Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Sourdough Sandwich Rolls (Bread Machine)
Excellent rolls! This recipe uses a bread machine for the hard work, and you will bake these in the oven. These rolls are large and a perfect softness.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
- Oven
- Baking Sheet
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, Shortcut
- ¾ cup water, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 408 grams bread flour, 3 cups if no scale
- 1½ teaspoons instant yeast
Instructions
- Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order specified in your owner's manual. Select dough cycle. Check dough consistency after 5 minutes of kneading. The dough should be in a soft, tacky ball. If it is dry and stiff, add water, ½ to 1 tablespoon at a time. If it is too wet and sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. Take out dough when cycle is finished.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface, flour the top, punch down to remove air bubbles. Divide dough into 8 pieces. On lightly floured surface, shape each piece into a smooth ball. Place on a cookie sheet lined with foil and floured. Flatten each ball to 4 inches in diameter. Cover, let rise until indentations remains after touching. If desired, brush with egg wash (combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water) just before baking. Bake in preheated 200° C (390° F) oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a wire rack.
- And with sesame seeds sprinkled on top before baking.
- These are huge rolls!
Notes
In addition to sandwiches and burgers, think bread bowls, scoop out the middle and fill with chowder or a good stew.
Bread bowl idea suggested by good friend, Darhl Thomason, United States.
Shortcut: Sourdough Starter.
Gooey Fudge Brownies
A good friend sent me this recipe, and in my never ending quest to find and test recipes made from scratch, this fits in perfect, and sounds very good, I made these on 4 Apr 2017, and they are GREAT! No electric mixer needed, you can do this easily by hand.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, optional
- chocolate chips, optional to put on the top
Dry Ingredients for use in other recipes, this makes one 'box mix'.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, and instant espresso powder (if using) in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
- Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add in eggs and mix until fully combined. No mixer is needed to do this and it takes just a few minutes with a spoon.
- Then add dry ingredients and mix until batter comes together.
- Pour batter into the greased pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Just before the brownies are done, sprinkle some chocolate chips over the top if desired.
- Remove brownies from oven and let cool at least 10-15 minutes before serving.
- After letting cool, cut into desired serving sizes.
- Serve as is, with ice cream, or whipped cream on top. This photo is 2 brownies and a slice of chocolate cake.
Notes
Low cost per serving for a great dessert.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Pecan Pie Brownies. Use the Dry Ingredients only and the remaining ingredients as stated on the other recipe. Made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Orange Kissed Brownies. Prepare this recipe as stated then use at Step 3 in the other recipe. Made it, GO-TO recipe.
Chicken & Dumpling Casserole I
This actually sounds like a chicken cobbler if you can picture that. I made this on 2 Apr 2017 and it is very good. This takes some time but the results are delicious. The baking dish will be full almost to the top before you put it in the oven. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken, see Step 1
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 2 cups chicken broth, see Step 4
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- The chicken can be anything you like, breasts, thighs, legs and thighs. My personal opinion would be thighs, lots of flavor in thighs. Use bone in and skin on chicken.
- Place the chicken in a pot and cover with water. Cover and cook on medium heat for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and let this cool to room temperature, this ensures juicy chicken.
- Once the pot has cooled to room temperature, preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Remove the chicken from the pot. Strain the liquid and reserve, there is your broth to use.
- Remove the skin and bones, and any cartilage and shred the chicken use large forks. If making the soup from a shortcut, reserve about 2-3 tablespoons of chicken and dice that up and set aside, use that for the soup shortcut. Place the shredded chicken in a 7x11 baking dish, spread the chicken out to make a even layer.
- Whisk together the flour, milk, and butter, pour over the chicken. Do not stir.
- Whisk together the broth, soup, salt and pepper, pour over the casserole, Do not stir.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top starts to brown up a bit. All ovens are different, so you may have to bake longer or shorter. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy.
Notes
Chicken is low cost, using quarters, legs, thighs, or breasts will all cost on average, 65 Baht/kilo. For 6 servings, this is about 32 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup.
Provided courtesy of good friends, Stephen Connell & Angie Davis Williams.
United States.
United States.
