Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Garlic & Pepper Blue Prawn
Blue prawn are the Giant River Prawn, long front legs with claws, the body has a slight blue tint to it, the legs are a striking blue color, so I typically call these Blue Prawn. These are large and can be prepared is many ways, this is just one way. No quantities given for the prawn, this is a prepare with what you have or want to prepare. This is a typical Thai recipe.
Ingredients
- blue prawn
- black pepper, as needed
- 8 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled, no need to mince
- cooking oil, as needed
Instructions
- This is a Giant River Prawn, aka Blue Prawn. Unlike regular shrimp where you remove the head and eat the tail only, the whole body on these is used minus the legs and shell. Important note, if buying these live, don't get pinched by the claws, quite painful. Normally when buying these they will be dead and on ice.
- To prepare the prawn, first thing, remove those two long front legs and discard those. Most important, do not remove the head section, that remains intact with the tail. Then peel the shell off by just splitting between the legs on the bottom with your thumbs, removing the shell from the head and the body, and remove the tail shell as well. Once all the prawn are prepped, rinse in water. Eyes can remain as well as the gills.
- Heat a large pan with a few splashes of oil, when the oil is hot, add the garlic and the prawn in a single layer, if cooking a lot, work in batches. Season well with black pepper, cook for 5 minutes or so or until you start to see the tail meat turning pink and the bottom is getting browned.
- Turn the prawn over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the nice and golden brown on the bottom.
- Remove from the pan to a platter and serve with rice.
Notes
I bought these from a local farmer, 8 prawn was 1 kilo, cost was 120 Baht. 4 people enjoyed this, so about 88 cents per serving.
Family has been making these for many years like this.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Hash Brown Casserole
Sounds excellent. On my to cook list. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 in pieces
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 kilos potatoes, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 cup sour cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 1/4 cups Edam cheese, shredded
Instructions
- If using homemade hash browns, go ahead and blanch them for about 3 minutes in a pot of boiling water, drain and squeeze dry.
- If using frozen hash browns, thaw and drain those.
- Heat your oven to 190 C. Get out a 9x13 baking dish,
- Saute the onion, bacon, and bell pepper in a large non stick skillet until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Remove to a bowl.
- In the baking dish, add the hash browns, soup, sour cream, and 1 cup of cheese, mix lightly. Add the bacon and onion mixture and stir that in. Spread out evenly. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, uncovered, or until heated through.
- Serve with some fried eggs and toast. Perfect for a breakfast or dinner, I always love breakfast for dinner.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Hash Browns, Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Sour Cream.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Meatballs & Gravy II
Sounds very nice, and tasty. On my to cook list for sure. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef
- 250 grams ground pork
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/4 cup onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil, or bacon fat
- 1/2 cup beef stock, fresh or make from powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the 11 ingredients, mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Place meatballs in a container, cover, and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- When ready to cook, heat the oil in a large non stick pan, when hot, add the meatballs, work in batches if needed, brown the meatballs all over, turning gently until they are firmed up.
- Once browned, add the stock, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until cooked through, turning occasionally.
- When cooked through, remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon to a platter. Mix the cornstarch and water, slowly whisk into to the pan and cook and whisk until thickened to make a gravy.
- Serve meatballs with pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice, with the gravy spooned over the top.
Notes
Figure about 150 Baht for the beef and 30 Baht for the pork. For 6 servings, this is about 88 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Bread Crumbs.
Variants: 1. Make the gravy from a package, Lobo Brand is very good. 2. Add chopped fresh mushrooms to the gravy.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.
Whitefish & Capers
This, is really good! I have never eaten capers or cooked with them, nor has the family, I have a new found favorite now! I recently bought jar of Spanish capers that I opened and used a tablespoon of capers and juice, perfect. I made this on 15 Nov 2017, well liked and enjoyed by the family, five people.
Ingredients
- 2-3 whitefish fillets, cut in half to make 4-6 pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon capers, with juice
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pan with the oil over medium heat. Season the fillets with black pepper on both sides, cook the fillet pieces until just starting to brown on each side. Remove from pan. This photo is just after I turned them over.
- Same pan, add the wine and reduce a lot, then add the garlic, butter, and capers. Season with black pepper as desired. Simmer for a minute or two blend the flavors.
- Add the fillets back to the pan and spoon the sauce over them. Simmer until the fish is warmed through, and it should already flake easily with a fork.
- Serve with the sauce poured over the fish, sides could be pasta with garlic or anchovies, steamed rice, or even boiled or mashed potatoes with butter.
Notes
Two to three fillets of Pangasius (which would be my fish of choice in Thailand) would cost maybe 90 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 68 cents per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pickled Shrimp
If nothing else, this does sound interesting, I have never heard of this but it does sound good.
Ingredients
To Cook the Shrimp
- 500 grams shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail removed
- 1 stalk import celery, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
- pinch salt, to taste
- 4 cups water
To Pickle the Shrimp
- hot water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
- 2 teaspoons mustard seed
- 2 tablespoons capers, with juice
- 1/2 lemon sliced
- 1/2 purple onion, thinly sliced
- 1 quart mason jar
Instructions
To Cook the Shrimp
- In a large pot, add the water, celery, onion, lemon slices, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp, cover, and remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, the shrimp should all be pink, if not cover and let sit for another minute or two. When pink, drain and remove the shrimp to a bowl, discard the rest.
To Pickle the Shrimp
- Fill your jar about 2/3 full with hot water. Add the vinegar, mustard seed and garlic. Layer in the cooked shrimp, capers, onion, and lemon.Top up the jar with lemon slices, making sure the shrimp are below the surface of the liquid, if needed, add more water to top up the jar.
