Archive for the ‘#1 Go-To Recipes’ Category
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.
Cream Horns
This recipe comes from a friend and I have modified this recipe to what is shown for 12 cream horns and I will provide 3 ways to fill them. I used Method 2 after I broke Method 1 (totally my fault, the recipe is certainly valid) and fell back to using Method 2. The family and I loved these! I always thought these would be difficult, just the opposite, and delicious!
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter
- 12 Cream Horn Molds , I used 5 inch molds
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
- Electric Mixer
- Pastry Bag , with large star tip
Ingredients
- 1 package puff pastry, I used a 200 gram (7 oz) frozen block
Cream Filling - Method 1
- 112 grams cream cheese, (4 oz)
- 1 cup whipping cream, cold
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Filling - Method 2
- 1 cup whipping cream
Cream Filling - Method 3
- 1 can whipped cream
Instructions
For the Pastry
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F), line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- For my location, I found frozen puff pastry in blocks that need to be rolled, I have not located folded sheets yet. Thaw the pastry according to package instructions. Place the block on a floured surface and lightly flour the top and flour your rolling pin as well. This is the thawed size from the package. The tile is 12x12 inches for reference.
- Rolled thin, roughly to about 9x12 inches. Use a pizza cutter and cut the pastry into about ¾ inch strips, and I was able to cut this into 12 strips. The first piece at the far end was already used on a horn before I took this photo.
- About ½ inch from the pointy end of the mold, wrap a strip of pastry and continue wrapping, overlapping towards the wide end of the mold, press the end that is near the wide end and place on the prepared baking sheet with that seam on the bottom. Repeat until all strips are used. I looked at a lot of cream horn on the internet and it seemed that 5 wraps was the number to have so I went with that.
- Place in the oven and bake for 18 minutes, but keep an eye on them as all ovens heat differently. When they are a light golden brown, they are done, These were perfect at exactly 18 minutes. If not baked properly, they can uncurl if under baked, and stick to the molds if overbaked, and no one likes that.
- Right after the come out of the oven, you need to remove the horns from the molds. Easily done, just hold a mold by the wide end with an oven mitt, and gently push the horn off hold, they will slip right off. Allow the horns to cool completely before filling. Allowing them too cool on the mold may result in horns sticking.
For the Cream Filling - Method 1
- Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and allow to come to room temp, you want it softened. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat with an electric mixer starting from slow speed increasing to higher speed until mixture is smooth with no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix at high speed until mixture thickens.
- Scrape down the sides again and beat one more time on high speed for 15 seconds.
- Scrape down the sides and add the cold whipping cream. Start beating on low speed and increase to high speed until thicken and frosting like, when it holds its shape. DO NOT OVERBEAT! Now, I was thinking I should beat this for a few more minutes as it was not quite holding the shape I thought it was supposed to, and I overbeat it, if you have ever overbeat whipping cream, it breaks, meaning it separates and looks more like cottage cheese than whipped cream, as did mine. So I came up with Method 2.
- Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a star tip, half full with the whipped cream. Gently hold a horn and insert the tip inside to the end and fill as you draw it out. Place on a serving tray. Repeat with remaining horns.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the cream horns, cover and place in the fridge until serving. Serve and enjoy.
For the Cream Filling - Method 2
- Add the whipping cream to a bowl, beat with an electric mixer until peaks form.
- Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a star tip, half full with the whipped cream. Gently hold a horn and insert the tip inside to the end and fill as you draw it out. Place on a serving tray. Repeat with remaining horns.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the cream horns, cover and place in the fridge until serving. Serve and enjoy.
For the Cream Filling - Method 3
- This is the quick way to do this. Gently hold a horn and insert the tip inside to the end and fill as you draw it out. Place on a serving tray. Repeat with remaining horns.
- Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top of the cream horns, cover and place in the fridge until serving. Serve and enjoy.
