Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Tuna Melts
These can be prepared as open-faced or closed sandwiches, and on any type of toasted bread. And for this recipe, 5 variants are listed. Use the base recipe, and what you like, and make it your own signature sandwich. This is written for open-faced sandwiches, if you desire closed, just double the toasted bread.
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 can tuna in water, drained, (180 g / 6 oz)
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- ⅓ cup mayo
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon lemon or lime juice
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
For the Sandwich
- 2 slices bread, of your choice, toasted
- fresh tomato, sliced, as desired
- Cheddar cheese, shredded or sliced, as desired
American Classic
- tuna salad, as stated above
- white bread, Wonder, toasted
- American cheese, slices, as desired
- fresh tomato, slices, as desired
New York Deli
- tuna salad, as stated above
- Pumpernickel bagel, sliced in half
- dill pickle, slice lengthwise into slabs, as desired
- New York Cheddar cheese, slices, as desired
Apple Pie
- tuna salad, as stated above, but mixed with chopped pecans and dried currents as desired
- apple, sliced, as desired
- brioche hamburger roll, sliced in half
- extra sharp Cheddar cheese
Hot & Spicy
- tuna salad, as stated above
- jalapeno slices, canned, as desired
- soft wheat taco shells
- roasted red pepper, as desired
- Pepper Jack cheese, as desired
Californian
- tuna salad, as stated above
- avocado slices, as desired
- almonds, slivered, as desired
- Asiago cheese, as desired
- whole grain bread
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200° C (400° F), line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toast two slices of bread, place the toast on the parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, add the Tuna Salad ingredients.
- Mix together the salad, and at this point we have a really nice tuna salad that would make a nice cold sandwich on its own, but why stop here.
- Next item needed, fresh tomatoes, I used two Tor tomatoes with three thick slices each.
- Top the toast with equal portions of the tuna salad, then top that with 1-3 slices of tomato (depends on how big your tomato is), then top that with 1-2 slices of cheese or shredded cheese to your liking (I used a 4 blend pizza cheese).
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per sandwich.
Variants: 1. For bread, think white, wheat, whole grain, English muffins, leftover hamburger buns or hot dog buns, etc. 2. For cheese, Cheddar, Gouda, Swiss, Monterrey Jack. Colby, you get the picture. 3. Don't like an open face sandwich, just top with another toasted similar piece of bread and enjoy as a regular sandwich.
Great Northern Beans & Tomatoes (Pressure Cooker)
Excellent bean dish, either as a side or main dish. There is two steps to this, first we are going to cook the beans in a pressure cooker, then we will add the tomatoes when not on pressure. I use a stove top 9 liter (9½ quart) pressure cooker with 12 psi (80 kPa) pressure for these. Follow all safety precautions for your model of pressure cooker. This is a 2 for 1 recipe, beans for this dish plus bean broth for a soup or noodles another day.
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry Great Northern beans, (1 lb)
- water, as needed
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 250 grams bacon, chopped, (8 oz)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, or 2 sprigs fresh
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and remove any bad ones and any debris, place in a large bowl and cover with 2 inches of water. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and stir that in. Cover the bowl and let that sit for at least 6 hours. If you are going to soak these overnight, place in the fridge, this will reduce the chance of the beans fermenting.
- After 6 hours, drain and rinse the beans and add to your pressure cooker. Add 8 cups of water, bacon, and the 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, the oil keeps the beans from foaming so do not skip the oil.
- Place the lid on the pot, add the weight (jiggler), and bring the heat up to high. When the jiggler starts moving and releasing pressure, indicating full pressure, start timing this for 6 minutes, and turn the heat down to low or medium low to maintain the jiggler moving and releasing pressure.
- At 6 minutes, turn off the heat and move the pressure cooker to an unused burner and allow a natural release of pressure. When the pressure is released, open and remove the lid, you won't need the lid for the rest of the cooking. Pour the contents into a large strainer that is on top of a large pot. Now you have beans for this recipe and bean broth, 2 for 1.
- Return the beans to the pressure cooker along with 1½ cups of the bean broth. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to mix together and put low heat to simmer.
- Take the remainder of the bean broth and pour that into a jar and let it cool, then place in the fridge. Use as a base for a soup or noodles, use within 2-3 days. I got just under 1 quart of broth.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes to cook down the tomatoes and the liquid reduced some.
- Serve as a side dish or main dish, enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving for sure.
