Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Spring Rolls aka Lumpia
These sound delicious and I just picked up several packages of spring roll sheets last week. These are Spring Rolls or Lumpia that have a very thin pastry, not Egg Rolls which have a thicker pastry. And these are outstanding! Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely minced
- 400 grams ground pork
- 8 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, stem removed, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups vermicelli noodles, an 80 gram package is perfect
- 1 1/2 cups carrot, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded, packed
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce, and as needed
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
For the Spring Rolls
- 20 spring roll wrappers, thawed
- cooking oil, for frying
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
Instructions
For the Filling
- In a pot of boiling water, add the vermicelli cook for 2-4 minutes or until soft, drain, lightly chop, you want about 1 1/2 cups, an 80 gram packet is fine. It is ok if they are a bit underdone as the rolls get fried later. Set aside.
- A lot of the prep time is the shredding and chopping. Use a box shredder for the cabbage and carrots, Chop the mushrooms on a board. I doubled the recipe that is why there is so much.
- Fresh ground pork (I used pork loin for this which is lean, the mushrooms add the juiciness). I also had some shrimp we added, the shrimp were cleaned, deveined, and chopped. The shrimp is NOT cooked with the pork, add the shrimp at the very end if using.
- Heat the olive oil in a large non stick pan (big pot if doubling the recipe), when hot, add the garlic and saute for a minute until fragrant then add the pork and break up the pork as it cooks until it just turns white, as it will get cooked again.
- To the pork, add the carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms and saute for several minutes until the veggies are good and wilted. Now mix in the cornstarch, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Saute for about a minute or until the liquid is steamed off. You want the filling sticky, not watery. Taste and season with oyster sauce as needed.
- Add the cooked noodles and remove the pan or pot from the heat.
- Mix in the noodles and cool the filling, a hot filling means your spring rolls may burst (no one likes a sloppy spring roll). So just let the pan or pot cool, or spread the filling on a baking sheet and let cool, or even place in the fridge for 5 minutes.
To Assemble the Spring Rolls
- First thing is to make the 'glue' so in a small bowl or cup, mix together the cornstarch and water, set this aside but keep it handy, this is used to seal the rolls.
- Open the package of spring roll sheets. Carefully pull off one sheet and place smooth side down on a clean counter with one corner of the sheet facing you. Very important, place a damp towel on the unused sheets, if the sheets dry out they are hard to pull apart and will tear.
- Place a tablespoon or so of filling near the corner closest to you.
- Fold the bottom (the corner closest to you) up over the filling.
- Tightly roll, the filling will spread some, that is fine. When the roll is in the widest part of the pastry (left and right corners will be on the sides of the roll) fold each side towards the center. The roll should be about 5 inches long, and should look like an envelope.
- Continue to roll, and when there is just a pointy section at the end away from you, use your finger and apply some of the cornstarch slurry you made just a few minutes ago to the edges of the pointy section (just like sealing an envelope), continue to roll and seal the edge, and just pat that seam down with your fingers. There, you just made a spring roll.
- Repeat until you have either used all the filling or all the pastry sheets. 13 more to go.
- To fry these, heat about 1 inch of oil in a pot. When hot, add 4-5 spring rolls at a time and fry, turn often, until golden brown, These cook fast so keep an eye on them. Remove to paper towels to drain and fry the remaining rolls. Perfect color.
- Let cool for a few minutes then serve hot as is or serve with a dipping sauce of your choice. My Sweet & Sour Sauce is listed as a shortcut in the Recipe Notes section.
Notes
Figure about 50 Baht for the pork. I will wing about 3 servings from this (I like spring rolls), for 3 servings this is about 50 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce.
Variants: 1. Bake instead of fry, place on a rack on a baking sheet, spray with oil all sides, bake in a 200 C (400 F) oven until golden brown. 2. For the filling, use cooked and chopped bacon, cooked hash browns, and Cheddar mixed in. 3. Place 3 or 4 raisins in each spring roll if using the original ingredients listed.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
Sounds good, and easy, common ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a sauce pan on medium heat and whisk to combine, simmer and stir often until sauce thickens to your liking. Taste and adjust sugar to your liking.
- Remove from heat and let cool, sauce is ready.
Notes
Low cost.
Used in Recipe Listed on this Site:
- Spring Rolls aka Lumpia, made it, GO-TO recipe.
- Mushroom Spring Rolls.
