Baseball World Series Recipes - L.A. Dodgers vs N.Y. Yankees

 It's East Coast vs. West Coast for the 2024 Baseball World Series, and I have a full dugout of tasty recipes to keep fans cheering from the comfort of the couch!!

Batter up! And that's just the coating for my MVP Fried Chicken recipe. Are you ready for the World Series of cheap$kate eats? Just step up to the plate with your remote and allow me to pitch some tasty entrees your way, that you can serve up while viewing the Los Angeles Dodgers battle the New York Yankees.

Mr. & Mrs. 99 plus friend.

The Penny Pinch-Hitting Chef will leave enough green in your wallet to buy an extra keg of beer for your tailgate party. Just click on any recipe name to see what I mean. There are no foul balls in this recipe list!

First at-bat, Hot Dogs are the King of the ballpark. And boy does this Knight of the Round Dinner Table have royal recipes for you to try...all hail the Winners, I mean the Wieners!!

I live in L.A. so you know who I'll be rooting for...Go Dodgers! And if you're a fan too then give my most outrageous  LA Street Dog a go. The roots are South-of-the-Border with Fajita-style grilled onion,  bell pepper, and jalapeno toppings. It's outrageously delicious, so go for it like I do in the video below.

If you're like me, game day is the time for Hot Dogs and boy are the ingredients cheap. This year I've been getting hot dogs, buns, mustard, and sweet pickle relish from my local Dollar Tree.

New York Yankee fans know Hot Dogs. I first bought the Coney Island classic, Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. from the frozen deli case at my local Dollar Tree.

I microwaved it, then added mustard and sweet pickle relish. Check out my review by clicking here.

I don't know about you but I steam mine - you can't burn or even overcook frankfurters this way, especially when your team is loading up the bases and you can't pull yourself away from the TV screen.

At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, fans line up for a Dodger Dog. This year they cost $7.99 each. They are extra long, about 9 inches, and come with grill marks. There are condiment stations with hand cranks near concession stands - I like mustard, pickle relish, and onions on my Dodger Dog.

Earlier in the year Dodger Dog wieners showed up on sale at my local Ralphs Grocers. Hot Dogs freeze fine, so I picked up a few packages. 

And this year the Dodgers brought in Phemon pitcher and homerun hitter Shohei Ohtani. He is now the record holder of the most home runs and stolen bases in a single season. He created a new category of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, the first baseball player to do so. All over L.A. there are murals and memorabilia featuring Shohei Ohtani to see and own.

I couldn't help but come up with my switch-hitter version of a Dodger Dog that I call an Ohtani Dodger Dog. It is a regular hot dog with 2 sheets of Dried Seaweed Snacks. Check out my recipe video below and see how my Ohtani Dodger Dog stacks up!

My other go-to Hot Dogs are a Kraut Dog and a Chili Dog. What is your designated hitter Hot Dog?

I like Chili from the can on my Hot Dog, but I also have a meaty Homemade Chili recipe, click here.

In this World Series of Recipes, New York City rules with Bagels while Los Angeles is the King of Tacos, so choose your sides!

This L.A. Dodger fan has to give it up for the N.Y.C bagel. My wife's family is from the East Coast so I am getting my fill of Bages these days as my Christmas in NYC Bagel photo story below shows.

I get my Bagels locally from the Ralphs Grocery bakery bargain bin. Can't say I'm an expert on Bagels, but they do a good job for my taste.

The last time we were in NYC I had a Bagel with Boiled Egg and Cream Cheese, OMG it was a home run, sooo gooood I had to make my own version, below.

Typically Bages with Cream Cheese & Lox uses smoked salmon. My version is made with cheaper packages of cooked salmon mixed into cream cheese. While not as luscious, it is quite tasty...for the price. Check out my Homemade Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread. 

Lay out a few Bagel Spreads for your team players and let them build their own. Or, just slice some tomato and red onion with a plate of room-temperature cream cheese for a simple Bagel with Cream Cheese Sandwich.

Next to Hot Dogs, Tacos are a dugout clearing favorite. I have a recipe for 20 Carnitas Tacos made with a whole cheap pork shoulder that will last extra innings!

If your guests are pork-averse, I have home plate covered by substituting Turkey Leg Carnitas instead of pork. It really works as my instant replay recipe video below will attest.

I like chopped onion and cilantro on my Tacos. In California avocados are cheap so I always have a couple ripening. I am not above buying cheap jars or cans of salsa, but if you want to go all out then check out my spicy Homemade Salsa recipes: Salsa Verde (tomatillo), Red Chile (dried chiles), chunky Pico de Gallo, and a sweet Mango Salsa.

My last recipe suggestion would have me thrown out of Yankee Stadium! 

Yeah, that's right, small individual frozen pizzas. I do love NYC thin-crust pizza, especially on the cheap.

 

New York City $1.50 Cheese Slice - sooo gooood!

But here in L.A. I get small cheap pizzas from my local Dollar Tree. I start with a plain cheese pizza then add extras like black olives, anchovies, and extra pepperoni.

