Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Lebanese Style Chicken Livers
This is a really tasty dish if you like chicken livers. The mint is perfect in this.
Ingredients
- 400 grams chicken livers, (14 oz)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2-3 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish, or mint
Instructions
- Prep the livers by cutting in half, then cutting the two pieces into 2-3 smaller pieces.
- In a large zip lock bag, add the liver, oil, salt, mint, and garlic. Squeeze out as much air as possible, and zip closed. Squish the livers around to get everything mixed and the livers coated. Place in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
- When ready to cook, heat a large non stick pan on medium high heat and add the contents of the zip lock bag.
- Saute for 5-10 minutes are until no pink remains visible, almost ready, just another 1-2 minutes to go at this point. Remember, over cooked liver is tough liver, slightly pink inside is perfect.
- Stir in the lemon or lime juice and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Divide between two plates, garnish with chopped parsley or min, serve with sides of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
German Meat Salad II
This is a Thai version of what is called Fleischsalat but I am not using German Bologna, just regular bologna from Tesco, and adding some items that my Thai step daughter would like. There is two dressings listed as well, a Thai dressing and mayo, use either one per your preference.
Ingredients
- 115 grams bologna, (~4 oz), German Bologna if you have it
- 85 grams Swiss cheese, (~3 oz)
- 85 grams Vietnamese sausage, cha lua (plain) or cha hue (pepper and garlic), (~3 oz)
- 85 grams smoked ham, (~3 oz)
- 85 grams imitation crab sticks, (~3 oz)
For the Thai Dressing
- light soy sauce, as needed
- lime juice, as needed
For the Mayo Dressing
- mayo, as needed
Instructions
- Stack the bologna and ham, slice into 1/4 inch wide strips. Slice the cheese into long thin slices, then stack and slice those into 1/4 inch wide strips. Slice the pickles, you guessed it, into 1/4 inch wide pieces. Remove the casings on the crab sticks and Vietnamese sausage, slice into 1/4 inch strips.
- Place the sliced items into a mixing bowl, add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of lime juice, toss to mix together, adjust the soy sauce and lime juice as needed to fully coat everything.
- Or place the sliced items into a mixing bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons mayo, toss to coat, adding more as needed, goal is coated, not dripping in mayo.
- Cover and place in the fridge to chill for 2-3 hours.
- Serve as is or on a bed of lettuce. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Inspired from an internet recipe.
Pasta with Tuna & Capers
I like pasta, canned tuna in oil, and capers, sounds like a great dish. Note, this will not work with tuna packed in water, spring water, or brine; oil only, olive oil is preferred, but if only soybean oil packed is available use that and a splash of olive oil and the dish will be fine.
Ingredients
- 115 grams dry spiral pasta, or bite size or even spaghetti will work well with this, (4 oz)
- 1 can tuna in olive oil, (185 g / 6 oz)
- 1 small onion, diced
- pinch red chili flakes, or as desired
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained, can easily add more as desired
- ¼ cup dry white wine, or ¼ cup water + 1 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 handful cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- lemon pepper, as desired
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until tender. Drain.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain the oil from the tuna into a large non stick pan, heat the oil on medium heat, when hot, add the onion and chili flakes, saute until the onion is translucent and tender.
- Add the tuna, capers, and wine and stir together. Allow to come to a low boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes, add a touch more wine if the sauce is drying out. Season as desired with lemon pepper.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and parsley and mix together.
- When the pasta is ready, drain well, then add to the pan. Toss with the sauce.
- Divide between two plates, sprinkle with lemon black pepper as desired. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Add sliced black olives.
Mediterranean Tuna Pasta
This is a tasty, and easy to assemble, pasta salad.
Ingredients
- 340 grams dry spiral pasta, or any bite size pasta, (12 oz)
- 2 cans tuna in olive oil, (about 185 g / 5 oz each)
- 1 cup tomato, drained of juice, chopped
- ¼ cup pitted green olives, sliced, or black olives
- ¼ cup red onion, diced, or brown onion
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, coarsely chopped
- 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 3 tablespoons if using tuna packed in water
- 1½ cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded, or as desired
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, then add the pasta and cook until tender, drain. (I used small shell pasta.)
- While the water is heating for the pasta, let's prepare the rest of the salad. If the canned tuna in olive oil is good quality, no need to drain the oil, just add the tuna and oil into a large mixing bowl and omit adding the olive oil listed in the ingredients. If the tuna you are using is not good quality olive oil, or packed in soybean oil or water, drain those add the tuna to a large mixing bowl. Break up the large pieces with a fork. (I used 3 cans, 165 g / 5¾ oz each, I like a lot of tuna in a salad.)
