Chili

2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 onion - minced
250 gm ground chicken*
1 bay leaf
(¼ t cinnamon)
¼ t chili powder
¼ t black pepper
¼ t basil
2 t cumin
2 t taco seasoning (or chili powder)
¼ t salt 
250 grams cooked beans** (mostly mashed)
1 carrot - finely grated
1 can (400 gm) of chopped tomatoes 
1 can of water (use the tomato can for measuring)
1 chicken bouillon cube

Heat oil in a frying pan and sauté onions and garlic for a minute or so. Add meat and break it up with your spatula and stir it around. As the meat is cooking, add the spices. When the meat is done, add the beans, carrot, tomatoes, water, and bouillon. (If you're in a rush, blend the tomatoes together with ½ of the beans, then add.)

Simmer over a very low fire, stirring occasionally, for about 30-45 minutes until the chili thickens a bit. Taste it, and add a little more salt if needed (maybe ¼ teaspoon).

Serve with cheese, rice, chips, or whatever you like. Or be like Columbo and serve it with crackers.  

*You can use ground beef if you prefer, but if so, cook the meat separately first, drain the grease, then add it to the sauce.

**As explained on the page Kitchen Staples:
To cook beans, first rinse them and soak them overnight in about twice as much water as beans. Rinse them and soak them some more. When you're ready to cook them, rinse them and add fresh water. Boil gently until they are soft. Depending on the type of bean, it can take from 30 minutes to an hour. Light colored beans cook faster; black beans take longer.

Shoga-yaki (Ginger Pork)

Prepare:

450 gm thinly sliced lean pork
1 onion, sliced thinly from side to center (making thin crescent shapes)

Mix in a bowl:

2 T grated ginger
3 T soy sauce
2 T mirin
1 T sake

Marinate pork for 5 minutes or more. Heat a little (½ T or so) canola or olive oil in a frying pan, and cook the onions. When they are nearly cooked, add the meat and marinade, and stir fry until cooked thoroughly. (If necessary, add 1 T of water.)

If you're making it for an obento, using the following non-oil method makes it so there is minimal grease. This is better for when you're eating a room-temperature obento.

1 onion, sliced thinly from side to center (making thin crescent shapes)
2 T grated ginger
3 T soy sauce
2 T mirin
1 T sake
1 t konbu dashi
1 C water

Place ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum, and simmer until liquid is almost all gone.

Shepherd's Pie

Make mashed potatoes.

While the potatoes are boiling, cook the meat.

Place in a frying pan:

1 T olive oil

When the oil is heated, add:

1 small onion - minced
1 garlic clove - finely minced
2 minced shiitake (or ¼ C other) mushrooms
1 grated carrot

Stir fry a bit, then add:

250 gm ground chicken
(½ chicken bouillon cube or its equivalent - mashed so it dissolves easily)

Cook over a medium flame. Season with:

½ t sage
½ t salt
¼ t pepper

When the meat is thoroughly cooked, turn off the fire and set the pan aside.

Sauce

Heat in a small pot over medium/low flame:

¾ T olive oil
¾ T butter

When the butter is melted, add and whisk in:

1½ T flour

Be careful to keep whisking so there are no lumps. Continue to whisk until it boils gently and begins to smell cooked (like a pie crust). Then add slowly, continuing to whisk as you add:

¾ C milk

Keep whisking until it thickens, which should be when you first see a couple bubbles start to rise before boiling. Do not let it boil.

Add sauce to meat and stir to mix. To give it a bit more color, add:

1 T minced green onions

Put it together

I prefer to use small, one-serving pyrex type baking dishes. 

Place ¾ C meat in each of 3 dishes. Divide the potatoes and put equal portions on top of the meat. Heat in the microwave until thoroughly heated. Top with:

1T grated cheese

and place under the grill until lightly browned.

Serve with salad or other vegetables.

Mashed Potatoes

Wash thoroughly (no need to peel) and cut into roughly 1½ cm cubes:

About 700 grams potatoes

Place in a deep, heavy pot, and almost cover completely with water. A few little bits sticking out from the top of the water is not a problem.  

Add:

1 t salt

Cover and boil until soft. Test by sticking a fork into one of the bigger pieces. It should go in easily.

