Archive for the ‘* Best Value $1 or Less per Serving’ Category
Magic Cracker Appetizers I
Nothing 'magical' about these, Magic is the brand name of the popular Ritz type of butter crackers in Thailand (we have Ritz crackers here as well but why pay twice as much for a cracker that tastes exactly the same). For Thailand, use Magic or Rosi brand, for folks in the US/Canada, use Ritz. Here is 5 outstanding sounding snacks/appetizers, the base is butter crackers and cream cheese.
Ingredients
For the Base
- butter crackers, Magic, Rosi, or Ritz brand
- 250 grams Cream cheese, softened, 1 block, (8 oz)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
add Radish
- fresh radishes, thinly sliced, mandolin recommended
- fresh dill, chopped
add Cucumber
- fresh cucumber, thinly sliced, mandolin recommended
- fresh dill, chopped
add Hard Boiled Egg
- hard boiled eggs, sliced
- capers
- fresh dill, chopped
add Chicken
- cooked shredded chicken
- seedless grapes, halved
add Strawberry
- fresh strawberries, topped and halved
Instructions
For the Base
- Mix the softened cream cheese with the lemon juice to a nice spreadable consistency.
- Break out the Magic crackers (or Rosi for those in Thailand, or Ritz for those in the US/Canada). Spread an ample amount of cream cheese on some Magic crackers.
add Radish
- Top the cream cheese with 2 thin sliced pieces of radish and a piece or two of chopped dill.
add Cucumber
- Top the cream cheese with 2 thin sliced pieces of cucumber and a piece or two of chopped dill.
add Hard Boiled Egg
- The use of an egg slicer is recommended but not required. Slice the egg(s), use the slices with the yolk (the end pieces, just snack on them when no one is looking).
- Top the cream cheese with a slice of egg, 1-2 capers (push them into the yolk just to hold them in place). Top the egg with a piece or two of chopped dill.
add Chicken
- Top the cream cheese with a bit of shredded chicken then top with half a grape.
add Strawberry
- Remove the green tops of the strawberries and cut in half. Top the cream cheese with half a strawberry.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Teriyaki Chicken Wings
You need two ingredients plus oil for cooking, and you can use any amount of wings you want. We used the drumettes, or in Thailand, called wing sticks. Homemade teriyaki sauce is highly recommended. These are delicious! This is one of two ways to use teriyaki sauce. One ways is the simply fry the wings, then add the sauce, and this way is to marinate in the sauce, and add sauce after as well. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo chicken wings, drumettes, (2 lbs)
- Teriyaki sauce, as needed, (Shortcut)
- cooking oil, as needed
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken wings and place in a mixing bowl, pour in some teriyaki sauce, mix the wings around to coat, adding more sauce as needed. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight. Overnight is preferred and is how we prepared this.
- Heat a large non stick pan with a splash of cooking oil, when hot, add wings in a single layer, we did this in two batches.
- Cook the wings, turning occasionally to brown them and cook them through, keeping in mind, there is sugar in teriyaki sauce so that will caramelize.
- Remove the first batch of wings when they are cooked through to a plate. Now cook the second batch.
- When the last of wings are cooked, leave them in the pan, and return the wings from the plate back to the pan. Pour in more teriyaki sauce, and stir stir stir, until the all the liquid is cooked off or coated on the chicken wings.
- Remove wings to a plate and serve.
Notes
Chicken wing sticks are 72 Baht/kilo (2 lbs), for 4 servings, this is about 55 cents per serving.
Shortcut: Teriyaki Sauce (照り焼きのたれ).
Common marinating method with teriyaki sauce, no secrets here.
Crustless Quiche
This is a base recipe with many options to make it your own or use what you have on hand. Sounds good, and no crust to worry about preparing is a bonus. Made this in 3 Sep 2018, and this is a winner! Recipe now reflects my findings. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
For the Base
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups cheese, shredded, your choice
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 cups Optional Ingredients, 1 item 2 cups, 2 items 1 cup each, etc.
Optional Ingredients
- ham, cubed
- bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- breakfast sausage, (Shortcut)
- Italian sausage, (Shortcut)
- broccoli, chopped
- tomatoes, chopped
- fresh mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
- onion, thinly sliced, sauteed
- spring onions, chopped, white and green parts
- chives, chopped
- spinach, chopped
- asparagus, chopped
- potatoes, cubed and fried
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C (350 F). Grease a pie dish or 8x8 baking dish with butter.
- If using any ingredients that require sauteing, go ahead and do that now.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the evaporated milk, flour, eggs, cheese, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Here the cheese is shredded (I used 225 grams / 8 oz of Moneterey Jack), and the fillings which are just over a cup of diced ham, then 2 spring onions chopped, and 2 plum tomatoes chopped, right at or just above 2 cups for the filling.
