Mr. Tako’s Best Recipes (2017)
Hi folks! The Tako family is busy traveling today — which means my regular posting schedule is being interrupted by the fact I’m sitting on a jet-plane flying over the Pacific Ocean.
Since we’re headed to Japan (the land of incredible food), I thought it would be fitting to keep you occupied with a collection of my favorite frugal-food recipes!
Beside being a FIRE blogger, I happen to do a lot of cooking. It comes with the Stay-At-Home-Dad territory I guess.
So, without further adue, I give you…
Mr. Tako’s Best Recipes (2017 edition)
1. Bacon-Shrimp-Avocado Tacos – At the top spot here we have my Bacon-Shrimp-Avocado tacos. This was by far my most popular food post, and most requested recipe. It’s easily to understand why — this is the best taco recipe I’ve ever invented. Learn all my secrets to good taco making here!
2. Homemade Roasted Salsa – What could go better with one of my taco recipes than homemade salsa? Yes, I really do make all of my own salsa!
3. Instant Miso Soup – Need a hearty instant lunch, but don’t want to pay retail prices for instant miso soup? Just make it yourself!
4. Japanese Nametake – A quick and easy mushroom topping for rice or tofu. Simple, flavorful, frugal, and easy!
5. Easy Shrimp Phad Thai – Yes, you really can made Phad Thai at home that’s just as good (or better) than a restaurant! It’s easy to make too!
6. Brown Rice & Garbanzo Bean Salad — Sometimes you don’t need to make a whole meal, just a side dish! When a super-cheap veggie (yet tasty) side dish is all you need, this recipe provides!
7. Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup – Got some “extra” pumpkins on your hands? Maybe your spendy neighbors decided to “donate” one to the cause! Try making this spicy pumpkin soup!
8. Chicken And Shrimp Pho – There’s nothing quite like a nice warm bowl of Pho on a cold fall day. Make this delicious Pho soup recipe and warm yourself up!
9. Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos – There’s more than one way to cook a taco, and easy way to make shredded chicken tacos in the slow cooker!
10. Spicy Tuna Temaki Sushi – Who would guess that making sushi this good was so easy? You can have Spicy Tuna sushi for a mere fraction of the cost you’d pay in a restaurant!
Hmm… that last one has me hungry for sushi! Good thing I’m headed in the right direction!
For all the skeptics — Yes, we really do make all these recipes at home on a regular basis! They’re part of the reason why we’re able to keep our monthly food expenses so low for our family of 4.
That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this culinary look back at some of my favorite recipes. With luck, I’ll be getting off this plane in a few hours, and will begin learning some delicious Japanese culinary tricks to share with you!
Until next time!
P.S. Yes — that is my homemade thin-crust pizza at the top of the post. It’s super easy to make! If there’s enough interest in the comments, I’ll be happy to share the recipe.
Those are some great photos and recipes that I’m definitely going to try, especially the pho and tacos!
With a lot of practice and love you can definitely make better meals at home than at MOST restaurants… completely agree. I love steak and ribs so I’ve practiced enough to make them pretty well according to my family.
Ohhh Pho! Yes! I love Pho (proof that I’m Vietnamese hehe). I have had beef and chicken pho, but not with shrimp. Yum yum. I think you are one of the FIRE bloggers that have the best recipes on the internet. Can I get a show of hands for a FIRE cookbook? ^.^
Fun idea Ms. FAF! I know shrimp isn’t technically “traditional pho”, but it tastes awesome!
Mmm… I could go for some Pho soon.
Have a safe trip. I’m really looking forward to some posts from Japan.
Coming soon Joe!
Omg I am SO HUNGRY now. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy! I feel the same way reading your blog!
Great stuff, Tako! We’ve been using the Pho recipe with excellent results 🙂
I have made 6 out of your 10 recipes…I made them vegetarian of course. So yum!
Have a great trip!
That’s awesome Marisa! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 😀
Awesome! Thanks for a good mix of veggie and meat dishes. I especially love the miso soup recipe, accompanied by a photo of a packaged soup ingredient label. Haha, talk about motivation for making it at home. Have fun in Japan! Post food pics!
Thanks Beets! We don’t eat heavy meat meals, so the mix of veggi to meat dishes is just our natural balance.
I should do a post on more of the little side dishes we do with our meals, they tend to be vegetarian more often than not.
Your Chicken Pho looks delicious! Need to check the recipe out, my husband makes delicious beef pho but it takes the whole day to make.
I just found out how easy it is to make sushi! I bought some sushi rice and nori recently, and made an avocado roll, and also Onigiri with mayonnaise and canned salmon!
Thanks GYM. It actually took about half a dozen times before I felt the recipe was good enough to share. It really doesn’t take long to make, but I tend to skip making the broth from the bones. You totally could do that if you had the time, and I’m sure it would taste delicious!
Yes, sushi is actually extremely easy. The trick to good sushi is really about getting quality ingredients. We usually do ‘te-maki’ style which is even easier than rolls.
Pizzaaaaaaa! I want that recipe!! Pretty sure you posted a pic on Twitter that made me stop to get pizza that day (in a pinch I buy frozen Aldi cheese pizzas and add my own toppings). My dad makes his own dough and it’s good but I am always looking for new recipes!
As for the rest…. what the… I bookmarked the salsa (glad to hear I can freeze it!), pho, phad thai (my favorite & and you’re right about the noodle to sauce ratio!), and the miso. I have a ton of cooking to do!!
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I cannot wait to try #8 – Chicken and Shrimp Pho.. Yummm! – Joe
All those pictures made me SO hungry! I want to make the ” Spicy Tuna Temaki Sushi” recipe right the hell now!
Enjoy Japan! Can’t wait to see all your awesome pictures!
I recently learned how to home-make pizza crust, and I’m never going back! Now the only thing I have to master is sushi, and I can stop eating out all together 😛
These are delicious, I’m glad I’m going to eat soon.
The brown rice and garbanzo bean salad is my wife’s go to for pot lucks! The pho was awesome even the little ones gobble is up. I’m looking forward to the the others on your list. Thanks for the recipes!
These are awesome! Going to try the temaki soon.
Do you know the cheapest way to make sushi? Tried going to the japanese supermarket but they sell the fish in large slices. We are a two person household and I’d like to make fancy Omakase (but not spend $60 on it like at the restaurants).
Do you have a (simple and cheap) recipe for Tonkotsu ramen?
If you want to make sushi cheaply, don’t be afraid to cut the fish yourself. That’s really the secret to low priced DIY sushi.
Tonkotsu ramen? Hmm… I’d need to practice my ramen more before I post a recipe. Mrs. Tako has some good recipes. I’ll see if she’s willing to share! 😉