Shrimp & Grits with Tasso Cream Sauce
This is a quick meal to put together. One of the ingredients is Tasso Ham, which is a specialty of Cajun/Creole cooking of the southern US. If you do not have access to this type of ham, you can easily use Andouille sausage or thick cut smoked bacon and just add a bit of Cajun seasoning to taste. On my to cook list for sure.
Ingredients
For the Grits
- 2 servings grits
- water
- milk
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and black pepper, to taste
For the Rest
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup Tasso ham, diced, or Andouille sausage or smoked bacon
- 2 tablespoons onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons bell pepper, diced, any or all colors is fine
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 20 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
- spring onion, green part only, chopped
- Cajun seasoning, optional if using sausage or bacon
Instructions
- Follow the package instructions to prepare the grits but for what ever amount of water it calls for, cut that in half and use milk for the other half.
- Get your grits going, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir often to make nice and creamy grits. When the grits are done, add in Cheddar to your liking and stir in, set aside but keep warm.
- Get everything else prepped, measured, and set out and ready to go, this will come together quickly.
- In a large non stick pan on medium high heat, heat the oil and butter. When hot, add the ham and saute until crispy. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until the onion is translucent then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the shrimp and saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until all the shrimp are pink. Pink shrimp are tender, over cooked shrimp are tough. Remove the shrimp when pink and set aside.
- Stir in the white wine and let it reduce. When it has reduced, slowly stir in the cream, season with salt and pepper, and if you used sausage or bacon, season to taste with Cajun seasoning. Let sauce reduce to thicken.
- Divide the grits between two plates, divide the shrimp onto the grits, pour sauce equally over each plate, top each plate with chopped spring onion greens. Serve.
Notes
I will say low cost for now but will price this when I get the shrimp again, I will be using large shrimp for this.
This recipe for Shrimp & Grits with Tasso Cream Sauce is from Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom.
Homemade Noodles II
This recipe comes from a good friend, and is another way to make fresh noodles, highly recommended! I will be making these soon and may very well be another item I do not need to go to the city for. On my to make list soon!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour, 128 grams or 4.5 ounces
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the egg, milk, and salt. and whisk together.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder, add the egg mixture and mix to form into a ball.
- Turn out to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. No worries about over kneading. Let the dough rest for a few minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as you like then cut with a pizza or pasta cutter to widths you desire.
- Hang to air dry or cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. If making thicker noodles, you may need to cook a minute or more two.
- For air dried noodles, once dry, store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.
- Use noodles in a soup, casserole, etc.
Notes
Low cost.
Recipe and photo provided courtesy of good friend, Kelly Montana Hawk of Tying One On With Kelly (and apron of course) and the original recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Homemade Noodles I
This recipe comes from a good friend, and is highly recommended! I will be making these soon and may very well be another item I do not need to go to the city for. On my to make list soon!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, see Step 1
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons salt
- pinch garlic powder, optional
Instructions
- For the flour, you can use 2 cups all purpose, or 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat. If using wheat flour, you may need a bit more milk, And for any recipe with dough, since this is based on humidity where you are, if the dough is too dry, add more milk, if the dough is too sticky, add more flour. If weighing the flour, recommended, 2 cups all purpose flour is 256 grams or 9 ounces.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk, and salt. and whisk together. Add 1 cup of flour and stir until mixture is smooth.
- Mix in the garlic powder and remaining flour, one spoonful at a time until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky.
- Turn out to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 3 minutes. No worries about over kneading. Let the dough rest for a few minutes.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin as you like then cut with a pizza or pasta cutter to widths you desire.
- Hang to air dry or cook in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. If making thicker noodles, you may need to cook a minute or more two.
- For air dried noodles, once dry, store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.
- Use noodles in a soup, casserole, etc.
Notes
Low cost.
Recipe and photo provided courtesy of good friend, Christine Hoffman and the link to her recipe is here.Â
United States.
United States.
Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice Soup
Sounds really good, I like a good soup. On my to cook list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1-2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 cup dry brown rice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 500 grams chicken breasts, boneless, skinness
- 4 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder
Instructions
- Rinse the rice and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add the onion, carrot, and celery and saute for about 8 minutes or so, until onion is translucent.
- Now add the rice, garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, and salt to the pan, saute for 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant.
- Pour the contents of the pan into your slow cooker, then add the chicken and broth, stir to mix everything together.
- Cover and set to Low setting and let cook for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every 2 hours.
- The soup is done when the chicken is cooked through, rice is fluffy and tender, and thickened a bit.
- Serve.