- Mix in the Optional Ingredients of your choice.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish of your choice and bake for 45-60 minutes or until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Fresh out of the oven, let this rest for about 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve.
- Enjoy.
Notes
The cheese is the high cost item here, figure about 180 Baht for that. The package of ham was about 80 Baht. But on the plus side this makes a lot of servings. For 8 servings, this is about 98 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Breakfast Sausage, Jimmy Dean Sausage, Italian Sausage.
Adapted from several internet recipes.
Black Bean Chili (Slow Cooker)
I created this using pressure cooked seasoned black beans. The beans were first used as a side dish and they are tasty, so I took the leftover beans, and there is a lot, and made some chili with what I had on hand. The seasoned beans add a lot of flavor to the chili as opposed to just plain cooked beans. The use of the slow cooker allows the chili to be simmered without burning, letting the flavors blend. I made this on 28 Aug 2018 and will be a regular now. For the beans, feel free to use your own recipe or use my shortcut for pressure cooker beans, or even used canned if you like. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams ground beef, (1 lb)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 packet chili mix, your preferred brand
- 3-4 cups tomato juice, (Shortcut)
- 4 cups seasoned black beans, (Shortcut)
- olive oil, as needed
Instructions
- In a large non stick pan on medium heat, add a splash of olive oil. When hot add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the beef, breaking it up with your spatula,
- Cook the beef until no longer pink.
- Add the chili seasoning packet and stir that in.
- Add the beef mixture and beans to your slow cooker. Add tomato juice to just cover the beans. Stir everything together. Cover and set the slow cooker to Low and let simmer away for 4-6 hours.
- Remove the cover and stir.
- Serve and enjoy with toppings of your choice for chili.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Seasoned Black Beans (Pressure Cooker), Seasoned Black Beans (Stove Top), Tomato Juice.
Variant: 1. In place of ground beef, use Andouille or Spanish Chorizo.
I just threw this together and it worked well, Lee Thayer. Thailand.
Variant 1 provided by viewer, Martin Duke. United States.
Pork Rib Soup I (ต้มจับฉ่าย)
The Thai writing is simply 'boiled bok choi'. For better terms, I call this Pork Rib Soup. This is a common Thai soup, other than the ribs and bok choi, everything is optional, how easy is that? This is a non spicy soup and it is delicious. The ingredient measurements are approximations, this is not set in stone.
Ingredients
- 1 kilo pork ribs, the short ones, (2 lbs)
- 2 daikon, peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch thick
- 2 large bunches bok choi, chopped into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces
- 90-180 grams fresh Shiitake mushrooms, (3-6 oz)
- 1-2 bunches Chinese celery, chopped, this is much thinner than US/import celery
- 2 teaspoons pork broth powder
- 5 coriander roots, rinsed clean
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 10 black peppercorns
- dash light soy sauce
- dash oyster sauce
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large pot, add the ribs and fill about 2/3 to 3/4 full with water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a high simmer. Cook until the ribs are just tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface.
- While the ribs are cooking, prepare the daikon, bok choi, celery. To prepare the mushrooms, remove the stems but leave the caps whole and for a nice touch, cut an X, very gently onto the top of the caps, not very deep, when they cook, the X will show for a nice presentation.
- To prepare the coriander roots, garlic, and pepper corns, place them in a mortar and pound with a pestle for a minute or two. You are not look for a paste, just crushed up. This is optional but makes the soup more traditional. (Coriander root is a different taste than the green leafy part, there is no green leafy coriander in this soup,)
- When the ribs are tender, add the bok choi, daikon, Chinese celery, mushrooms, pork broth powder, and contents from the mortar if using those. Season with a dash of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and just a pinch of salt.
- Let this simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add more water as needed. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
- Serve with rice on the side. This is a common lunch and dinner soup.
Notes
Pork ribs are about 115 Baht/kilo, even less from a local vendor in a market, for 8 servings, certainly low cost per serving.
Variants: 1. Use pork neck bones in place of ribs. 2. Add sliced carrot but they can turn to mush if simmered too long. 3. Add some chopped cabbage. 4. Can add some chicken feet when you start to cook the pork ribs to make the broth even better.
Recipe provided by my wife, Rrayada Thayer.
Thailand.
Thailand.
Stir Fried Straw Mushrooms
A local vendor in the village had some Straw mushrooms available so I bought the bag, about 500 grams (1 lb). The plan was for a stir fry, the simplest dish you can prepare on short notice. I made this on 27 Aug 2018, very well liked by the family.
