Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Sub Sandwiches
When I was growing up, these were a regular meal, sub sandwiches, this is a basic meal, filling, and can be made anyway you want. This is a starter recipe, tailor as you see fit. I am going to list what I use on one sandwich but I did enjoy two of these last night. Use any amounts of the ingredients as you see fit.
Ingredients
- 1 hamburger bun
- 2 leaves lettuce
- onion, sliced
- tomato, sliced
- 3 slices smoked ham
- 3 slices baloney with chilies, this is a great flavor, if not a fan of chilis, just push them out from the slices
- Cheddar cheese, sliced
- mayo, as needed
Instructions
- Spread mayo on the bottom and top pieces of the bun. Starting on the bottom bun, add onion slices, lettuce, smoked ham, baloney with chilies.
- Keep adding with cheese slices (I used real cheese, not the processed rubbish), tomato slices, top with the other piece of bun, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost meal.
Variants: Use spicy mustard instead of mayo, add cooked bacon, add or change the meats used, use sliced bell peppers, the combos are endless and up to your liking!
Been making these for years but will give credit to my parents for showing us kids this many many years ago.
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
I made this on 16-17 Oct 2018. Everything went into the slow cooker at 6 pm on the 16th, set to Low and cooked overnight. At 4 am on the 17th, 10 hours later, I have to say these are good! I forgot to add the ketchup, not even noticed, excellent beans, better than anything out of a can. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry Great Northern beans, soaked 6-8 hours, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- â…“ cup ketchup
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 250 grams bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces, (8 oz)
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Bring beans to a boil for about 5-10 minutes in large pot with plenty of water. Then simmer on low until nearly soft, about 40 to 50 minutes. Drain and place beans in your slow cooker. OR as I did, I cooked the beans in my slow cooker.
- Add all other ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Give it a mix to get everything distributed in the beans.
- Cover and cook on Low setting for 10 hours or High setting for 5 hours. Stir occasionally. One hour before finished, if there is too much liquid in the pot, leave the lid off until the liquid is to your liking. Serve or use in other recipes as needed.
Notes
Shortcut: Great Northern Beans (Pressure Cooker).
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
- Anastasia's Best-ever Baked Beans.
- Cowboy Stew, made it, GO-TO recipe.
Ultra Creamy Mac & Cheese (Slow Cooker)
This is by far the best Mac & Cheese I have ever made, and actually, a low cost meal as well. This is a slow cooker recipe. Link to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry macaroni, any bite size pasta works here
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, Shortcut
- ½ cup sour cream, Shortcut
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ teaspoon course ground black pepper
- 4 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, (500 g / 1 lb)
Instructions
- In a pot of boiling water, cook the macaroni until just near tender, do not over cook, basically under cook it by a minute or so. Drain and rinse under cold water, the cold water will stop the cooking process. Add the pasta to your slow cooker.
- Add the onion powder, mustard, soup, sour cream, mayo, and black pepper to the slow cooker.
- Give the slow cooker a stir to mix everything together.
- Add the cheese and mix that in.
- For a Variant, I added to the slow cooker about 500 grams (1 lb) of cheese stuffed smoked sausage that I had sliced.
- Mix the sausage in. Cook on Low setting for 3 hours.
- Stir once or twice during the cooking but quickly so not all the heat is let out of the cooker.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
High cost per serving, but well worth it. The cheese is the costly part here, 180 Baht/250 gram block, two blocks are needed at 360 Baht. For 6 servings, this is about 1.88 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, Sour Cream.
Variant: 1. Add cubed ham or smoked sausage, highly recommended!
Teriyaki Marinade II
This is from a good friend, and is very good, just a doctored up Teriyaki sauce from a bottle. I marinated a bunch of chicken legs in this for about 30 hours, excellent and very well received by the Thai family.
Ingredients
- 2 parts Teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 part soy sauce
- fresh garlic, crushed, amount is up to you
- course ground black pepper, amount is up to you
Instructions
- Mix everything together. Place your meat in a large zip lock bag pour in the sauce and squeeze out all the air and seal the bag, squish everything around to coat all the meat and place in the fridge. How long you marinate is up to you, 1-2 hours minimum, but for great flavor, go up to 24+ hours, then grill.
Notes
Low cost.
Provided courtesy of good friend, David McAllister.
United States.
United States.
White Chicken Chili I
There is as many ways to cook white chicken chili as there is stars in the evening sky. This recipe is very tasty and is a slow cooker recipe for the most part. The beans listed are for beans that you have prepared from dry beans, not only is this a money saver, some places do not have canned beans available. Plan your timing appropriately. I made this on 19 Dec 2016 and it is very good, recipe modified slightly. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- 1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 500 grams dry Great Northern beans, cook in the morning, very easy
- 2 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 2-3 green chilies, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, OR make from a shortcut
Instructions
- Rinse and sort the dry beans, place in a pot and cover with about 3 inches of water, and a couple of good shakes of crack black pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Stir the beans every 15 minutes or so and add more water as needed. Cook the beans for 2-4 hours until soft. Remove from heat and drain.