So dig deep into my bullpen and click on any of the tasty treat names above to watch an instant reply of recipes from my blog. Your guest will be cheering you on -- from their cheap seats!

Witches Brew Coffee

 The Sinister Chef is cursed to be a cheap$kate. But you can benefit by scrolling down this food blog, and clicking on my Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. The typical Chef model had a spike driven through its moldy heart when I started making my fanciful food videos over a dozen years ago. 

So keep checking back for a cauldron full of tasty treats. Don't burn me at the stake for my budget ingredients because one day you or someone you know, who's hit hard times, may need my price-slashing cooking tips to scrounge up a meal. 

In my latest Halloween video, the Witching Hour has never been so sweet.

Allow me to put a spell on you to keep visiting here this month...and beyond!

                                Play it here, video runs 1 minute, 53 seconds.

To link or play on YouTube, click here.

National Pasta Day Recipes

  National Pasta Day - what's not to like? I probably have the most food recipes involving pasta. Just type and enter the word pasta into my blog search window to see them.

I'll save you some search time and highlight some of my most delicious ones below. And click on any recipe name to see the original blog post with tasty text and yummy photo illustrations.

Dried Pasta is still cheap. I find it in my local grocers and Dollar Tree.

If you have a favorite jar or can of tomato sauce, then sprinkle in some dried Italian herbs for a quick pasta sauce.

SpaghettOs are still around since when I ate a can or two in my high school daze.

You should have a pasta sauce to start with. My homemade version is quick and easy to do.

My Tomato Marinara Sauce is a click away, here. Check out the video.

I like recipes that you can devour a few ways. My Lighter than Air Meatballs fit the bill. I usually have the Meatballs in tomato sauce over Pasta. 

You can also make a fat Meatball Sandwich. My Meatballs have a lot of veggies that make them lighter than the average Meatball. I like the addition of spinach and mushrooms in my Meatballs. It's okay to leave out some veggie ingredients for a more solid Meatball. Check out my video below.

For the simplest Pasta recipe, how about canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce? It's ready to go once you've cooked some spaghetti. 

Open a can of Sardines in Tomato Sauce, heat for a minute then top the spaghetti with fish fillets and tomato sauce, it could be easier and quicker to do.

One of my first recipes on this blog was canned Baby Clams with Spaghetti.

I don't find cans of baby clams for 99 cents anymore, but small cans or packages of clams show up quite often and cheaply.

My local Dollar Tree carries small packs of cooked salmon, imitation crab meat, and cans of tuna. I have mint in my small garden, so combine salmon (or, any of the above) and add fresh or frozen peas for my Peas, Mint & Salmon with Pasta. 

The other main sauce for Pasta is made with cream. I like sauteed Mushrooms with Cream and Pasta. 

Another creamy dish is my Ham, Peas, & Cream with Pasta.

My favorite cream Pasta meal is a ripoff recipe called Olive Garden Fettucini Alfredo. 

It's just pasta, cream, and parmesan cheese. Okay to add a little protein and a favorite veggie.

One of my earliest stop-motion videos is Baked Pasta with Cauliflower & Cheese. It's basically a Mac & Cheese with cauliflower. Cauliflower and cheese are a tasty combination.

Let's go from heavy to light. Saute some kale in a little olive oil then add garlic and you have a veggie Pasta. Click on my Pasta with Kale, and Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, here.

You can't get much leaner than my Veggie Pasta Salad. Steam your fave veggies and mix in a light salad dressing to add to cooked pasta. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I also like frozen, canned, or jars of veggies to add to a Pasta salad like my Peas, Artichoke Hearts, Broccoli & Wheat Pasta recipe.

My nephew Zak has a filling Cajun-style Tuscan Primavera Pasta. 

I always have a fun time when I cook with my family.

Zak's Tuscan Primavera Pasta uses pine nuts. I find them quite expensive. A cheap substitution is bags of nuts I get from Dollar Stores. The amounts are enough for a serving or two. If they are salted it's easy enough to shake the salt off or even rinse the nuts. When you saute them they will dry out. 

Try my Pasta with Garlic and Cashews...or Almonds, or Peanuts, or Walnuts - you get the idea.

You can combine almost any protein to pasta. Chicken is still cheap so try my Chicken & Lemon Cream with Pasta. 

Sometimes, I like ground poultry, now that it is cheaper than ground beef. Everyone likes Baked Lasagna, just add a one-pound package of Ground Chicken or Turkey.

Salami or Pepperoni anchor a pungent pasta sauce. All you are doing is heating up the meat with a little onion and garlic then adding pasta. Click here to read all about it.

A delicious slow-cooking pasta sauce is made with the cheapest cut of beef I can find called beef shank. It has a bone with marrow, so this is an extra-rich meaty sauce. 

The other main ingredients are half a dozen sliced cheap onions. Do try out Pasta alla Genovese. 

I'll end with my most outré entree, a Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Bacon Bits. 

No self-respecting chef would ever use Bacon Bits instead of Panchetta. 

Well, I'm a bottom feeder and proud of it. If you don't want to use Bacon Bits then fry up a couple slices of Bacon and it's still a cheap dish.