Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
Whitefish in Tomato Sauce
This is excellent, served over pasta it is basically fish pasta, excellent flavor. I made this on 27 Nov 2016 and even my Thai wife gave this two thumbs up. The original recipe called for baking this, this is easily done in a skillet on the stove top and is how this is written now. Pangasius or any whitefish can be used. Recipe modified by my findings. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 Pangasius fillets, cut into large pieces, about 750 grams of fillets
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
- olive oil, as needed
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- paprika, to taste
- white pepper, to taste
- ground nutmeg, to taste
- all purpose flour, as needed
- fresh basil, chopped, for the sauce and for garnish
Instructions
- Add the fillet pieces to a large bowl, season to your liking with the salt, black pepper, white pepper, paprika, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a small pot, heat a splash of olive oil and add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce and some fresh basil. Cook until the sauce to soften the tomatoes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Take the fish pieces and roll them in some flour to coat them all, add these to a large skillet heated to medium low with a splash of olive oil and brown both sides until the fish is just cooked through. Fish was cooked in 3 batches.
- When the fish is done, reduce heat to a low simmer and pour in the tomato sauce and mix the fish pieces gently into the sauce, simmer to heat through. This is after all the fish had been returned to the pan and the sauce just pour over them.
- Garnish fresh chopped basil if desired and serve over pasta of your choice or with potatoes and butter on the side.
Notes
Pangasius fillets will cost about 112 Baht/kilo. For 4 servings, this is about 82 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Best Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese
This is excellent mac & cheese, and the can of cheese soup is the key ingredient, and you can make that from a Shortcut on the site! Keep in mind, use block cheese you shred yourself, as packaged shredded cheese will not melt as well due to packaging to keep the shred separated. I made this on On 21 Mar 2021 and the entire family loved this! I used a variant and the steps/photos will reflect that. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup, (10½ oz / 298 g), Shortcut
- 2¾ cup half and half, or evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 500 grams uncooked elbow macaroni, (1 lb)
- 2 cups Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded, (8 oz / 226 g)
- 1 cup Colby or Edam cheese, shredded, (4 oz / 113 g)
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- To your slow cooker, add the half and half (or evaporated milk), cheddar cheese soup, paprika, and black pepper, and whisk mix until the mixture is smooth.
- Into your slow cooker, add the uncooked macaroni, half of the shredded cheeses, and butter. Stir together.
- I added a variant and added 1 can of smoked spam that I diced, and I had some leftover cocktail sausages so I chopped those and added them as well.
- Mix the meats or other variants into the mixture.
- Top the mixture with the rest of the shredded cheeses. Put the lid on and cook on Low setting for 3 hours.
- At the 3 hour mark, turn slow cooker off, remove lid and give the mac and cheese a stir. If the mixture is too thick, stir in a spoon or two milk.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
The Cheddar cheese would run about 180 Baht, the Colby or Edam, another 90 Baht, the condensed soup about 90 Baht, same for making yourself but you will know what is in it. For 10 servings, this is about $1.06 per serving.
Shortcut: Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup.
Variants: 1. Add chopped broccoli, chopped ham, chopped smoked sausage, chopped hot dogs, chopped smoked cocktail sausages (Little Smokies), cooked cubed chicken, diced Spam.
Garlic Butter Cheesy Prawn
This recipe was prepared for me by our good friends we had over as house guests. Very tasty and easy to prepare. This recipe uses large prawn so it is not an inexpensive meal. This can be an appetizer, at a pot luck meal, or as a main dish. This recipe is listed for what is shown in the photos, 14 large prawn.
Ingredients
- 14 fresh large prawn, whole, unpeeled and head on
- 1/2 cup butter, softened, this is 1/2 a regular block of butter
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- Cheddar cheese, 14 small slices
- spring onion, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F), line a 9x13 baking dish with foil.
- Split the body of each whole prawn, including the head, to nearly through and gently spread apart and place in the baking dish. Photo shows the size of prawn used.
- With the room temp butter, mix in the garlic, using a spoon and your fingers, put some garlic butter into each prawn as shown in this photo.
- Place in the oven then reduce the temp to 180 C (350 F). Bake for 5-10 minute or until the shells turn orange, remove from the oven and add a small slice of cheese to each body of the prawns and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted, remove from oven, sprinkle with some chopped spring onion or chives, serve.
