Archive for the ‘PORK’ Category
Old Fashioned Goulash I
July 27, 2016 Lee
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Old Fashioned Goulash I

Yep, I like one pot meals, and a good goulash is a standard. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo minced pork, OR ground beef, OR ground chicken
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup beef stock, fresh or from powder
  • 1 3/4 cup tomato sauce, OR make from a shortcut
  • 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, diced, plus juice
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
  • 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
  • 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
 

  • In a large non stick skillet, add the onion, garlic, and ground pork and cook until the meat is no longer pink, remove from heat and drain any fat.
  • Add the water, stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and juice, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, salt and pepper, mix well. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the macaroni and stir until mixed, simmer for 30 minutes or until the macaroni is cooked. Then remove the bay leaves.
  • Add the Cheddar cheese and mix well. Serve with a bit of Mozzarella cheese on top of each serving. Serve with a salad for a complete meal.

Notes

Minced pork will run 116 Baht/kilo (Beef more, chicken will be less), The Cheddar cheese will run about 180 Baht/200 gram block, this will make 2 cups of shredded. The Mozzarella will run about 70 Baht to make one cup of shredded. This comes to about $1.35 per serving for 8 servings. Good price for a good meal.
Shortcut: Tomato Sauce.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Fair Value $1.01 to $1.50 per Serving,PORK
Cheeseburger Meatloaf
June 24, 2016 Lee
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Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This is the Cheddar variant to the Swiss Cheese Meatloaf recipe I posted here. I just threw this together but did not take any step by step photos, as I thought this would just be average, but was I wrong. This is excellent and so easy. I use minced pork for meatloaf so if you do the same, you should use a meat thermometer to make sure the correct internal temp is reached. I will make this again so I can take the step by step photos. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo minced pork, OR ground beef
  • 250 grams Cheddar cheese, real cheese, no fake stuff here
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 dill pickles, small, sliced, OR make from a shortcut
  • 2 tablespoons dil pickle juice
  • 4 slices bread, white or wheat works, torn apart
  • prepared yellow mustard, couple of squirts
  • 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce, OR make from a shortcut
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180 C. Get out a couple of loaf pans.
  • In a large bowl combine all the ingredients with just a large spoon, no need for hand mixing, takes just a minute.
  • With your block of cheese, you will need 10-12 slices (1/2 to 2/3 of the block), the rest of the block you need to shred for the topping. This is the cheese I use. This Mainland Brand Cheddar cheese, 250 grams, from New Zealand, and is real cheese.
  • I use two loaf pans when making meatloaf. Take the meat mixture and pat down in the bowl and using the large spoon, mark it into 4 sections, use 1/4 of the mixture in each loaf pan, spread out and pack down, then top with the cheese slices, 5-6 slices on the meat mixture.
  • Use the remaining meat mixture to to cover each loaf pan. Top with more BBQ sauce. Bake for for 40 minutes, and use a meat thermometer to check internal temp then continue to bake about 10 minutes more to ensure the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and sprinkle on the shredded Cheddar cheese and return to the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese on top. Remove from oven and let rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Minced pork is about 135 Baht/kilo. The block of cheese will cost about 180 Baht. For 8 servings this would be about $1.12 per serving, for 10 servings this would be about 90 cents per serving. Very reasonable.
Variants: Layer in some sliced mushrooms over the cheese before adding the remaining meat mixture. Another variant would be to add sliced bacon to the top.
Shortcuts: BBQ Sauce, Dill Pickles.
My own recipe.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* Fair Value $1.01 to $1.50 per Serving,PORK
Swiss Cheese Meatloaf
June 7, 2016 Lee
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Swiss Cheese Meatloaf

