Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Cheesy Garlic Baked Potatoes
These are great! Large potatoes make a main dish with a vegetable or salad on the side, smaller potatoes should be used if making these as sides. These are basically Hasselback style potatoes with a twist. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes, washed and dried
- 3-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- olive oil, as needed to brush the potatoes
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh chives, or spring onions, chopped
- bacon, cut into large chunks
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
For the Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup sour cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F).
- Make several parallel slits, about 1/2 inch apart, into each potato top, making sure not to slice completely through. Place 3-5 garlic slices between the slits on each potato, use more if you like. I used a slice of garlic in every slit.
- Brush each potato, all sides, with olive oil. Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- When the potatoes begin to “fan out”, about 15 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the potatoes, it’s time to add bacon. Carefully slip a chunk of bacon into each slit of the potato and return to the oven. Don’t worry if a slit breaks through, the cheese will hold it together later. Lay a piece of bacon over a slit, then use the handle of a spoon and press the bacon into the slit, folding it as you gently press it in the slit.
- Once the potatoes and bacon are fully cooked, use fork to test, you can leave them as is, meaning with the garlic, bacon, salt and pepper, they are delicious no matter what way you have them. If that is your choice, pour a little melted butter and chopped parsley over each potato and put into the oven for about 5 more minutes. To give you an idea on the size of these potatoes, they are in a pie dish.
- Or top the potatoes with the Cheddar cheese.
- Bake until tops are crispy. The baking process total time is about 1 hour. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the sour cream and chives.
For the Sour Cream
- Mix all the ingredients for the sour cream together and refrigerate until use.
Notes
Figure about 90 Baht for the cheese. For 4 servings, this is about 66 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Sour Cream.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Taco Casserole
Mention casserole, I like it! And this is really good. I was surprised I found nacho flavored tortillas up in the city, they are excellent as well, and made in Thailand with no preservatives as well. I made this on 2 June 2018, very well liked by the family. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 200 grams Nacho Cheese Doritos, about 1 bag
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 200 grams Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- lettuce, shredded as needed
- tomatoes, diced, as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Brown beef and onion in a skillet, drain off any fat, add taco seasoning and mix in. Mix together the Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese. Just starting. I used ground pork for this and two small diced onions.
- Layer ingredients in a 9x13 pan as listed; crushed chips (just pour the bag of chips in and crush with your hands, seasoned meat, and 2/3 of cheese. (Now I messed up the cheese part, I added the 2/3 cheese to the meat in the pan, which actually turned out well and I have add that as a variant.)
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, top with the remaining cheeses, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes.
- Serve.
Notes
Ground beef will cost about 100 Baht, the Cheddar 180 Baht, and the Mozzarella 120 Baht. For 8 servings, this is about $1.47 per serving.
Shortcut: Taco Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Use a 7x11 baking dish instead of a 9x13 dish. 2. Mix the 2/3 cheese with the ground meat just before adding to the dish on top of the crushed chips.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Japanese Noodles with Shimeji Mushrooms
The beauty of this recipe, you can use any pasta or noodles, and any mushrooms you like. I made this on 22 May 2017 and it is excellent!
Ingredients
- 200 grams Japanese noodles, Udon, Soba, or even spaghetti, (8 oz)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 150 grams Shimeji mushrooms, base discarded, mushrooms separated, (5 oz)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons miso paste, or 3-4 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried
- salt and pepper, to taste
- cherry tomatoes, halved, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions (I would use Fettuccine). Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet over a low heat and add the garlic cloves. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Turn up the heat and add the Shimeji mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Lower the heat and add a ladle of cooking water from the noodles, the soy sauce, and the miso paste, if no miso paste, I would use 3-4 anchovy fillets mashed into a paste. Stir until the miso (or anchovies) is dissolved well. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to simmer.
- Drain the noodles well and add them to the sauce. Stir well to coat every noodle and serve with chopped parsley sprinkled on top.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sliced Egg Sandwich I
This is a really good quick lunch or light dinner, simple, easy ingredients, I made this on 5 June 2017.
