Archive for the ‘# Buster Approved’ Category
Meatballs & Gravy III
This can be made two ways, one with the meatballs made as listed here, and two is to use cooked frozen meatballs. I made this on 26 Jan 2020 using store bought, cooked and frozen meatballs, and I must say, this is delicious, the gravy is very simple yet flavorful. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
To Make the Meatballs
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- cooking oil, as needed
To Use Frozen Meatballs
- 500 grams frozen meatballs, (1 lb)
For the Gravy
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, Shortcut
- 2 tablespoons sour cream, Shortcut
- 250 grams dry egg noodles, (8 oz)
- black pepper, to taste, as desired
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, as desired
Instructions
To Make the Meatballs
- Mix together the ground beef, egg, panko, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl until well combined but not over mixed, an over mixed meatball is normally a dry meatball.
- Shape into meatballs, goal is about 20 meatballs.
- In a large non stick pan, heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil on medium heat. When the pan and oil are hot, add the meatballs, and cook until well browned on all sides (they will get cooked for a few more minutes later on). Remove from the pan and drain the fat from the pan, proceed with the gravy.
To Use Frozen Meatballs
- From frozen, measure out the meatballs, heat the meatballs in a microwave 30 at a time in a single layer for 2 minutes. Or heat in a 180 C (350 F) oven in a single layer for 25 minutes. Proceed with the gravy.
For the Gravy
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil then add the egg noodles and cook until just tender. Drain.
- While the egg noodles are cooking, heat a large non stick pan or saucepan (same one used for the meatballs if you cooked those) and add the broth and bring to a boil, stir in the condensed soup and sour cream.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, taste and season with pepper to taste, then add the meatballs to the pan. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the fresh cooked meatballs are cooked through, or heated through if using heated from frozen meatballs.
- Serve over egg noodles, sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley if desired, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream.
Adapted from the Campbell's recipe.
Peach & Fruit Cocktail Pie
I made this on 23 Jan 2020, and it is excellent pie. Very easy to put together, common ingredients. This is a great way to use up canned peaches and fruit cocktail you may have sitting around.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts, store bought or homemade, Shortcut
- 1 can sliced peaches, drained, 15 oz (425 g) can
- 1 can fruit cocktail, aka mixed fruit, drained, 15 oz (425 g) can
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons butter, softened
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get a 9 inch pie dish out, add the bottom crust to the dish.
- In a mixing bowl, add the drained peaches, fruit cocktail, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir to mix.
- To the mixing bowl, sprinkle in half of the flour and stir until the flour is mixed in, repeat with the remaining flour. Add the butter and stir that in.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pie dish and spread out evenly.
- Top with the second crust, flute the edges then cut some slits in the crust. Brush the top with beaten egg.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. (I am absolutely horrible at fluting a pie crust, I need to work on that.) Move to a rack to cool.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Pie Crust, Basic Buttery Pie Crust, or Olive Oil Pie Crust.
Variants: 1. Feel free to make a lattice top with the second pie crust. 2. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 3. After brushing the top with the beaten egg, sprinkle on some sugar for a sweet crust.
Spaghetti Os Goulash
This was a childhood classic, and is my Dad's preferred way to make goulash to this day. This makes a delicious meal. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cans spaghetti Os, original, (15.8 oz / 448 g each), Shortcut
- 2 cans mixed vegetables, drained, (15 oz / 680 g each)
- 1 can lima beans, drained, optional, (8.5 oz / 241 g)
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a pot or large sauce pan, breaking it up with your spatula as it cooks. When cooked through, drain any fat, then mix in the garlic powder.
- Add the canned Spaghetti Os to the pot, if using the Homemade Spaghetti Os from the Shortcut use the whole batch, then add the mixed vegetables, and lima beans if using. Stir to mix together.
- Cook until heated through.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Homemade Spaghetti Os.
Variants: 1. If using the homemade spaghetti Os, use 1½ lb / 750 grams ground beef or pork. 2. Use a 12 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables, steamed in place of the canned. 3. Use canned beef (1½ lb / 680 g can), drained in place of fresh beef. 4. Use cooked meatballs in place of ground beef.
Easy Tasty Chicken/Turkey Salad
I wrote this to use some canned chicken I had on hand and glad I did, this is tasty! My Mom loves this salad.
Ingredients
- 1 can chicken, or turkey, drained, (10 oz / 283 g)
- 1 spring onion, sliced, white and green parts
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- 1-2 tablespoons green bell pepper, finely diced
- 2-3 tablespoons Swiss cheese, cubed
- mayo, as needed
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Add the first 5 ingredients to a mixing bowl and gently mix together. Key to mixing is to not break up the chicken or turkey.
- Add mayo a spoon or two at a time and mix in, key is to fully coat the salad without mayo dripping off the chicken or turkey. Taste and season with black pepper as desired.
- Chill until serving. Serve in a sandwich on your favorite bread, on a bed of lettuce, or as is.
Notes
Low cost.