Light Rye Bread (Bread Machine)
Perfect light rye bread, not a dense rye. This makes a 750 gram (1½ lb) loaf.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2½ teaspoons caraway seeds
- 272 grams bread flour, 2 cups if no scale
- 102 grams rye flour, 1 cup if no scale
- 1½ teaspoons yeast
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in the order listed into your bread machine, select basic bread, loaf size 750 grams (1½ lb), medium crust, press start. This will take about 3 hours.
- When the machine has completed the baking cycle, turn out onto a rack to cool, allow to cool 15-30 minutes minimum before slicing.
- Sliced and ready for some Grilled Salami & Cheese Sandwiches.
Bean & Bacon Soup
I love a good bean soup, and a bean soup with bacon, even better. I have modified this to use a slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry Great Northern beans
- 4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 300-500 grams smoked bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 handful celery, about 5-6 bunches, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- black pepper, to taste
- dried parsley, to taste
Instructions
- Sort the beans and discard bad beans or debris, rinse and place in a large bowl that has a lid, cover with water by about 2 inches, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
- Next day, drain the beans, quick rinse and place in the slow cooker. And the chicken stock and set the slow cooker to High setting.
- Fry the bacon in a pan until just crispy, remove from the pan, briefly drain on a paper towel, then add to the slow cooker. You can reserve some of the bacon to garnish the top of each bowl if desired. This photo shows I am using 1/2 package of store bought Thai brand bacon, and 4 slices of thick cut German smoked bacon.
- Pour the bacon fat into a jar for use in later, like frying eggs, potatoes, etc but do not wipe out the pan, now add the veggies to the pan and cook those for 4-5 minutes or until starting to soften, then stir in the tomato paste, cook for another minute or two, then add this mixture to the slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and stir to mix everything together. Cover.
- Continue to cook on High for a total of 3 hours, then switch to Low setting for 3 hours. Perfect consistency.
- Remove the bay leaves, stir in some dried parsley and serve. Top with the reserved bacon for garnish if desired and sprinkle some dried parsley on as well.
Notes
Only item expensive here would be the smoked bacon, a good brand is TGM, this would be about 130 Baht/200 gram package, 2 packages would be 260 Baht. For 8 servings, this is about 95 cents per serving, good value!
Variants: 1. Prior to serving, add 2-3 chopped plum tomatoes and stir those in. 2. Add macaroni for a kind of pasta fagioli to get more meals from this.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Adding pasta inspired by good friend, Edward Coleman.
Philippines.
Philippines.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
This is a wonderful dish! Step by step photos taken that show my now cluttered counter. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- olive oil, as needed
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped well, retain juice
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- salt, as needed
- 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped plus for garnish
- 1 large purple eggplant, slice into 1/2 slices
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs, OR make from a shortcut
- 500 grams Mozzarella Cheese, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- cooked pasta, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220 C (425 F).
- Add a splash of olive oil and the garlic in a large skillet and place over medium heat. When the garlic sizzles and its edges start to brown, add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped basil.
- Heat a large sheet pan in the oven for at least 10 minutes while you bread the eggplant. Line up 3 shallow dishes; fill one with the flour, one with the beaten eggs, and one with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt. Dredge an eggplant slice in the flour (tapping off excess), then dip in the egg, and finally dredge it in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. Set each slice aside on a foil sheet. This photo shows the three bowls after I coated all the slices.
- When all the eggplant slices are breaded, carefully remove the heated sheet pan from the oven and brush it with a splash of olive oil. Place the eggplant on the sheet pan in a single layer. Bake until the undersides are crisp and browned, 8-10 minutes, then flip the slices and continue baking until they are golden on the second side, 8-10 minutes more.
- Both sides baked, not very brown really but almost fork tender.
- Top the baked eggplant with the tomato sauce, Mozzarella slices, and Parmesan.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake, rotating halfway through, until the cheese melts and browns and the sauce is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with torn basil before serving.
- Serve with pasta on the side.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: Use pasta sauce or make from a shortcut using tomato paste as the base.
Shortcuts: Italian Breadcrumbs, Pasta Sauce.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret).
United States.
United States.
