Archive for the ‘* Fair Value $1.01 to $1.50 per Serving’ Category
Spam Pie
This is a twist on a good friend's recipe. This is my creation that uses homemade Spam. You can certainly use canned Spam or even ham. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Pie Dish (9 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams Spam, cubed, (1 lb if homemade or two 198 g/ 7 oz cans if using store bought), Shortcut
- 1 bell pepper, your choice of color, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3-4 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 10 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream, Shortcut
- pasta sauce, as desired, Shortcut
- Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, as desired
- Italian seasoning, as desired, Shortcut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie dish with butter.
- Cube the Spam. I am using homemade Spam.
- Prep the onion, bell pepper, and spring onions. I was out of spring onion so just skipped that.
- In a mixing bowl add the eggs and whisk to mix. Stir in the Spam and veggies.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
- Spoon the sour cream on top, and use butter knife or chopsticks to swirl the sour cream through the egg mixture.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the center is set (when a toothpick comes out clean), remove from the oven.
- Spread the top with pasta sauce as desired, top that with Mozzarella cheese as desired, and sprinkle on some Italian seasoning.
- Place back in the oven until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let this rest for about 5 minutes.
- Slice, plate, add another light sprinkling of Italian seasoning as desired. Serve with your choice of toast, biscuits, crescent rolls, or rice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using homemade Spam, Fair to High cost per serving if using canned Spam.
Shortcuts: Spam, Spam, Spam, Sour Cream, Pizza Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Replace the marinara sauce with salsa and replace the Mozzarella cheese with Cheddar cheese and sprinkle with oregano or even taco seasoning - there, you have a Mexican variant, like a Breakfast Burrito without the tortilla. 2. Use plain tomato sauce, oregano, and Cheddar cheese. 3. Use cubed ham in place of Spam.
Tofu & Beef Meatball Soup
This recipe was inspired from a friend in Sichuan, China and this version uses store bought beef meatballs. These are not meatballs you can buy in Walmart or Kroger, you need to get these from an Asian market, different consistency.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water, (8 cups)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 spring onions, white parts sliced, green parts cut ½ inch long
- 500 grams beef meatballs, In Thailand I use MR Meatballs brand, frozen - thawed, from Makro, these are not pre-cooked,, (1 lb)
- 1 slice fresh ginger
- 800 grams firm tofu, cut into cubes, (28 oz)
- 20 grams nori seaweed, or less as desired, (¾ oz)
- ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the the water, light soy sauce, and spring onion to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer.
- Add the meatballs and ginger. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes to cook the meatballs through.
- Add the tofu and nori, simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the sesame oil, taste and season with salt and or additional sesame oil as desired.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Chicken Nugget Casserole II
I made this on 28 Sep 2022, and it is incredibly good! Family absolutely loved this. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 kilo frozen chicken nuggets, you will not use them all, (2 lb)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 cups spaghetti sauce, Shortcut
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Italian seasoning, as desired, Shortcut
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Place frozen chicken nuggets in the prepared dish in a single layer.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
- Pour the spaghetti sauce over all the nuggets.
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese, then top that with Italian seasoning.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the nuggets are heated through and the cheese melted. Remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes to just lightly start to brown the cheese on top. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve and enjoy with sides of your choice.Excellent side dish ideas are pasta (classic), mashed potatoes (another classic), fresh salad, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or Saffron rice.
Notes
Fair cost per per serving based on the cheese used.
Shortcuts: Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Sausage Cheddar Breakfast Strata
This sounds like a great tasting dish, and can be tailored different each time you prepare it. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 250 grams bulk breakfast sausage, (8 oz), Shortcut
- ½ cup red bell pepper, or green, diced
- 6 cups bread cubes, slightly dried
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, divided, (8 oz / 250 g)
For the Egg Mixture
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cups milk
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Heat a non stick pan, when hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with your spatula. Cook until almost no pink remains. Get out a 7x11 baking dish and grease with butter.
- Add the bell pepper and continue cooking until no pink remains in the sausage and the bell pepper is starting to soften. Remove from heat, drain any fat, and set aside to cool a little.
- In a mixing bowl, add the Egg Mixture ingredients and whisk together.
- Gently stir in the bread cubes, sausage with the bell pepper and 1 cup of the Cheddar cheese. Let this rest for 5 minutes, then gently toss again until the bread has absorbed the liquid.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan, cover, and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or even overnight. This is to allow the bread to fully soak in the liquid.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and take the dish out from the fridge and set on the counter for about 30 minutes.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the strata is set when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Slice into squares and serve, enjoy.
Notes
Fair value per serving with the cheese used.
Shortcuts: Breakfast Sausage, Italian Sausage.
Variants: 1. Swap out the sausage for diced ham, Italian sausage, or even bacon. 2. Swap out the Cheddar for Swiss or Gouda. 3. Swap out the dry mustard for equal amount of Dijon mustard.
Crockpot Goulash
This is an American Goulash and is from a social media friend. I made this on 16 Jul 2022 and modified it slightly to what I have available to me. Wonderful goulash, excellent flavor!
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart) (6 quart if doubling the recipe)
Ingredients
- 500-600 grams ground beef, (1-1¼ lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2½ cups water
- 2 cubes beef stock
- 2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained, (565 g / 20 oz each)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 1½ cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, or more as desired
Instructions
- Heat a non stick pan and cook the beef, breaking it up with your spatula. Cook until no pink is visible, drain and add to the slow cooker.
- To the slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients except the dry macaroni and cheese, those will be used later.
- Stir together then cover and set to High for 2 hours or Low for 4-5 hours.