Looking through my freezer and fridge, I had minced pork, Swiss cheese, bread, pickles, and eggs, so I decided to make a meatloaf. This is a twist on the Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf in that no bacon was used, Swiss instead of Cheddar was used, this turned out excellent. When using pork for a meatloaf, you will want to use a meat thermometer to ensure the correct internal temp is reached. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo minced pork, OR ground beef
  • 125 grams Swiss cheese, this is 1/2 block of real cheese
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 dill pickles, small, sliced, OR make from a shortcut
  • 2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
  • 3 slices bread, torn apart
  • prepared yellow mustard, couple of squirts
  • BBQ sauce, about 1/3 of a bottle, OR make from a shortcut
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180 C. Get out a couple of loaf pans.
  • In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. I just use a large spoon, no need for hand mixing. I have seen recipes that call for pickle juice or pickle relish, I decided to use sliced pickles.
  • Mixed, takes just a few minutes.
  • Next, slice your cheese, use real cheese. This is Mainland brand cheese from New Zealand.
  • I use two loaf pans when making meatloaf. Take the meat mixture and pat down and using your spoon, mark it into 4 sections, use 1/4 of the mixture in each loaf pan, then top with the cheese slices.
  • Use the remaining meat mixture to to cover each loaf pan. Top with more BBQ sauce. Bake for for 40 minutes, and use a meat thermometer to check internal temp then continue to bake about 10 minutes more to ensure the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
  • Serve with mashed potatoes or boiled, or pasta, add a vegetable and you have a complete meal.

Notes

Minced pork is about 135 Baht/kilo. The half block of cheese will cost about 90 Baht. For 8 servings this would be about 85 cents each, even less for 10 servings.
A variant would be to layer in some sliced mushrooms over the cheese before adding the remaining meat mixture.
Shortcut: BBQ Sauce, Dill Pickles.
My own recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,PORK
Honey Mustard Tenderloin
November 27, 2015 Lee
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Honey Mustard Tenderloin

Simple and easy recipe and inexpensive as well. This one I am going to try soon and I will leave a comment on the results.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 500 grams pork tenderloin
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon brown mustard
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • olive oil, as needed

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 190 C, rub just a bit of olive oil on the inside of the baking dish, then line the bottom with the onion slices.
  • Combine all ingredients but tenderloin; coat tenderloin well with sauce, and place on top of the onions in the baking dish.
  • Roast in the oven at 190 C for 20-30 minutes, basting occasionally, until meat thermometer registers 65 C, followed by a 3-minute rest time. Slice thinly to serve. Mashed or boiled potatoes and a green vegetable would be perfect for this dish.

Notes

Pork tenderloin is about 160 Baht per kilo, or 2 pounds. This recipe would be 80 Baht for pork, which comes out to about 60 cents each for 4 people/servings.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,PORK
Cornish Pasties
November 8, 2015 Lee
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Cornish Pasties

Last year I had a hankering for a pasty, not the traditional Cornish pasties that are layered, but the ones from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Lot of Scandinavians up there and they tailored their pasties from their homeland to what is now know as the UP Pasty. Typicaly made from ground beef, potatoes, onion, carrots, and a bit of diced rutabaga or turnip. This is mixed up and put in pie crust dough. All veggies diced small as well.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 kilo minced pork, OR ground beef
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced in small cubes
  • 1/4 rutabaga, optional, diced into small cubes
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Pastry

  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup cold water

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
  • Preheat oven to 180 C, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking sheet.
  • In a large bowl, combine the meat, potatoes, onion, carrot, and rutabaga.
  • Divide the pastry dough into 6 pieces and shape each into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a 6 inch round.
  • Place about 1 cup of meat mixture on one half of the round, season with salt and pepper and place 1 tablespoon of butter on the top of the mixture. Draw the other half of the pastry over the filling and crimp the edge to seal.
  • Prick each pasty with a fork and place the baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.
  • If you have extra meat mixture left over, pack into a meat loaf pan and bake that as well.
  • I served with some Sriracha sauce for dipping, excellent lunch or dinner.

Notes

Minced pork is about 125 Baht/kilo, half kilo would be about 63 Baht, other items are minimal. Well under $1 per meal per person.
My recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,PORK
Pork, Cabbage, and Carrot Soup
November 6, 2015 Lee
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Pork, Cabbage, and Carrot Soup

My wife makes this about once a month, feeds the family for a 3 days or so. Very easy and economical. This is a base recipe, use items you have on hand or omit items you do not like. This is never made the same every time.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine Thai
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo minced pork
  • 1 large carrot, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 white radish, sliced in 1/4 inch slices
  • handful Chinese cabbage, tear into 2-3 inch pieces
  • 1-2 tablespoons pork or chicken stock powder
  • splash soy sauce

Instructions
 

  • Fill a large pot about half full with water, add the pork or chicken stock powder and bring to a boil.
  • While the water is heating, shape the pork into balls about 1 inch in diameter and set aside.
  • Slice the carrot and radish, and tear up the cabbage.
  • When the water is boiling, add the pork balls, takes just a few minutes for these to cook through, then add the carrot and radish and continue boiling for a few minutes until the carrot is cooked through and tender.
  • Reduce the heat to low and add the cabbage and give it is a good stir and put in a splash of soy sauce. Simmer for a few minutes more then remove from heat and cover. Your soup is done. This photo is what my wife made on 2 June 2017, this one contains pork ribs, chicken feet, carrot, radish, and bok choi.

