top as a delicious side dish.
Blue Rice (Rice Cooker)
This is a unique dish and is Malaysian in origin. The blue is from very specific flowers, the Butterfly-pea flower. This flower grows on a vine in Thailand, and is common throughout Thailand, Asia and even in Australia, a very edible flower that is made into tea and even deep fried. The seasoning for the rice comes from lemongrass, just a subtle taste but is perfect. Normally a dish made during festive periods or celebrations. The basic Cook and Warm rice cooker is ideal for this. I made this on 13 Sep 2017 and was a hit with the Thai family, recipe adjusted to 6 flowers instead of the previously stated 3-4. for a better blue version. Outstanding.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1½ cups water, 1 or 2 tablespoons less would be ok as well
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 Butterfly-pea flowers
- ½ stalk lemongrass, beaten, knotted, or ½ teaspoon of lemongrass powder
Instructions
- Put rinsed rice in your rice cooker along with the lemongrass and flowers.
- Add the water, press cook on the rice cooker and let it cook until it switches to Warm. For this trial I used powdered lemongrass, that was spot on.
- Once the rice cooker switches to Warm, just let it sit for about 10-20 minutes covered on the Warm setting. Mix with a spoon, you can just mix the flowers in, or you can remove them. We left the flowers in.
- Spoon some rice into a small bowl, place a plate on the top and tip the plate and bowl over, perfect serving portion. I served this with fish.
Yellow Rice I (Rice Cooker)
Bright color and a taste of turmeric and a hint of cumin, I made this on 8 July 2017, big hit with the family. Quantities are based on my small rice cooker.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1½ cups water
- 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon gound cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Put rinsed rice in your rice cooker. Pour the oil over it and sprinkle with turmeric, cumin, and salt. Stir with a plastic spoon until all the rice is yellow and coated with oil.
- Add the water, press cook on the rice cooker and let it cook until it switches to Warm, serve as a side dish.
Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pinwheels
Common ingredients, easy to make, and are delicious! I made these on 7 Mar 2022 as a light dinner with another pinwheel version I wanted to test out and a nice fruit salad as well. These can be appetizers or a light main dish.
Ingredients
- 250 grams Cream cheese, softened, (8 oz)
- ¼ cup Ranch dressing
- ½ cup Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
- 6-8 slices bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives, minced, or spring onion tops
- flour tortillas, (I used three 8 inch tortillas, which was perfect)
Instructions
- Fry bacon until crisp, then drain on paper towels, then chop. I prepped the cheese and spring onion tops, then chopped the bacon.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and ranch dressing. Mix until smooth.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives.
- Spread a generous layer of filling over a tortilla. (I used 8 inch tortillas.)
- Roll tortilla tightly and stick a toothpick in it.
- Repeat rolling more tortillas to use all the filling. I used three 8 inch, which was perfect. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove the toothpicks and slice ¾ to 1 inch thick. Serve and enjoy as appetizers or as a light main dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Bak Kuet Teh (Hokkien)
This is a pork rib soup of Chinese origin, and this is the Hokkien (Malaysian) version. This soup is herb based and the broth is generally dark. I use a seasoning packet, Lobo brand (Thailand) to prepare this. I first made this on 27 June 2017, wonderful flavor, tender ribs, and your kitchen and house will smell wonderful. I make this at least once a month.
Ingredients
- 1 packet Bak Kuet Teh Soup mix, Lobo brand
- 500 grams pork ribs, (1 lb)
- 3 cups water
- 1 daikon, (white radish), sliced, optional
Instructions
- This is the spice packet used, Lobo brand. Even the Thais know Lobo is the best brand for soup and spice mixes. Inside of the packet is a cloth bag, that contains the spices, the bag is simply placed in the water and removed before you serve.
- Rinse and cut ribs into 1 bone sections.
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pot, when it is boiling, add the spice bag from the packet to the water and add the ribs. Boil for 5 minutes then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until the meat is tender. If adding daikon, when the meat is tender, add the sliced daikon and simmer for 15 minutes more. Discard the spice bag.
- Serve with rice on the side.
- Or place rice in a bowl and spoon the soup over the rice, this is my preferred method.
Notes
The Lobo brand spice packet for this costs 17 Baht and the pork ribs is about 115 Baht/kilo. For 3 servings, this is about $1.30 per serving.