Remove from heat and drain the water by holding the lid of the pan slightly askew and allowing the water to pour out (but not the potatoes).

Add:

1½-2 T butter

2-3 T milk (Add it little by little until you get the thickness you want.)

¼-½ t pepper

(1 t finely minced garlic)
(a little more salt, if you think they need it)

Mash until desired consistency. Serve.

Taragon Salad Dressing

½ C mayonaise
1 clove garlic - finely minced
2 T green onions - minced
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T apple cider vinegar
½ T tarragon
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper
½ C plain yogurt
1 T parsley

Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake to mix. Store in refrigerator.

This can be used as a salad dressing or a dip for vegetables.

Chocolate Sauce

Place in a pot and mix well:

½ C water
¼ C cocoa powder (I use Van Houten)
1 C sugar 

Gently boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. Then add: 

a pinch of salt
50 gm dark chocolate (I use 1 bar of Ghana Black)

Wait for about a minute for the chocolate to melt, then stir gently. When cool, add:

¼ t vanilla extract

Store in an airtight jar in the fridge. This lasts a long time.

Shiodare Buta (Pork with Salt Sauce)

400-500 gm thinly-sliced pork (bara)

½ onion - sliced
1 T cornstarch
1 long onion, cut the white section in thin diagonal slices, use the green part in the sauce

For stir-frying:

approximately 1½ t canola oil

Mix together for the sauce:

½ t salt
½ chicken bouillon cube, mashed
1 T sesame oil
1½ T water
1½ T sake
1½ T lemon juice
minced green part of long onion
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Mix the cornstarch into the meat. Put a little canola oil and sesame oil in a frying pan and heat. Stir-fry the onion and pork, making sure the meat doesn't stick together. Add the cut white long onions when the pork is almost cooked and cook a little more.

Add the sauce and stir. Cover and simmer for a minute or so.

Serve on rice. Top with black pepper and sesame seeds.

Niku-Jaga

Prepare the vegetables:

1 carrot (cut into large pieces)
1 potato (cut into large pieces, bigger than the carrots)
½-1 onion (sliced thickly)

Heat 2 t vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. When heated, stir fry:

onions
400 grams thinly-sliced beef

When meat is whitish, add potatoes and carrots. Stir fry for a minute. Add:

1/3 C sake
1/3 C mirin
1/3 C soy sauce
1 t konbu dashi
2 T sugar
500 ml water (or enough to almost cover everything - little bits of vegetable sticking out don't matter)
(1 package shirataki noodles, drained and rinsed)

Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove lid and simmer to reduce the sauce. If there is any scum on the surface of the liquid, skim it off with a spoon. Cover the pan, and turn off the fire about 10 minutes before serving to further infuse the flavor into the vegetables. 

Serve with rice.

Rice Stuffing for Roast Fowl

Cook:

3-6 slices bacon

Mince and set aside.

Sauté in 1½ T butter:

½ minced onion
3 minced shiitake mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you have)

Add:

⅛ t sage
¾ t salt
¼ t ground pepper

Mix all of the above into:

Cooked rice (measure 2 C raw rice)
½-1 C Japanese dry bread crumbs (Panko)

Finally, mix in:

½-¾ C milk or chicken broth

Fill the cavities of your bird no more than ¾ full, as the stuffing will expand. 

To bake the stuffing that didn't fit in the bird -

Place it on a piece of parchment paper, place the chicken neck in the center, and wrap it up. Cover the whole thing with foil. Place beside the bird in your oven and bake for an hour or more, depending on the size of your stuffing package. My oven is small, so I divide the stuffing into two smaller packets with ½ chicken neck in each and bake them for 1½ hours. The stuffing is moist and infused with flavor from the chicken.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Grilled cheese with flax-seed bread.

Slice 2 pieces of bread about 1 cm thick.
Butter what will be the outside of the sandwich. 
Heat frying pan over a low flame.
Place one piece of bread, buttered side down, on the heated pan.
Place your choice of cheese on that piece of bread. (Be careful not to drop any cheese on the pan.) Then put the other slice of bread on top of the cheese, buttered side up.
Cook slowly (slowly is the key) until browned on the bottom. Turn it over carefully and brown the other side.
Voila! A grilled cheese sandwich!