Archive for the ‘APPETIZERS / SNACKS’ Category
Seasoned Oyster Crackers
May 7, 2019 Lee
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Seasoned Oyster Crackers

This is a great sounding snack cracker or addition for a nice chili or soup. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 0 a lot

Ingredients
  

  • 2 packages oyster crackers, 12 oz each
  • 3/4 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix, (Shortcut)

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the crackers, toss the crackers as you drizzle in the olive oil, the keep tossing and sprinkle in the dill, garlic powder, and dressing mix.
  • Set the bowl aside for 1 hour. Before the hour is up, preheat your oven to 120 C (250 F), line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up.
  • When the hour has passed, spread the crackers onto the foil, and bake for 15-20 minutes.
  • Allow to cool, enjoy as is or with chili or a nice soup.

Notes

Cannot price this until I find oyster crackers in Thailand again, I have only seen them one time and that was about 6 years ago. For now, I will say low cost.
Shortcut: Ranch Dressing Mix I, Ranch Dressing Mix II.
Provided by Tessa Pasquill of Just A Pinch Recipe Club and his recipe is here.
United Kingdom.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,CONDIMENTS
Dorito Chicken Strips
May 5, 2019 Lee
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Dorito Chicken Strips

Sounds good, and easy, and only 4 ingredients! On my to make and taste list.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
  • 1 bag Nacho Cheese Doritos, or any flavor you prefer, (200 grams / 10 oz for US)
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 200 C (400 F) and line a baking sheet with foil.
  • Cut chicken breasts into 3/4 inch strips.
  • Crush the chips quite small but not into a powder, looking for texture on the chicken with these. In a shallow dish, mix together the egg and milk.
  • Using tongs (prevents clumpy fingers) dip a chicken strip into the egg mixture, then roll in the chips, use the tongs and pat the chips onto the chicken on all sides, then place on the baking sheet. Repeat for all the strips.
  • Lightly spray the strips with cooking spray or mist with some extra light olive oil. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until cooked through, you don't want to over cook the chicken, simply at 15 minutes, remove on from the oven and cut in half to check for doneness.
  • Serve with ranch dressing, sour cream, or my choice, Kewpie mayo. Enjoy.

Notes

Low cost per serving, chicken is low cost.
Variants: 1. Before cooking, cut the strips into cubes and you have nuggets. 2. Use thighs or even whole chicken breasts.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,CHICKEN & TURKEY,Chicken - Nuggets
Crab & Cheese Spring Rolls
May 2, 2019 Lee
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Crab & Cheese Spring Rolls

Pups with Chopsticks, Joyce.
These are delicious and easy to prepare. Keep in mind, this is in no way Chinese. The number of spring rolls you make from this will depend on the size of the wrappers you use, either 8.5 x 8.5 inch or 5.5 x 5.5 inch, either size will work. I used 5.5 x 5.5 inch wrappers and made 15 spring rolls, so using the larger ones, you will make less.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 15 spring rolls

Ingredients
  

  • 15 spring roll wrappers
  • 250 grams imitation crab sticks, (8 oz)
  • 250 grams Cream cheese, room temp, (8 oz)
  • ¾ cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
  • 2-3 tabelspoons mayo
  • 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2-3 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed, finely minced
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • sweet chili sauce, for serving, or dipping sauces of your choice

Instructions
 

  • If your spring roll wrappers are frozen, take them out and place on the counter for 1-2 hours before you start. Take out the cream cheese, unwrap that and place in a mixing bowl for about an hour, to come up to room temperature and soften, or use a spreadable cream cheese.
  • Unwrap the crab sticks and chop them, then shred or break them apart with your fingers. Here they are just chopped, not shredded yet.
  • Prep the spring onion and garlic.
  • Mash up the cream cheese up with a heavy spoon to get it mixable.
  • To the bowl, add the mayo, Mozzarella cheese, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Mix to combine.
  • Add the crab, garlic, and spring onion.
  • Mix to combine, now your filling is ready. Go ahead and mix together the corn starch and water in a small bowl, this is your glue to seal the edges of the spring rolls.
  • Rolling, for this step, it is best to have two people, one to pull the wrappers, one to roll. Lay a spring roll wrapper, smooth side down on the counter with one corner pointed towards you. Place about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of filling near the corner closest to you. Fold the corner nearest you up and over the filling and roll away until you are at the widest point of the wrapper. Use your fingers and dip into the glue and rub that on the two side that are away from you, be generous. Now fold one side, left or right, towards the middle, the repeat with the other side, now it should look like an open envelope. Now continue rolling away from you to complete the roll. If the point flap does not stay glued down, just dab a bit more glue on it. Repeat until the filling is all used. Once you have done this a few times this actually goes pretty fast. The reason for the two people is you do not want the wrappers drying or they will tear when pulling them apart. If only you are making these, cover the wrappers with a damp towel while you roll each one.
  • Completed spring rolls.
  • When you are ready to fry them, heat about ½ inch of oil in a pan, you want it hot but not smoking. When the oil is hot, fry 4 to 5 rolls at a time until golden brown then turn over until the other side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels and continue frying in batches until all are cooked. Keep in mind, the filling in these is soft and some rolls may ooze a bit of cheese and filling into oil, that accounts for the dark specks you see on the rolls, just cosmetic, no harm.
  • Serve with sweet chili sauce for dipping, or other sauces of your choice. Enjoy as an appetizer or even as a main dish. These are excellent even without a dipping sauce.