Variants: 1. Lamb, beef, and ox tail can be used instead of pork. Simply 1/2 cup more water and simmer for 2 hours. 2. Daikon can be replaced with carrot or used together. 3. Add hard boiled chicken, duck, or quail eggs.
Isaan Sausage (Sai Krok) I
This type of sausage originates in the northeastern area of Thailand, the Isaan region, and Laos and is very popular throughout the north as well. This is a mild sausage, good garlic and black pepper taste. I took lots of photos to show exactly what this is. This version uses a store bought seasoning packet complete with the casings and string.
Ingredients
- 1 packet Northeastern Thai Sausage seasoning (Sai Krok), Lobo brand
- 500 grams pork belly, (1 lb)
Instructions
- This is the seasoning packet, kit, used for this sausage, it contains everything, you just have to supply the meat. Lobo brand, best brand I have used, instructions are in English as well on the back, including photos.
- This is the contents of the kit, there is three packets, salt, rice, seasoning pack is mainly garlic and black pepper. There is also the collagen casings (5) and the strings needed to tie the sausages.
- I like to grind meat for Thai sausages as it does need to be quite fatty. This is the 500 grams (1 lb) of pork belly with the skin removed and cut into strips for the grinder. Grinding plate used is the course one, commonly called a wagon wheel.
- In a large bowl, add the pork and the contents of the three foil packets, using your hands, mix until sticky, this takes just a few minutes. Divide into approximately 5 equal size portions, I basically make 5 meatballs that are the same size, you can leave them in the same bowl. Wash and dry your hands, important that your hands are dry when handling the casings.
- Open the casing packet and unfold the casings and separate them. One end is already tied.
- I use a funnel to stuff sausages and the plunger for my meat grinder is what I use to push the meat through the funnel. You can use any method you are familiar with to stuff the casings. Place a casing on the end of the funnel and slide it on all the way to the knotted end. Pick up one portion of the meat and place in the funnel, use your fingers or a plunger from a meat grinder to fill a casing. (I jumped the gun here and stuffed all 5 casings, instead of tying it into the smaller ones before stuffing the next.)
- Now with a casing stuffed, lay it on a plate and starting from the knotted end, use the string and tie into 5 smaller links, just wrap the string around and pull tight (do not twist the links). When you get to the open end, give that a twist and tie that off with the string.
- Let the sausage sit on the counter for 1 hour (fermenting, then refrigerate until you want to cook them). Cook on a charcoal grill over low heat until cooked through, or bake at 140 C (280 F) for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve with fresh vegetables like cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, carrot.
Notes
The seasoning packet for this is 37 Baht, and it includes the casing and string. The pork belly will cost about 70 Baht/500 grams. For 5 servings, this is about 63 cents per serving.
Variants: Beef, chicken, and shrimp can be used instead of pork.
From a recipe on a spice packet.
Party Size Italian Meatballs
Sounds good! This recipe makes lot of meatballs. This is a make ahead recipe that you can freeze to keep on hand, just thaw, add to a slow cooker with pasta sauce (or sauce of choice) and heat up. You can make the party size as appetizers or larger ones for dinners. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2 1/2 kilos ground beef, not lean
- 2 cups bread crumbs, OR make from a shortcut
- 4 eggs
- handful fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
To Serve
- tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
Instructions
- I grind meat I purchase so I know the fat content and freshness of the meat. For this recipe I cut it nearly in half for a first test and used pork shoulder which is the perfect amount of fat.
- In a very large bowl, mix all Meatball ingredients together by hand but don't over work it.
- Form into ping pong size balls with your hands as evenly and smooth as possible, for dinner meatballs shape into larger ones. I made dinner size meatballs, this is 12 from just half the meat mixture. Place meatballs on rack of broiler pan or wire rack, evenly apart but not touching.
- You may have as many as 60-70 party size meatballs if just making those.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until well browned and fully cooked for the party size meatballs, large dinner size meatballs may take 30 minutes or more.
- If freezing, allow meatballs to cool to room temp, bag in single layers then freeze.
For Serving as Appetizers
- Place the meatballs, just cooked, thawed if frozen, amount is up to you, in your slow cooker, top that with the amount of pasta sauce to cover them and mixed in, and heat on Low setting until good and hot. Serve.
For Serving Dinner Meatballs
- Use as needed for Spaghetti & Meatball type dishes. If using frozen, just thaw out first then use as needed.