Unstuffed Bell Peppers
I love Stuffed Bell Peppers, and not only does this recipe sounds like a very good alternative, it is delicious as well. I made this on 1 July 2018, very well liked by the family. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- olive oil, as needed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bell peppers, any color, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 500 grams ground beef, or ground pork, (1 lb)
- 1 can diced tomatoes, or whole, chopped, with juice, 565 g can
- 1¾ cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 cup tomato sauce, Shortcut
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 cup uncooked rice
- 1 cup cheese, Cheddar, Edam, or Jack, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste
- spring onions, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Garlic, peppers, and onion prepped. Reserve some of the diced bell peppers to sprinkle on top for garnish if desired.
- Saute peppers, onions, and garlic in a splash of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Once the peppers and onions have started to soften, increase heat to medium high and add the ground beef to the pan, season with salt and pepper.
- Once the ground beef is cooked through, drain off excess fat.
- Then add the chicken broth, can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and soy sauce. Stir together.
- Bring the tomato mixture up to a simmer, then stir in one cup of uncooked rice. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Let mixture cook 20-30 minutes, or until rice is tender.
- At the 20 minute mark, start stirring the pan occasionally so the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. One rice is tender, sprinkle the cheese on top.
- Cover the pan with the lid to let the cheese melt.
- Spoon onto plates, garnish with fresh diced bell peppers and green onions if desired, serve.
Notes
The beef would cost about 100 Baht/500 grams. For 4 servings, this is about 75 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
BLT Pasta Salad
This is really good! I made this for a party the family had on 13 Aug 2018, only one small portion left over for me the next day. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry elbow macaroni, or any small pasta
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, or cider vinegar
- 8 slices bacon, chopped and fried crispy
- 1 cup lettuce, chopped, or spinach
- 2-4 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 3/4 cup mayo
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup sour cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 cup tomatoes, diced
Instructions
- Cook the pasta until tender, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain some more. Add the cooked bacon and mix in.
- Gently mix in the rest of the ingredients to combine. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Ready to serve.
Notes
Cracker Barrel Meatloaf
I love a good meatloaf, and this is by far the best I have made! Excellent flavor from the use of butter crackers and cheese. Highly recommended.
Equipment
- Loaf Pans (two, 4x8 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- 32 butter crackers, crushed, like Magic or Ritz
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 120 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded, (4 oz)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or a mix of black and white pepper
- 1 kilo ground beef, (2 lb)
- ½ cup ketchup, or chili sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Get out two loaf pans. I used my Pyrex pans.
- In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and crackers and stir together. Add the onion and cheese and stir together. Stir in the salt and pepper.
- Add ground beef. Mix well.
- Divide mixture between the 2 loafs, pack lightly and smooth off the top.
- Bake for 30 minutes. While the meatloaf is baking, mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard to make the topping. I used chili sauce in place of the ketchup.
- After 30 minutes of baking, spoon ¼ of the topping onto each meatloaf, return the pans to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Then spoon on the rest of the topping, dividing between the loaves, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let the loaf rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve right from the pan with your favorite side dishes, and enjoy.
Notes
For 8 servings this is actually low cost per serving and also depends on where you source the beef from. I purchase in bulk from a local butcher and grind myself.
Updated on 2 July 2022.
Sausage, Egg, Cheese Sandwiches
Everyone has heard of the well know biscuits and muffins that contain these ingredients from McDonald's. I liked those those as well. I decided to step these up a bit from a small biscuit or muffin and went with homemade dinner rolls, homemade breakfast sausage, and real cheese. And they are very good! Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- patties breakfast sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- dinner rolls, OR make from a shortcut
- eggs
- Cheddar cheese, sliced, or cheese of choice
- olive oil, as needed
- mayo, as needed
- white pepper powder, as desired
Instructions
- Cook the patties in a non stick pan with splash of olive oil, 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
- I used a ring to cook the eggs, lightly scrambled and seasoned with white pepper. (I had two rings, one seems to have walked away.)
- Cut the rolls in half, spread mayo on each piece, add cheese to the bottom, then a sausage patty, then the egg, add the top part of the roll.
- Enjoy.
- This was for my wife, when I asked her if she wanted 1 or 2 slices of cheese, she asked what kind, I said Provolone, so she took a bite of the cheese, and said oh that cheese, two slices!
Notes
Low cost if using homemade sausage and rolls.
Shortcuts: Breakfast Sausage, Dinner Rolls.
Variants: 1. Use cheese of choice, Provolone goes real well with this. 2. Use butter in place of mayo on the rolls.
My version of the popular restaurant item.