Ingredients
- 500 grams fresh Straw mushrooms, (1 lb)
- 2-3 bunches fresh spring onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- oyster sauce, as needed
- mushroom sauce, as needed
- light soy sauce, as needed
Instructions
- Rinse the mushrooms and slice in half lengthwise. A note about Straw mushrooms, these are unopened mushrooms, meaning there is no veil or stem, they pretty much look like a oblong ball, try your best to slice lengthwise to keep them intact, if you cut crosswise, they fall apart. For these in the photo, they would not have lasted another day, this type of mushroom has a very short shelf life once harvested.
- Heat a non stick pan on medium heat and add the oil and butter, when the butter is melted and the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and stir fry. This after they have leased just a little water, and that is cooked off.
- Now add the spring onion, stir, then add a splash each of soy sauce, mushroom sauce, and oyster sauce. Keep stirring to mix in the sauces.
- When the spring onion is wilted, taste and adjust the sauces as desired.
- Served as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Common stir fry procedure, nothing secret here.
Pork Kidneys in Mushroom Sauce
This is an easy and delicious meal, that goes together quickly but the preparation of the kidneys does take some time, well worth it in my opinion. I made this on 25 Aug 2018 and was very well liked not only by me, but by my wife, sister in law and her husband.
Ingredients
- 4 pork kidneys
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 250 grams fresh mushrooms, Shiitake or Oyster is perfect, (8 oz)
- ¾ cup whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt and pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Rinse and prep the kidneys, there is a Shortcut listed in Recipe Notes to describe how to do this. After the one hour soaking, as described in the Shortcut, drain and rinse the kidney pieces. This photo is 4 pork kidneys prepped and ready for use.
- Rinse the mushrooms. If using Shiitake, remove stem and slice. If using Oyster, tear into pieces.
- Heat a large non stick pan on medium heat, when hot, add the shallots and kidney pieces. Cook and stir, the kidneys will give off a lot of liquid. and I mean a lot! Season with salt and pepper as desired. Cook and reduce the liquid by half. Remove the kidneys and onions to a bowl and set aside.
- Same pan, add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are wilted and tender, and some of the liquid is reduced.
- Add the kidneys and shallots back to the pan, stir in the cream, paprika, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes and the gravy will thicken, and the kidneys heated through.
- Serve over rice or pasta. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Pork Kidneys 101.
Ham & Olive Rollups
These sound like delicious appetizers. I made these on 29 Aug 2018, excellent snacks or appetizers! This is a make what you need recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 jar green olives with pimento
- 1 package sliced ham
- 1 package Cream cheese, softened
- toothpicks
Instructions
- Drain the olives well in a strainer. Dry both sides of each ham slice you are going to use and lay them on a cutting board. I found it easy to lay down a double layer of paper towels, place two slices of ham near an edge and fold the paper towel over, pat dry then place on the cutting board.
- Spread softened cream cheese on each ham slice. Right side is spread, starting left side, it is not a thick layer.
- Add a row of olives on one side of each ham slice. Slice the ham into strips between each olive. I found a pasta cutter works wonders with this. (Yes, I ate the missing one on the left, and for the scrap piece on one side of the ham, I ate that too, I call that a pre-snack snack.)
- Starting on the end with the olive, rollup each strip and secure with a toothpick. Place rollups in the fridge until ready to serve. (Yes, this was the second batch, first batch was only 7.)
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Replace the olives with spring onions.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Variant 1 provided by good friend, Mark L.
United States.
United States.
Egg & Mustard Crackers
This is a sliced hard boiled egg recipe that not only sounds good, they are! I made these on 27 Aug 2018, very tasty. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled, (Shortcut)
- 12 wheat crackers, think Rosi brand in Thailand
- whole grain Dijon Mustard, as needed
- fresh chives, minced
- black pepper, as desired
Instructions
- Slice the eggs with a slicer or knife.
- Spread some mustard on each cracker, top with a slice of egg, skipping the end pieces, sprinkle on some chives then black pepper. Serve.
Notes
Cheater Deviled Eggs
Easy to prepare snack or appetizer. I made these on 27 Aug 2018. absolutely delicious! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled, (Shortcut)
- 18 butter crackers, or whole wheat crackers
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- paprika, as needed
- fresh dill, as needed
- black pepper, as needed
Instructions
- Mix together the mayo and mustard in a small bowl.
- Slice the eggs crosswise with a slicer or knife.
- Spread some mayo mixture on each cracker, top with a slice of egg, skipping the end pieces with no yolk. Sprinkle a pinch of paprika, then pepper, and top with a small snippet of fresh dill. Serve. The 4 on the left are made with whole wheat butter crackers, and the 4 on the right are regular butter crackers.
Notes
Low cost. Use Rosi or Magic brand, less than half of Ritz, which is available but an import, and the taste is the same.
Shortcut: Perfect Hard Boiled Chicken Eggs.
Adapted from an internet recipe.