Notes
Chicken will cost about 30 Baht/500 grams. For 4 servings, this is about 23 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pears & Mayo
I heard about this from an old time advertisement for mayonnaise, never heard of anyone actually making this until now. This is a side dish salad. Next time I go to Phuket, I will have to look for a can of pears to test this out with.
Ingredients
- 1 can pear halves
- mayo, as needed
- Cheddar cheese, shredded, as needed
- lettuce leaves, as needed
Instructions
- Make a bed of lettuce leaves on two plates, place two drained pear halves on each plate. Add a generous spoon of mayo into the center of each pear. Top with some shredded cheese.
- Serve as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. In place of pears, use pineapple rings (fresh would be perfect), or canned peach halves.
Provided courtesy of good friends, Wayne Studdard Jr., Millette Hampton, Wanda Gauthreaux.
United States.
United States.
Cumberland Sausage
This is English in origin, this is a recipe to make homemade Cumberland Sausage. Now that I have found a supplier for hog casings in Phuket, this is on my to make list for sure. I will clarify quantity made when I prepare this.
Ingredients
- 900 grams pork shoulder, (2 lbs)
- 900 grams pork belly, (2 lbs)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground white pepper
- 110 grams fine breadcrumbs, OR make from a shortcut, (3 1/2 oz)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons dried sage
- 2 tablespoons dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 3 - 3 1/2 meters hog casing
Instructions
- First thing, chill the meats in the fridge, sterilize and chill the grinder parts in the fridge. Grinding meat creates heat, so you want the meat and the grinder to be a cool temp, not freezing, just chilled.
- Cut the pork belly into cubes that will fit in your meat grinder hopper. Then do the same with the pork shoulder. Remove any tendons or stringy matter.
- Mix together the two meats, then add the spices and herbs.
- Mix together. Place the meat in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. Assemble your meat grinder with the coarse plate, typically the wagon wheel plate.
- Grind the meat with the wagon wheel plate, or what is called a course plate for your model of grinder.
- Then in a large bowl, mix with the breadcrumbs. Breadcrumbs added, I did not get the cup measurement.
- Mix until well combined, use your hands for this.
- Soak the hog casings per instructions on the package. Remove the cutting blade and plate from your grinder. and attach the sausage funnel. Rub some bacon fat or cooking oil on the funnel, slip the end of the wet hog casing over the attachment and pull the casing down the shaft so that it is bunched up at the base. I use a dry casing from a reputable dealer in Phuket.
- Tie the starting end of the casing with string, using the slow setting on the grinder, add the meat back to the grinder, fill the casing but do not over fill, any air bubbles, prick with a tooth pick. Work the sausage into the casing and form the casing into a ring as you go. You can leave in a ring or twist and make links or tie with string to make links, up to you. I do not have that ring thing down yet so I just made links.
- Store the sausage in the fridge overnight. Then you are ready to cook them as you see fit or freeze for later use.
Notes
I will price this when I get the meats and casing, overall I will say fair value, but much less than store prices, by a long shot.
Shortcut: Breadcrumbs.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Completely Loco Moco
This is spin on the standard Hawaiian fast food Loco Moco, this is a simple recipe and uses leftover meat.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Worcherstershire sauce
- 2 cups beef stock, fresh or from powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- leftover cooked beef, pork, chicken
- 4 eggs
- 4 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until mixture becomes a dark brown color, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce and whisk for about 1 minute. Add beef stock and salt, and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes. OR just prepare a packet or two of gravy mix and use that.
- While the gravy is thickening, chop the leftover meat you have on hand, beef, pork, chicken, or any combination. Add to a hot skillet and saute to heat the meat through, add the cooked rice and mix in, saute until meat and rice are hot.
- Fry the eggs sunny side up in another pan.
- To plate, divide the rice and meat mixture between 4 plates, pour on some gravy, place a fried egg on top, serve.
Notes
Low cost since using left over meat.
Inspired by Jerry Juliana.
United States.
United States.
Pasta with Tuna, Lemon & Dill
Sounds easy and tasty. On my to cook list. Feel free to use canned or fresh tuna you have cooked. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Ingredients
- 150 grams dry spaghetti, (5-6 oz)
- 200 grams canned tuna, drained, flaked, (7 oz), Shortcut
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, cook the pasta until tender.
- While the pasta is cooking, mix the remaining ingredients together in a large serving bowl, season with salt and pepper as desired.
- When the pasta is tender, drain and add to the mixture in the serving bowl, toss to combine, serve.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Tuna.