Notes
The cost break down is hard with this recipe as I do not know how many large prawn are in a kilo. One kilo is 350 Baht. I will say this is between $1 and $1.50 per serving. When I make this again I will provide more accurate pricing information. This is listed as an appetizer as well as a main dish.
Original recipe provided courtesy of good friend, Yui Hinton.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Au Gratin Potatoes I
Cheese and potatoes, my kind of side dish. This can be costly depending on the cheese you use, but would be a great meal for visiting friends and family. This is an unusual method, but works surprisingly well. This is not your typical potatoes swimming in cheese sauce recipe, the potatoes soak up butter from the bottom of the dish, and some of the cheese sauce on top soaks down into the potatoes. I made this on 31 Aug 2018, excellent potatoes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 kilos potatoes, washed, skin on
- 1 onion
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded, OR use Swiss cheese
- salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F), get out a casserole or baking pan and lightly grease with butter. (I used a smaller amount of potatoes so I used my 5x7 baking dish.)
- Thinly slice the potatoes into 1/8 inch thick slices, a mandolin would be the best item to use for this, it is faster than using a knife and will provide uniform slices.
- After the potatoes, slice the onion as thin as possible as well, again, a mandolin works great with the onions, separate the onions into rings as well. (I know, crappy photo.)
- Once the potatoes and onions sliced, make little stacks, starting with a potato slice, couple of onion ring slices, another potato, and so on until the stack is 2 inches high or so, ending with a potato slice on top. Do this for all the slices.
- Now take the stacks and place them in the baking dish on one side of the stack. Instead of layering them, the edges of the potatoes will be facing upwards.
- Before you start making the sauce, have the milk, cheese, and other ingredients ready for use, the sauce comes together quickly.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan then whisk in the flour and cook this for 2-3 minutes, then whisk in the the mustard, salt and pepper to your liking, and the milk. Whisk continuously until this thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheeses until full melted in. (This photo is after I spooned it over the potatoes.)
- Pour or spoon the cheese sauce over the potatoes, covering the dish evenly. Cover with foil. If the edges of potatoes may touch the foil, lightly grease the foil with butter (not the edges of foil) and then cover with the foil, greased side down.
- Bake this for 1 hour, then remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the potatoes are cooked through.
- Serve with a main dish of your choice.
Notes
Only costly items is the cheeses. Using half a block each of Cheddar and Swiss would be 90 Baht each, 180 Baht total. For 8 servings, this is about 70 cents per serving.
Note about the cheeses: Feel free to use just one cheese, or a combination of two cheeses, use your favorite type(s) of cheese to make this dish your own.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
All Purpose Chicken Meatballs
This recipe can also be used for ground turkey as well and was originally posted as that in the title, but I am going to list this using chicken. This sounds really easy and the meatballs are baked which will aide them keeping their shape. Make a batch and freeze them, then use as needed as an appetizer with a dipping sauce, pasta sauces, etc. Consider this a base recipe to be used in a variety of recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo ground chicken, OR ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Place all ingredients in a large bowl. I ground 1 kilo (2 lbs) of chicken tenders.
- Use your hands and mix to just combine, do not over mix as that will result in a tough meatball.
- Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until just cooked through, do not overcook or once again, tough meatballs. One inch meatballs should make about 50 meatballs. I use an ice cream scoop to measure, then place that in your hand and roll that, mine came out to about 1 1/2 inches and I made 26. I baked them for 35 minutes and they were perfect.
- Now, if you have a specific need for 1 kilo of meatballs at one time, go ahead and use, but more than likely, you are going to freeze these. Let the meatballs cool to room temperature, then place on another baking sheet and put in the freezer, once frozen then place all in a freezer bag or container, then you can take out the meatballs you need for a specific recipe.
Notes
The Tesco website lists Grade A Mince Chicken as 79 Baht/kilo, which very good considering 50 meatballs or so and can be used in several dishes. Easily under $1 per serving.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
United States.
- Turkey Meatballs with Summer Squash, made it, GO-TO recipe.
United States.
Fresh Apple Pie
Been many years since I have had apple pie, and even longer since having home made pie. I made this on 13 Oct 2016, and used the pie crust recipe as well listed in the Recipe Notes section, and it is wonderful, excellent pie! On my GO-TO list now! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Pie Dish (8 or 9 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium apples, peeled, cored, slices cut in half
- 1 cup sugar, or ½ cup white sugar and ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 pie crusts, Shortcut
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F). Get out a 8 or 9 inch pie dish.