Notes
Figure about 500 Baht/2 1/2 kilos of beef. Source it locally and you may get it for less. Figure about 150 Baht for the Parmesan cheese. For 30 servings of party size, this is about 63 cents per serving. Use pork and cost is much less.
Shortcuts: Bread Crumbs, Tomato Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Use pork instead of beef or a combination of the two. 2. Use a 4 cheese blend instead of the Parmesan.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
- Meatballs & Gravy I.
- Meatball Dinner, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Meatball Stew II, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Meatball Stew I (Slow Cooker).
- Easy Stuffed Shells, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Cha Lua Soup
Asian soups are very easy to make, and most times, normally no quantities of ingredients is needed and is easily adapted to suit your choice for a soup. I made this on 28 Oct 2017 and I wrote down what I used, so the quantities listed are in fact, a good base to work from. This soup was very much liked by the Thai family as well as myself. This soup is a keeper. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
- 360 grams Vietnamese sausage, cut into ½ inch cubes, (13 oz)
- 12 hard boiled quail eggs, peeled
- 225 grams crab meat, or crab sticks, (8 oz)
- 2 cups sweet corn, fresh cooked, frozen, or canned (drained)
- 5 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- fresh cilantro leaves, chopped, for serving, or chopped dill
- raw chicken eggs, for serving, optional
For Thickening, Optional
- 1 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- In a medium pot, fill about ¾ full with water and add the chicken breasts, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, you are making the broth. Skim any foam from the water as that forms. About 30 minutes for bone in chicken breasts and 15-20 minutes for boneless and skinless. When the chicken is done, remove from the pot, shred or chop, and add back to the pot. Here I am cooking the chicken breast and three small ears of corn, which provided 2 cups when cut off the cobs.
- This is optional but if you want to make a really great broth, add a chopped carrot, an onion cut in half, and a chopped stalk of celery (Trinity), after the chicken is cooked through, let it cool to room temp, then your chicken will be juicier, strain the broth and return it to the pot, discard the vegetables. I made some great broth 3 days ago, had a quart of it I put in the fridge, I added that to the pot you see in the photo after the chicken was cooked.
- While the chicken is cooking, cube the sausage, chop the spring onions and cilantro, and if using crab sticks in place of real crab meat, chop that up as well.
- After the chicken is shredded and added back to the broth, add in the sausage, spring onion, crab meat, corn, and quail eggs. Simmer for 10-15 minutes to heat everything through.
- Ladle into bowls, sprinkle on some cilantro or dill, and optionally, crack in a fresh egg if desired, enjoy.
For Thickening, Optional
- Mix the cornstarch in the cold water, and mix that into the soup to slightly thicken the soup. This is totally optional, and I did not do this step as I was very happy with the consistency of the soup.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Quail Eggs.
Variants: 1. I think spaghetti, just bit, broken into 1-2 inch pieces, added to the soup would be good way to change it up. 2. Use Cha Hue (peppered Vietnamese sausage) in place of Cha Lua.
Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi Cha Lua)
In Vietnamese, banh mi means bread, so the translation would be sausage sandwich. What makes this unique is what is added to the sandwich such as the pickled carrot and radish. I made these on 21 Nov 2017, excellent flavor, I really like the addition of the pickled carrot and radish. Cha Lua is a fully cooked sausage that is refrigerated when you buy them, so they can be eaten as is right from the fridge. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette, or roll or just sandwich bread
- Vietnamese sausage, sliced lengthwise about ¼ inch thick
- cucumber, sliced lengthwise
- pickled carrot and radish, Shortcut
- spring onion, chopped
- fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- mayo
Additional Fillings if Desired
- cheese, sliced
- chilis, sliced lengthwise
- soy sauce
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- I pan fried the sausage, this is optional, in a splash of olive oil and seasoned with lemon pepper.
- Cooked just to brown them up a bit. These are fully cooked when you buy them.
- I used the shortcut to make the pickled carrot and radish.
- Split the baguette or roll, or just use sandwich bread, spread mayo on both pieces, layer on some Vietnamese sausage, then the cucumber, pickled carrot and radish, coriander leaves, spring onions, top with the other half of the bread, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Variants: 1. Cook the sliced sausage in soy sauce and black pepper, then add to the roll. 2. Cook the sliced sausage with olive oil and lemon pepper. 3. Use Cha Hue, the peppered version of Cha Lua.
Shortcut: Pickled Carrot and Radish.