- About 30 minutes before you plan to serve, add the dry macaroni and stir together. Cover and continue cooking on Low, check the macaroni at 15 minutes, and cook until just tender. Remove the bay leaves and discard those, then add the cheese and stir together.
- When the cheese is melted, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on beef used and the amount of cheese you use. The cost of the beef will depend on if you can source locally and grind yourself, or store bought ground beef.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Use ground pork or chicken in place of beef. 2. Use bulk Italian sausage in place of beef. 3. Stir in a packet of taco seasoning. 4. Use small shell pasta in place of elbow macaroni.
Chicken Nugget Spaghetti Bake
This is an excellent way to serve chicken nuggets. I made this on 21 Nov 2022, and adjusted the ingredients based on the family comments, and the updated ingredients are are updated.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry spaghetti, (1 lb)
- 4-5 cups pasta sauce, Shortcut
- 500 grams frozen chicken nuggets, thawed, (1 lb)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, or as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling. Add the spaghetti and cook until just tender, drain well.
- Just before the spaghetti is done, preheat your oven to 180° (350° F), get out a 9x13 baking pan.
- After the spaghetti is drained, add to the baking dish.
- Add 2-3 cups of pasta sauce and mix together. Spread out evenly.
- Top the spaghetti with the chicken nuggets in an even layer.
- Drizzle another 1-2 cups of sauce over the nuggets, then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
- Top with Mozzarella cheese, be generous.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Chicken Nugget Casserole I
As a way to use chicken nuggets in a creative way, I thought why not a casserole. I made this on 8 Jul 2022, and it is delicious! This was loved by the whole family! I state using pasta sauce for this, but I am also going to experiment with adding diced tomatoes when I prepare this again. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 750 grams frozen chicken nuggets, (1½ lb)
- 500 grams bowtie pasta, (1 lb)
- 2 cups pasta sauce, Shortcut
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, Shortcut
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add pasta and cook until almost tender, as it will get cooked more while baking. Drain well. Return drained pasta to the pot.
- While the pasta is cooking, preheat your oven to 180° (350° F). Get out a 9x13 baking pan and grease with butter.
- To a mixing bowl, add the tomato sauce, garlic, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Whisk together. Add the sauce to the drained pasta and mix with a large spoon.
- Add 1½ cups Mozzarella cheese, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Mix together.
- Add the frozen chicken nuggets and mix together.
- Dump the mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread out evenly.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is browned.
- I simply used a spatula and cut the casserole into 6 portions. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on the cheeses used, the nuggets are actually low cost.
Shortcuts: Pasta Sauce, Italian Seasoning.
Sardine Sandwich III
Sounds like an excellent sardine filling for a sandwich. This should make 1 thick sandwich or 2 leaner ones, I will sort this when I make it.
Ingredients
- 1 tin sardines in olive oil, drained
- 4 green olives, chopped
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 slices bread, of your choice
Instructions
- Add the drained sardines, olives, and shallot to a mixing bowl and mix with a fork to combine.
- Spread mixture on a slice of bread of your choice, top with another slice.
- Enjoy.
Notes
Fair cost depending on where you source the sardines from. Sardines in olive oil is not common in Thailand.
Variant: 1. Toast the bread before making the sandwich.
Basic Tacos
Simple recipe and you can change the toppings to suit your taste. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 packet taco seasoning, Shortcut
- water, as stated on seasoning packet or on Shortcut
- 16 corn tortillas, estimate 3-4 per serving, or as desired
- cooking oil, as needed
- tomatoes, diced
- lettuce, chopped
- cheese, shredded, Cheddar or a cheese blend
Additional Toppings - as desired
- onion, diced
- avocado, diced
- sour cream, Shortcut
Instructions
- Brown the beef in a non stick pan, when browned and no pink is visible, drain fat.
- Stir in the seasoning packet and water stated on packet or on the Shortcut. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the beef is simmering, heat another non stick pan with a little oil, when the oil is hot, add a 1-2 tortilla and cook for about 30 seconds then turn over and cook. Goal for this step is to make the tortillas flexible. Remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Set out the tortillas, beef, tomato, lettuce, and cheese to let everyone make their own tacos.
- For the basic taco, place beef along the center of a tortilla, add lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese. Fold in half, enjoy. Feel free to use toppings as desired or even additional toppings.
Notes
Fair cost per serving based on where the beef, tortillas, and cheese is sourced from.
Shortcuts: Taco Seasoning, Sour Cream.
Ham & Cheese Pinwheels
Easy to assemble and delicious pinwheels. Use any cheese you prefer and as much or as little ham as you like. I made these on 7 Mar 2022 to test out with other pinwheels I made, these are approved and well liked by the family. I served these as a light main dish but these can also be appetizers.
Ingredients
- 250 grams cream cheese, softened, (8 oz)
- ¼ cup mayo
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- flour tortillas, (I used three 8 inch size)
- sliced ham
- sliced cheese, (I used cheddar)
Instructions
- Mix together the first 5 ingredients until fairly smooth consistency.
- Lay out a tortilla and spread a thin layer of cheese mixture to cover to the edges. Place ham slices, amount is up to you, to cover the width of the tortilla. (I used 4 slices of ham on each of 2 tortillas and 2 slices of ham on 1 tortilla, wanted to taste the difference, both very acceptable.)
- Place a layer of cheese slices across the ham.
- Roll up the tortilla away from you, then stick a toothpick in it.
- Repeat with more tortillas to use up all the cheese mixture. I used three 8 inch tortillas, which was perfect. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove the toothpicks and using a very sharp knife, slice into ¾ to 1 inch slices. Serve as appetizers or as a light main dish. (I should have rolled these tighter.)
Notes
Fair cost per serving.