Notes

The crab sticks are 52 Baht, the cream cheese is 108 Baht for Caroline brand (Thai), and figure about 60 Baht for the Mozzarella. For 15 spring rolls, this is about 48 cents per spring roll. If using and import brand of cream cheese, figure about 60 cents per spring roll. Figure 1-2 rolls as a serving as an appetizer (Low cost), and 3-4 rolls as a main dish with a nice side. (High cost).
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,SEAFOOD - ALL,Seafood - Crab - Imitation
Taco Spring Rolls
April 27, 2019 Lee
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Taco Spring Rolls

I came up with this on a whim, seemed like a good idea, and it was! Very well liked by the family. This does take time as the meat mixture needs to cool to room temperature, as the key to making spring rolls is to use room temp filling, a warm filling will break the wrappers when you roll them. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Course Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 0 spring rolls

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams ground pork, or beef, (1 lb)
  • 1 packet taco seasoning mix, (Shortcut)
  • 1 cup water
  • 120 grams lettuce, chopped, (4 oz)
  • 150 grams Cheddar cheese, or a cheese blend, shredded, (5 oz)
  • 1 package spring roll wrappers, 5.5 x 5.5 inch wrappers, at least 20 wrappers, thawed
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1-2 tablespoons water
  • cooking oil, for frying
  • dipping sauce of your choice, salsa would be good, and in Thailand, sweet chili sauce

Instructions
 

  • Heat a non stick pan on medium heat and add the ground pork. Break it up as it cooks with your spatula.
  • Break the meat up finely and to cook until little to no pink is visible. Since I used pork, I drained the fat.
  • Once the meat is drained, add the taco seasoning packet and 1 cup of water.
  • Stir together and simmer the seasoned meat until the water is all evaporated, stirring occasionally. Once no liquid remains, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. If you are pushed for time, you can add the meat mixture to a mixing bowl to cool, but why dirty up another bowl, just leave it in the pan on an unused burner or counter top. To cool takes 1-2 hours.
  • Take the spring roll wrappers out of the freezer and place on the counter to thaw. Go ahead and prep the lettuce and cheese.
  • When you are ready to roll the spring roll, add the lettuce and cheese to the cooled meat mixture.
  • Give the filling a good stir to mix everything together, there, you just made the filling, which is much faster than traditional spring rolls. In a small bowl, mix together the corn starch and 1-2 tablespoons of water, this is your glue for the next step.
  • For this step, it is best to have two people, one to pull the wrappers, one to roll. Lay a spring roll wrapper, smooth side down on the counter with one corner pointed towards you. Place about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of filling near the corner closest to you. Fold the corner nearest you up and over the filling and roll away until you are at the widest point of the wrapper. Use your fingers and dip into the glue and rub that on the two side that are away from you, be generous. Now fold one side, left or right, towards the middle, the repeat with the other side, now it should look like an open envelope. Now continue rolling away from you to complete the roll. If the point flap does not stay glued down, just dab a bit more glue on it. Repeat until the filling is all used. I made 21 rolls, you may make 18 or 25, depending on how much filling you are using. Once you have done this a few times this actually goes pretty fast. The reason for the two people is you do not want the wrappers drying or they will tear when pulling them apart.
  • And here they are all rolled. My wife and I made these at about 3 pm but did not dry them until about 10 pm, so we just covered them with foil and placed in the fridge.
  • When you are ready to fry them, heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a pan, you want it hot but not smoking. When the oil is hot, fry 4 to 5 rolls at a time until golden brown then turn over until the other side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels and continue frying in batches until all are cooked.
  • Serve with dipping sauces of your choice. Enjoy.