Taco Spring Rolls
I came up with this on a whim, seemed like a good idea, and it was! Very well liked by the family. This does take time as the meat mixture needs to cool to room temperature, as the key to making spring rolls is to use room temp filling, a warm filling will break the wrappers when you roll them. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground pork, or beef, (1 lb)
- 1 packet taco seasoning mix, (Shortcut)
- 1 cup water
- 120 grams lettuce, chopped, (4 oz)
- 150 grams Cheddar cheese, or a cheese blend, shredded, (5 oz)
- 1 package spring roll wrappers, 5.5 x 5.5 inch wrappers, at least 20 wrappers, thawed
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- cooking oil, for frying
- dipping sauce of your choice, salsa would be good, and in Thailand, sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Heat a non stick pan on medium heat and add the ground pork. Break it up as it cooks with your spatula.
- Break the meat up finely and to cook until little to no pink is visible. Since I used pork, I drained the fat.
- Once the meat is drained, add the taco seasoning packet and 1 cup of water.
- Stir together and simmer the seasoned meat until the water is all evaporated, stirring occasionally. Once no liquid remains, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. If you are pushed for time, you can add the meat mixture to a mixing bowl to cool, but why dirty up another bowl, just leave it in the pan on an unused burner or counter top. To cool takes 1-2 hours.
- Take the spring roll wrappers out of the freezer and place on the counter to thaw. Go ahead and prep the lettuce and cheese.
- When you are ready to roll the spring roll, add the lettuce and cheese to the cooled meat mixture.
- Give the filling a good stir to mix everything together, there, you just made the filling, which is much faster than traditional spring rolls. In a small bowl, mix together the corn starch and 1-2 tablespoons of water, this is your glue for the next step.
- For this step, it is best to have two people, one to pull the wrappers, one to roll. Lay a spring roll wrapper, smooth side down on the counter with one corner pointed towards you. Place about 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of filling near the corner closest to you. Fold the corner nearest you up and over the filling and roll away until you are at the widest point of the wrapper. Use your fingers and dip into the glue and rub that on the two side that are away from you, be generous. Now fold one side, left or right, towards the middle, the repeat with the other side, now it should look like an open envelope. Now continue rolling away from you to complete the roll. If the point flap does not stay glued down, just dab a bit more glue on it. Repeat until the filling is all used. I made 21 rolls, you may make 18 or 25, depending on how much filling you are using. Once you have done this a few times this actually goes pretty fast. The reason for the two people is you do not want the wrappers drying or they will tear when pulling them apart.
- And here they are all rolled. My wife and I made these at about 3 pm but did not dry them until about 10 pm, so we just covered them with foil and placed in the fridge.
- When you are ready to fry them, heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a pan, you want it hot but not smoking. When the oil is hot, fry 4 to 5 rolls at a time until golden brown then turn over until the other side is golden brown. Drain on paper towels and continue frying in batches until all are cooked.
- Serve with dipping sauces of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Taco Seasoning Mix.
Made this on a whim, I researched this idea for spring rolls and every recipe seemed way over engineered, this seemed like the most logical way, and it worked perfectly.
Fish Chowder III
Another great sounding fish chowder recipe, any whitefish can be used, boneless and skinless. I look forward to making this.
Ingredients
- 500 grams whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut into bite size pieces, (1 lb)
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2½ cups potatoes, chopped
- 1 can baby clams, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, and as desired
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- In a large, melt the butter on medium heat, when melted, add the celery, onion, garlic, and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the potatoes, fish, clams, water, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stir occasionally.
- When the potatoes are tender, stir in the milk. Leave on a simmer and cook, stirring often until the chowder is heated through.
- Ladle into bowls, sprinkle some black pepper on top, serve with crackers.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants. 1. Use 1-2 containers of oyster meat (Thailand, think Tesco), drained, in place of clams. 2. Use evaporated milk in place of whole milk.
Fish Veronica
Sounds like a very nice fish recipe, use any whitefish fillets your prefer, cod, haddock, pangasius, barramundi, tilapia, etc. On my to make and taste list. I will verify the servings this makes when I make this.
Ingredients
- 3 whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, pangasius would be perfect
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1/2 cup chicken stock or broth, fresh or from powder
- 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup green seedless grapes, sliced in half
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F), lightly oil a 7x11 baking dish.
- Place the fillets in the prepared baking dish, season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Mix together the lemon juice and stock in a measuring cup, then pour over the fish.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the fish is baking, melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat, then remove from heat and whisk in the flour, place back on the low heat and slowly add the milk while whisking, whisk continuously until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, remove the foil, then remove the fish to a plate, pour the liquid from the dish into your sauce. Put the fish back into the baking dish. Stir to sauce to mix together well. Pour sauce over the fish and sprinkle with the grapes. Place back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes. Optionally, you can broil for 3-5 minutes to lightly brown the sauce.