- Place the apple pieces in a large bowl, sprinkle with corn starch and gently mix to coat the apples. Cornstarch will thicken the pie.
- In a bowl, add the sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and mix together with a spoon. This batch is the white sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon version.
- Add the apples pieces and spread out evenly. I used an 8 inch pie dish for this pie.
- Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples. , cinnamon, and nutmeg. Dot the top with the butter pieces. Place the top crust on and slice a couple of vents in the top. You can also wrap some foil around the edge of the crust to prevent that from over cooking. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of the pie, then the top will bake to a glossy brown, can also sprinkle sugar on the top to give the crust a sweet crunch.
- Now roll out the top crust, use as one sheet or lattice. I went for a wide lattice on this pie.
- Bake for 1 hour. Remove to a rack and let cool for 40 minutes or so before slicing.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Pie Crust.
Egg wash and sugar topping guidance provided courtesy of good friend, Garland Davis, US Navy Cook (Ret). United States.
Updated on 8 August 2022.
Slow Cooker Potato Soup I
Without using any cream this is a creamy and thick soup, and is delicious!. I made this on 23 Sep 2017 and wow is it good, enjoyed by the Thai family as well with thumbs up from the entire family. Made as written but I did forget the yogurt part so I have changed that to optional as it was not noticed or missed.
Ingredients
- 12 slices bacon, cooked and chopped, divided
- 3-4 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 kilo potatoes, diced, peeled or unpeeled is up to you
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 tablespoons bacon fat, OR butter
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 can evaporated milk, 1 1/2 cups is using a large container
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- For the bacon, I just cut a package in half, chopped that and fried until good and crispy in a small pan. Add the bacon to your slow cooker, just set the pan aside as you will use that in about 6 hours or so.
- Bacon and onion added to the slow cooker.
- Add the 3 cups chicken stock, and potatoes to your slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours or on High setting for 3-4 hours, or until the potatoes are completely tender and cooked through. Once cooked, chop and fry up the other half package of bacon and add that to slow cooker and stir to combine. (Photo shows right when the slow cooker was started.)
- Once the soup has slow cooked and is about ready to serve, heat the bacon fat, or butter, in the same pan used as the crisping the bacon, on the stove over medium-high heat until it has melted. Whisk in the flour until it is completely combined, and then cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Gradually add in the evaporated milk while whisking it together with the flour mixture, and continue whisking until the mixture is completely smooth. Let the mixture continue cooking until it reaches a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then it should get really thick.
- Immediately pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker with the potatoes, and stir until combined. Add in the cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper, and stir until combined. If you would like the soup to be even thicker, you can use a potato masher or a large spoon to mash about half of the potatoes (while the soup is still in the slow cooker) to thicken the soup up. If you would like the soup to be thinner, add in an extra 1-2 cups of warmed chicken or vegetable stock. Stir to combine, then taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve as is or with cheese, sliced spring onions, cooked bacon, sour cream, etc.
Notes
You can get bacon as low as 70 Baht/180 grams but averages 150 Baht/180 grams, easily 12 slices. For 8-10 servings, using 150 Baht, you are looking at 56 cents per serving, even less for more servings.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
One Pot Sausage Pasta
This is a one pot pasta dish that can be prepared any number of ways so it is never the same meal twice. Only rule to follow is to add a liquid for the pasta to cook. Meat, veggies, and spices are up to you to flavor the dish as you see fit. This is a base recipe that you can use to tailor at will. I made this on 10 Feb 2017 and is now a Go-To recipe!Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 6 smoked sausage links, sliced, see Step 1 for other items you can use
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, OR use milk, OR make from a shortcut
- 250 grams dry Penne pasta, OR any bite size pasta
- 2 cups water
- 3-4 spring onions, chopped, white and green parts
- Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded, for garnish if desired
Instructions
- For the sausage, go with 250-500 grams, think spicy smoked sausage (Makro), brats, beer brats, English beef or pork bangers, or even large, quality hotdogs. If you choose to use homemade bulk sausage, think meatballs, such as Italian sausage, plain pork sausage, or even chicken sausage.
- In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion until the onion is starting to soften, then add the sausage, salt and pepper.
- When the sausage is browned up, add the tomatoes, sugar, heavy cream, and mix. Then add the pasta and water and mix well, cover and cook on simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
- After 15 minutes or when the pasta is tender, remove from heat, stir in the spring onion, cover and let sit for 5 minutes, serve with Parmesan cheese on top if desired.
