Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
This recipe comes from a friend, and these are excellent muffins! I made these on 16 Jun 2022 exactly as written, and these were very well liked my the family and I. Highly recommended.
Equipment
- Muffin Pan (12 cell)
- Paper Cupcake Liners
- Oven
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar, or lemon juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, rounded, plus additional for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220° C (425° F), line a 12 cup muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl, add the milk and vinegar, stir together. (You are making buttermilk.)
- In another mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and the salt. Whisk together.
- To the milk mixture, add the melted butter, eggs, and oil. Whisk together.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until almost combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix in. Now the batter is very much like a cake batter.
- Spoon the batter into the 12 cup cake liners equally. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each cup.
- Bake for 5 minutes then reduce heat in the oven to 180° C (350° F) and continue baking for another 13 to 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. (Mine were perfect at 13 minutes.)
- Remove muffins to a rack to cool completely.
- Serve and enjoy.
Creamy Ham & Potato Soup
This recipe was inspired from a recipe on the Just a Pinch Recipe Club that was a ham and bean soup. My wife suggested potatoes instead of the beans, and it worked perfectly! I made this on 27 Jun 2022 and it was devoured by the 5 of us.
Ingredients
- 800 grams potatoes, peeled and cubed, (1¾ lb)
- water, as needed
- 1 onion, diced
- 500 grams sliced sandwich ham, cubed, (1 lb)
- 2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g each)
- 500 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (1 lb)
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Add the potatoes and onion to a large pot.
- Add water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Set on medium high heat. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, stirring occasionally.
- While the potatoes are cooking, take the sliced ham and set the entire stack on a cutting board, then cut into ½ strips. Once you have the stack cut into strips, just turn the cutting board 90 degrees then then cut the strips crosswise into ½ inch cubes, there, the stack of ham is now diced. Using sliced ham allows more ham to be distributed throughout the soup.
- When the potatoes are tender, reduce heat to low. Scoop out some of the water so the water is just at the top of the potatoes, reserve the water to add if needed if you want a thinner consistency. Now add the soup, ham, and cheese, stir together.
- Simmer until the cheese is melted and the soup and cheese is mixed in well. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Stir in some of the reserved potato water if you want thinner soup.
- Ladle into bowls, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Imitation Crab Dip
This is from the Just a Pinch Recipe Club website, it is easy to make and tastes delicious. To be honest, I do not know what a good crab dip is supposed to taste like, but I will say, this is an excellent tasting dip! This is a cold dip, not a hot dip.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
Ingredients
- 250 grams cream cheese, room temperature, (8 oz)
- 150 grams sour cream, this is the small container, (about ⅔ cup)
- 1 packet dry ranch dressing, Shortcut
- 500 grams imitation crab sticks, (1 lb)
- 2 tablespoons spring onion tops, sliced
- butter crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and dry ranch dressing to a mixing bowl.
- Use an electric mixer to thoroughly mix together.
- Cut the crab sticks into ¼ inch slices and place in another mixing bowl. Then use your hands to break the pieces up a little.
- Add the crab sticks to the cheese mixture and use a spoon to mix together. Sprinkle in the spring onion tops and mix in. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for a 2-3 hours.
- Serve with butter crackers, enjoy.
Bonnie's Potato & Onion Pie
This is from a friend on the Just a Pinch Recipe Club website. Easy to put together and it is delicious!
Equipment
- Mandoline
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, peeled, sliced thin, (2 lb), a mandoline would be perfect for this.
- 1 onion, peeled, cut in half, sliced thin
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cheese, your choice, shredded
- ⅔ cup sour cream, or whipping cream, or milk, or a combination of any listed
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Prep the potatoes and onion. I used 5 medium potatoes for the 1 kilo and used a mandoline to slice the potatoes and onion.
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F), grease a large pie dish with butter. Sprinkle ½ the garlic in the pie dish. I used a 9 inch pie dish.
- Add ½ the potatoes overlapping the slices.
- Add ½ the onion slices on top of the potatoes, and sprinkle with salt and lightly with pepper, as desired.
- Sprinkle ½ of the shredded cheese over the onion.
- Repeat the layers starting with the remaining garlic, then potatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Add the sour cream, whipping, or milk, or any combination of these evenly over the top. I used ½ cup sour cream then added milk to bring it to ⅔ cup.
- Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over the top, then sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 30 minutes more.
- Slice into wedges, serve as a side dish, enjoy.
Seasoned Rice II
This recipe comes from a friend with amazing recipes. I made this on 17 Jun 2022, and it was very well liked by the family, this will be a regular now. I use my basic Cook/Warm, 1 liter (1 quart), rice cooker to prepare this.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- ¼ cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- 2 cups beef broth, (I use OXO brand)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to your rice cooker and set to Cook setting, leaving cooker uncovered. When the butter is melted, add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is almost softened.
- Stir in the garlic, then add the rice. Stir to coat with the butter and continue cooking uncovered until the rice is just starting to toast and slightly brown.
- Add the broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley. Stir together. Cover and let the cooker complete the Cook cycle.
- When the cooker switches to Warm setting, unplug or turn off cooker and let rice sit, still covered, for another 5 minutes.
- Open the lid, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, and fluff with a rice paddle.
- Serve as a side dish with any main dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Variants: 1. Added a diced bell pepper. 2. Add sautéed mushrooms.
Thai Chicken & Potato Soup
My wife and niece make this soup often, and it is delicious! I was intrigued when I first saw this made as I have rarely seen Thais use potatoes. This is a basic non spicy soup made with fresh and common ingredients. This is normally served with rice on the side but can certainly be enjoyed as is.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 kilo chicken wing sticks, (drumettes), (2 lb)
- 1 cube chicken stock
- 4 potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
- 3 onions, peeled, cut into wedges
- 4-5 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon MSG, optional
- 2 tablespoons thin soy sauce, (light soy sauce)
- 2-3 bunches Chinese celery
- 2-3 spring onions
- hot cooked rice, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Prep the wings. These were cut from full wings.