- Place the chicken in the slow cooker, put everything else in the slow cooker including the beans, except the sour cream and heavy cream. Cover and cook on Low setting for 5-7 hours. Chicken should be fall apart tender at 5 hours, if using frozen chicken breasts, then go the full 7 hours, or on High setting for 3-4 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a plate using some slotted spoons, shred with a couple of forks and return the chicken back to the slow cooker.
- Mix together the heavy cream and sour cream in a small bowl until smooth and stir this into the slow cooker. Cover and continue cooking on Low setting for 30 minutes. Serve.
Notes
Chicken breasts will cost about 30 Baht/500 grams. For 6-8 servings, this well under $1 per serving.
Shortcut: Heavy Cream.
Provided by Barefeet in the Kitchen and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Cheesy Chicken Pasta Skillet
This is a variant of the Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta Skillet, but I thought this warranted a separate recipe due to not being a one skillet dish, this one takes a little time. Lot of things to change in this to suit your taste. I made this on 8 Dec 2016, and it is delicious, I took the step by step photos and my comments below.
Ingredients
For the Chicken and Stock
- 3 chicken quarters, seperate the legs from the thighs
- 1 onion, cut in half, no need to peel
- 1-2 tablespoons peppercorns
To Prepare
- splash olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 500 grams dry spiral pasta, any bite size pasta will work
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped, with the juice as well
- 3 cups chicken stock, you just made that
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Instructions
For the Chicken and Stock
- Place the chicken in a large pot and fill 3/4 of the way full with water, add the onion and peppercorns, feel free to add any additional veggys you like such as carrots or celery. Place on high heat and bring to a boil and reduce to almost a simmer. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the meat is tender. You do not want the meat to fall off the bone.
- Remove the chicken from the pot to drain and cool for about 20 minutes so you can handle it. Turn off the heat to the pot and cover.
- Once the pieces have cooled a bit and you can handle them, use your fingers to pull the meat off the bones, do not use forks, use your hands as you can feel if there is any gristle attached to the meat, this is the reason you do not want the meat to fall off the bones, then the gristle is attached to the meat. By cooking until tender, the meat will easily pull off the bones and the gristle bits remain attached to the bone. Turn the heat back on to a simmer on the pot with the stock in it put the bones back in and continue to simmer this until needed. This photo shows the meat from 3 thighs and 3 legs. Feel to chop or pull apart to smaller pieces if you desire.
To Prepare
- Melt butter in skillet and cook the onion and garlic until tender and starting to brown, then add in the chicken meat.
- Add, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, chopped tomatoes and juice, 3 cups of the stock you just made, and the pasta and stir together. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, and let cook uncovered, or until pasta is tender and just some of the liquid remains, about 20-30 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover.
- Juice and stock is absorbed, the pasta is perfect.
- Mix in the cheese and cover for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Serve.
Notes
My wife bought 5 quarters for 110 Baht, I used 3, so I will say 75 Baht for the chicken. The cheese is about 140 Baht for a 200 gram block, shred the whole block for 2 cups of cheese. For 6 servings, this is about $1.05 per serving.
Variants: Add fresh sliced mushrooms. Use fresh tomatoes but you will need tomato juice (just a bit) as well. Variants add cost however, but can change up the dish from one time you prepare it to the next. Add taco seasoning and use Cheddar cheese and you have a taco pasta dish.
Inspired by good friend, Lynn Batterman.
United States.
United States.
Whitefish Scampi
Sounds good and easy with only 5 ingredients. The cooking time listed for this seems long but is spot on, as I made this on 13 Sep 2017, outstanding, another big hit with the family.
Ingredients
- 4 fillets whitefish, Pangasius, Barramundi, or Tilapia, fillets cut in half as well
- 3/4 cup butter, this is 3/4 of a standard block
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, or lime juice
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- salt and lemon pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F), lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- In a saucepan, add the butter and the minced garlic and put on low heat to melt the butter and soften the garlic a bit.
- Arrange the fillet pieces in the baking dish in a single layer, season with a pinch of salt and lemon pepper as desired.
- Mix the lemon or lime juice into the butter and pour the butter and garlic over the fish evenly. Sprinkle the fish with the parsley and bake for 40 minutes, turning the fish over every 10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
- Serve. (This was my plate, the fish shown is 3 half pieces of fillets, the last 10 minutes cook time, the pieces come apart into two pieces.)