Notes

Minced pork run about 125 Baht per kilo, about $3.70 this plus the veggys which are very reasonable. This makes a large pot of soup, here at the house it feeds 4 people for 3 days, well below $1 per person.
Variants: Use pork ribs, pork belly, chicken feet, or any combination. Leafy veggys can be Chinese cabbage, regular cabbage, bok choi, or any combination.
My wife's recipe.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: THAI,PORK,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI
Beer Braised Pork Knuckles
November 2, 2015 Lee
1 Comment

Beer Braised Pork Knuckles

Adapted from an internet recipe.
To start off, this is not a $1 meal by any means. Simple recipe however. The crackling (skin) was perfect, the internal temperature was spot on for pork, bone pulled right out (great treat for our dog), and the meat was fork tender with a delicious flavor.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine German
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Baking Pan (7x11 inch)

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pork knuckles, these were 800 grams each
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • garlic powder, to taste
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 cans beer, room temperature

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 220° C (425° F). Get out a 7x11 inch baking dish.
  • Score the skin of the knuckles.
  • Slice an onion and place that on the bottom of the baking dish, place knuckles on top, extra onion, just put that around the knuckles.
  • Pour a can of beer over the knuckles then generously add garlic powder and ground black pepper to the knuckles, add salt to your liking.
  • Put in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, remove and pour another can of beer over the knuckles. Reduce heat on the oven to 180° C (350° F) and put the baking dish back in the oven for 2 hours.
  • After 2 hours, increase heat back to 220° C (425° F), remove the pan and baste the knuckles with the liquid in the pan, put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
  • You can either carve these or leave whole, in Germany, I guess it is tradition that one knuckle is one serving to a person and plated like that.
  • Sides would be mashed potatoes, potato salad, buttered egg noodles, or sauerkraut, and as green vegetable.

Notes

I found these in Makro, frozen. Each is 800 grams and cost is 200 baht each. If serving one knuckle for 2 people (easily done), the cost would be about $2.95 per person. A bit more expensive than other meals listed here but is a great treat for yourself.
#1 Go-To Recipes,* High Cost $1.51+ per Serving,5 Ingredients or Less,: GERMAN,PORK
Pork Ribs & Radish Soup
October 24, 2015 Lee
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Pork Ribs & Radish Soup

Thais make a soup from just about any meat and vegetable. Not every dish is spicy, this one is non-spicy and has a very good flavor. Easy to prepare. Serve with rice for a filling meal.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish, Side
Cuisine Thai
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kilo pork ribs, (2 lbs)
  • 2-3 white radishes, cut lengthwise once then slice half into 1/2 slices
  • 8-10 shallots, crushed
  • 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 6-10 spring onions, white and green, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons pork broth powder, can also use chicken broth powder

Instructions
 

  • Put a large pot of water on the stove, throw in the crushed shallots and crushed garlic, and broth powder and bring to a boil.
  • While waiting on the water to boil, cut between each rib bone to separate them all. Once water is boiling, add all the ribs. Ribs should be cooked in about 10-15 minutes.
  • When ribs are almost cooked through, add the sliced radish and reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the radish is tender.
  • Turn off the heat and add cilantro and spring onions, gently stir then serve. Serve as a side of soup or with rice to make a complete meal.

Notes

Note: Pork ribs, these are normally found in long strips or "racks" 2-3 inches wide.
Pork ribs average about 125 baht per kilo, the radish is 25 baht per kilo, other items are minimal in cost. This soup would cost about $4.50 to make, can last 2-3 days, so per person it would easily come in under $1 per meal.
Variant: 1. Cut the ribs into one bone pieces and add to a mixing bowl, add oyster sauce to the bowl and mix the ribs around to coat them well. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for 3 hours, then proceed with the recipe as stated.
Provided courtesy of my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
Variant 1 provided by good friend, Kurt Hammerschmidt.
Thailand.
* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving,: THAI,PORK,SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI