Cooking in Pajamas

Pasta dough 2 c. Whole wheat flour 1 1/4 c. All purpose flour 4 Eggs 3-5 Tbsp Water Filling 1.5-2 lbs Ground beef 1 bulb Garlic, roasted 3 c. Spinach, fresh 1 Large onion, finely chopped 3 Eggs 1/2 c. Rolled oats 4-5 Tbsp Parmesan, freshly grated To roast the garlic, cut off the top of the bulb and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast at 350°F for 45 min. While the garlic is roasting, cook the ground beef and onion on a frying pan and drain the excess fat and liquid.  Set aside. Cook the spinach until just wilted.  Add to the ground beef mixture. Combine the ground beef, roasted garlic, spinach, ground beef mixture, oats, Parmesan and eggs in a large mixing bowl.  Blend it in a food processor until well mixed.  This can be made ahead of time, store in the fridge for 3-4 days or freezer for several weeks. To make the pasta, add the two types of flour, eggs and 1 tbsp of water into the stand mixer mixing bowl.  Using the paddle attachment, ...

3 c. Cooked rice* 2-3 tbsp Vegetable oil 2 Stalks of green onions, chopped 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced 4 Eggs 1 c. Carrots, grated 2 c. Mushrooms, cut small 1 tbsp Sesame oil 2-3 tbsp Soya sauce 1.5 c. Chicken, cut into small cubes 1 tbsp Teriyaki marinate sauce (or Soya sauce) 1/2 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp Salt Pepper 1 tsp Sesame oil (optional) * Freshly cooked rice has too much moisture and it is too soggy to fry; therefore, it is best to use leftover rice. If you don't have leftover rice, you can cool freshly cooked rice to room temperature and then place the rice in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a minimum of 1 hour to reduce the moisture. ** You can use any vegetables you like. Frozen vegetable mix works well if you want to save some time (use 1 - 1.5 cup for this recipe). Thaw the vegetables to room temperature before frying. Marinade the chicken with teriyaki sauce, oil, sugar, salt and a little bit of ground pepper. Leave the chicken, covered, in the fridg...

3 tbsp Vegetable oil 6 Sweet onions, medium size, thinly sliced 3 cloves Garlic 4 c. Beef broth 1/2 tsp Thyme, dried (or 1 tbsp Fresh chopped thyme) 1 tbsp Pure maple syrup Salt & pepper French baguette Your favourite cheese (eg. Swiss, Elemental, Gruyere, Mozerella) On a flat bottom frying pan, cook the onions in oil for 30 min or until caramelized. Stir frequently. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Drizzle the maple syrup over the onion and stir. Add beef broth and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. While the soup is simmering, cut approximately 1/3 of the baguette into 1-inch cubes. Toast the bread in the toaster oven for 3-5 minutes, until they are slightly brown and crunchy. Set aside and let them cool to room temperature. Transfer the soup into oven-safe bowls. Top with toasted bread cubes and your favourite cheese. Broil on high for 3 minutes, until the cheese have melted and turned lightly brown. My comment...

3 Slices of bread, cubed 3 lbs Lean hamburger 2 Onions, medium size, chopped small 1 c. Apple sauce, unsweeten (or 3 Eggs) 3 Garlic cloves, minced 1/2 c. Ketchup Basil Celery salt Parsley Chilli pepper Salt & pepper In a large bowl, mix all the ingredient by hands. Roll the meat into 2-inch balls. Bake at 375°F for 25 min. At this point, we usually cook the meatballs again in a BBQ sauce. 2 Bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce (...if you run out of BBQ sauce...) 1 Bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce 1 c. Ketchup 1/2 c. Brown sugar Method: Stove top - 1 hour on medium low heat Slowcooker - 4-8 hours setting Serve the meatballs over rice. Also taste good in a sandwich. My comments: We love meatballs. Whenever we find cheap ground beef, we make them. They are easy to make and freeze really well in the freezer in a sealed container. Note that I didn't put any measurement for the spices. We normally just sprinkle whatever we feel like at the time and however much we want. As lo...

1 c. Chinese white rice 6 c. Water 1/2 lb. Lean ground beef 1 Salted duck egg Salt & pepper to taste Lettuce, thinly sliced Sauce: 2 Green onion, chopped 3 tbsp Soya sauce (Kikkoman) 1/2 tsp Sesame oil Wash the rice several times with water. Drain out as much water as possible. Refridgerate for a few hours to let the water soak into the rice. It is easiest to pre-soak the rice overnight or in the morning, so that the rice will be ready to cook when you come home from work. In a large pot, boil the water and add the rice. Let it simmer for 30 min on medium heat. The rice should become very soft and fluffy and the liquid is slightly thickened. The consistency of the congee is typically similar to a Western style cream soup, but you can always add or reduce the water to make the congee to your desired consistency. I like my congee with medium consistency (not too watery but not too thick). While the rice is cooking, lightly marinade the ground beef with a little bit of salt or ...

Teriyaki marinade 1 lb. Striploin steak, sliced thin and long 2 Carrots, medium size, julienned 1/2 English cucumber, julienned Vermicelli noodles, cooked, drained Rice paper wrap Spicy peanut sauce Marinade the steaks overnight with the teriyaki marinade. Fry the steaks on a pan and set aside. Soak the rice paper in warm water until it begins to soften (approximately 15 seconds). Place the rice paper on a flat surface and place the meat, carrots, cucumbers and vermicelli noodle on the wrap. Carefully fold up the two sides and then roll to wrap, as tightly as possible without tearing the rice paper. Serve with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce (or Teriyaki Dipping Sauce ). My comments: This Vietnamese rice wrap turned out pretty well. Both my hubby and I enjoyed it very much. I got this recipe from Mrbunsrocks * and I have made several modifications to suit our tastes. My Spicy Peanut Sauce (a slightly modified version of Mrbunsrocks's recipe) was super tastey...definitely a must try....

This delicious meal comprised of 3 main recipes: beef soup base, dipping sauces and coleslaw: Soup Base 620 mL Beef broth 620 mL Water 2 c. Red wine 1 tbsp Hot chilli sauce 4 Onions, chopped 4 Green onions, chopped 1 c. Fresh parsley 2-3 Bay leaves 1-2 cloves Garlic, minced Fried the onions and the garlic. Add all the ingredients in a large pot and simmer for an hour. Curry Dipping Sauce 1 c. Hellmann's light mayo 1 clove Garlic, minced 1 tsp Green curry paste 1 tsp Horse radish sauce 1 tsp Onion, minced 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar Sprinkle of tarragon Dijion Mustard Sauce 1/2 c. Hellmann's light mayo 1/2 c. Dijion Mustard Black pepper corn, grounded Curry Mustard Sauce 1-2 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tsp Curry powder 1 tsp Dill 1/2 tsp Crushed chilli pepper 1 c. Hellmann's light mayo 3 tbsp Chilli garlic sauce For all the dipping sauces, mix all the ingredients together. Serve with fondue meat. Also great with bread and veggies. Coleslaw 1/2 head Cabbage, finely chopped 3 Green oni...

4 lbs Lean hamburger 2/3 c. Ketchup 2 Eggs 1 c. Onion, minced 2 c. Bread crumbs 1 tbsp Salt 1 tsp Ground pepper 2 tbsp Garlic, minced Combine all the ingredients. Shape into meatballs (approximately 1.5” in diameter). Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Cooked meatballs can be served with sauce: Stove top - Heat the meatballs with sauce until the sauce is hot. Slowcooker - Cover the meatballs with sauce and cook for 4-8 hours. Served with rice or in meatball sandwiches. Red Current Meatball Sauce 1 c. Red current jam 1 c. Ketchup 1-2 tbsp Vinegar 1 Onion, chopped small Splash of Worcestershire sauce Combine the jam and ketchup in saucepan and melt over medium heat. Stir regularly. Add rest of ingredients once jam is melted. Cook until the onion is soft. My comments: The meatballs are absolutely delicious. They are soft and full of flavours. They are great for meatball sandwiches or serve on rice. The red current meatball sauce is probably the best meatball sauce I've ever had. However,...