Ingredients
- 1 hard boiled egg, peeled, sliced
- 1-2 slices tomato
- 1 lettuce leaf
- 1 slice Cheddar cheese, or as needed if cut from a block
- mayo, as needed, mustard works well also
- 2 slices bread, or a sandwich roll
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Spread mayo on each slice of bread or roll. Top one slice with lettuce, then tomato, then cheese,
- Then add the sliced egg, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Then top with the other slice of bread, cut in half. I used a homemade sandwich roll for this. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from just looking at a photo.
Mediterranean Egg Salad I
I made this today, 26 Dec 2017, have another hour to chill before I taste it. One ingredient, za'atar, is tough to get here and I was pleased to have a friend of mine in the US send me some, initial taste, very good, taste after 2 hours chilling, perfect, on the go to list, and my Thai wife loved this!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon za'atar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
- ½ cup green olives, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
- salt and black pepper
- toast, for serving
Instructions
- Whisk together the olive oil, za’atar, and lemon juice and add the rest of the ingredients.
- Toss with the eggs, olives, cilantro, onion, and pine nuts, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for an hour or two.
- Serve on toast.
Notes
Low cost.
Chinese Sausage & Chicken in Soy Sauce
This is very good! I made this on 16 May 2017. We received some Chinese pork sausage from Issan, we can find it locally here as well. I started looking for recipes that used this as an ingredient. Chinese sausage is a sweet, cured pork sausage. Recipe slightly updated with my findings and pricing updated as well.
Ingredients
- 4 links Chinese sausage, short ones or two long ones
- 5 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cubed
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
- steamed rice, for serving
- handful fresh Thai Basil, chopped
For the Sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Prepare a steamer and steam the Chinese sausages for 5 minutes. Remove from the steamer and cut into thin slices diagonally. The reason for the steaming is to soften the sausage as it is quite hard out of the package. Photo shows steaming complete before cutting them.
- While the sausage is steaming, in a measuring cup mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
- Heat oil in a frying pan or wok on medium heat and cook the garlic until fragrant. Add the sliced sausage and cook for a quick 30 seconds, then add the chicken.
- Cook until the chicken is no longer pink or very little pink, this is good right here.
- Pour the sauce in and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has reduced a bit. Remove from heat, stir in the spring onion and basil, cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
- Ready to serve.
- Serve with rice on the side and some of the sauce spooned over the rice.
Notes
The thighs would be about a 1 kilo, so I will estimate this at 75 Baht. The sausages will cost about 75 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about $1.10 per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Slow Cooker Chicken with Bacon Gravy
Slow cooker, chicken, bacon, and gravy, what's not to love here? This is delicious! I made this on 29 June 2017, easy to put together, great flavor. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 750-1000 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cut into 3 pieces, or use fillets uncut
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 6 slices smoked bacon
- 2 packets dry chicken gravy mix, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2/3 cup heavy cream, or use evaporated milk
Instructions
- Chop and cook the bacon in a pan on the stove top until crispy, drain on paper towels.
- In a small bowl mix together the 1 1/4 cups of water and the gravy mix packets until smooth.
- Place the chicken in your slow cooker, I used 1.2 kilos of chicken breast fillets, uncut, these were perfect.
- Sprinkle over the pepper, garlic, thyme and the bacon.
- Pour the gravy mixture over the chicken. I spread out the bacon after the photo, this looks better than just looking at gravy.
- Cover and cook on High setting for 3 1/2 hours without opening the lid.
- At the end of the cooking time, pour in the heavy cream or evaporated milk and gently stir to mix into the gravy. I used evaporated milk, this photo shows after it was mixed, perfect creamy gravy.
- Serve over mashed potatoes with a vegetable on the side for a complete meal.
Notes
The chicken will cost about 75 Baht for 1 kilo. For 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Gravy Mix.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Ken Ritter.
Japan.
Japan.
Tender Oven Fried Chicken
Oven fried chicken, sounds great to me! I made this on 11 Oct 2017, and tender and juicy chicken it is.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 1/2 cup butter, this is 1/2 standard block
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt, OR make from a shortcut
- buttermilk, Or just milk
Instructions
- Soak the chicken in buttermilk for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 205 C (400 F). Put the butter in a baking dish and place in the oven to melt, you can do this while the oven is heating. I used a 9x13 Pyrex dish.
