Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Meatball Stroganoff
This is a modified recipe based on a social network friend's original recipe, and is based on using store bought Thai beef meatballs and condensed soup. I made this on 5 Oct 2023, and nothing short of perfect, an excellent meal.
Ingredients
- 500 grams Thai beef meatballs, (1 lb)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 250 grams button mushrooms, sliced, (8 oz)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
- ¾ cup water
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper, as desired
- cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, for serving, as desired, prepared as needed
Instructions
- Decide what you are going to this over, such as egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice and get that started so it is ready when you finish preparing the stroganoff.
- Open the package of meatballs, drain if needed, then add to a saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Place on high heat and bring to a boil, continue to boil for 1-2 minutes. Drain. (Photo shows the meatballs cooked and just before draining.)
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick pan, when hot, add the meatballs. Sauté, stirring often to lightly brown the meatballs. When they are browned, remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set them aside.
- Same pan used to brown the meatballs, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the butter, when hot, add the mushrooms and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes to soften the mushrooms, stirring them often.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the soup, water, and mustard, stir to mix together.
- Add the meatballs back to the pan and stir in. Increase heat and allow mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Remove from heat, stir in the sour cream, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve over hot cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Missouri Goulash
This is an easy and tasty goulash, comes together quickly and is a filling meal. I made this on 2 Sep 2023, well liked the Thai family and I.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow macaroni
- 750 grams ground pork, or beef, (1½ lb)
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cans cut green beans, drained, or 3 cups fresh, cooked, drained
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and black pepper, as desired
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, for serving, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the macaroni and cook until just tender, drain.
- While the macaroni is cooking, heat a non stick pan, when hot, add the diced onion and ground pork or beef, cook, breaking up the meat and stirring often and seasoning as desired with salt and pepper during cooking, until the meat is cooked through and the onion softened, drain excess fat.
- Using the same pot the macaroni was cooked in, add the cooked pork or beef, beans, and soup to the drained macaroni.
- Stir together.
- Add the sour cream and mix together, taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Spoon goulash onto plates, top with shredded Cheddar cheese as desired, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving if using ground pork.
Nuggets & Tots Casserole
This recipe is from a recipe site called Just a Pinch, and this is my tailored version of this recipe. It is easy to make, taste is excellent, and it is filling! A great way to use chicken nuggets. Feel free to use tots, hash browns, or even French fries, as that is what I used when I first made this. Excellent casserole! The chicken nugget and tots amounts are estimates, use enough to cover the bottom of the dish in one layer.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 grams frozen chicken nuggets, or as needed, (1 lb)
- 500 grams frozen tots, or frozen hash browns, or frozen French fries, as needed, (1 lb)
- 2 cans condensed creamy chicken & mushroom soup, or chicken soup, or mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g each)
- 2 cans carbonara sauce, (10½ oz / 298 g each)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
- 1 tablspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a 9x13 baking dish and grease with butter or cooking spray.
- Add frozen chicken nuggets to the bottom of the pan to make one even layer.
- Add frozen tots or frozen hash browns on top of the nuggets in one even layer. If using frozen French fries, just scatter them on top of the nuggets but you want about ¾ inch of space from the fries to the top edge of the dish.
- In a mixing bowl, add the soup, carbonara sauce, milk, onion soup mix, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir to mix together.
- Pour mixture over the tots or fries and smooth out to the edges.
- Sprinkle evenly with the Cheddar cheese.
- Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until the cheese is browning on top. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Serve with side vegetable of your choice, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving as this makes a lot.
Two Step Chicken
Adapted from the Campbell's website, I look forward to testing this out. I need to test this out with thighs and legs as well. I made this on 2 Aug 2024 and used bone in skinless chicken thighs, family absolutely loved this dish!
Equipment
- Baking Pan (7x11 inch)
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F). Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper as desired, place in baking dish. I used bone in skinless chicken thighs so I used a 2 quart baking dish.
- Spread the soup over the chicken. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until internal temp is 74° C (165° F). For the bone in chicken thighs, I baked for 45 minutes, temp was perfect. I also used condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup.
- Serve with sides of your choice, enjoy. Spoon the sauce over the chicken as well as rice or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. In place of cream of mushroom soup, feel free to use cream of chicken or creamy chicken & mushroom soup. 2. In place of chicken breasts, use bone in skinless chicken thighs and use a 2 quart baking dish.
Baked Chicken Quarters
This is an excellent way to prepare chicken quarters resulting in juicy and flavorful chicken.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Foil
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 chicken quarters, skin on, excess fat trimmed off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 °C (400° F). Line a baking sheet with foil, with the edges turned up to make clean up easier.
- Rinse and dry the quarters with paper towels.