- Served.
Notes
Sausage will be the costly item here if you buy it, much cheaper if you make it. For store bought smoked sausage, figure about 150 Baht for 500 grams. For 4 servings this is about $1.10 per serving, good value overall, and less for 6 servings.
Shortcuts: Heavy Cream, Sausage.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Chinese Five Spice Chicken
I love Chinese Five Spice Chicken, and oddly, I like the eggs the best. Anytime I transit to Phuket and back home, the van stops at a roadside kitchen, I always get a couple of the eggs to eat as a snack. This is not a secret recipe or an internet recipe, this is from the pack of spice you can buy in every town. The Lobo brand of spices have instructions in Thai and English on every spice packet I have used from them. I made this on 16 May 2017 to get step by step photos, and it is wonderful as always, my comments below.
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken wings
- 5 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 1 tablespoon 5 Spice Powder, rounded tablespoon
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons black soy sauce
- 3 cups water
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 package bean curd, this is tofu, amount is up to you, cut in 1 inch peices, optional
Instructions
- Prepare your chicken wings by separating the drumette from the middle middle piece and the wing tip. Put the drumettes and middle sections in a large bowl, keep the wing tips for your dog. Or just buy middle sections or drumettes. Take the wing tips and boil them in some water to make a quick stock, and then give the wing tips to your dog, they will appreciate that. This is the spice packet I use, good brand.
- In the bowl for the drumettes and middle sections, add the 5 Spice Powder. Rub that in with your fingers until they are all coated. This is easy, use one hand to mix the wings and the the other to sprinkle in the spice powder, they will all coat as you can see.
- In a wok or large non-stick pan, heat a splash of olive oil then add the garlic, when the garlic is browned and the chicken, fry for a few minutes turning a few times. You are browning them, not needing to cook through.
- Add the water, sugar, salt, light and black soy sauces, eggs, and bean curd, cover and simmer for an hour.
- This photo was at the 1 hour mark, and some chicken and eggs already removed to a serving bowl. The longer the eggs sit in the liquid the darker color they develop.
- Served. Spoon the broth over rice, delicious.
Notes
Chicken wing prices can vary depending on what you buy. Whole wings would be 45 Baht/500 grams. Wing stick (drummettes) is about 33 Baht/500 grams, and the middle section, the part with the 2 bones, is about 60 Baht/500 grams. Go with drummettes for 33 Baht, for 4 servings, this is about 25 cents per serving. Very cost effective.
From a recipe on a spice packet.
Eduard's Country Skillet
This is from a good friend, easy and delicious! This is a make with what you have recipe, no set rules here, amounts you use are up to you although I have edited to what I used when I made this on 27 Dec 2016 and it is a keeper! Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 360 grams smoked bacon, 2 180 gram packs
- sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 200 grams smoked ham
- 3 potatoes, medium to large potatoes, diced large
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 bell peppers, colors are up to you, red, green, and yellow works
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- bacon fat, as needed
- olive oil, as needed
- butter, as needed
- spring onions, chopped
- 2 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 6 eggs
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until just for tender. Remove from the water and let cool so you can handle them. Once they have cooled a little, dice them into large pieces.
- Cook the bacon, ham, and sausage separately then remove and set aside. You can use a bit of each, or just one or two, up to you.
- In the same pan, heat it up with some bacon fat, olive oil, and butter, add the bell peppers, onion, season with salt, pepper, thyme, and sage.
- Cook until the peppers are tender, then add in the potatoes and cooked meat, mix and heat through.
- While cooking the peppers are cooking, preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F), put your large cast iron pan in the oven while it heats. If no cast iron pan, or you oven will not support a cast iron pan, use a baking dish. I used a baking dish.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat slightly, then add the chopped spring onion and cheese, amount is up to you. Add this to the skillet with the potatoes and give a quick stir, remove the cast iron pan (baking dish) from the oven and pour this mixture into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until the eggs are set. Serve.
Notes
No cost given here, cost would be based on what you use, shortcuts will save you money as well. This would be an excellent dish to prepare for a late breakfast, brunch, as I do, a main dish for dinner.
This can range from low cost to high cost depending on what you want to use. I will say this a fair value dish as average.
Shortcuts: Sausage, Breakfast Sausage.
Recipe and cast iron pan photo provided courtesy of good friend, Eduard Wijers.
United States.
United States.