Notes
Pangasius runs about 120 Baht/kilo, this is about 4 fillets. To use Barramundi, you would need 2 fish and fillet yourself, 2 fish would cost about 135 Baht. For 4 servings using Pangasius, this is about 88 cents per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Japanese Beef Curry
I have not had Japanese Curry in over 11 years, it is excellent! And I just happen to have a friend in Udon Thani that found Japanese Curry paste in the Tops there and I had them ship 4 packages down here to my house in Nakhon Si Thammarat. I made this last night 19 Jan 2017 as written, and wow is it good!
Ingredients
- 500 grams beef, cut into 3/4 inch cubes, (1 lb)
- pepper, to taste
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2-3 potatoes, cubed
- 2 1/2 cups beef stock, fresh or from powder
- 100 grams Japanese Curry paste, this is 1/2 of a standard package
- cooked rice, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the veggies and the meat. There is no need to add any salt to this, the curry has plenty in it already.
- Season the beef with pepper to your liking. In a pot, heat a splash of olive oil and add the beef, just brown on all sides, no need to cook through. Remove the beef from the pot.
- Same pot, add olive oil if needed and cook the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, then add the potatoes, carrot, and beef. Add the stock and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the beef is tender and the vegetables tender. I am using Thai beef so give it plenty of time to get tender.
- This is the curry I used, a well respected Japanese brand and this is a import item.
- This is half of the package, 100 grams.
- And it does in fact look like a candy bar.
- Add the curry to the pot and stir to mix in, it dissolves rather fast and simmer for 10-15 minutes and the curry will thicken.
- Serve in a bowl with a scoop of rice on the side.
Notes
The box of curry is 160 Baht, you will use half that for a cost of 80 Baht. The beef, this is local sourced, not from Tesco, can range in price from 150 to 260 Baht/kilo. 500 grams would be 75 to 130 Baht. I will use the 130 figure for this. For 6 servings, this is about $1.03 per serving. If you make this with beef you get at a lower price, this would be less than $1 per serving.
Variant: Top with chopped pecans and raisins.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Variant provided by good friend, Jerry Juliana.
United States.
United States.
Stir-Fried Pork Liver With Ginger & Spring Onion
This is an excellent dish as I love pork liver! This is an easy 2 step recipe with minimal ingredients. I made this on 8 Sep 2018 and very well liked by the family. Liver cooks fast so have everything prepped before you start. You do not want to over cook the liver, a little pink inside is perfect. This is wide open to changes to suit your taste, mushrooms come to mind.
Ingredients
- 250-500 grams pig liver, sliced thin, (½-1 lb)
- 3-5 spring onions, cut into 2 inch pieces, white and green parts
- 1 piece of ginger, thumb sized, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- dash mushroom sauce
- â…› teaspoon ground white pepper
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Heat a non stick skillet, or wok, with a splash of olive oil. Fry the ginger until the sides start to turn white on the edges, then add the thicker pieces of the spring onion, onion, and garlic, cook this 30 seconds to a minute, stirring.
- Add the liver, the remaining spring onion, and the sauces, cook while stirring this until the liver has turned light brown, take this off the heat for a minute or two (the heat in the pan will cook the liver through, serve with rice on the side. For this photo, this was about 1 minute before the liver was cooked, reason you see some pink on the liver.
- Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with chopped cilantro if desired, serve.
Notes
Pork liver runs about 122 Baht/kilo, going with that, and for 500 grams the cost is 61 Baht, for 4 servings, this is about 45 cents per serving.
Coriander Pepper Pork Chops
I thought of this after I added a fried pork chop recipe using fish sauce as the base. I made this (at least a similar recipe) Coriander Pepper Pork Chops some 25 or so years ago. This is a mild marinade and gives the pork chops a nice flavor without over powering the taste of the pork.
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops, about 1 inch thick
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander, OR 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds crushed
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Mix together the garlic, brown sugar, soy saucer, pepper, and coriander in a small bowl. Using a sturdy fork or a needle tenderizer, poke holes all over in the meat part of the chop and place them in a baking dish in one layer. Pour the marinade over the top of the chops and flip them to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes to overnight, flipping the chops occasionally.
- Remove the chops from the baking dish and discard the marinade.
- Heat a large non stick pan to medium high heat with a splash of olive oil, once heated, place the chops in (cooking in batches).
- Fry for 4-5 minutes each side, the juices should run clear to indicate cooked through. Remove from the pan and cover with foil, let rest for 10 minutes to allow the juices to soak back into the chops.
- Serve the chops with a baked potato and salad or sides of your choice.
Notes
For the pork, all I can price this with for now is pork loin. Pork loin is about 118 Baht/kilo, going with that in order to cut thick steaks from, for 4 servings, this is about 87 cents per serving.
My recipe from many years ago, Lee Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