- To the same mixing bowl, add the tomato, olives, onion, parsley, and capers.
- Mix together, this makes it easier to mix in the pasta.
- Add the pasta, cheese, olive oil, and lemon or lime juice. Gently mix together. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. At this point you can serve this warm as a side dish, I however decided to cover and place in the fridge for a few hours to chill to serve as a main dish.
- Serve as a side dish or as a main dish. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving as a main dish as this makes a lot.
Chicken Pot Pie
This inspiration for this recipe comes from a friend and it is delicious. This takes some time to make the homemade version but it is well worth it, you will make a few homemade items, or you can opt for pre-made items, totally up to you. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pie Dish
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts, Shortcut
- 2 cups chicken breasts, cooked, diced
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, Shortcut
- 1½ cups frozen mixed vegetables, or 1 can of mixed veggies, drained
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- For the pie crusts, feel free to use frozen and thawed, or make your own. I made olive oil pie crusts for this dish. Just before you plan to bake the pie, preheat your oven to 190° C (375° F).
- For the chicken, feel free to cook the chicken your preferred way; such as boiling, baking, pressure cooking, or even use leftover chicken. Add the chopped chicken to a mixing bowl.
- For the vegetables, feel free to use frozen (thawed) or canned vegetables. You can even use fresh veggies, peeled and diced that total 1½ cups, then boil them until tender, and drained. Add to the mixing bowl with the chicken.
- Add the can of condensed soup, or homemade condensed soup to the mixing bowl with the chicken and vegetables. Mix together, season with salt and pepper as desired, and pour into your prepared pie dish. I was snap happy with the camera and took a photo before I spread the filling out evenly.
- Cover the pie with the second crust, flute if desired, and cut 4 slits in the crust.
- Mix together the egg and milk in a small bowl and brush the top of the pie with the egg wash. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown, then remove to a rack to cool for 5 minutes or so and the filling will firm up.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcuts: Olive Oil Pie Crust, Pie Crust, Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Variants: 1. Use cream of mushroom soup in place of the chicken soup. 2. Add sliced or chopped mushrooms to the filling. 3. Use 2 cans, drained, chicken breast (12.5 oz / 354 g each) in place of fresh cooked chicken.
Mushroom Pie
This is an excellent pie! I made this with a mix of Shiitake and Buna Shimeji mushrooms and diced smoked ham. There is several ways to prepare this as listed in the Variants in the Recipe Notes section. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Notes section.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pie Dish (8 or 9 inch)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 500 grams button mushrooms, sliced, (1 lb)
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- ¾ cup whipping cream, more as needed
- 1½ cups Swiss cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste, as desired
- 1½ teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
- 2 pie crusts, frozen (thawed), fresh made, or puff pastry, Shortcut
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180° C (350° F), get out a 8 or 9 inch pie dish. For the pie crusts, you can use two pie crusts (top and bottom), two sheets puff pastry (top and bottom), or a pie crust on the bottom, and a sheet of puff pastry on the top (very Australian/British). When the oven is hot, place one crust in a pie dish, trim the edge and bake for 5-10 minutes, this is so you do not get a soggy bottom crust. Remove from the oven and set the dish on a rack and set aside for now.
- For the mushrooms I used a mix of Shiitake and Buna Shimeji mushrooms. For the Shiitake, remove the stems and slice the caps. For the Shimeji, cut the root end off the bundle off then cut the bundle in half and separate the mushrooms.
- Add the oil to a large non stick pan and heat on medium high heat, when hot, add the onion, mushrooms, and bacon, saute for 5 minutes or until the onion is starting to get tender. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Turn the heat to medium, stir in the cream and dill, cook and bring to a boil, stirring, for about 10 minutes, you need to cook this down just a bit, if the mixture seems a bit dry, just add a few tablespoons of cream to get the right consistency.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cheese until all is blended. Do not worry if the bacon seems underdone, it is going to get baked.
- Pour the mushroom filling into the prepared pie crust. Cover the pie with another sheet of pie crust or puff pastry, cut 4 slits in the top, flute the edge with your fingers or crimp the edge with a fork. Mix together the egg and milk, use a pastry brush and brush the top crust, this is make a nice and golden brown crust.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and place on a rack, allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
- Slice and serve with sides of your choice.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Pie Crust, and for a non butter or shortening version, Olive Oil Pie Crust.