Andy's Holiday Coleslaw
This recipe comes from a friend, and Chef, and is an excellent slaw! I made this on 8 Apr 2022 and the only items not used was the apple and walnuts, this was very well liked by the family, highly recommended.
Equipment
- Box Shredder
Ingredients
For the Slaw
- 1 head green cabbage, about (400-450 g / 14-16 oz)
- ⅓-½ carrot, dependonding on how large it is
- 1 medium apple, cored, peeled, and diced
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
For the Dressing
- ¾ cup mayo
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Prep the carrot by shredding in on a box shredder, then quarter and core the cabbage, cut into about ½ inch slices, then chop those. Place in a mixing bowl.
- To the mixing bowl, then add the celery seed, apple, cranberries, and walnuts. (I used the variant for the celery and added diced celery, also omitted the apple and walnuts.)
- Mix everything together.
- In a measuring cup, add all the Dressing ingredients, mix together.
- Add the dressing to the vegetables and mix together. Cover and plae in the fridge until serving. Serve as a side with any main dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Variant: 1. Half a stalk of celery, finely diced, is a great substitution for the celery seed.
Fried Pork Chops
My wife came home from the grocer with Kurobuta Pork Chops, these are the pork equivelent of Japanese Kobi Beef. So I did some research and came up with this. It is all about the timing and the temperature. An instant read thermometer is must for this.
Equipment
- Instant Read Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops, mine were about ¾ inch thick, bone in
- olive oil, and as needed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
Instructions
- Remove pork chops from the fridge about 30 minutes before you want to cook and place on the counter to come to room temp.
- In a small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper to make the seasoning mix.
- Pat the pork chops dry with paper towels on both sides the rub some olive oil on all sides of the pork chops.
- Sprinkle the seasoning mix on each side of the pork chops, rubbing it in after sprinkling each side.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large flat bottomed pan, cast iron pan would be ideal but not required, when the oil is hot, add the pork chops, in batches if needed as I could only fry 2 at a time. Flip the pork chops every minute using the following times:¾ inch thick: 4-6 minutes.1¼ inch thick: 8-10 minutes.1½ inch thick: 10-12 minutes.At the minimum time stated, check the internal temperature with your instant read thermometer for 61° C (140° F), and remove from heat to a plate and cover with foil or a lid or 5 minutes. The temp will rise to 63° (145° F) while it rests. It is certainly OK for the center to be a little pink as long as the temp was reached.
- Serve with sides of your choice, enjoy.
Notes
High cost per serving, but these are great for a once in a while meal.
Strawberry Bundt Cake
This is cake is a combination of several recipes, mainly being Amy's recipe with a few changes.
Equipment
- Bundt Pan
- Oven
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons strawberry gelatin powder, I used Imperial brand
- 4½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, I used sunflower
- 1¼ cups strawberry jam, I used two 160 gram jars
Instructions
- Preheat your oven 180° C (350° F), grease the bundt pan with butter, then flour it.
- In a mixing bowl, add the cake flour, sugar, gelatin powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together.
- In another mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk until fluffy. Add the oil and whisk together, then add the jam and whisk that in.
- Add the flour mixture and use a spoon to mix together until just combined and the batter is smooth, do not over mix.
- Pour mixture evenly into the prepared bundt pan.
- Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and place on a rack, allow to cool for 10 minutes. (Mine was done at exactly 45 minutes.)
- After 10 minutes, gently check the sides along the outer edge and the center cone to loosen the cake. Place a plate or serving tray upside on the pan, and turn both over. Gently tap the pan and lift the edges to see if the cake came out of the pan. Remove the pan, let cake cool completely, 2-3 hours before frosting.
Decorating
- You have choices here, most bundt cakes are decorated with just a simple glaze or dusted with powdered sugar. I got creative and decided on a strawberry buttercream frosting, and I layered the cake, simply cut the bundt cake in half horizontally and carefully remove the top ring.
- Frost the bottom layer with buttercream, then put the top ring back on.
- Frost the sides.
- Slice and enjoy.