- Prep the potatoes and onion.
- Prep the tomatoes, and more onions were prepped as well.
- Chinese celery is quite thin, the stalks and leaves are used. The celery has the roots in this photo on right, two bunches were used. The coriander underneath was used in another recipe.
- Cut the celery and spring onion (white and green parts) into 2 inch pieces.
- Add the water and garlic to a large pot, bring to a boil.
- After a few minutes, add the stock cube and the wing sticks. Let the pot come to boil, and occasionally skim any foam off the top. Cook until the wings are just cooked through.
- Now add the potatoes and let the pot come to a boil again, cook until the potatoes are just fork tender.
- Then add the onions and tomatoes, reduce heat to medium low and cook until the onion is tender.
- Once the onion is tender, add the salt, MSG (if using), and soy sauce, stir and taste, adding salt as desired. Then turn off the heat, leaving pot on the same burner, and add the celery and spring onion.
- Once the celery and spring onion is wilted, give the soup a stir.
- Ladle into serving bowls, enjoy. Serve as is or with rice on the side.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Asian Chicken & Corn Soup
This recipe on comes from the Just a Pinch Recipe Club site and is slightly modified to use a pressure cooker for the chicken. and it delicious soup! I use my 9 liter (9½ quart) stove top pressure cooker with a pressure of 80 kPa (12 psi), so this will work equally well with electric pressure cookers. Follow all safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker. If you do not have a pressure cooker, just cook in a saucepan on the stove.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 3 chicken breasts, boneless
- 1 onion, peeled, quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, cut in half
- ½ tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
For the Soup
- 1 can whole kernel corn, drained, (425 g/15 oz can)
- 2 cans creamed corn, (410 or 565 g/15 or 20 oz each)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger, or 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- salt and white pepper, as desired
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Place all the Chicken ingredients in your pressure cooker, place the lid on and lock and place the weight on. Turn on heat to high, when the weight starts to move, venting pressure, reduce heat to low or medium low to just keep the weight moving and venting. Start your timer at this point for 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes have passed, turn off heat and carefully move cooker to an unused burner and allow a natural pressure release, meaning just let it sit and cool until you have indications of zero pressure in the cooker, takes about 15-20 minutes.
- When you have indications of zero pressure, remove the weight then remove the lid. Allow the chicken and broth to cool to room temperature, this ensures juicy chicken.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Remove skin, and cut each breast into thirds, then shred each part and place in a dish, set aside.
- Pour the broth through cheesecloth and pour into quart jars, cover and place 1 jar in the fridge for use in another recipe. There, you just cooked the chicken for this recipe as well as the broth, and you have another quart of broth for use in another recipe.
For the Soup
- In a pot, add all the cans of corn, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 quart of your broth you made. Cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Heat another tablespoon of sesame oil in a non stick pan, when hot add the chicken and sprinkle with the ground ginger, toss chicken to mix in the ginger. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the chicken to the soup, taste, and season with salt and white pepper as desired. Continue cooking the soup for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Ladle into bowls, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Serve with hot cooked rice or noodles.
Cranberry Seasoned Rice (Rice Cooker)
This is an excellent seasoned rice dish. I made this for the family on 12 May 2022, and the 4 of us devoured this, very tasty rice with the fresh parsley and dried cranberries. I use my small basic Cook/Warm 1 liter (1 quart) rice cooker for this.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 cup dry Jasmine rice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Add the butter to your rice cooker and set to the Cook setting. When the butter is melted, add the onion. Cook stirring often until the onion nearly softened.
- Add the rice and stir to mix in the butter, continue cooking, stirring often.
- Cook until the rice is just starting to very lightly brown.
- Stir in the broth, add the bay leaf, and cover. Now let the cooker complete the Cook cycle.
- When the cooker switches to Warm setting, unplug or turn off the cooker, uncover and remove the bay leaf. Fluff with a rice paddle then mix in the parsley and cranberries.
- Serve as a side dish with any main dish, enjoy.
Linda's Biscuits
I found this recipe on the Just a Pinch Recipe Club site and not only did it sound easy, it is, and make excellent biscuits as well! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking Pan (9x9 inch)
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk, Shortcut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 230° C (450° F), pour the melted butter in the baking pan.
- To a mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Whisk together.
- Add the buttermilk and stir to mix together well.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Cut into 9 squares, remove from pan and split in half, enjoy with butter, jam, or a gravy of your choice.
Notes
Shortcut: Buttermilk.
Chicken & Mushroom Soup
This recipe comes from a friend, and it is delicious! I made this on 21 Apr 2022 and tailored it to our liking here.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 250 grams mushrooms, brown or white button, sliced, (8 oz)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, and as needed
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth, I used OXO cubes
- 3 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- ¾ cup dry Jasmine rice
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter, when hot, add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Stir oftern and cook until the onion softens. (I used Shiitake mushrooms - stems removed, and did not have celery on hand so just skipped that.)
- Stir in the garlic, salt, parsley, thyme, sage, and pepper. Cook for just a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the chicken breasts, rice, and broth. Stir together and heat to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Then remove the chicken to a cutting board and chop, and set aside. Let to soup continue to simmer.
- When the rice is tender, about 10-15 minutes after you took the chicken out, return the chicken to the chicken to the pot and simmer for another 5-10 minutes to heat the chicken through. Taste and add salt as desired.
- Ladle into bowls, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use Shiitake mushrooms with stems removed, and sliced in place of button mushrooms. 2. Use Straw mushrooms sliced in half in place of button mushrooms.