Variants: 1. Use sour cream in place of whipping cream. 2. Use half sour cream and half whipping cream. 3. Add some minced garlic to the pan when you add the mushrooms, onion, and bacon. 4. Use a combination of mushrooms. 5. Add two cooked and cubed chicken breasts and reduce the amount of mushrooms slightly. 6. Add diced, sliced ham and reduce the amount of mushrooms slightly. 7. Add some cooked baby spinach and reduce the mushrooms slightly.
Corn Tomato Salad
Sounds interesting as I have never heard of this before. On my to make and taste list. There is a Shortcut in the Recipe Notes if you want to pressure the corn.
Ingredients
- 6 ears corn, husked and cleaned
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or as desired
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or as desired
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- black pepper, as desired, to taste
Instructions
- Place the corn in a large and add water to cover, bring to a boil and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the corn is crisp yet tender. Drain and allow the corn to cool enough to handle, then cut the corn off the cobs and place the corn in a large mixing bowl. OR cook the corn in any manner you prefer. I will use my pressure cooker.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients, except the black pepper, to the mixing bowl, and toss together. Taste and season with black pepper as desired.
- Cover and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes. When ready to serve, simply toss again. Serve with any main meal, like at a BBQ.
Notes
Creamy Mushroom & Bacon Pasta
This pasta has a Japanese twist to it, this is what is called a Wafu Pasta (和風パスタ) in Japan, meaning a Japanese twist to it. Pastas in Japan is very popular and many times changed to include Japanese ingredients.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry spaghetti, linguine or even fettuccine, (8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 package fresh Shimeji mushrooms, about 60 grams or 2 oz, roots trimmed, separated
- 4 fresh Shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 4 fresh button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- black pepper, as desired
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- salt, as desired
- fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- You will want all your ingredients prepped and measured first as this will come together rather quickly.
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, then add the pasta of your choice and cook until almost tender, as you will continue cooking it in the pan later. Drain but reserve about 1/2 cup of the water in case you need to thin the sauce later.
- While waiting on the pasta, heat a large non stick pan on medium heat with the olive oil. When hot, add the bacon and cook. When the fat releases from the bacon, stir in the garlic and give a stir.
- Add all the mushrooms and butter and give it a stir, season with black pepper as desired. Saute for a few minutes to just start to wilt the mushrooms.
- Stir in the flour, constantly stirring to mix into the mushrooms and bacon.
- While still stirring, now add the milk, cream, and soy sauce, the sauce will thicken. Taste and season as desired with salt and pepper to your liking. If the sauce is too thick, stir in a tablespoon or two of the pasta water at a time to obtain the right consistency.
- Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss together with the sauce to even coat the pasta.
- Divide between plates, garnish with some parsley, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
This recipe for Creamy Mushroom & Bacon Pasta inspired by Just One Cookbook.
Teriyaki Chicken (Slow Cooker)
I found this recipe on the internet and modified it to use real teriyaki sauce, no garlic or ginger in this recipe, hence the Japanese label on this dish. Easy and delicious dish with only 5 ingredients. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup Teriyaki sauce, (Shortcut)
- 1 fresh spring onion, green part, sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the chicken breast in your slow cooker, sprinkle with the pepper and add the diced onion.
- Pour in the teriyaki sauce. Cover, and set to High and let cook for 4 hours.
- Remove the lid, shred the chicken with two forks, stir into the sauce.
- Serve over rice with some of the sauce added, garnish with chopped green onion greens. Enjoy.
Notes
Croissant Breakfast Casserole
This recipe came highly recommended and I will say hands down, this is an excellent casserole! This can be tailored many ways to your liking.
Ingredients
- 6 large croissants, cut in half like a hamburger bun
- 500 grams bacon, cooked crispy, broken into 1 inch pieces, (1 lb)
- 6 slices Provolone cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 190 C (375 F) and lightly grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with butter.
- Place the bottom halves of the croissants in the baking dish, top each with a slice of Provolone then top with Cheddar. (I bought the croissants I used from Tesco, excellent croissants but only 5 in a bag.) Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt.
- Add the bacon pieces to each croissant, then pour in the eggs over the bacon. Place in the oven and back for 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are set.
- Place the tops of the croissants on the casserole and brush each with the melted butter. Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes or until the tops are lightly toasted.
- Use a spatula and cut the casserole between the croissants, into 6 sections, serve and enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. For the sliced cheese, in place of Provolone, use Gouda or Swiss. 2. Use diced ham or cooked and crumbled sausage in place of or with the bacon. 3. Add some diced bell pepper.
Recipe adapted from Just A Pinch Recipe Club, Darci Juris, and the original recipe is here.
United States.
United States.