Notes

Low cost.
Shortcut: Taco Seasoning Mix.
Made this on a whim, I researched this idea for spring rolls and every recipe seemed way over engineered, this seemed like the most logical way, and it worked perfectly.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,BEEF,PORK
Crab Stuffed Deviled Eggs
April 25, 2019 Lee
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Crab Stuffed Deviled Eggs

Adapted from an internet recipe.
These are great deviled eggs, great taste. Feel free to use lump crab meat or imitation crab. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs already prepared. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 12 hard boiled eggs, peeled, Shortcut
  • 1 can lump crab meat, drained, (250 g / 8 oz)
  • â…“ cup mayo, of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped, plus additional for garnish
  • 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

Instructions
 

  • For the crab meat, after you drain can, place that in a shallow bowl, remove any shell fragments, then flake it apart with a fork. If using imitation crab (crab sticks, my preference), chop the sticks into 1/4 inch pieces and crumble them with your hands.
  • Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, remove the yolks to a mixing bowl, mash the yolks with a fork and place the whites on a serving tray, flat side up. Eggs, yolks, and crab all prepped.
  • Add the crab meat to the yolks, and add remaining ingredients.
  • Mix together well.
  • Spoon mixture into the egg whites, top each egg with additional dill for garnish, as desired. Chill for an hour, serve and enjoy.

Notes

Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Chicken Eggs (Rice Cooker).
This recipe was awarded a Blue Ribbon on the Just A Pinch Recipe Club.
#1 Go-To Recipes,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,EGGS - ALL,Eggs - Chicken
Italian Deviled Eggs
April 25, 2019 Lee
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Italian Deviled Eggs

These sound good and another alternative deviled egg. On my to make and taste list. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs already prepared.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
  • 1/3 cup mayo, of your choice
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 2 tablespoons carmelized onions
  • 2 tablespoons proscuitto, cooked and crumbled, or bacon
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish, as desired

Instructions
 

  • Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, remove the yolks to a mixing bowl, place the egg whites, flat side up on a serving tray.
  • Mash the yolks with a for then add mix in the mayo, onion, cheese, dried basil, and the prosciutto.
  • Pipe or spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites and garnish each egg with a bit of chopped fresh basil. Enjoy.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Chicken Eggs (Rice Cooker).
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,EGGS - ALL,Eggs - Chicken
Easiest Deviled Eggs, Ever!
April 25, 2019 Lee
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Easiest Deviled Eggs, Ever!

For a basic deviled egg, the egg yolks are mixed with mayo and mustard, well we are not going to do that. So actually, you could call this the laziest way to make deviled eggs, ever. This recipe assumes you already have hard boiled eggs available, and if someone else prepared those, and peeled them, bonus for being even more easy (or lazy). Basically if you have hard boiled eggs, this is just another way to enjoy them.
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Prep Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 minute
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 1 serving

Ingredients
  

  • 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled
  • Kewpie mayo, or mayo of your choice in a squirt bottle
  • mustard, of your choice, in a squirt bottle is preferred
  • black pepper, as desired

Instructions
 

  • Slice eggs in half lengthwise and place on a plate flat side up.
  • Squirt some mayo all over the top of each egg, be generous. Then squirt a small amount of mustard on top of the mayo, and add a sprinkle of black pepper as desired. Enjoy.

Notes

Now how easy was that?
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Chicken Eggs (Rice Cooker), Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs.
Seen a photo of these and just made them.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,EGGS - ALL,Eggs - Chicken,Eggs - Duck
Kwek Kwek
April 16, 2019 Lee
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Kwek Kwek

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is a popular street food sold in the Philippines, and essentially is battered quail eggs that are fried and served with a dipping sauce. Sounds good to me, on my make and taste list. This recipe assumes you already have hard boiled quail eggs, peeled, available to use. There is a Shortcut in the Notes section on how to hard boil quail eggs if you are not familiar with that. You can also use canned quail eggs that are drained.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 3 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 12 hard boiled quail eggs, peeled, Shortcut
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • cooking oil, your choice, as needed, for frying

For the Batter

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1 tablespoon annatto powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

For the Dipping Sauce

  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ cup tomato ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

First, the Dipping Sauce

  • In a small saucepan, add all the Dipping Sauce ingredients and set on medium heat, stirring the sauce until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Next, the Batter

  • In a mixing bowl, add the warm water and annatto powder and whisk until the powder is dissolved. Now if you do not have annatto powder, a few drops of orange food coloring will work just as good, although annatto will add a slight hint of flavor to the batter. The annatto or orange food coloring is basically a visual thing to make the batter orange, it can be left out if you prefer.
  • Mix in the 1 cup of flour and baking powder into the warm annatto water, whisk until there is no lumps. Set the batter aside.