- Let jar cool to room temp, cover, and put in the fridge for 2 days, then ready to serve.
Notes
Going with just small Whites from Tesco, figure about 95 Baht/500 grams. For 6 servings, this is about 48 cents per serving.
This recipe for Pickled Shrimp is from Simply Recipes.
Fish Stew with Ginger & Tomatoes
Sounds wonderful. On my to cook list for sure.
Ingredients
- 3-4 potatoes, diced, peeled is up to you
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 kilo whitefish fillets, cut into 1 inch sections
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot, when hot, add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute, then add the tomatoes plus juice, sugar, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Cook and stir for about 3 minutes.
- Add the stock and potatoes, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just fork tender.
- Stir in the fish, cover, and cook for 5 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Sprinkle with parsley, serve.
Notes
Using Pangasius fillets, which are boneless and skinless, 1 kilo is about 128 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 95 cents per serving.
This recipe for Fish Stew with Ginger and Tomatoes is from Simply Recipes.
Fish Chowder II
Another good sounding fish chowder recipe. On my to cook list for sure. Fish can be Pangasius, Sea Perch, Bass, Grouper, Tilapia, etc. Clam juice may be a bit of a stretch for me to find where I live, so if no clam juice, use fish stock, or 1/2 cup chicken stock + 1/2 cup water + 2 teaspoons fish sauce for each cup of clam juice needed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 3 potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups clam juice
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 750-1000 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a large pot on medium heat, when hot, add onions and saute until softened, not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the wine and increase heat and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add the clam juice, potatoes, Old Bay seasoning, bay leaf, thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the potatoes are not quite covered with liquid, add just enough water so they are covered. Bring to just a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- In another small pot, heat the cream until steamy but do not boil it. Stir in the fish then the cream into the large pot, and cook uncovered until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, maybe 10 minutes or so, stir occasionally.
- When the fish is cooked through, remove from heat and stir in the parsley.
- Can serve at this point but if you let this sit for 30 minutes or so, covered, then heat to just steaming over low heat, the flavors will blend much more for a more flavorful chowder.
- Serve with bread or oyster crackers (which I am going to make as well soon).
Notes
For the fish, if you went with Pangasius, this is about 128 Baht/1 kilo. For 6 servings, this is about 63 cents per serving.
Variants: This recipe screams of variants. 1. Add shrimp, oyster meat, scallops. Remember to adjust cooking times to account for add ins. 2. Add mushrooms. 3. In place of Old Bay Seasoning, add a pinch of paprika and cayenne pepper.
This recipe for Fish Chowder is from Simply Recipes.
Easy Fish Stew
Sounds very good. Any kind of boneless and skinless whitefish works in this, think Pangasius, Sea Perch (Barramundi), Snapper, Bass, etc. Clam juice may be a bit of a stretch for me to find where I live, so if no clam juice, use fish stock, or 1/2 cup chicken stock + 1/2 cup water + 2 teaspoons fish sauce for each cup of clam juice needed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 240 ml clam juice, (8 oz bottle)
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 750 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces
- pinch dried oregano
- pinch dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon tobasco sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot on medium heat, add the oil, when hot, saute the onion until translucent then add the garlic and saute for another minute until fragrant. Stir in the parsley and stir for about 2 minutes then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, lower heat and stir often for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the wine and clam juice then add the fish and mix that in, simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked and easily flakes with a fork. Taste and season to your liking with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the stew into bowls and serve with bread.
Notes
I will use Pangasius fillets when I make this, figure about 100 Baht for 750 grams. For 4 servings, this is about 75 cents per serving.
Variants: 1. Add a pinch of Old Bay Seasoning. 2. Add any or all of the following (you may need to increase the liquid amount as well) clam meat, mussel meat, small oyster meat, shrimp, or scallops. 3. Add diced potatoes. 4. Add mushrooms.
This recipe for Quick Easy Fish Stew is from Simply Recipes.
Baked Bacon Eggs
These are incredibly good, a twist on the standard Scotch egg witch is covered with sausage and deep fried. I made these on 19 Nov 2017 very much liked by the family.
Ingredients
- soft boiled eggs, chicken or duck, peeled
- slices bacon, 2-3 slices per egg
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200 C (390 F). Get out a muffin pan.
- Set out your bacon and soft boiled eggs, I used duck eggs as those are favorites here. The muffin pan is to the right of the eggs.
- Wrap an egg with 2-3 slices of bacon, one crosswise, and one to two lengthwise and place in the muffin pan with the edges down in the pan.
- Repeat for the rest of the eggs. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then gently turn the eggs to cook the other side, for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the bacon is crispy.
- When you turn them during cooking, some of the bacon will come lose, no worries.
- Serve with buttered toast.
Notes
Low cost overall. Figure 2 eggs and 4-6 slices of bacon per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pork & Stuffing Casserole
Sounds perfect, and two of the major ingredients can be made from shortcuts for cost savings, and in my opinion, better taste. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops, bone in or boneless
- 1 box Stove Top stuffing, OR make from a shortcut
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C. Oil or butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Heat a splash of cooking oil in large non stick pan, season chops with salt and pepper as desired, browns chops on both sides, remove from pan and place in the baking dish.
- Prepare the boxed stuffing according to package or make from the shortcut. Spoon the stuffing over the chops.
- Mix together the milk and soup, pour over the top of the chops.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 1 hour. You can bake longer for increased tenderness if desired, the chops will remain moist.
- Remove the foil for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking to nicely brown the top of the casserole.
- Serve.
Notes
I will price this when I get 4 pork chops again, for now I will say Low cost.
Shortcuts: Stove Top Stuffing, Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Provided courtesy of good friend, Stephen Connell.
United States.
United States.