- Put the seasoning salt and flour into a gallon size zip lock bag and shake to mix. When the butter is melted in the baking dish, remove from the oven.
- Take out one piece of chicken at a time from buttermilk and shake off excess then put into bag and shake to coat well, place chicken into butter in baking dish. Repeat with other pieces.
- Bake for 25 minutes then turn the chicken over, bake for another 30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken is nicely browned. I cut one in half to check the inside, perfect.
- Serve with mashed potatoes and gravy, pasta, or rice, and a steamed vegetable.
Notes
Chicken will run about 75 Baht or so for 4 breasts. For 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Buttermilk.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Perfect Hard Boiled Quail Eggs
Quail eggs are a lot smaller than chicken eggs and there is a slightly different method to cook them. Tesco sells quail eggs in cartons of 25 eggs, and can be pricey (Tesco 52 Baht/25 eggs, vice a local vendor for when I bought them, 20 Baht/23 eggs). Buy from the local markets and the egg vendors, and will be sold for x number of eggs per money amount. The common size order you would receive at a market for cooked eggs, either hard boiled or fried is 10, so for this, let's just go with a 'carton' or rather 20 Baht worth, which right now is 23 eggs. I did verify this recipe today, the steps and time are 100% correct. For perfect hard boiled chicken or duck eggs, those links are listed in the Recipe Notes section below.
Ingredients
- 25 qual eggs, local vendor, room temperature
Instructions
- Heat a medium size pot of water to boiling. While that is heating, get a smaller pot out and fill with water and place under the tap so when you run more water in, the overflow will simply go into the sink.
- Lower eggs into the water with a large spoon, 3-4 eggs at a time but do not over crowd the pot. At 4 minutes for a hard boiled egg, at 2 1/2 minutes for a soft boiled egg, remove the eggs with a large slotted spoon.
- Place eggs the smaller pot and turn on the tap to keep water going into the smaller pot. Cool the eggs like this running the water on them for about 5 minutes or so.
- Peel and enjoy. Yes, the inside of quail shells is a light blue.
- Uses can be; enjoy as is as snack; cut in half and added to a green or pasta salad; mini deviled eggs; mini Scotch eggs; added to pasta, etc. Photo shows a chicken egg for size comparison, and a hard boiled egg that is perfect.
Notes
Low cost, quail eggs on average are 20 Baht for 23 eggs from a local vendor, and can be as high as 52 Baht for 25 eggs from Tesco (another reason to buy from local markets).
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Chinese Tea Eggs (Marbled Eggs), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Mixed Vegetables with Quail Eggs, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Corn Soup with Quail Eggs, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Braised Shrimp & Quail Eggs.
- Indonesian Style Prawn & Quail Egg Curry.
- Cha Lua Soup, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sipo Egg II, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Sipo Egg I.
- Bak Kuet Tah Soup, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Hard Boiled Eggs in Thai Curry.
- Ginkgo Barley.
- Braised Quail Eggs & Mushrooms, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Kow Piek Sen (ເຂົ້າ ປຽກ), made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Quail Egg Wontons, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Kwek Kwek.
- Za'atar Quail Eggs.
- Quail Egg Potato Carrot Soup, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- My Pasta Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Spicy Caramelized Quail Eggs (Khai Luk Khoei).
- Asadong Pork Giniling with Quail Eggs & Mushrooms, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Quail Eggs in Soy Sauce II.
- Quail Eggs in Soy Sauce I.
- Caramelized Pork & Quail Eggs.
- Burmese Egg Curry.
Pea & Pasta Salad I
I love a good cold pasta salad, this one is a basic one but very good.
Ingredients
- 350 grams maccheroni pasta, or shells, spirals, or macaroni
- 280 grams frozen peas, thawed
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1/2 cup mayo, or as desired
- 2-3 dashes tobasco sauce, optional
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until tender, then cook for 1-2 minutes more, drain and rinse under cold water and drain well.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the pasta, peas, onions, mayonnaise, and dash of hot sauce. Mix well and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve as a side with any dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.