Next, Frying the Quail Eggs

  • Heat about 1 inch of cooking oil in a pan to about 180° C (350° F) but not smoking, if no thermometer, just drop a small amount of batter into the oil when you think it is hot, the batter will sizzle and fry up nicely when the oil is hot.
  • Take the peeled hard boiled quail eggs, or canned eggs, and drain well. To a shallow dish, add the 1/4 of flour, roll the eggs in the flour to completely coat the eggs.
  • Now take the eggs and coat them with batter, ensuring the batter covers each egg completely.
  • Add to the hot oil, 4 to 6 eggs at a time, turn them if needed and fry to golden brown (orange really) and crispy, remove to paper towels to drain, and repeat with the rest of the eggs.
  • The sauce should be cooled a bit but still warm, pour that in a small dish, add the eggs to a serving plate and place the sauce bowl on the plate. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Quail Eggs.
Variants. 1. Add ½ teaspoon of chicken stock powder to the batter. 2. Add ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder to the batter. 3. Add 1 chicken egg, beaten, to the batter. 4. Use chicken eggs, then the name becomes tokneneng.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: FILIPINO,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,Eggs - Quail
Russian Mushroom Julienne
March 11, 2019 Lee
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Russian Mushroom Julienne

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This sounds like a wonderful way to prepare mushrooms. This can be an appetizer or a side dish. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side
Cuisine Russian
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (8x8 inch)

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams fresh white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • ¼ cup white wine
  • 1 cup sour cream, Shortcut
  • salt and pepper, as desired
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Instructions
 

  • Quickly rinse the mushrooms, shake dry and place on paper towels then thinly slice.
  • Prep the onion and gather the rest of the ingredients. Having all the ingredients on hand minimizes the chance of not using an ingredient.
  • Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F). Get out a 8x8 baking dish.
  • Heat a large non stick pan on medium and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic.
  • Saute until the mushrooms have reduce to half the quantity and let out their liquid.
  • Pour the contents of the pan into a colander to drain the mushrooms.
  • Return the same pan to medium heat and melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter then stir in the wine, stir and simmer for 2 minutes then stir in the sour cream and mix together. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir into the sauce.
  • Pour the contents of the pan into the baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and just starting to lightly brown.
  • Serve as a side dish with any meal or as an appetizer with toasted bread. Enjoy.

Notes

Shortcut: Sour Cream.
: RUSSIAN,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,MUSHROOMS,SIDES
Fried Egg Tofu
March 9, 2019 Lee
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Fried Egg Tofu

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is a new one for me as I have only seen egg tofu used in is soups, so I look forward to testing this out.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 small tubes egg tofu, 105-120 gram tubes, (3.5-4 oz)
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • sweet chili sauce, as desired
  • 1 spring onion, green part only, sliced

Instructions
 

  • Cut off the end of the tofu tube that looks like a spout (that is actually where the tube is filled), gently squeeze the other end of the tube the tofu will slide right out. Cut into 1 inch thick slices, and slice a bit off the blunt end to make it flat as well. Repeat with the other tube.
  • Place the slices on several paper towels to drain off some of the moisture. Leave on the paper towels for about 10 minutes. Then dry the side facing up with a paper towel, and dry the outer edge as well.
  • Heat the oil in a non stick pan on medium high heat. Place the cornstarch in a small bowl, coat each slice on the flat sides with cornstarch.
  • Add about 2 or so tablespoons of sweet chili sauce to a serving plate and spread it around a bit, sprinkle some of the sliced spring onion greens on top of the sauce.
  • Fry the slices for 1-2 minutes on each side or until nicely browned.
  • Place the slices on the serving tray, drizzle with additional sweet chili sauce, and sprinkle on the remaining spring onion greens.
  • Serve as a appetizer or as a side dish.

Notes

Low cost per serving, one tube of egg tofu is about 10 Baht.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,: CHINESE,APPETIZERS / SNACKS,SIDES