- Mix together the seasonings in a small bowl, sprinkle seasoning on all sides of the quarters, and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 1 hour or until juices run clear. Or measure the internal temp with a instant read thermometer, measured at thickest part without touching bone is 74° C (165° F). Remove from oven and let chicken rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve with sides of your choice and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made this on 19 Mar 2023, cooked 4 hours, internal temp was perfect, the meat was near fall off the bones and juicy. Excellent flavorful chicken, my wife took one bite and gave me two thumbs up.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6+ quart)
Ingredients
- 4-5 chicken breasts, or 4-5 quarters, separated
- ½ cup Dijon mustard
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- To the slow cooker, add the mustard, honey, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir together just enough to combine.
- Add the chicken pieces and mix them around to coat them with sauce.
- Cover and set to Low and cook for 4-6 hours. If using a meat thermometer to check internal temp, target temp is 79°C (165°F).
- Serve with your choice of sides. The sauce would be excellent over pasta or mashed potatoes.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Egg Salad III
This is an excellent egg salad, this is a no mustard egg salad and also includes cream cheese. A delicious change to the typical egg salad. This is great on sandwiches or crackers. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs already - feel free to prepare those your preferred way. Link to the Shortcut is in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled, Shortcut
- 85 grams cream cheese, softened, (3 oz)
- 1 tablespoon celery, heaping, diced fine
- 1 teaspoon onion, heaping, diced fine
- ¼ cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- paprika, to taste
Instructions
- Hard boil the eggs your preferred way then peel them.
- To a medium size mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients except the salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Mix together until fairly smooth. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and paprika, as desired, to taste.
- Chop the eggs and add to the mixing bowl.
- Gently mix the eggs into the cream cheese mixture. Cover and place in the fridge to chill for 1-2 hour before serving.
- Spread salad generously on sliced bread or buns for delicious sandwiches, I like to spread may on the bread first as well. This is also an excellent salad on crackers of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs.
Variant: 1. You can use celery seed and onion powder to replace the fresh items, use ¼ teaspoon each.
Macaroni Ham Casserole
I made this on 12 Dec 2022 to test out the recipe, and wow, is this good! The Thai family really enjoyed this. Easy to prepare and common ingredients. Tailored to my findings.
Equipment
- Casserole (3 quart)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry macaroni, (8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups ham, diced
- 1 can condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, then added the macaroni and cook until just tender.
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), grease a 3 quart casserole with butter.
- Melt the butter in a non stick pan, when hot, add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté until just softened. Add the diced ham and cook until ham is warmed through. I did not have a bell pepper so I just omitted that.
- When the macaroni is just tender, drain and return to the pot, add the ham mixture, soup, milk, and parsley.
- Mix together. Pour mixture into the prepared casserole.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese.
- Continue to bake until cheese is melted and just starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Updated on 12 December 2022.
Kielbasa & Potato Casserole (Slow Cooker)
This recipe is from a social media friend who specializes in slow cooker dishes. I made this on 24 Nov 2022 and I will say, this is an easy, and exceptionally good casserole! Highly recommended.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (3½+ quart)
Ingredients
- 1 kilo potatoes, diced into about ½ inch cubes, (2 lb)
- 500 grams kielbasa, or any smoked sausage, sliced ½ - ¾ inch rounds, (1 lb)
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- For the potatoes, if using frozen, thaw first. If using fresh, peel, then dice to about ½ inch cubes. Add potatoes to the slow cooker. In Thailand, Makro has frozen cubed potatoes 15x15mm. I dice fresh by cutting first with a French fry cutter then use a knife to cut the cubes.
- Add sausage, onion, garlic powder, and 2 cups of the cheese to your slow cooker. In Thailand I use what is called Sausage Scraps from Makro, excellent sausage, 4 types in one package, one type is very much like kielbasa.
- Mix together.
- Add the soup to the slow cooker and mix into the potato mixture.
- Cover and set to Low and cook for 3 to 4 hours. Check at 3 hours for fork tender potatoes. If not tender, check again at 3½ hours to 4 hours.
- When potatoes are tender, add the sour cream and stir in.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese, cover and continue cooking. If you like cheese, feel free to add more on the top.
- When the cheese is melted, the casserole is ready.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Hot Dog Noodle Casserole
This is an easy, and quite delicious casserole! Lots of ways to change this up so please read the Variants in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Baking Pan (9x13 inch)
- Oven
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry egg noodles, (8 oz)
- 500 grams hot dogs, sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, (10½ oz / 298 g)
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 500 grams Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiled, then add the noodles. Cook until almost tender. Drain.
- Just before the noodles are done, preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F) and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- While the noodle are cooking, in a large mixing bowl, add the soup, sour cream, and milk, whisk together. (I used creamy chicken mushroom soup, which is an excellent choice.)
- Stir in the hot dog slices and peas. (I used mixed vegetables.)
- Add the drained noodles to the soup mixture and stir to mix together.
- Pour mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Top with cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese starting to brown. (I baked for 40 minutes, but start checking the cheese browning at 30 minutes.)
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use condensed creamy chicken mushroom soup in place of the cream of mushroom. 2. Use mixed peas and carrots, or even mixed veggies in place of peas. 3. In Thailand use little cocktail sausages (highly recommended and is what I used when I made this). 4. For those in the states, Little Smokies would be perfect in this!