- Remove from the oven. Serve with sauce spooned over the fish, serve with sides of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Caprese Sandwich
Sounds like a tasty sandwich, on my to make and taste list. This is a make as many sandwiches as you need so no quantities listed. You can make this on baguette, ciabatta rolls, or even toasted wheat bread.
Ingredients
- 2 slices wheat bread, toasted, or a split baguette or ciabatta roll
- tomato, sliced, as needed
- Mozzarella Cheese, sliced thick, as needed
- fresh basil leaves, as needed
- extra virgin olive oil, as needed
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
Instructions
- Place a slice of toast on a plate (or bread of your choice), cover the bread with tomato slices (depending on the size of your tomatoes), season with salt and pepper as desired
- Top the tomatoes with Mozzarella cheese and top that with some fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with some olive oil.
- Top wit the remaining toast, cut in half, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per sandwich.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Italian Deviled Eggs
These sound good and another alternative deviled egg. On my to make and taste list. This recipe assumes you have hard boiled eggs already prepared.
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- 1/3 cup mayo, of your choice
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons carmelized onions
- 2 tablespoons proscuitto, cooked and crumbled, or bacon
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- fresh basil leaves, chopped, for garnish, as desired
Instructions
- Slice the eggs in half lengthwise, remove the yolks to a mixing bowl, place the egg whites, flat side up on a serving tray.
- Mash the yolks with a for then add mix in the mayo, onion, cheese, dried basil, and the prosciutto.
- Pipe or spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites and garnish each egg with a bit of chopped fresh basil. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Chicken Eggs (Rice Cooker).
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Easiest Deviled Eggs, Ever!
For a basic deviled egg, the egg yolks are mixed with mayo and mustard, well we are not going to do that. So actually, you could call this the laziest way to make deviled eggs, ever. This recipe assumes you already have hard boiled eggs available, and if someone else prepared those, and peeled them, bonus for being even more easy (or lazy). Basically if you have hard boiled eggs, this is just another way to enjoy them.
Ingredients
- 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled
- Kewpie mayo, or mayo of your choice in a squirt bottle
- mustard, of your choice, in a squirt bottle is preferred
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Slice eggs in half lengthwise and place on a plate flat side up.
- Squirt some mayo all over the top of each egg, be generous. Then squirt a small amount of mustard on top of the mayo, and add a sprinkle of black pepper as desired. Enjoy.
Notes
Now how easy was that?
Shortcuts: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs, Steamed Chicken Eggs (Rice Cooker), Perfect Hard Boiled Duck Eggs.
Seen a photo of these and just made them.
Pan Fried Whitefish II
Sounds like an excellent variation for fried fish, on my to make and taste list for sure.
Ingredients
- 2-3 whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, cut in half to make easier handling
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon if using Thai chili powder
- salt and pepper, as desired
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Mix together the garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper as desired, in a shallow bowl.
- Heat a large non stick pan on medium heat with the oil and butter. When hot but not smoking, coat the fish fillets in the dry mixture on both sides, then add to the hot pan.
- Fry 3 minutes or until golden brown then turn the fillets over for another 3 minutes.
- Serve with sides of your choice.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Provided by Monica Rosales of Just A Pinch Recipe Club and his recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Stuffed Whitefish
This, is delicious! A really nice alternative to baked or fried fish. I made this on 3 May 2019 and cut the recipe in half, absolutely delicious. My photos show only 3 fillets used.
Ingredients
- 6 whitefish fillets, boneless, skinless, pangasius would be perfect
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons green bell pepper, diced
- 1 can corn, drained
- 1 cup soft bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons pimento, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
- 2 tablespoons salad oil, or neutral oil of your choice
- paprika, for garnish if desired
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish if desired
- lemon slices, as desired
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease with oil or butter a 9x13 baking dish. If cutting the recipe in half, a 7x11 baking dish is perfect.
- To make the stuffing, put a saucepan on medium heat, add the butter, when melted, add the onion, cook until onion is translucent.
- Add the bell pepper, drained corn, bread crumbs, pimento, and thyme. Cook until the bell pepper is soft, stirring often, takes just a few minutes. Remove the stuffing from heat.
- For those that are new to cooking, this is the skin side of a skinless fillet.
- And this is the opposite side, or the inside of the fish, this is the side you are going to add the filling to.
- Lay the fillets out on a sheet of foil, skin side down. Spread the stuffing loosely over the fillets.
- Roll each fillet up and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Brush each roll with salad oil or oil of your choice.
- For any leftover filling, just spoon it in along both ends of the rolls.
- Wipe off the foil you used and cover the baking dish with that foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Photo with foil removed, perfectly cooked fish.
- Serve with sides of your choice.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Provided by Russ Myers of Just A Pinch Recipe Club and his recipe is here.
United States.
United States.