Mandarin Orange Cottage Cheese Salad
I made this on a whim and it turned out better than expected. Highly recommended if you like mandarin oranges. The cottage cheese salads I have made always used crushed pineapple, so I decided to change it up. This recipe uses canned mandarin oranges, when I return to Thailand I will use fresh mandarin oranges and report on that. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 can Mandarin oranges, segments in water, (15 oz / 425 g can)
- 1 box orange gelatin, small box, 3 oz if using Jello brand
- 1 tub Cool Whip whipped topping, (8 oz / 250 g)
- 1 containter Cottage cheese, (1 lb / 500 g), Shortcut
Instructions
- Open and drain the oranges, I used a can of Walmart brand packed in water. Drain the oranges well. Place on a cutting board and cut each segment into about 4-5 pieces, then drain them again.
- Place the orange pieces, cottage cheese, and gelatin powder in a mixing bowl. No water is used, trust me on this.
- Stir together until the color is uniform.
- Fold in the whipped topping but do not over mix.
- You can leave the salad in the mixing bowl, or do as I did and spoon into a serving dish, I used a 1 1/2 quart glass serving dish. Cover and place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut:Â Cottage Cheese.
My spin on a classic cottage cheese salad, Lee Thayer.
United States.
United States.
Frosted Flake Clusters
Just three ingredients, and they are tasty. Easy to make but you will need to chill them just a bit before serving as they are quite soft.
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 3 cups frosted flakes cereal
Instructions
- Setup a double boiler and add the butterscotch chips and peanut butter.
- Melt, stirring often, until the chips are completely melted and mixed into the peanut butter.
- Remove from heat and stir in the frosted flakes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper, drop the candies onto the paper by teaspoons, allow to cool, then place in the fridge to chill before serving to make sure they are firmed up.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
This recipe comes from a friend and these are excellent, flavorful cookies that are chewy. These are a great base to adjust each time you make these, read the Variants in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, (1 block / 2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, optional
- 3 cups quick cooking rolled oats
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease a cookie sheet or line the sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- In another mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together.
- Add the raisins and walnuts and fold in.
- Add the oatmeal and mix that in.
- Scoop the dough and drop by large tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the just the edges are browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the sheet for several minutes.
- After a few minutes, remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely. The cookies are very soft when you remove them from the sheet, they will set up as they cool.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use chopped nuts of your choice in place of the walnuts. 2. Don't like nuts? Just leave them out. 3. Use any combination of nuts, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, MM candies, and shredded coconut. 4. Use 2 cups of your favorite trail mix in place of the raisins and nuts.
This recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies is from Simply Recipes.
Oreo Pie
This recipe comes from the label on a Oreo pie crust, and uses Oreo Cookies N' Cream pudding mix, and I will be taking a few boxes of that with me when I return to Thailand. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 Oreo pie crust, store bought or homemade, Shortcut
- 2 boxes Oreo Cookies N' Cream pudding, (4 servings per box)
- 2 1/2 cups cold milk
- 1 tub Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed, (8 oz)
- 3-4 Oreo cookies, cut in half, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the pudding mix and milk in a large mixing bowl. Whisk for 2 minutes.
- Stir in half of the whipped topping.
- Pour mixture into the pie crust. Cover and place in the fridge in the fridge for at least 4 hours or until the pie is fully set and firm.
- When ready to serve, top with remaining whipped topping. Top with the cookie halves, evenly spaced. Use 6 pieces for 6 slices or 8 pieces for 8 slices.
- Slice evenly between the cookies, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Orange Slice Cookies
I found this recipe on the internet and decided to give it a try, and I must say, these are really good! These cookies contain the orange slice candies.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temp, (1 block / 2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 370 grams orange slice candies, (13 oz)
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
- 1 cup coconut, shredded
Instructions
- Set the butter out to soften. Place the tablespoon of flour into a medium size bowl. Slice the orange slice candies into 5 pieces. As you slice a few candies and add them to the bowl, toss them with the flour - the pieces are sticky and this will prevent them from sticking together.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Measure out the oats, coconut, and walnuts and set them aside.
- Cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and baking soda. Whisk together then add the butter mixture and mix together.
- Add the oats, coconut, walnuts, and orange slices, and mix those in. The mixture will be stiff.
- Scoop out dough with a cookie scoop or a heaping tablespoon of dough. Roll the dough between your hands then place the dough ball on an ungreased baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest on the sheet for a few minutes, then remove cookies to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use pecans or roasted peanuts in place of walnuts. 2. Use the mixed fruit jelly candies in place of just orange. 3. This would be an excellent recipe to shape then freeze for fresh baked cookies at a later time.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Italian Sausage & Peppers (Slow Cooker)
This is an easy, and flavorful dish. I used store bought sausage links and I look forward to making this again when I get back home (Thailand) and using my homemade Italian sausage. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 8 Italian sausage links, (about 1 lb 8 oz / 750 g), Shortcut
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, (28 oz / 793 g)
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- For the sausage, you can chop first or just place whole in the slow cooker and chop when the cooking time is done.
- Add everything to the slow cooker except the sausage and mix together.
- Add the sausage and move them down into the liquid. Cover and set to Low setting for 6 hours. I actually have 10 links in here.
- If you started with whole sausages, remove them to a cutting board, slice, and return them to the pot.
- Serve over pasta or rice or even as is. Enjoy
Notes
I am in the US currently and I bought the sausage at Kroger for about $5.25, the remaining ingredients are minimal. For 6 servings, this is about 88 cents per serving. When I return to Thailand, I will make the sausage myself and maybe get the cost down to about 50 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Sausage.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
